Chapter 6, The Enemy Within (Pt 2)

When tempted to sin, your flesh does so with a frontal assault on your mind with the weapon of lies.

The first lie it tells you is that sin really isn't that serious, that wicked, that dangerous, that deadly. By doing so, you forget what it took to rescue you from your sin (namely, the incarnation, humiliation and death of Jesus, the perfect Son of God).

The flesh is also getting you to forget, what Lundgaard calls, the design of grace, which is to make you holy (cf. Titus 2:11-12), as well as the remedy of grace, which is pardon from God and peace with God (64-5).

By forgetting that God's grace is given to make you holy the result is thinking you have the license to "sin so that grace may abound" (Rom 6:1). You take advantage of grace by sinning because you know you'll be forgiven.

This is a lie. It is another gospel that says "You can sin, even just this once, because God will forgive you, and the price for that sin has already been paid. Live it up. Do what you want."

I've especially seen this in reformed kids who think eternal security is a license to sin as much as they want because "once saved; always saved." The books of James and 1 John have a message for them.

This person does not see the utter horror of being deceived into thinking that God's forgiveness is not earth-shattering, but common, no big deal, something He has to do when I confess.

Be very careful if this describes you.

The more you see your sin against the perfectly holy and just God of the universe the more you should hate it, not placate your throbbing conscience that 'Every Christian sins; we will until we die, so it's not serious.'

Also, the more you contemplate the Cross, the less you should think this. If you keep your eyes on the Cross, letting that be the music always playing in the background of your mind, then you will "keep the rottenness of sin and the kindness of God in mind" (66).

A final way the flesh lies to you is with the lie that the things of the world are more fun, more fulfilling, and more pleasing than God (65).

What an awful lie this is!!! The All-Sufficient One, traded in for a cheap knock-off! This is not small thing.

In fact, the Bible says this is appalling, shocking and truly evil: Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer 2:12-13).