Satan Tempts Us To Forget Our Identity In Christ
Precious remedies against Satan's devices
The dark lord speaks: “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. Take a constant 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 fine 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..”
This results in: Obsession over looking at what you’ve done; despair that you’re not good enough; anxiety to perform; shame over failure; no peace and rest in your conscience.
It affects our ourselves and others: React defensively at conviction, avoiding people who know our sin, when reviewing mistakes you clinch fists in frustration, never think you’ve confessed enough, never think you’ve repented enough or well enough, always something to criticize about self, can never relax because we’re bound to screw up.
Other symptoms (not all of these nor limited to these): Mistakes, errors, weaknesses become glaring and horrible 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. Exhaustion, nightmares, depression, crying/sobbing, running away, cutting off others, self-harm, extreme fear that you’re bound for hell. Jesus’ grace, righteousness, forgiveness, promises, and love doesn’t come to your mind.
How to battle: 1) Acknowledge the guilty feelings of you “not being enough” & quickly run to Jesus. 2) Stop thinking about self; start thinking about Jesus. 3) You have to have people who will take you into the depths and riches of Jesus. 4) Don’t review; limit self-examination; take God at His Word. 5) Tell yourself the full story of the gospel of grace.
What to dwell on: Christ is truly sufficient. You cannot let anything or anyone downplay this. The moment that Christ is not sufficient is the moment your soul will look for countless ways to add to Him or subtract from Him. Dear troubled soul, you must leave all burdens and cling to Christ. No matter what “what ifs” might be troubling you, you biggest duty and most pressing act of obedience is to believe that Christ is enough. Repentance only happens as a fruit of resting in Christ rather than trying to do something to earn or keep Christ. Christ is not only sufficient for conversion but also for all change. He empowers your repentance by His grace. He doesn’t not impose sinful fear upon you. He doesn’t not compel you to repent by threatening you with: “Do this or else!” Rather, He assures you that His grace is enough. Even when He convicts you it is for the purpose of driving you to Him. He establishes the freedom that the Cross and Resurrection accomplish. You must believe that this freedom is yours and it is unthreatened, infinite, and eternal. Christ’s good works on your behalf stand in your place. Your “works” (yes, they are pleasing to Him but never in a way that earns or secures your relationship with God) are only good because His atonement has cleansed them. Your works flow from His grace rather than preceding His grace. Therefore, you cannot embrace the mindset that says: “Do this and live.” That only leads to hiding. He grows our hatred for the sin and gives us godly shame that leads us to Him. The wrong type of shame is what leads us to hide from Him. You cannot sit there and say “woe is me” only. You must look at Him who took all your “woes”. You must be like Isaiah when He stopped crying out “woe is me!” whenever the angel took the coal from the altar and applied it to his lips (Isaiah 6). It is only when you stop crying out “woe is me” and you trust that someone else completely took the “woe” in your place that you can then live a new life. If the dark lord wants you to forsake your identity in Christ then you must double down on your identity in Christ and that means you must double down on Him being infinitely sufficient for you. You cannot only think of “Who am I?” but you must also think “Whose am I?” You must remember that because of union with Christ your sins belong to Christ more than they belong to you. His righteousness is now yours. Don’t lose this ground! Put on the armor of God and stand firm!
Helpful quotes:
- 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.”
- Martin 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.”
- Luther: “Therefore, if you see a brother cast down and afflicted by occasion of sin which he has committed, run to him and, reaching out your hand, raise him up again, comfort him with sweet words, and embrace him with motherly arms. A brother ought to comfort his fallen brother with a loving and meek spirit. For God would not have those that are bruised to be cast away.”