Grace, Hope & Peace, Friend;
“The devil made me do it.” Is there some truth to that statement? Or are trying to excuse our sin – to pass the blame? We see this, in the Garden of Eden; Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. But the fact is, both of them CHOSE to disobey God. While Satan encouraged them to sin, he could not force them.
Ananias and Sapphira, (Acts 5:1-10) sold a piece of property and gave PART of it to the apostles, implying that was all of it.
Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.”
Acts 5:3-4
I think, because others were giving so much to the Lord’s work, (Acts 4:32-35) they wanted to give the impression they were too. Pride/ego often tempts us to sin too. We want to appear better than we are, and Satan uses that to entice us.
Jesus said, “Sin comes from the heart.” (Matthew 15:19) Satan doesn’t make us sin, but he does take advantage of our basest inclinations. We see Paul struggling with this in Romans 7;
I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate.
Romans 7:15
The struggle is between our flesh and our spirit – the old nature and the new nature – and Paul asks, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24) The answer? “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Vs. 25)
How does Jesus help us overcome the evil that is in our hearts?
When Peter tried to tell Jesus that His plan to die on the cross for the sins of the world was a bad idea, Jesus rebuked him and said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:22-24)
Paul put it this way, “Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” And “Don’t give your desires opportunity to control you.” (Romans 6:11-13) That includes fear, worry, lack of faith, etc. just as much as it obviously includes, pride, greed, lust, etc.
We can’t stop ourselves from having urges any more than we can mentally stop ourselves being hungry; But we can “Extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” using the spiritual armor God provides. (Ephesians 6:10-17)
Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
Romans 8:1-2
El Cherut – God of Freedom – Thank You for providing the armor to defeat Satan’s persuasion. Help me use it faithfully.
Our souls have escaped like a bird from the trapper s snare; The snare is broken and we have escaped.
Psalm 124:7
Set free,
Words of Encouragement 