Satan Tempts You After Sin, Too
“I’m stuck in a cycle of pornography and shame. The darkness is overwhelming.” I received an email with those words a few weeks ago. I began to think, what would I say to people who are in that darkness? What did God say to me in my own?
The Battleground
Temptation towards sin is only one battleground for Satan in the life of a Christian. The other place of temptation is after you have fallen. It is there that Satan continues to whisper into your heart all the things that will keep you in sin, away from God.
One of the enemies tactics is to make you think God has turned his back on you when you have fallen. “Why go back to Him? He hates you now… Stay here in sin…” the deceiver says. So, what are we to do when these lies permeate our minds, pinning us in the dark pit of despair?
We must remind ourselves, from the Bible, about how God views us when we are at our most sinful.
Relearning Gospel basics
No true Christian will abuse the Gospel to continue in sin, for holiness is a good thing to the Christian. But those with a tender conscience and a sensitive spirit need to be reminded of a basic Gospel Truth.
That Christ said: “I will Die for you” when you were at the lowest you could be. Consider Romans 5:8 - “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” While we were sinners, ungodly, rebellious, opposing Him, spitting in his face. When we were as bad as we have ever been, that is when God laid his eyes on us and said: “I want to die for them.”
Christ Still Loves You
I hear your objection. “How could He love me after what I’ve done?” But go back to the text. He died for you, to display his love, while you were still a sinner. If He placed his affections on you at your most rebellious state, surely now He will still love? You are not in a worse state than you were when He died for you.
Consider these quotes as you seek to see God’s heart for you even after you have sinned:
“When you sin, do a thorough job of repenting, Re-hate sin all over again. Consecrate yourself afresh to the Holy Spirit and his pure ways. But reject the devil’s whisper that God’s tender heart for you has grown a little colder, a little stiffer. He is not flustered by your sinfulness. His deepest disappointment is with your tepid thoughts of his heart. Christ died, placarding before you the love of God. “ - Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly
“As God did not at first choose you because you were high, he will not now forsake you because you are low.” - John Flavel, Keeping the heart: How to maintain your love for God
“You have often left him; has he ever left you? You have had many trials and troubles; has he ever deserted you? Has he ever turned away his heart, and shut up his bowels of compassion? No, children of God, it is your solemn duty to say “No” and bear witness to his faithfulness. - Charles Spurgeon, “A faithful Friend”
Cherishing the tender heart of God that draws me into more obedience, not less,
Josh.
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Helplessness is a bit like quick sand. The more you try, the deeper you sink. Helplessness is also like baptism. You’ve got to surrender to it to come out the other side.