“In tempting us, Satan encourages us to doubt the integrity of God’s character and promises. If he can succeed in his attacks on our faith, we soon fail to live as Christians in other areas of life. When acute problems bother us, he particularly tries to cast doubt upon God’s love.” Derek Prime
Another way in which the dark lord attacks us is over our identity. When we sin we are tempted to misplace our identity. What he wants to do is change our identity from being “in Christ” to it being in what we do.
How does he tempt us?
He says…
Surely a believer wouldn’t be like this.
You seem to live many times like you’re not a Christian at all.
You need to take time and examine yourself.
Take a look at all your actions.
Don’t stop until you’ve turned over every stone.
Take a lingering look at all your broken desires.
Who do you even think you are? You keep sinning that same sin over and over.
You keep giving into that same temptation no matter how much you battle.
Look at how much of God’s Law you’ve broken.
Do you really think you’re going to be able to stand under His judgment?
Have you forgotten that He demands you to be holy?
You don’t have anything in your life to commend to Him.
Surely you need to go and do a lot more before you die.
God only lets righteous people in heaven and you sure aren’t righteous.
What do we do when we believe these lies?
We have an obsession over looking at what we’ve done.
We despair that we’re not good enough and have anxiety to perform well enough.
There is constant shame over failure and we have no peace and rest in our conscience.
With ourselves and towards others we will…
React defensively at conviction.
Avoid people who know our sin.
When reviewing our mistakes we clinch fists in frustration.
We never think we’ve confessed enough (“enough” is the shaming word that Satan uses).
We never think we’ve repented enough or well enough.
There is always something to criticize about self and we can never relax because we know we’re bound to screw up again.
Further symptoms can be…
We think any mistakes, errors, weaknesses are glaring and heinous sin.
Self-loathing thoughts; retreating inward rather than looking outward to Jesus; paranoia of others’ judgment and criticism; inability to concentrate on something or someone else.
Jesus seems distant, harsh, cruel, exacting.
In the end we can feel…
Exhaustion
Nightmares
Depression
Crying/sobbing
Running away spiritually
Cutting off others
Self-harm
Extreme fear that you’re bound for hell.
(An analogy for sports fans) Life can feel like a constant film session where we’re only scrutinized.
How do we battle?
Relevant Scripture:
Gal. 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Lk. 7:48 “Your sins are forgiven.”
Rom. 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
What to do:
Stop thinking about self; start thinking about Jesus. McCheyne: “For every one look at yourself, take ten looks at Jesus.”
Sometimes you must stop reading about how you can be better and start reading more about how Christ is sufficient. When we say “I should be better than this” we are misunderstanding total depravity and Christ’s sufficiency.
We must dive deep into the Gospels (especially Luke) and focus on how Jesus approaches sinners and forgives them.
Acknowledge the actual guilt and the guilty feelings of you “not being enough” & quickly run to Jesus. You won’t find rest explaining things away but you will find rest in Christ’s authoritative declaration of forgiveness and clothing of His righteousness. Luther: “Once I debate about what I have done and left undone, I am finished. But if I reply on the basis of the gospel, ‘The forgiveness of sins covers it all,’ then I have won.”
Have to have people who will take you into the depths and riches of Jesus. Choose them wisely.
Stop endlessly reviewing; limit self-examination; take God at His Word. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: “The very essence of the Christian faith is to say that He is good enough and I am in Him. As long as you go on thinking about yourself like that and saying, “I’m not good enough; Oh, I’m not good enough,” you are denying God – you are denying the gospel – you are denying the very essence of the faith and you will never be happy.”