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The Test Of Appetite, June 17
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any
means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
1
Corinthians 9:27
.
After His baptism the Son of God entered the dreary wilderness, there to be
tempted by the devil. For nearly six weeks He endured the agonies of hunger....
He realized the power of appetite upon man; and in behalf of sinful man, He bore
the closest test possible upon that point. Here a victory was gained which few can
appreciate. The controlling power of depraved appetite and the grievous sin of
indulging it can only be understood by the length of the fast which our Saviour
endured that He might break its power....
Intemperance lies at the foundation of all the moral evils known to man. Christ
began the work of redemption just where the ruin began. The fall of our first
parents was caused by the indulgence of appetite. In redemption, the denial of
appetite is the first work of Christ.
The Son of God saw that man could not of himself overcome this powerful
temptation.... He came to earth to unite His divine power with our human efforts,
that through the strength and moral power which He imparts, we might overcome
in our own behalf. Oh! what matchless condescension for the King of glory to
come down to this world to endure the pangs of hunger and the fierce temptations
of a wily foe, that He might gain an infinite victory for man. Here is love without
a parallel. Yet this great condescension is but dimly comprehended by those for
whom it was made.
It was not the gnawing pangs of hunger alone which made the sufferings of
our Redeemer so inexpressibly severe. It was the sense of guilt which had resulted
from the indulgence of appetite that had brought such terrible woe into the world,
which pressed so heavily upon His divine soul....
With man’s nature, and the terrible weight of his sins pressing upon Him, our
Redeemer withstood the power of Satan upon this great leading temptation, which
imperils the souls of men. If man should overcome this temptation, he could
conquer on every other point.
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