Previously, in discussing Dr. Bruce Waltke’s book, Finding the Will of God, we noted that he provided a history of how pagans (and too often, Christians), use numerous forms of what can only be called “divination” to determine His will. From there, Waltke moved into a discussion of how the Christian should learn and live God’s will. Far from what the signs and wonders crowd advocates, determining God’s will is made easier (and far less mystical, ecstatic, and controversial), when we are living lives that move us closer to God.

Waltke introduced a six-point program that each and every Christian should put into place if they take seriously the goal of living God’s will in our life. He also emphasized that the order in which those six points were followed by the Christian makes a great deal of difference.

Naturally, he began with the one thing (aside from actual salvation), that every Christian needs to immerse themselves in; reading, studying, and memorizing God’s Word. Without this, there is no real theological base and he previously indicated that our theology defines what we believe about God. If our theology is wrong (or non-existent), we cannot rightly expect to progress in our faith nor will we be able to discern God’s will in all of life’s circumstances.

As we read through God’s Word, we learn the structure of God’s will that applies to every Christian, without reservation. There are simply things that all of us need to be doing. In every one of Paul’s letters to the churches, he provides general instruction. By general, I’m referring to how every Christian should live. Here’s an example of what I mean.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 ESV)

In the above text, notice Paul precedes the command with the words, “For this is the will of God…” What is the will of God? What he says next. All Christians should abstain from sexual immorality, that we should all control our bodies, that we should not be driven in passionate lusts. These are commands of an apostle and he tells us that obedience to these things is the will of God!

A couple of questions then. First, how does a person do this when the temptations can be very strong at times? Second, how does obeying these aspects of God’s will help us determine God’s will in other situations that are far more specific to us?

There are only two ways we can obey Paul’s commands here. One, we will either attempt to obey them in our own strength, with our own energy or two, we will rely on God’s strength to overcome the temptation when it raises its head. I think most would agree that obeying in our own strength may get the job done. We may have successfully ignored the temptation. Is this what Jesus did?

In Matthew 4, Jesus went head-to-head with Satan and He didn’t use His own strength. He quoted Scripture and allowed the power of God’s Word to defeat the enemy. It was in this way that Jesus overcame each and every temptation He faced, not just during that time in Matthew 4, but throughout His life.

So, as a Christian, when faced with the type of temptation Paul speaks of in the above passage, what is the best antidote for that temptation? God’s Word! If we commit to memory those few verses (or others like them), the Holy Spirit can bring them to our minds during those times of temptation. As we then repeat those verses out loud, the power and living nature of God’s Word will defeat the temptation without us having to use our energy to do so. Let’s face it, in using our own energy, we are basically doing what we can to squelch the temptation. Certainly, that’s better than nothing, but the truth is that God wants to work in and through us and He does that best when we’ve hidden His Word in our hearts. This is exactly what...