Spiritual Warfare: Combating the Unholy Trinity

"Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'" 

Gen. 3:1

"The tempter came to him and said, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.'" 

Matt. 4:3

In the past 24 hours I have read several unflattering stories concerning the community of faith and our cultural understanding of the spiritual life.  I have read of a Salvation Army leader who diverted and stole thousands of dollars of donated toys that he planned to sell for profit.  I have read that porn stars have a deeper spiritual life than the average woman (go figure).  I have also read about and seen a picture entitled "The Truth" that was recently presented in Boston of Barak Obama as the crucified Christ.

How do we get to a place where these strange snap shots of reality occur every 24 hours?  How do individuals, the world system, and the evil one work together to produce temptation and sin?

These are important questions because they bear on each of our individual lives as well as the life of our culture.

In today's blog, I wish to start an answer to these question.  Each case of full-blown sin is different, but they all spring from a similar source.  To help us understand this source, we will briefly look at the fall of humanity in Genesis 3 and Jesus' temptation in Matt. 4.

In both of these passages, Satan's first move is to call into question the character of God.  

"Did God really say...." "If you are the Son of God...."  

Both of these statements point to a flaw in God's character that Satan believes everyone should see.  Of course there is no flaw in God's character!  Nevertheless, Eve takes the bait and she begins the process of the fall.  Meanwhile, Jesus knew that He is the Son of God, so he does not have to prove anything.  He completely sidesteps the temptation by quoting and living the truth, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4)

Why did Eve fall?  What was her underlying sin?  I think ultimately the crack in her armor was that of lacking faith and trust in God.  

In discussing the consequences of the fall, John Calvin observes that many vestiges of the Image of God remain in us.  Thus, the fall does not mean that we are as evil as possible, because we still have the ability to express love.  Love remains a vestige of our created good.  Yet, he claims, and I agree with him, that the attribute of faith was completely lost in the fall.  

Eve lacks faith in God's character and the fall begins.  She begins to reason to herself and explain away what God has said.  Eventually, she does exactly the opposite of God's will and expressed command.  On the other hand, Jesus maintains His trust in God's character, and He resists the temptation to handle his hunger on his own.  He lives in faith and trust in God to provide.

Satan's primary temptation is to get us to trust ourselves and our strength instead of relying upon God.  When faced with a decision, if we do not look to God for answers through His word and wise counsel, we are falling right into Satan's primary temptation.

I believe one reason we do not see much outright demonization in America is that Satan's primary temptation matches perfectly with our vision of the World and the Flesh.  In other words, in the West Satan does not have to tempt or drive to fear from direct attack because believers and unbelievers are marked by self-effort, self-righteousness, and a lack of real day to day faith in the Living God.  

Everything about our culture tells us to "trust our hearts" and to "follow our own path."  The World works in perfect tandem with the temptations of Satan.  Our biggest problem is that this temptation also works perfectly with our fallen fleshly nature that loves this message!  We would like nothing more than to be the captain of our own ship and the master of our own soul.  On Satan's side, why risk exposure by being out in the open when the World and Flesh are already keeping believers and unbelievers unfruitful and lacking God's power that comes by faith?

So, how does this shed light on day's headlines?  Our greatest strengths can be used mightily to build the kingdom of God.  They can also be used mightily to keep us away from trusting God.  Who needs God when I can do it on my own?  We must be aware that our fallen human nature will always move us to trust in ourself, our efforts, and our flesh.  

For today's headlines we should ask, "Where is the living God in their thoughts, decisions, and actions?"  Do these actions promote self-effort, self-righteousness, self-promotion, and cultural achievement or do they reflect humble reliance upon God?

The direct opposite of self-effort and self-righteousness is faith and trust in God for our life, joy and righteousness.  Similar to the descend of sin, faith and trust is something that must be nurtured and built.  It is given by divine grace, but it does not come naturally to our fallen nature.  We must cultivate it!

The ascent of grace grows as we walk in repentance and faith.  As we confess our tendencies to trust in self, others, and created things for our life, joy and righteousness, we find release from bondage.  As we trust in Jesus for life, joy, and righteousness we experience authentic joy and life-transforming power. 

How about some practical steps to make the transition from the descent of sin into the ascent of grace?  

First, start by how you organize your day.  Take time to listen to God's Word and to meet with Him in prayer.  Ask Him for wisdom with the decisions you need to make.  At work and home begin to involve God in decisions that you usually just make out of habit or your strengths.  

Second, begin the process of walking by faith.  Be particularly vigilant when you feel fear.  Fear prompts us to make choices without faith.  We do not consult God or His Word.  We just react.  How can we have faith and fear at the same time?  (1 John 4:18)  Be aware that in our very spiritual world, Satan and his forces are lurking tempting us to work in our own strength without reference to God.  If you have lived in this manner, repent and believe the gospel!  

In the face of such sordid actions both locally and nationally, may we all be drawn to a deeper  faith and trust in the only True God!