We know that we belong to God, but the whole world is under the power of the devil.” 1 John 5:19 (NLV)
Welcome back, my dear friends. For those of you who have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior at the close of my last lesson, welcome to your new family, my brothers and sisters.
You’ve now begun a wonderful new life in Christ. While accepting Jesus may have been an exciting moment for some of you, others may not have experienced that same emotion. Regardless of how you felt at that moment, let me assure you that if you believed in your heart that your prayer for salvation was genuine, you were saved. Accepting God’s gift by His Grace is that simple.
Look at the wonderful promise of 2 Corinthians 5:17:
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT)
For those of you who didn’t decide to accept Jesus for whatever reason and you’re telling yourself that you will do it later, let me just leave you with one thought before we move on. There is one undeniable fact of life that we all live with. We are only one heartbeat away from eternity. Now if you happen to know when your last beat will be, you have no problem waiting. For the rest of you who don’t know, listen to what your Lord God of the Universe has to say about salvation.
For God says, “Your cry came to me at a favorable time, when the doors of welcome were wide open. I helped you on a day when salvation was being offered.” Right now, God is ready to welcome you. Today he is ready to save you. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (TLB)
Today is the day for your Salvation, my friend. Don’t wait until the welcome doors have been closed tight to make your decision.
As I said at the close of my last lesson, we’ve taken a long journey to get to the main topic of the series. But I can now show you how Satan is using your inborn image of God and His Common Grace to lead you down the path which looks right to you but will surely end in death.
There is a way which looks right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12 (NLV)
Let’s now begin to put the two together and paint the very real picture of what Satan and his minions are doing with our sinful minds and lives to keep us from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the marvelous Saving Grace He offers each one of us.
Let’s start with the image of God we are all made from. I want to go straight to the heart of the matter, your moral conscience.
When Adam and Eve were created, they were made perfectly in God’s own image. This means that they possessed an everlasting spirit, like God has. They were designed to be like God, fellowship with God, reason like God, and enjoy God forever.
However, as soon as Adam and Eve sinned, the everlasting Spirit that was living inside of them left and was replaced by Satan’s evil spirit. Just imagine with me what might have happened after Adam and Eve fell into sin (Genesis 3:6-7) and the Spirit of God left them.
Let’s suppose “hypothetically” for a minute, that before the Holy Spirit departed Adam and Eve, He packed up all the Fruits of His Spirit along with His Spiritual gifts that were part of the perfect life God had created in them. But, instead of taking them with Him, He placed them inside a box, secured it with duct tape, and left it behind inside their (and ultimately our) hearts, which now becomes your moral conscience. That small voice inside of you that tells you right from wrong.
The box now sits there inside of your heart and cannot be opened until the day of your salvation when the Holy Spirit comes into your life and opens it. However, until that great day the box just sits there sending out pulses of desire to your heart for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control — just some of the things the Holy Spirit left behind in His box that now sits in your heart.
But these desires from your heart must first go through your sinful nature. The results after going through your sinful nature are no love, no peace, no patience, no kindness, no goodness, no faithfulness, no gentleness and no self-control. Sound familiar to anyone?
My friend, because of the sin state we live in, the desires of our heart that the Holy Spirit left behind have been marred or tainted just like your mental, moral and social interactions I spoke about in my last lesson.
I know that we all want to be loved, don’t we? But the love our heart is desiring can only be satisfied by Jesus Christ. So, instead we try to satisfy these desires on your own. But where do you look?
Oh, how we all wish we could have some peace in our life rather than the turmoil inside that makes us lose our patience and temper (self-control). But the peace your heart is desiring can only be satisfied by Jesus Christ. So, instead you try to satisfy these desires on your own. But where do you look?
Each morning we wake up promising ourselves that today is going to be different, we are going to be a kinder and gentler person to all we meet. But the kindness and gentleness your heart is desiring can only be satisfied by Jesus Christ.
So, off we go out into the world and it doesn’t take long until you run into all the ignorant idiots (forgive me) that we live and work with, and you end up breaking your promise. So, instead you try to satisfy these desires on your own. But where do you look?
We are made in the image of God. So, the true desires of your heart are God given. They come from Him and not yourself or Satan. So, until you’ve settled things with God through His Son Jesus Christ, you will never be able to access those God given strong desires your moral conscience is sending you.
The mind that thinks only of ways to please the sinful old self is fighting against God. It is not able to obey God’s Laws. It never can. Romans 8:7 (NLV)
So, without God we try to satisfy our desires on our own. But where do we look?
Let me introduce you to the Deceptive Kingdom of Satan and his minions, which we refer to as the World we live in.
Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT)
Just like the man-made religions created by Satan that are designed to play to your pride and selfishness (the two main characteristics that got Satan thrown out of Heaven). Satan has designed a world filled with every possible tempting pleasure that your prideful and selfish marred and tainted heart desires.
The two personal traits that got Satan thrown out of Heaven — pride and selfishness — are the same two traits that are now part of each of our own DNA. These two traits, although there are more, are all Satan needs to completely confuse and blind you to the glorious Good News of Jesus Christ.
The fruits of the Spirit left behind by the Holy Spirit have been tainted and replaced by Satan’s fruits of sin which include pride, selfishness, sexual immorality, lustful pleasures, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, rebellion, hostility, and idolatry to name a few.
Let’s dig a little deeper and review some of the things that make up your Old Nature controlled by Satan.
“But when you follow your own wrong inclinations, your lives will produce these evil results: impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, spiritism (that is, encouraging the activity of demons), hatred and fighting, jealousy and anger, constant effort to get the best for yourself, complaints and criticisms, the feeling that everyone else is wrong except those in your own little group—and there will be wrong doctrine, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild parties, and all that sort of thing.” Galatians 5:19-21 (TLB)
In the chart below I’ve compared the God given desires of your heart to the corresponding Satanic given desires of your heart. What you desire from God and what you get in turn from Satan will never be the same.
For example, if you desire God’s true love, your marred heart translates that over into Satan’s desires of your heart, and you end up thinking that true love means lustful pleasures and sexual immorality. Peace translates into hatred and fighting, and so on.
| God\’s Desires of Your Heart | Satan\’s Desires of Your Heart |
| Love | Sexual immorality, lustful pleasures and homosexuality |
| Peace | War, hatred, fighting and worry |
| Patience | Outbursts of anger, swearing, hot temper, fear |
| Kindness | Quarreling, jealousy, selfishness, envy, cruelty and thoughtlessness |
| Goodness | Idolatry, cheating, lying, impure thoughts, corruption and dishonesty |
| Faithful | Rebellion, hostility, gossiping, treachery and disregard |
| Gentleness | Complaints and criticisms, harsh words, hatefulness, violent and cruel actions |
| Humble | Pride, selfish ambition, rudeness, boastfulness and “it’s all about me” mentality. |
| Joy | Drunkenness, wild parties, drugs, gambling, owning everything my heart desires, depression and sadness |
These have now become the desires of your tainted sinful heart. Listen to the words of the prophet Jeremiah.
The heart is the most deceitful thing there is and desperately wicked. No one can really know how bad it is! Jeremiah 17:9 (TLB)
So, we set our sights on what we perceive the desires of our heart are.
- I want my own way,
- I want everything for myself,
- I want to appear important,
- I want to buy everything that appeals to me, and
- I want the pride that comes from wealth and importance.
Certainly, this is what our heart is aching for, right? Isn’t that how the world defines joy and happiness? Where do these self-centered thoughts come from? It’s quite simple; they come from your father of sin and the one that rules over our lives here on earth. The one that drives the sinful desires of our marred and tainted heart. Let’s take a quick look at where the “I” syndrome we all possess started.
We find the fall of Satan in the book of Isaiah. Notice how many “I will” statements exist in these two verses
For you have said in your heart:
- I will ascend into heaven,
- I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
- I will also sit on the mount of the congregation. On the farthest sides of the north;
- I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
- I will be like the Most High. Isaiah 14:13-14 (NKJV)
How does the old saying go? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Listen to the words of Jesus
The devil is your father. You are from him. You want to do the sinful things your father, the devil, wants you to do. He has been a killer from the beginning. The devil has nothing to do with the truth. There is no truth in him. It is expected of the devil to lie, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 (NLV)
On your own, you will never be able to fulfill the true desires of your heart, which are God centered. Instead you follow the desires placed there by your father, the devil. But through our ignorance, we keep on searching, hoping to find true happiness in this lost world run by Satan, don’t we?
Christopher Marlowe a 16th century English playwright presents an interesting view on the source of sin in his writing of The Jew of Malta.
“There is no sin but ignorance.” Ignorance is the breeding ground of error. And error is the source of sin. In biblical Hebrew, the generic word for sin is het. It means to err, to miss the mark. It does not mean to do evil. Though het, error, is not evil, it may bring evil in its wake.
Through our tainted free will decision making process, the possibility for evil, often unintentionally exists. Few people act knowingly with evil design. Most often a mistaken perception of what will result in the greatest pleasure provides the motivation behind the error that leads to evil and the tragedy that so frequently accompanies evil “Sin.”
Paul tells us in the book of Romans, chapter 3, verse 23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We’ve all fallen short or missed the mark when it comes to the glory of God. In fact, without Jesus, we miss the mark altogether when it comes to God.
If ignorance is the breeding ground of error, and error is the source of sin, it makes common sense that one of the prime areas of attack used by Satan against you and me is our ignorance. Our ignorance of who and what our Lord Jesus truly means to us.
Satan uses the false religions that he’s established around the world to keep us ignorant and confused. Our pulpits around the world are filled by Satan’s followers who preach a different Gospel than the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul concerning the establishment of Satan’s false religions.
I am amazed that you are turning away so soon from God who, in his love and mercy, invited you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ; you are already following a different “way to heaven,” which really doesn’t go to heaven at all. For there is no other way than the one we showed you; you are being fooled by those who twist and change the truth concerning Christ.
Let God’s curses fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other way to be saved than the one we told you about; yes, if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed. I will say it again: if anyone preaches any other gospel than the one you welcomed, let God’s curse fall upon him. Galatians 1:6-9 (TLB)
There is a way which looks right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12 (NLV)
These false churches and cults teach us that through our own works and efforts we can get to Heaven. You can earn your way and be very proud of yourself when you stand before your Lord and He reviews your life’s documents that shows how religious, caring and generous a person you’ve been. Then to your surprise be told by Jesus on the final judgement day, that you’ve errored, you missed the mark, He will say, “I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.”
Listen to the words of Jesus;
“Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’ Matthew 7:22-23 (MSG)
If ignorance is the breeding ground of error and error is the source of sin, can you begin to understand without Jesus in your heart and life, Satan is playing you for a fool and laughing his demonic head off?
Satan has provided every marred and tainted desire of your heart. He does this to remove the thought of God from your mind. He plants the notion inside of you that you don’t need anyone else except you. You are the master of your own ship. You can do all things through your own strength, intelligence and self-driven desires and ambitions. What can God do for me that “I” can’t do myself?
He’s corrupted your thought process, played on your ignorance, your pride, and your selfishness, and blinded you to the truth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He’s provided you with the false religions to support your blinded ignorance and centered you on the misguided thought process that good works will get you to heaven. He’s filled the world with every evil tempting desire your blind, ignorant, tainted and marred heart can want. Can you understand the disastrous dilemma that faces you, me and all of humanity?
You went along with the crowd and were just like all the others, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air, who is at work right now in the hearts of those who are against the Lord. Ephesians 2:2 (TLB)
Satan’s desire is for you to think only of yourself. He tells you that you don’t need God telling you what to do because you are the center of your universe and you and only you can achieve all things. “If it’s meant to be it’s up to me” should be your only thought process according to Satan.
This is the same lying process Satan used with Adam and Eve, and he hasn’t changed his approach since then and doesn’t need to. Read and learn.
The serpent was the craftiest of all the creatures the Lord God had made. So the serpent came to the woman. “Really?” he asked. “None of the fruit in the garden? God says you mustn’t eat any of it?” Of course we may eat it,” the woman told him. “It’s only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not to eat. God says we mustn’t eat it or even touch it, or we will die. “That’s a lie!” the serpent hissed. “You’ll not die! God knows very well that the instant you eat it you will become like him, for your eyes will be opened—you will be able to distinguish good from evil!” The woman was convinced. How lovely and fresh looking it was! And it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit and gave some to her husband, and he ate it too. And as they ate it, suddenly they became aware of their nakedness, and were embarrassed. Genesis 3:1-7 (TLB)
Satan only needs to drive a wedge of doubt into your mind concerning God’s loving intent for you and me. He then steps back and lets our ignorant, prideful and selfish mind work. He watches with great joy as it leads us to error, miss the mark, and more times than not, fall straight into sin.
My friends, let me close with a final warning. If this is your mind set, one of pride and self-centeredness, and for this reason you didn’t accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior in my last lesson, then all I can say to you is that Satan has won. You have bought into his lie and unless you turn your thoughts and life to Jesus, my only recommendation to you, my friend, is to stop wasting your time reading my posts and enjoy your journey to hell with gusto. Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you will die.
You were made by God and for God and until you understand that, life will never make sense.
Next month, I will look at how Satan is using the Common Grace of God to continue his attacks of deception. Until next month, my friends, may His mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
The Anatomy of Sin
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