It’s useful from time to time to recall Satan’s objectives when he sends temptation our way.
Jesus said in John 10 that Satan seeks to steal, kill and destroy.
And Jesus described Satan in John 8 as a murderer and the “father of lies” whose native language is lying.
So with Satan’s resume so clearly disclosed by God’s Son, believers never fall into believing sin’s lies, right?
Wrong.
It’s mind-boggling, actually, to think of how often Christians, including ourselves, fall into sin. We all know that even once is too much.
Yet, despite our best efforts (at least that’s how we paint them), we still fall for the trap of gossip or pride or greed or peeking at things we shouldn’t be seeing or some other sort of sin seed that should never have found soil in our minds and hearts.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that Satan wants us to join him forever in hell, not because he likes us but instead because he hates God.
And any soul not in heaven is Satan’s way of denying God an increment of eternal worship that Satan so desperately wanted for himself when he tried to take over God’s throne before the creation of the universe.
I was reminded of Satan’s modus operendi when I read this morning from the One-Year Bible. The Apostle Paul was exhorting the Corinthian believers to recognize and reject the schemes of Satan designed to trap them in corrupted religion that seemed legitimate but actually was tainted by flesh-satisfying falsehood.
At the core of Paul’s concerns was the blending of carnality with spirituality as it spewed from teachers who claimed to be serving God but more likely were seeking to serve their own social and financial interests by entangling believers in schemes that took their independence, their money and their sense of spiritual freedom.
Here’s what Paul wrote:
“You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face.” 2 Corinthians 11:20
I pray that you are not in congregational setting where the leadership has left you feeling enslaved, robbed, coerced and wounded.
Even if you’re blessed with godly church leaders, you can be certain that Satan wants to enslave you, to take everything you have, to control your life and then to harm you.
And so, that’s why he sends temptation after temptation into your life and mine. He wants us to sin. And sin again. And again until we feel chained to the behavior that we know isn’t good for our souls, for our service to God or for our example to others.
Satan’s wants to get us so tangled up in sin that we think we can’t stop. That’s when he’ll really start slapping us around emotionally and mentally.
Listen, it is vital to understand that every sin is a step toward slavery, toward robbery of our inner peace, our possessions, our sense of purpose for God and perhaps even our peaceful relationships with family and friends.
Please, dear friend, remember Paul’s warning above that speaks to the agenda of temptations that come your way.
Remember that Satan is a murderer and a liar who seeks to steal from you, kill you and destroy your hope for eternal life.
Anybody who tells you something different is telling you a lie.
Just like it is a lie from hell that says you and I can’t break the chains of sin.
We can, thank God, by sincerely repenting of the sin and asking God to forgive us (I John 1:9).
And that’s the truth.
As always, I love you
Martin
