What do you do when the devil starts whispering Scripture in your ear?

Don't think that it'll ever happen to you? Well, it happened to Jesus. Luke tells us about this showdown between Jesus and Satan in the fourth chapter of his gospel. Just as Jesus begins His public ministry, He is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and resists the temptations of the devil. Time after time, Jesus shuts down Satan by quoting Scripture. And then, in a stroke of genius (perhaps), the devil changes tactics. He brings Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, pulls out his Bible (so to speak) and challenges Him from Scripture: 

"If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; for it is written [quoting Psalm 91] 'He will command His angels concerning You to guard You;' and, "On their hands they will bear You up, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone." --Luke 4:10-11

Talk about a crisis of faith! Satan brings Jesus--the very Son of God--to the most sacred site and reads God's promises from His perfect Word. That's a double-dog-dare if I ever saw one.

Isn't God true to His word? Doesn't He love the Son? Wouldn't He be sure to be watching the very place where He allowed His presence to rest? And yet, there's something not quite right about the scene. 

Jesus pinpoints the problem by quoting a Scripture that the devil didn't bother to bring up: "It is said, [quoting Deuteronomy 6:16] 'You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.'" Luke 4:12. Bulls eye. The devil, defeated, slinks away until an opportune time. 

What did Jesus do when the devil started whispering Scripture into His ear? He took the whole counsel of scripture--not just an isolated verse--and saw how it fit together. We need to do the same, lest we get off track in our run with God. 

Sadly, you don't have to look too far to see the results of emphasizing one scripture or biblical truth to the neglect of another. Take Colossians 1:15 out of context (speaking of Jesus as the "firstborn of creation") and neglect passages that speak of the deity of Christ (such as Isaiah 9:6 with 10:21; John 1:1; 5:8; 20:28 etc.) and you'll get a heresy known as "Arianism" that is almost as old as the church. Arians deny the deity of Christ, claiming that He is a created creature. (Modern-day Arians include the Jehovah's Witnesses.)

On a more common level, focus on passages that show how much God wants to bless His children, but silence any mention of sin and you get lopsided churches that are great at drawing in crowds but that empty the cross of its power. Without sin there's no need for the cross or for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. 

Of course, if we're going to walk in the full counsel of Scripture there's going to be a cost. We might have to crack open the Old Testament now and again. We're also going to have to deal with some "tough" passages and books that we'd rather just avoid instead of turning to Ephesians or to our favorite Psalm. But the benefits of digging deep into Scripture will outweigh our discomforts. Getting the big picture of God's plan--which He started with creation and and has been working out through the ages--gives us context for how our own lives fit into that plan. Also, knowing the whole of scripture will protect our walk with God and keep us from going off the deep end with the devil. 

"Like a thornbush in a drunkard's hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool." --Proverbs 26:9