Satan’s Strategy #6: Just Say Sorry

Robert Spinney

Satan tells us that repentance is easy and forgiveness is available, so yielding to temptation is not serious. We are tempted to think that we'll only commit a sin a few times and then claim God's forgiveness. “Correcting the situation after you sin is easy,” the Tempter tells us.

But this is dangerous thinking for several reasons. First, consider how nauseating even we humans find insincere repentance. Here's an example of what I mean: Imagine that you heard me saying to my young daughter,

“I am about to smash your finger with this hammer I will do this deliberately and with no regard for the pain it causes you. I know it’s wrong for me to crush your finger like this, but I'm going to do it anyway because it is fun. And tomorrow, I will apologize and ask for your forgiveness.” 

I then proceed to wallop my little girl's finger and, as expected, she screams in anguish. The next day, I say to my injured daughter, “I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Don't hold this against me. I apologize.” Wouldn't you be horrified that I could manipulate concepts like “I'm sorry” and “forgive me” so mechanically? Wouldn't you be outraged at my hypocrisy and malice? Surely you would doubt that I was truly repentant, since by definition repentance includes sincerity and genuine remorse.

Humans reject insincere repentance like this; surely God rejects it as well. Satan will tempt you to think that God will accept such insincere repentance. But He will not; the Holy One of Israel will not accept it, since it is not true repentance at all, but an insulting attempt to manipulate God. And this will result in judgment. 

And what if Satan is successful at getting you to think like this? What if the devil persuades you to sin now on the assumption that it will be easy to find forgiveness later? If Satan is so successful at getting you to sin today, what makes you think he won't be equally successful at getting you to avoid repenting? Once you have committed your sin, Satan will work just as hard to persuade you that repentance is unnecessary. After your sin, the Adversary will point out (accurately, I might add) that repentance is often humiliating. It may involve tears and sleeplessness, shame and anguish of soul, perhaps even public confession and costly restitution.

Anyone who has repented knows that repentance is not easy! If Satan persuades you to sin now, isn't it likely that he will persuade you to not repent later? The power of Satan's temptations today should convince you that Satan's temptations tomorrow will be equally powerful. Your easy repentance and easy forgiveness will not be so easy. 

Nor can we even be certain that we will want to repent after we sin. This is because indulging in sin desensitizes us to sin. Frequent sinning diminishes our sense of moral outrage at sin. When sin becomes commonplace and routine, we are more likely to sin again. We all know calloused men who sin repeatedly and no longer wish to repent of their sins. They continue in their sins precisely because they don't want to repent of them. This is the process that Scripture characterizes as a searing of the conscience (1 Timothy 4:2).

Your deliberate sins today may make you unwilling to repent tomorrow.>

Robert Spinney (PhD, Vanderbilt) is professor of History at Patrick Henry College, where he teaches American history and historiography. He is the author of City of Big Shoulders: A History of Chicago and World War II in Nashville: Transformation of the Homefront, as well as an American history textbook and numerous ministry-related booklets. Dr. Spinney formerly served as a pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Hartsville, TN, and at Winchester Baptist Church in Winchester, VA.

Posted at: https://www.reformation21.org/blog/satans-strategy-6-just-say-sorry

Satan’s Strategy #5: God Doesn't Judge

Robert Spinney

Satan tempts us to think that God is so indulgent that we need not fear punishment for our sins. Few of Satan's lies are more widespread and more dangerous today,

"God is a God of love. He does not punish. He never judges. God expects people to sin and simply overlooks our sin, much as would a lenient and permissive grandfather. So don't get too alarmed about sin."

Not true. Here we see Satan resorting to a common ploy: He obscures a portion of the truth to create a falsehood. God is indeed a God of love, but He is also holy. God forgives sin, but He is also a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29). Although rich in mercy, God also cast the angels out of Heaven and expelled Adam from Paradise. God's patience is great, but He also destroyed the entire earth in a catastrophic flood. God displays compassion, but He also sent fire from Heaven to judge the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Nowhere is God's righteous anger against sin more clearly demonstrated than at Calvary. When the Lamb of God hung on the cross bearing the sins of all God's people, the thrice holy God poured out His divine punishment upon the Messiah. The Bible makes this clear: The God who gives grace is also the God who judges sin. 

It is an error—and sometimes a fatal one—to misinterpret God's patience as God's indulgence. God mercifully withholds chastisement as He calls us to repentance. But Satan tempts us to regard withheld punishment as God's lack of concern for our sin. We are then emboldened to continue in sin. “Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" (Rom. 2:4). The Holy Spirit displays God's goodness to us and directs us to repent; Satan tells us that God's goodness is evidence that He won't punish sin, and therefore we don't need to repent. 

God does not indulgently ignore our sins. “Do not be deceived," the Bible says to we who are so easily deceived. “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." (Gal. 6:7) There is a reaping that is inevitably linked to our sowing: If we sow in sinful actions, we will reap a harvest of sin's consequences (which include God's judgment). There are several good protections against temptation, but one of the best is a healthy fear of God's hand of punishment. 

Brooks cautions that we should be most alarmed over our spiritual health when we can break God's laws and not sense God's holy displeasure with us. “When God lets the way to Hell be a smooth and pleasant way," warns Brooks, it is "a dreadful sign of God's indignation against a man; a token of His rejection, and that God doth not intend good unto him."

Robert Spinney (PhD, Vanderbilt) is professor of History at Patrick Henry College, where he teaches American history and historiography. He is the author of City of Big Shoulders: A History of Chicago and World War II in Nashville: Transformation of the Homefront, as well as an American history textbook and numerous ministry-related booklets. Dr. Spinney formerly served as a pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Hartsville, TN, and at Winchester Baptist Church in Winchester, VA.

Satan’s Strategy #4: Great Men Sin

Robert Spinney

Satan tempts us to excuse or ignore our sin by showing us the sins of great men. We need not turn to tabloid newspapers to read of such sins; the Bible will suffice. Noah got drunk. Abraham lied. Jacob deceived his father and cheated his brother. David committed adultery and murder. Peter denied the Lord Jesus Christ and behaved hypocritically toward Gentile Christians. Satan tells us that such examples prove sin comes with few negative consequences. "These men continued to be useful servants in God's kingdom," Satan says. "They sinned, found forgiveness, and the whole mess was over. They recovered and all was well."

Satan also tells us that such examples prove that sin is inevitable. "There is no avoiding sin," the Devil says. "Sin will happen to the very best of men. God expects us to sin, so He is neither surprised nor terribly disappointed when we do sin. Don't get overly concerned about sin," the Deceiver tells us.

When Satan tempts us in this manner, he neglects to tell us the rest of the story. He hides the tears, heartaches, misery, and painful repentance that result from yielding to temptation. David's infamous sins with Bathsheba and Uriah were followed by his humiliating encounter with Nathan, his public disgrace, and his soul-wrenching repentance. We also know that God punished David for his sin. (See Psalm 51 and 2 Samuel 12:10.) Peter's denial of Jesus before a lowly servant girl resulted in a night of tears. According to early Christians who knew the elderly Peter, whenever the apostle heard a cock crow he would be reminded of his sins, fall upon his knees, and beg for pardon anew.

Great saints sin, but they also feel the pain of sin acutely. “Though God doth not, nor never will, disinherit His people for their sins," writes Brooks, "yet He hath severely punished His people for their sins."

Nor does Satan tell us that great men do not make it a habit to sin. They fall into sin, but they do not stay there. They are overtaken by sin; they do not remain in it. As Brooks put it, they fall accidentally, occasionally, and with much reluctancy; they do not sin obstinately, readily, delightfully, or customarily. Great saints grieve over and fight their way out of sin.

Seeing the sins of great men should certainly affect us: It should persuade us that sin is deceitful and powerful. It should convince us that we are not strong enough to experiment with sin. Every Christian should realize that he is not so mature that he is immune to the allure of sin. Great men's sins should cause us to fear sin all the more and be even more vigilant in resisting it. Believers who think they stand should take heed lest they fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). It can encourage our own repentance when we see that even great saints sinned and yet found restoration through forsaking their sin.

Satan's showing us the sins of great men often has another effect: It encourages us to think that we lack the power to resist sin. "If that great saint could not resist temptation," the Devil tells us, "then how can you? You are much weaker than he!" We see godly Christians succumb to temptations and come to the conclusion that resisting sin is futile.

Not true.

“No temptation has you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are with the temptation will provide the way of escape a you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

This assures me that I always possess the ability to resist on temptations. I never face a temptation that is stronger the provision of God's grace. God is faithful to restrict temptations to snares I am able to resist. This verse also tells me that there is always a way to escape from the temptation without sinning. I can never surrender and cry out, “I can't endure this temptation any longer!" Because a sovereign God controls all events and gives grace, I am always able to endure it. The question is never whether I have the ability to resist this temptation to sin, because the answer to that question is “Yes.” Rather, the question Christians face is whether they are willing to resist this temptation to sin. The Bible tells me that I am never in a situation where I must sin. "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation.” (2 Peter 2:9).

Robert Spinney (PhD, Vanderbilt) is professor of History at Patrick Henry College, where he teaches American history and historiography. He is the author of City of Big Shoulders: A History of Chicago and World War II in Nashville: Transformation of the Homefront, as well as an American history textbook and numerous ministry-related booklets. Dr. Spinney formerly served as a pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Hartsville, TN, and at Winchester Baptist Church in Winchester, VA.

Posted at: https://www.reformation21.org/blog/satans-strategy-4-great-men-sin

Satan’s Strategy #3: Downplay the Danger

Robert Spinney

Satan downplays the seriousness of sin so that we think it poses no danger to our soul. “But it's such a harmless sin," he tells us, 

“It's so small. No one will be hurt. It's just a little pride, a little worldliness, a little compromise, a little sexual immorality. Only you and God will know, and God understands. There will be no victims and no negative fallout. You may engage in this sin (carefully, of course) without harming your soul.” 

This is a lie. Despite its appeal to your flesh, you must rject this temptation as a falsehood straight from Hell. All sin is a vandalizing of God's world; all sin is a criminal violation God's authority. Sin both offends and betrays God. As Cornelius Plantinga explains: 

"Sin is not only the breaking of law but also the breaking of covenant with one's Savior. Sin is the smearing of the relationship, the grieving of one's divine parent and benefactor, a betrayal of the partner to whom one is joined by holy bond." (Not the Way It's Supposed to Be: A Breviary, of Sin, p. 12) 

This is why the Bible never suggests that so-called small sins are insignificant. Every sin is big. Of course, some sins carry more obvious consequences, and some sins hurt more bystanders than other sins. But even the smallest sin is an act of treason against the Creator. Sin is a personal affront to God: Deliberate sin is the equivalent of slapping God in the face. This is why Adam plunged the human race into misery and was banished from Eden for what we would likely consider a small sin. Adam didn't murder or commit adultery; he ate a piece of fruit! This was a massively serious sin, however, because it (like all sin) was a defiant rejection of God's legitimate authority. 

Is not resisting so-called small sins a better test of true love for God than avoiding what we regard as big sins? The earthly consequences of big sins are frequently so frightful that even non-Christians refrain from them. Because of the threat of legal punishment or the prospect of public scorn, even unbelievers often frown on adultery, condemn murder, and disapprove of theft. But in small sins, the issue of obedience or disobedience is more clearly a matter of principle. When the consequences of sin are less apparent, do you still obey God? Do you obey God simply because He is God? Do you avoid sin only because of its painful earthly consequences, or rather because you love your Creator? 

Sin corrupts our thinking so that we do not see how "small sins" damage our souls. Due to sin's very nature (and not its smallness or bigness), it distorts our character and perverts our abilities. Small sins are like small amounts of the HIV virus: They weaken our spiritual immune system, compromise our overall spiritual health, increase our vulnerability to other sins, and insure that we will grow only more ill in the future. Small sins numb our consciences. They nurture soul-level corruption and lead to other sins. Brooks is right: in the end, there is more misery in the smallest sin than in the most severe hardship. 

Small sins also often lead to big sins. We frequently entertain small sins when we feel empty, lonely, depressed, or angry. We want our spirits to improve-we want a “mood enhancer” – so we indulge in a sin in hopes that it will make us happy. Often it does; there is usually a momentary thrill when we do something forbidden, and sin is often pleasurable (at least initially). Our little sin seemingly has the desired effect of injecting excitement into our lives. 

However, this sin-induced mood enhancement wears off. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can create sustained fulfillment and contentment in our souls. And ao qe soon find ourselves back where we started: Empty, lonely, depressed, or angry. But now, the little sin that electrified us last month no longer carries the same thrill that it had before. It is no longer exotic, because we have explored it. Indulging in our little sin has normalized that sin to us. 

At this critical moment, temptation does not say to us, “The old course of action-finding pleasure in sin-failed.” Instead, the Tempter says, “Finding pleasure in sin is the right course of action; just do more sin." To enhance our mood now, we must graduate from our little sin to a bigger and more exciting one. In time, however, we will become bored with this bigger sin as well ... and will need an even bigger one to obtain the same mood-enhancing effect. 

This is the classic process of addiction which alcoholics and drug addicts know it all too well. The longest running addiction on planet earth is the addiction to sin. When we say that we are sinners, we mean that are sin addicts; Christians are recovering sin addicts who suffer relapses. As with the alcoholic, so with the sin-oholic; he hopes to find in his vice the satisfaction that only God gives. A little sin is to the sinner what a little whiskey is to the alcoholic: A doorway to self-destruction. 

Both sinner and alcoholic desperately need to resist temptations in order to be healthy. “It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich," says Proverbs 10:22,"and He adds no sorrow to it.” God gives spiritual highs that come with neither hangovers nor destructive addictions.

Robert Spinney (PhD, Vanderbilt) is professor of History at Patrick Henry College, where he teaches American history and historiography. He is the author of City of Big Shoulders: A History of Chicago and World War II in Nashville: Transformation of the Homefront, as well as an American history textbook and numerous ministry-related booklets. Dr. Spinney formerly served as a pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Hartsville, TN, and at Winchester Baptist Church in Winchester, VA.

Posted at: https://www.reformation21.org/blog/satans-strategy-3-downplay-the-danger

Satan's Strategy #2: Sin that Seems Virtuous

Robert Spinney

Scripture reports that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). Understand that Satan's deception extends beyond disguising his person; he also disguises his activities. Especially when Satan tempts Christians, he presents sins as things that are not so bad, and sometimes even good.

Wasn't this what Satan did in the Garden of Eden? He claimed the forbidden fruit would open the eyes, make man like God, and impart the ability to know good and evil. Eve’s conclusion: It was good to eat the fruit (Gen. 3:6-7). 

Brooks gives several examples of this kind of temptation that resonated with his seventeenth-century culture. Believers are tempted to be proud (says Brooks) when Satan deceives us into thinking that pride is really only neatness and cleanliness. Christians are tempted to covet when covetousness is repackaged as thriftiness. Drunkenness is recast as nothing more than enjoying fellowship with friends. Riotous living is excused as merely a stage through which all youth pass. 

Here are several examples that may resonate with today's culture:

• Men are tempted to give free rein to their bad tempers when this sin is portrayed as merely exercising firm leadership as the head of one's family. 

• Women are tempted to nag and manipulate their husbands when they are deceived into regarding such behaviors as only encouraging their spouses to do what's right. 

• Children are tempted to dishonor their parents when they think they are only exercising their God-given rights as individuals.

• We allow ourselves to wallow in self-pity when we rationalize it as suffering unfairly for Christ's sake. 

• Believers are tempted to indulge in pornography when Satan persuades them that they are merely fulfilling normal sexual desires in a way that doesn't hurt anyone. 

• Impatience is justified as a determination to get things accomplished. 

• Irreverence in worship is excused as friendliness, warmth, and avoiding stuffiness. 

• When we are argumentative in religious discussions, we are tempted to justify our lack of kindness because we are defending the truth. 

• We are tempted to wear immodest clothing when we recast the subject as fitting into our culture for the sake of the gospel. 

• An employee is tempted to steal from his employer when he regards his theft of money, goods, or time as a just compensation for the employer's alleged injustices. 

Sadly, sin corrupts our minds so that we make ingenious defenses for sinful conduct (e.g. Eph. 2:3; 4:17, 18; Titus 1:15; 2 Tim. 3:8; Col. 1:21; Rom. 8:6-7). Indeed, we are chillingly adept at putting a virtuous face on sin. Satan encourages this activity; he excites the remnants of sin in us to think about sin itself in an unbiblical (and sinful!) manner. 

A sanctified mind is one of our best defenses against temptation. Sin frequently appeals to our feelings; in this regard, it is often irrational. It uses our emotions to overwhelm our better judgment. But when our mind is informed by the Word of God, it exposes sin to the purifying light of God's truth. It is our mind that says, "No! This sexual lust will not make me happy. It will not fulfill; it will make me miserable. It will destroy the joy and contentment that only God gives.” 

A biblically-informed mind argues against the often emotional appeal of temptation; it unmasks sin that masquerades as virtue. In so doing, a sanctified mind promotes real godliness (and real contentment).

Robert Spinney (PhD, Vanderbilt) is professor of History at Patrick Henry College, where he teaches American history and historiography. He is the author of City of Big Shoulders: A History of Chicago and World War II in Nashville: Transformation of the Homefront, as well as an American history textbook and numerous ministry-related booklets. Dr. Spinney formerly served as a pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Hartsville, TN, and at Winchester Baptist Church in Winchester, VA.

Posted at: https://www.reformation21.org/blog/satans-strategy-2-sin-that-seems-virtuous

Satan's Strategy #1: Bait and Hook

Robert Spinney

This is Satan's most common scheme: He presents the bait and hides the hook. Satan presents sin as fun, satisfying, profitable, and pleasurable, while concealing the miseries and pain that always accompany sin. 

Surely this is part of what Scripture calls the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13). We are tempted to believe that our happiness and fulfillment require us to indulge some sin. The “passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25) seem irresistible, in part because temptation presents to me only the alleged benefits of sin. Far from conferring benefits, however, sin is the very thing that cripples us. When we commit sin, as Brooks puts it, wrath, misery, shame, and loss are always close behind (p. 29). 

Sin is bad for many reasons; one of them is that it wreaks havoc in a man's soul. It promises satisfaction, but delivers emptiness. Sin leads to more and bigger sins. It either makes us feel guilty and ashamed (which is bad), or creates moral numbness in us so we no longer feel guilt and shame over our sin (which is worse). But Satan hides these hooks and presents only the bait. 

Satan used this ploy successfully in the Garden of Eden. He told Eve that the forbidden fruit would open her eyes, thus causing her to be like God (Genesis 3:4-5). The serpent presented the bait, and said nothing about the hook. Richard Sibbes, one of Brooks' contemporaries, wrote, "Satan gives Adam an apple, and takes away Paradise. Therefore in all temptations let us consider not what he offers, but what we shall lose." Satan also tempted the Lord Jesus Christ in this manner: He offered Christ the largest bait imaginable, namely all the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 4:8-9). 

The bait looks attractive because we believe that sin leads to happiness. Temptation offers shortcuts to fulfillment; it promises quick contentment. But obedience to God is the only sure route to satisfaction. God's laws are guidelines given by a loving Creator who desires for His creatures to flourish. Holiness—not sin— leads to happiness. Sin's remnants in us rebel against this truth, which is why we often struggle with obedience to God's will. Satan exploits these vestiges of sin in us and fans our doubts about whether God's way is truly the best way. 

When we are tempted, the alleged benefits of a sin appear large-just like a juicy worm appears large on a fisherman's hook. The worm does taste good to the fish when he swallows it. But along with the worm comes a hook. Expect Satan to entice you with bait that has special appeal to you. "Satan, like a fisher, baits his hook according to the appetite of the fish," observed Thomas Adams, one of Brooks' fellow pastors. 

Sin's hook is painful. It injures, damages, enslaves, and sometimes disables. Sin leaves long-term (and occasionally life long) scars. Although God forgives sin, He frequently allows us to live with the consequences of our sins.

Christian, believe God's assessment of sin: It brings misery. 

Robert Spinney (PhD, Vanderbilt) is professor of History at Patrick Henry College, where he teaches American history and historiography. He is the author of City of Big Shoulders: A History of Chicago and World War II in Nashville: Transformation of the Homefront, as well as an American history textbook and numerous ministry-related booklets. Dr. Spinney formerly served as a pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Hartsville, TN, and at Winchester Baptist Church in Winchester, VA.

Posted at: https://www.reformation21.org/blog/satans-strategy-1-bait-and-hook

WHEN YOUR PLAN FOR KILLING SIN ISN’T WORKING

Lara d’Entremont

Pen and journal in hand, I was ready to crush this sin once and for all. I had laid out a step-by-step plan detailing how I would smother my depravity and finally deal it a death blow.

I was serious now, and I had decided I would have victory over this sin this week. Eventually, I reasoned, I would never struggle with it again. I was resolved. I was passionate. 

Many of us know this empowered feeling. Many of us also know the crushing defeat when the same sin continues to tempt and sway us. I am well acquainted with the doubt that follows when a sin persists. “Maybe I’m not truly saved. Maybe I’m not seeing victory over this sin because I’m still a nonbeliever. Maybe God isn’t with me. Maybe he’s disappointed that I have yet to get myself together in this area. Maybe he’s turned his face away from me once and for all.”

Burdened brothers and sisters, we can’t sanctify ourselves. Along with the apostle Paul, I gently ask you (and myself): Having begun by the Spirit, do we believe we’re now being perfected by our own strength (Gal. 3:3)?

While it is good to pursue holiness, at the end of the day, we must know that it is the Spirit—not our plans, works, obedience, or Bible memorization—who sanctifies us.

UNDERSTANDING SANCTIFICATION

Sanctification is how we grow in Christlikeness. When we are justified (forgiven of our sins by grace through faith in Christ and given the righteousness of Christ) we begin our lifelong journey of sanctification. Sanctification isn’t immediate, and we will never reach a point on earth when we can say we are finished with sanctification. We don’t arrive at our destination until we embrace Christ in heaven.

What makes the process of killing sin so frustrating is that we want to be finished with sin once and for all. We consider success to be when sin and temptation are no longer present. But as long as we abide on earth, we will face temptation, probably on a daily basis. The apostle Paul felt this same struggle with sin:

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Rom. 7:15-18).

In some cases, victory over sin will mean never falling prey to it again, but the temptation may continue to remain. Other sins may take longer, and we may find ourselves having to repent over and over again.

Consider forgiveness. Though we have forgiven a person, we may need to forgive them repeatedly as bitterness grapples for our attention. But repentance, hatred of our sins, and desires for righteousness are actually victories, not failures. As John wrote, 

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10).

As much as we hate sin, it would be deceitful to say it is absent from us. But as we repent, we can trust that God is faithful to forgive us every time. He will not give up his efforts to make us holy.

ENTRUSTING OUR SANCTIFICATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

who does John say is faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness? God. Paul says this even more clearly in his letter to the Philippians: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13, emphasis mine).

We can’t will ourselves to be holy. We can’t force sanctification. Rather, our repentance and obedience are the fruit of the Spirit’s work in us.

“We need the Spirit every moment of the day to be at work in our hearts to make us more like Christ.

In salvation, we couldn’t make ourselves good enough before God. We couldn’t open our eyes to behold and believe the gospel. We needed the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts and produce saving faith. In the same way, we need the Spirit every moment of the day to be at work in our hearts to make us more like Christ.

As John Fonville said, “Do you know how many people believe that sanctification is their work? ‘God gets you in by grace, but you keep and complete yourself by your work or your cooperation with grace.’ That’s not the gospel, and that’s not how it works. Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace.”[i]

OUR ROLE IN SANCTIFICATION

The Holy Spirit is the one who sanctifies us, but this doesn’t mean we do nothing. The Holy Spirit works through means of grace such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and hearing the Word of God preached. He applies Scripture to our hearts as we read and meditate on it. God provides fellow believers to encourage and correct us as we fellowship with them. God works in our hearts as we pray to align our will with his. 

“We don’t need to toss out our plans for defeating sin, but we shouldn’t expect them to produce holiness in us, either.

Michael Horton has said that it’s good to protect our hearts from temptation. Setting up safeguards is not a lack of trust in God’s work, but an act of wisdom! If we’re fighting the temptation to watch pornography, we can set up computer programs to kill our access. If we struggle with anger, we can step away from a frustrating situation to calm down. If we are addicted to social media, we can delete the apps.

Though these steps in and of themselves don’t sanctify us, they are helpful. As Solomon wrote, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life,” (Prov. 4:23). 

We don’t need to toss out our plans for defeating sin, but we shouldn’t expect them to produce holiness in us, either. So, if you can’t produce sanctification in yourself, what can you do?

BELIEVE HIS PROMISES

Trust God. Look to him in your battles. Rely wholly on his strength. Don’t be discouraged if it’s a slow process. Your Father knows your frame, that you are only dust (Ps. 103:14). He knows your weaknesses, and he is not disappointed in you. He loves you, and he promises to carry your sanctification through to completion (Phil. 1:6). 

[i] Fonville, John. “The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, Part 2.” Paramount Church (sermon), September 8, 2019. https://www.paramountchurch.com/sermons/sermon/2019-09-08/the-gospel-mystery-of-sanctification-part-2.

Lara d’Entremont is a wife, mother, and writer. She seeks to stir women to love God with their minds and hearts by equipping them with practical theology for their day-to-day lives. You can find more of her writing at laradentremont.com.

Posted at: https://gcdiscipleship.com/article-feed/2019/10/26/when-your-plan-for-killing-sin-isnt-working

A Beautiful Scandal

ARTICLE BY WILLIAM BOEKESTEIN

There is a lot to like about the story of John Newton. And Simonetta Carr and Amal tell and illustrate it beautifully (Reformation Heritage Books, 2018). Newton first told the story himself in an 18th century best-seller. A young man with a dead mother and hard-to-please father pursues riches and adventure at sea. After several brushes with death Newton--who married the love of his life--left the sea to pursue poetry and preaching. Along the way he adopted needy relatives, and hosted struggling writers; he even befriended a few domesticated hares. Just months before his death he received news that warmed his soul: the British slave trade, against which he had fought for decades, had been abolished.

But another fact about Newton nearly ruins the story. He himself had been a slave trader. As both captain of a slave ship and later as an investor in the same, Newton profited from the sale of human beings. He willingly participated in the inexcusable degradation of precious lives of people created in the image of God. He is responsible for the misery and death of unknown scores of beautiful people.

Newton, the slave-trader who died as a well-respected minister in the Church of England, is the perfect picture of the kind of person we naturally hate.

The obvious questions flood our minds. How could such a vile person regain the dignity he lost in a dirty trade with the devil? Is it possible that the God who grieved over the death of Newton's victims could ever smile upon that lost, blind, guilty wretch? Could anyone like Newton be spared the eternal consequence of damnation for his sins? How could such a man get a second chance at life? And why should any of us care about his sin-ravaged story?

John Newton had racked up more moral debt than he could ever repay. His only hope was for God's Son to own Newton's sins and give him a righteousness that satisfied divine justice. Newton heard this message of hope in the gospel, the Bible's plainest theme. And by a heaven-sent faith he believed it and received new life in God.

Newton summarized his paradoxical life in his famous hymn. "Amazing grace!--how sweet the sound--that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see."

Newton's story is a beautiful scandal. Like Paul, he increasingly woke to the nightmare of his sin personified by the beautiful black faces of his victims. But God's grace had introduced a new reality: undeserved pardon. The man who should have died a thousand deaths for his sin died at peace in the hope of new life because of the single death of the Savior Jesus.

That story isn't just good news for Newton. It is the only relief for the rest of us whose sins are not as unlike Newton's as we would have others believe.

Read Simonetta Carr's John Newton. Weep over his sins and yours. And with Newton sing with the hope that God's word secures:

And when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess within the veil a life of joy and peace.

William Boekestein Pastors Immanuel Fellowship Church in Kalamazoo, MI. His latest book is A Colorful Past: A Coloring Book of Church History.

Posted at: http://www.reformation21.org/featured/a-beautiful-scandal.php

How to Fight When You Fail

Article by David Sunday

I’m not writing for those who think they’ve got little sin problems. If you imagine you’re getting an A-, or at least a C+, in self-sanctification, you probably won’t resonate with what I’m saying.

I’m writing for the Christian who’s reading this a few hours after you’ve fallen sexually. I’m thinking of the deacon who has just exploded in anger at his children. Or the campus ministry leader who went to college with every intention of following Jesus, but is now waking up with a hangover and can’t remember what she did the night before. I’m writing for the pastor who told a lie in last night’s elder meeting. Or the Bible study leader who became Peter-the-Denier when her upper-class neighbor asked her if she really thinks that everyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ will go to hell.

For all who are weary of struggling with sin, I want you to be able to face your most disappointing failures without drowning in despair.

Gutsy Guilt

Let me tell you about gutsy guilt. John Piper first introduced me to this idea — and his teaching on this has sustained and strengthened me for over a quarter of a century of being “tempted, tried, and sometimes failing.” Piper found an example of “gutsy guilt, bold brokenness, confident contrition, rugged remorse” in the words of the prophet Micah, who teaches us how to fight when we have fallen.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
     I will wait for the God of my salvation;
     my God will hear me.
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
     when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
     the Lord will be a light to me.
I will bear the indignation of the Lord
     because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
     and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
     I shall look upon his vindication.
Then my enemy will see,
     and shame will cover her who said to me,
     “Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will look upon her;
     now she will be trampled down
     like the mire of the streets. (Micah 7:7–10)

Do Not Delay

It seems counterintuitive to sin and then immediately to fall on your knees and say, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” We harbor in our hearts the false belief that, somehow, we have to pay for our sins — just a little.

But repentance isn’t groveling. You repent when you agree with God that your sin is wicked and flee to the only one who can do helpless sinners any good. So, what if after you’ve sinned you didn’t grovel for a week, but instead ran immediately to the Savior who “came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15)?

Micah shows us that even at our very worst, there remains a God in heaven who will not reject repentant sinners. “Look to him,” Micah says — “the sooner, the better!”

Satan loves to tempt you, trap you, and then taunt you with your guilt. He loves to watch you wallow in the mire of your misery. He wants you to embrace failure as your identity. Micah says, “Don’t listen to those lies. Call on the Lord. Do not delay. Fight when you fail.” And he shows us how in verses 8–10.

Talk Back to the Enemy

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
     when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
     the Lord will be a light to me. (Micah 7:8)

Here is a vivid and dramatic rebuttal to Satan’s prosecution — a complete reversal of his accusatory strategy. The heart of faith defies despair. Faith refuses to believe that our sin is the end of God’s story for our life.

The tempter is a cruel tyrant who wants to terrify you with the greatness of your sins. Learn to turn his own weapon back on himself, like Martin Luther did:

When you say I am a sinner, you give me armor and weapons against yourself, so that with your own sword I may cut your throat and tread you under my feet, for Christ died for sinners. As often as you object that I am a sinner, so often you remind me of the benefit of Christ my Redeemer on whose shoulders and not on mine lie all my sins. So when you say I’m a sinner, you do not terrify me, but comfort me immeasurably.

Submit to God’s Discipline

I will bear the indignation of the Lord
     because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my cause
     and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
     I shall look upon his vindication. (Micah 7:9)

Gutsy guilt doesn’t shrink from the real-life consequences of sin. The fiery wrath of God’s holy condemnation of our sin has been extinguished at the cross, but the fatherly anger of God’s displeasure at our sin is a sign of our adoption into his family. When God disciplines us, he treats us as his sons and daughters (Hebrews 12:7). His anger is bathed in love, aimed at restoration, and results in what is good for us.

God’s discipline is also temporary. Notice the hope-filled word until in Micah 7:9: “until he pleads my cause.” Here’s where Satan’s theology and the gospel collide. Satan says, “See how God is disciplining you? That’s proof he’s against you.” But the gospel says, “He will champion my cause and establish justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see his salvation.”

Yes, God is able to keep you from stumbling when you look to him for strength in the face of temptation. But when you do stumble, he is able to keep your stumbling from destroying you. He will “present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 24).

In the end, the enemy is going to witness the vindication of God’s blood-bought children. By grace, through faith, we will be righteous and shine like the sun in our Father’s kingdom (Matthew 13:43). And we will look upon the enemies of our soul, and see them trampled down like dirt and mud on the streets — it doesn’t get any lower than that. That’s Satan’s destiny (Micah 7:10).

Fuel for Our Fight

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
     and passing over transgression
     for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
     because he delights in steadfast love.
He will again have compassion on us;
     he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
     into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18–19)

When you fail, fall on him. He won’t resent your repeated returns to his throne of mercy. He’s not sighing or sulking when he sees you trembling at his feet. He delights to show mercy. As Richard Sibbes writes, “He is more ready . . . to forgive than you to sin; as there is a continual spring of wickedness in you, so there is a greater spring of mercy in God.”

Imagine being with Moses and the children of Israel on the far shore of the Red Sea. You’ve just watched Pharaoh and his army disappear into the depths of the sea, never to torment you again. Someday that’s what’s going to happen to your sin.

Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore,
Our sins they are many, his mercy is more. (“His Mercy Is More”)

Many a preacher has repeated this memorable saying — but when you’ve failed, it will do you great good to preach it to yourself: When God throws your sin into the sea of forgetfulness, he puts up a sign that says, “No fishing allowed.”

David Sunday is the senior pastor of New Covenant Bible Church in St. Charles, Illinois.

When Sin Looks Delicious

Tim Challies

Do you ever have those days where you just want to sin? Sin looks delicious while righteousness looks distasteful. Sin looks satisfying and holiness looks frustrating. You wake up in the morning with a desire to do what you know you should not desire to do. Your heart echoes with what God said to Cain: “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you.” And your desire is for it.

What do you do on a day like that?

Take the Blame

“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:13-15). Sin takes advantage of your sinful desires by promising satisfaction in the expression and fulfillment of those desires. Take the blame for wanting to sin. You want to sin because you are a sinner!

Look for Satan

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9). Satan knows you are prone to sin and knows you well enough to know your specific temptations to sin. In the days you are being tempted to sin, you may well be facing his attacks. When sin feels extrinsic, like it is coming from outside as much as inside, prepare yourself to resist the devil.

Talk to God

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. … praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:11, 18a). When tempted to sin, you are told to put on the whole armor of God—the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and so on. Each of these pieces of armor is donned and deployed through prayer. You resist sin and withstand temptation through humbling yourself in prayer and by crying out to God for his strength.

Talk to Someone Else

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). Tell your husband or wife, your colleague, your friend, your accountability partner. Confess your desire. Make it as simple as it really is: “I want to sin today. Sin looks desirable; holiness looks boring.” Ask for their prayer in the moment and ask them to talk to you later to ask if and how you withstood the temptation. Just as they can pray with you now to plead God’s help, they can pray with you later to rejoice in his deliverance.

Preach the Gospel

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Preach this great gospel truth to yourself. As a Christian, you have been purchased by Christ. You belong to him. You are his. You have been given everything you need to resist—the ability and the desire. You are a new creation and both can and should behave as such. Preach the gospel to yourself and remember whose you are.

Resist the Temptation

Resolve that you will not sin and then follow resolve with stubborn obedience.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). God promises that he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, but that he will always provide a way of escape. He will provide a way, but you still need to take advantage of that way. Talk to God, ask him to make the way clear, and ask that he will give you grace to take it. Often resisting temptation is as simple as this: Don’t sin! Resolve that you will not sin and then follow resolve with stubborn obedience.

Rely on Patterns of Godliness

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you … Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience … And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called…” (Colossians 3:5-15). The Christian life is a lifelong obedience of replacing ungodly patterns and habits with godly ones. We continually put off the old man and put on the new. When facing temptation you will be tempted to fall back into old tendencies and habits. Instead, reject the old patterns of ungodliness and rely upon and follow the patterns of godliness you have developed.

Give Thanks

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). If temptation is born out of sinful desire and false promises of satisfaction through what God forbids, the solution is to give thanks. Where temptation focuses on all you do not have, thanksgiving focuses on all you have graciously been given. When you are tempted to sin, thank God for his good gifts. When you have been delivered from the temptation to sin, give thanks for his enabling grace.

Posted at: https://www.challies.com/christian-living/when-sin-looks-delicious/?fbclid=IwAR0hAau-b3eElPQZfznJaQNBopkzgHFfYtqBj9TTM8MGAmdYju5cHUq71Ds