Satan's scheme.

 Satan schemes against the Saints.

This article is for those walking in the light ( Eph 5:8 ) to the righteous ones made righteous by faith in Christ Jesus and walking in righteousness. ( 1 John 3:7 ).

What are Satan's tactics towards those who seek to walk a life that is pleasing in God's sight? ( Col 1:10 ) .

Is temptation Sin? NO.

Temptation is common to the sinner and the saint alike.  Often saints need to remind themselves that Temptation is not sin. 

Satan is the accuser of the brethren,  when he fails in trapping some in the carnal sins, he causes such to slow down by condemning them.

So the person who treads the highway of holiness thinks that he has sinned when he is tempted.

We need to remind ourselves that even Jesus was tempted since He came in the flesh like ours.

Temptation is not sin, but yielding to temptation is sin. A person desiring to walk in the Ways of the Lord can be attacked by Satan to make the person feel guilty and condemned even though he has not yielded to sin but the very sight of temptation makes him feel guilty. Blessed is the man, who does not blame himself, where God does not condemn him.( Rom 14:22 ).

A child of God can feel very guilty when he encounters unholy thoughts flying through his mind. And so he condemns himself.   Temptation is like crows flying far above your head, you cannot do anything them". - similarly, we must know that these sinful thoughts pass thru our minds, and for this, we must not feel condemned. One of the powerful verses to use against Satan at this time is ' I have the mind of Christ ………' ( 1 Cor 2:16 ). We must refuse to live under condemnation. ( Where God does not condemn us …… ( Rom 14: 22) . But we must resist and not allow the crows ( sinful thoughts ) to make a nest on our head. i.e. Don't meditate and enjoy the passing pleasures of sinful thoughts.

 

Unconscious Sin.

This is another area, where Satan accuses the brethren when the child of God sins unconsciously. 

Jesus never sinned even unconsciously, since he was not born of the earthly father, He was born without the "Old man", the old Adamic nature. But He was born of the flesh like you and me, that is why he was tempted. Paul lived victoriously in his conscious area. ( Phil 3:6 ). But nevertheless there were areas where there was unconscious sin (Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand, I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:25 ).

Therefore a lack of understanding of God's word can get a  Christian on a  guilt trip, where he condemns himself for unconscious sins. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself, in the things where God does not condemn. (ROM 14:22 8:1).

What if the child of God sins?

Can the disciple sin ( consciously )? Does this happen? Yes.

Is it God's will,  for a  disciple to continue to live a sinful life? God forbid (Rom 6:1).

It is certainly not God's will that a believer goes on living a sinful life. In fact, the writer of Hebrew speaks sternly about this kind of living (Heb 10:26)

Can a believer fall in sin? Yes. Remember David fell into adultery, Abraham lied, Moes went overboard with his anger, and Jonah disobeyed God. Did they continue in sin? No. Great Men of God in the Bible stumbled in different ways. Was it the end of their story? No. 

David repented and had to face the consequences of his sins. Jesus spoke about the prophetess who was indulging in sin and the consequences that would follow if she continued in her adulteress life( Rev 2:21-24 ). God is a  Good Father who disciplines His children ( Heb 12:10 ).

He is not a policeman who is waiting to use the rod every time we stumble.

Even when we are disciplined by our Heavenly Father we have to confess that God has not dealt with us according to our iniquity. ( Ps 103: 10).

We must never forget that it is by grace that we are saved. Not only from hell but also from our sins.