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Have you ever encountered a sudden sinkhole swirling down to Satan's sewage?

Satan numbs our awareness and short-circuits our self-control. We know what we are doing and yet can’t believe that we are doing it. In the fog of weakness, we want to stop but haven’t the will to do so. We want to turn around but our feet won’t move. We want to run, and pitifully, we want to stay.

It’s the teenager in the backseat. It’s the alcoholic buying “just one.” It’s the boss touching his secretary’s hand. The husband walking into the porn shop. The mother losing her temper. The father beating his child. The gambler losing his money. The Christian losing control. And it’s Satan gaining a foothold.

Confusion. Guilt. Rationalization. Despair. It all hits. It hits hard. We numbly pick ourselves up and stagger back into our world. “O God, what have I done?” “Should I tell someone?” “I’ll never do it again.” “My God, can you forgive me?”

No one who is reading these words is free from the treachery of sudden sin. No one is immune to this trick of perdition. This demon of hell can scale the highest monastery wall, penetrate the deepest faith, and desecrate the purest home.

Some of you know exactly what I mean. You could write these words better than I, couldn’t you? Some of you, like me, have tumbled so often that the stench of Satan’s breath is far from a novelty. You’ve asked for God’s forgiveness so often that you worry that the well of mercy might run dry.

Want to sharpen your defenses a bit? Do you need help in reinforcing your weaponry? Have you tumbled down the manhole one too many times? Then consider these ideas:

First, recognize Satan.

“Our war is not with flesh and blood but with Satan himself”. (Ephesians 6:10)

Do like Jesus did when Satan met him in the wilderness. Call him by name. Rip off his mask. Denounce his disguise.

He appears in the most innocent of clothing, or as the Bible calls him, an angel of light.  He appears innocent and clean like a night out with the boys, a good book, a popular movie, a pretty neighbor. But don’t let him fool you! When the urge to sin rears its ugly head, look him squarely in the eye and call his bluff. “Get behind me, Satan!” “Not this time, you dog of hell! I’ve walked your stinking corridors before. Go back to the pit where you belong!” Whatever you do, don’t flirt with this fallen angel. He’ll thresh you like wheat. Just ask Peter.

Second, accept God’s forgiveness.
Romans chapter 7 is the Emancipation Proclamation for those of us who have a tendency to tumble. Look at verse 15:

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

Sound familiar?
Read on. Verses 18 and 19:

“For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing.”

Man, that fellow has been reading my journal!

Third, obey the Word of God.
When Jesus was tempted in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, He quoted specific verses that applied to specific temptations.

No one … is free from the treachery of sudden sin … This demon of hell can scale the highest monastery wall, penetrate the deepest faith, an desecrate the purest home.

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (v. 24).

Please, Paul, don’t stop there! Is there no oasis in this barrenness of guilt? There is.

Thank God and drink deeply as you read verse 25 and verse 1 of chapter 8:

“Thanks be to God . . . through Jesus Christ our Lord! … Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Amen

There it is. You read it right. Underline it if you wish. For those in Christ there is no condemnation. Absolutely none. Claim the promise. Memorize the words. Accept the cleansing. Throw out the guilt. Praise the Lord. And … watch out for Satan's sinkholes.

• For what else are you praising the Lord?

Rejoicing, On the Victory Side!

Beau

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