04/05/2020
How is it that we fall into sinful behavior? Are we outwitted by Satan, or do our own base desires draw us into the unrighteous behavior we blame solely on the dark one? Are we tricked, or do we simply ignore our own part in this disobedient, and damning behavior? If we are honest with ourselves we will admit that Satan might tempt us, but more times than not, the desire to sin is ours alone. Satan simply knows our ways better than we know his.
“so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”
2 Corinthians 2:11 ESV
When Eve was convinced to eat the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, she was lied to, but she wasn’t forced to take a single bite. Eve was not threatened, or told that if she didn’t take a bite then Satan would kill her, quite the contrary, she was told that she WOULDN’T die. So how was she fooled into this terrible act? She was told a lie that played to her innermost desire... this fruit not only wouldn’t kill you, but it tasted good, and MADE YOU LIKE GOD... wise. Eve wanted to be like God, and she concluded that He was holding this back from her. Listen closely...
“But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”
Genesis 3:4-6 ESV
As for Adam, was he such a simple minded creature that he ate just because Eve did? No, he was there with her, he heard the same lie, and wanted to be like God too. Satan simply chose Eve to work on because he felt she would be easier to convince. Although he could not see their hearts as God does, he knew of them, and their desires, and tempted them with a lie that played to their weakness... only God knows our hearts...
“then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind),”
1 Kings 8:39 ESV
Satan uses this same ploy against us today. This is why Jesus taught us to pray this way...
“Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Matthew 6:9, 13 ESV
God knows our hearts, the goodness, and our innermost weaknesses too; that is why, if we seek Him, love Him, and obey Him, He will lead us away from our sinful desires, our temptations, and towards goodness, and into righteousness...
“If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.”
Psalms 44:20-21 ESV
“the Lord —knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.”
Psalms 94:11 ESV
How is it then that Satan is so successful against us? It is because we are desperately sick. Listen to God’s Words in Jeremiah...
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:9 ESV
We are sick... so how can we be cured of this illness, and made safe from Satan’s temptation? We obviously can’t do it on our own, so we must turn to God’s Word, just as Jesus did when He was tempted, and seek Him in prayer, and ask Him to create in us a clean heart just as David did...
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”
Psalms 51:10-12 ESV
To resist temptation, we need to understand our own weaknesses, and walk forcefully away from them, but we also need to understand the deceitful nature of the dark one himself. So to this end, here are a few things that the Bible tells us about him...
He is not God’s equal and opposite counterbalance. He is subservient to God, and we see this very clearly in the book of Job when Satan must ask to test Job...
“And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand." So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”
Job 1:12 ESV
2. He can’t tempt us without God’s permission to do so. We see this in Job, and again as Jesus is led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit...
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
Matthew 4:1 ESV
3. Although he must ask permission to use it against us, Satan does have the power of death, but it has been superseded, and he will be destroyed by Jesus...
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,”
Hebrews 2:14 ESV
4. We already know that he is a liar, and a deceiver by his actions towards Eve in the Garden of Eden, but He will run from us when we submit ourselves to God.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7 ESV
And we know so many other attributes and characteristics of Satan, our enemy, from God’s Word as well.
If we know his ploys just like he knows our weaknesses, then we will recognize him when he comes to tempt us, and we will be able to shield our weaknesses from him. He can’t threaten us, or move against us without permission, but he will use our own sick desires against us when he comes.
So back to my original question... “How is it that we fall into sinful behavior?“, well we aren’t forced to sin by Satan, or anyone else. No one is ultimately to blame but ourselves. Our propensity to sin is merely uncovered, and revealed in us for what it is. Our sickness is shown to be deep seated, and all ours. To overcome this we need to face ourselves, and admit who we are... sinners at heart... and then pray that God will heal our heart by applying the blood of Jesus, pouring His grace over us, and protectIng us from Satan’s deception.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for healing the sickness of sin within us by applying the blood of your Son Jesus to it. Help us Lord to understand our inner nature, and be transformed through our faith, and by the redemptive power of the cross. Lead us into righteous understanding of you through your Holy Spirit, and help us to pray as we ought. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who calls us from sin, and transforms us to be righteous, holy, and worthy of being in your presence. Praised be your name, and the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, and Redeemer, for by your mercy, and grace, we are saved and seated at your table forevermore. Hear our prayers Holy Father, and keep us in your arms through out all eternity... your children, in your image.
“Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Matthew 6:9-15 ESV
Rich Forbes