1 John 4:7-21
God is LOVE
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus is Tested in the Wilderness
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Hebrews 4:15
Jesus Did Not Sin
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Mark 10:18
No One is Good But God Alone
18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone."
Love is the greatest form of morality...And we know about love, because God gave us love...The same can be said for morality...We know morality, because God is Holy and Good...He alone is Good...God exists and because of His existence morality exists...If we are created in God’s image, then we are therefore moral creatures...Why would He create any other kind of man or woman?...There are some who do think that we can override the evil of this world, but their beliefs are tainted...God is the actual source of our morality...When we think of evil, one might ask, why do we not see evil in the world as better than the goodness of the world?...And why doesn't evil override the goodness in our minds and thoughts?...Why does by far the vast majority of people of this world believe in human rights, and think and believe that people and themselves included need to be treated for the good and be treated with justice, and not in terms of evil and wickedness?...Why do we view domestic violence, rape, and child abuse as evil?...Why wouldn't have these acts of wickedness evolved instead of goodness?...Did Something or Someone move things to the side of goodness?...
One of the problem is that (we) believers, with the exception of One, cannot live up to the ideals of morality at all times...When we constantly get tested and tempted day in and day out, we finds we do not do well over long periods of time with temptation...But temptations are a fact of life...Then the non-believer then looks at the believer with a tainted eye, because of his flaws with sin and temptations...The non-believer may believe that Jesus was sinless (or they may not), but all His followers have this sinful nature...And because Jesus' followers cannot follow His lead, as hard as we try, we still fail...And because we fail in the eyes of many non-believers- Jesus fails...But Jesus did not fail...Jesus never fails...It is man who has failed...
Jesus was tempted in the wilderness...The evil one tempted Him to do wrong things, but He overcame the temptations placed in front of Him and came out of the wilderness morally right and sin free...Our flaws in our daily lives and our failures with not being able to follow His teachings, show that we need a Savior...Our failures show that we are in certain need...Our failings show that we need His help...We need God's intervention...