In essence, we are no different than the men and women of all the preceding centuries, clear back to the Garden of Eden. Just as the serpent tempted Eve with the assurance that "You shall not surely die, For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity" Genesis 3:4-5. He lied. Man fell. We hear the story, we grasp the concept with our reasoning minds, and yet we still fall for the same old tricks. There is a very simple reason for this... and it all goes back to that original lie. "You will be like God." The devil offered man an alternative... that was attractive and reasonable... and man will take the easy road every time. The enemy offers us all the temptations this world holds. Wealth, power, prestige, wisdom, recognition, fame, gratification, whatever it is that our heart desires, and all we have to do to get this hearts desire is deny God and embrace the world, here and now. This technique still holds enormous appeal to each new generation, and is remarkably effective. You've heard the expression, 'sell your soul to the devil,'... well, in essence it happens all the time. The devil does not tell us that we will suffer eternal torment for listening to him. His whole desire is to deceive and destroy God's creation, and he is a master at the craft of deception.
Men and women still fall for the same line... "God did not really say ...or He didn't really mean..." that precipitated man's original fall. We should learn that we will never come out ahead when we attempt to second-guess God. Take note also, that the enemy of our soul has the audacity to use God's own creation to accomplish his insidious goals.
John summed up the temptations the enemy uses in 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one's own resources or in the stability of earthly things]--these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself]." This world will pass away. We can take none of the things that we cherish and hold dear with us when we pass over into eternity. Those things which we long for, thinking they will make us happy, are hollow illusions, compared to knowing God. Yet most people will pick the illusion over reality every time.
We are living in days that are very comparable to the days of Jeremiah...
"Your habitation is in the midst of deceit [oppression upon oppression and deceit upon deceit]; through deceit they refuse to know and understand Me, says the Lord." Jeremiah 9:6. Men and women are just as adept at refusing to "know and understand the Lord" today, as any of our forefathers were. The depravity of man is becoming increasingly obvious in all arenas of life, from the highest seats of world power, to the outright attack on the family unit. Corruption, greed and exploitation are rampant throughout the world's societies. There is blatant, outright rebellion against God's ways.
The devil is so successful... because everything he employs with which to divert and tempt us to resist God, are things that hold great appeal to our flesh. Things that we 'naturally' desire, things that have the appearance of being 'good' according to our carnal way of thinking. He appeals to our weaknesses and exploits the areas where we are vulnerable. We then fall into the trap of justifying our swerving allegiance, because it seems so 'right,' so 'justifiable.'
God's way is far less desirable to our flesh... as a matter of fact, it holds no appeal whatsoever.
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" John 16:33.
"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you" 1 Peter 5:10.
"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also" Matthew 5:39.
Is it any wonder that the lines to 'follow Christ" are hard to even find? Tribulation? Suffering? loss of all things?... what is there that our flesh could possibly desire in these things?
Paul knew very well what it cost to follow Christ... "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" Philippians 3:8-10.
Truth be told, most of us are quite comfortable with our own self-righteousness. Our flesh is quite satisfied in fostering its own version of 'goodness.' When God has plainly stated... "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" Isaiah 55:9... He spoke truly. Carnal man will never be able to grasp spiritual realities. God has established requirements which we must comply with if we would 'know HIM'... and His requirements cannot be circumvented, though men constantly try to find a way around them. "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]" Hebrews 11:6. To lay hold of Christ, as Paul was speaking of, requires meeting all of God's requirements. Our own (self)-righteousness is nothing more than filthy rags. We must believe every word that Jesus spoke, and have faith in Christ and His righteousness alone.
"Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]" Romans 12:2. We can rest assured that if we will submit (stop resisting) the operations of the Holy Spirit within our hearts, we will discover a transformation taking place within our hearts. Our thoughts, our attitudes, our desires all will become new, so that we can actually know "what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you."
Read for yourselves the powerful message Stephen spoke under the unction of the Holy Spirit... right before they stoned him to death. "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye" Acts 7:51. He spoke the truth, and it was more than they could bear to hear. We are going to see the same kind of confrontations in our lives. Why, because... "They will be treacherous, betrayers, rash, and inflated with self-conceit. They will be lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God" 2 Timothy 3:4.
Are we solidly standing on the immoveable, unshakeable, "Rock of Ages?" or are our feet upon the shifting sands of compromise... trying to appease men?
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" 1 John 2:15. Ouch!! That's about as plain as it can get. "Submit yourselves therefore to God" is the first requirement. As long as we are holding to any kind of pride, especially religious pride, we can never hope to fulfill this requirement. And if we are not submitted to God, we will never be able to fulfill the second requirement, that of resisting the devil.
The enemy of our souls tempts us with all manner of things that are irresistible to our flesh, and do we resist? Not on your life. We greedily snatch at them and tenaciously clutch them to our bosoms, ready to fight anyone who would try to steal them away from us. We are not talking here about the myriad of blatant 'sins' that man has determined 'Christians' can not partake of or participate in. No, these temptations fall through the cracks. They are acceptable in the eyes of men... not even considered bad, let alone 'sinful.' Yet according to the Word of God, they are abominations in God's eyes. They have more to do with our attitudes, our inner most thoughts, how we perceive ourselves and others.
"You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God" James 4:4. How much plainer can it be put? Yet today we are inundated with religious leaders who would sell us another gospel, another way... a way where we can have all the things are hearts desire in this world, avoid all suffering and still... make heaven our home (?). Who are you willing to believe? God or the men and women who are lifting up their names and building their religious empires at the expense of the sheep they are supposed to be looking out for? Feeding themselves instead of feeding the sheep? If we have the full approval of men, then we are not walking in the footsteps of Christ. Accumulating endorsements may impress some people, but it certainly will not help us when God we are called upon to give an account of what we have done with what He has given us. The prophet Isaiah spoke concerning the state we are in... "As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O My people, your leaders cause you to err, and they confuse (destroy and swallow up) the course of your paths." Isaiah 3:12. In more modern vernacular, this verse could read...'infants tyranize you, and adulteresses have dominion over you.' Sadly, this is fulfilled in our generation. Leaders with divided loyalties are front and foremost. They hide behind their good works, chiding "touch not God's anointed" and "judge not, lest ye be judged," all the while living lives that declare... "do as I say, not as I do." Such conduct is evident to the world. It taints and sullies the testimony of every one called "Christian."
Humility is a scarce commodity these days. We call ourselves followers of Christ, yet we show few if any of the attributes of a genuine believer. Our Lord had quite a lot to say regarding walking in pride...
"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" James 4:6.
"Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble" 1 Peter 5:5.
The reverent fear and worshipful awe of the Lord [includes] the hatred of evil; pride, arrogance, the evil way, and perverted and twisted speech I hate" Proverbs 8:13.
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the meek and poor than to divide the spoil with the proud" Proverbs 16:18-19.
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" Isaiah 57:15.
There is no place for pride in a child of God. Yet today we are seeing an alarming number of big name leaders displaying gross pride and arrogance as part of how they conduct themselves, and no one even questions it... it's just the normal "order of business." That alone should be enough to shake some of us out of our complacency. We are living the last days right now, my friends. We are not called to pick on the faults of others; however, we are called to live holy lives unto the Lord. We are called to separate ourselves from the 'unclean thing.' We are called to reverentially walk in this world, as unto the Lord. God alone is the Judge and jury. He has made a way for us to overcome every temptation in the devil's arsenal. It is up to us to believe and obey.
How do we resist God? We resist God every time we walk in unbelief. Every time we look to men for help and answers rather than looking to God. Every time we trust in our own strength and abilities. Every time we ignore that still small voice and give in to the demands of others, doing that thing that we know we should not do. We should know the difference between conviction and condemnation. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" Romans 8:1. Men will heap condemnation on your head... only the Holy Spirit can administer conviction. Condemnation is blame without hope. Conviction is being convinced of error and offered a better way. We know when something is wrong for us... be it an act or an attitude. We are commanded, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:5.
The core of the battle lies in our thought life... Since all we ultimately do emanates from there. Jesus said the greatest commandment is this, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets" Matthew 22:37-40.
If we are keeping these two commandments, we will have no trouble 'submitting to God and/or resisting the devil'... and in the right order.
