Ever since the beginning of time, humans have been recipients of distortion. Before the fall of humanity, all that God created was good and only good. After the fall, good was mixed with evil. Sex is good, but often distorted into lust. Relationships are good, but often distorted with strife. Resources are good, but often distorted by greed. We now are recipients of distortions. We desire the forbidden.

WHERE DOES DISTORTION COME FROM?

To find where this distortion came from we must look back to Genesis 3, the familiar story of Adam and Eve. God had given Adam and Eve the garden to cultivate, the world to fill, and Him to believe and glorify. All is well. All is peace. There is no anxiety, fear, shame, sin…no distortions. Then the serpent, Satan, a fallen angel slithers near to Eve, and the Bible says:

“the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” -Genesis 3:1

What is the serpent’s main argument here? It is that God is holding out on humans and if they would but take their lives into their own hands, they too “could be like God”. (V5) Isn’t this the lie we hear whispered into our own ears when temptation is looming over us? The arena of belief is where good things God has created are shaped into distortions.

ACTIONS ARE TIED TO BELIEFS

Sin looks enticing because, at the core, sinful action is always a symptom of sinful beliefs. There is not a sinful action you have committed that was acted upon outside of a held belief. Think of it as a stoplight. For my action (accelerating through the intersection) to take place, I must firmly believe that the other lights in the intersection are red, allowing my safe passage. My belief informs my action. If I had any doubt that the other lights were green, or that I could not make it through the intersection when it turned yellow, I’d stop. Action stems from belief.

The serpent was crafty, the Bible says, and he was trying to corrupt and distort Eve’s beliefs. Counteracting what God told her, Satan said: “God isn’t giving you reality, he’s lying and trying to rob you of pleasure.” God said, “here is the belief you should have.” Satan said, “that’s not true, here’s what you should believe.”

Verse 6 states- “when she saw the tree was good for food.” Eve had always seen the tree. But now, because of the distortion from Satan, she doubts God’s goodness. “Is God really for me? Does He know what is best?”. When she sees what she has always seen, she has new affections for the forbidden. Why? Because she has accepted new promises of Satan about what this tree will give. Action stems from belief.

How this plays out in our lives

We sin because we believe Satan’s promise that whatever sin is being held out in front of us is better than God. It is in believing these promises that an affection for the forbidden grows.

Turn your attention to sex. God gave parameters and boundaries for sex. His boundaries are that sex is to happen between a man and a woman who are in a marriage covenant relationship. In that context, sex is a beautiful thing. When we believe God’s promise, that in His design all things work better, for His glory and our pleasure, we are obediently trusting God’s promise. Trusting that God is for us. That He knows how best to use his gifts.

The distortion happens when we are tempted to doubt His promises and believe Satan’s lie. Sexual sin tempts you with whispers such as: “You are missing out… if you really want pleasure and happiness, seek your sexual satisfaction with no self-control and outside of God’s parameters.”

The moment we give into temptation is the moment we have chosen to believe the promises of Satan. Action stems from belief.

Who will we believe?

The real war of sin is actually a question. Satan offers as many promises to you as God does. Who will we believe? That was the war for Adam and Eve. So it is with us.

If you want to combat your sins, you must do work on the belief (internal) level, as well as the action(external) level. The problem is modern society would have you believe you just need to do the external work. Do you have a porn addiction? Then destroy your laptop. While doing the external work is needed, it is only one piece of the problem. Were not the Pharisee’s experts at external holiness? Dotting every moral i and crossing every lawful t? And yet, Jesus referred to them as whitewashed tombs. Pretty on the outside, dead on the inside.

This is the beautiful thing about Christianity. Our primary problem is not simply found outside of us (the crafty one). But inside of us! Why are we so prone to rebel against God’s authority over our lives (which is for our good) and go our own way? Because we are sinful. We are bent towards rebelling against God. This is why Christianity is not simply about changing behavior, but treasuring God!

Consider 1st Peter 2:

He (Jesus) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Jesus has come to do far more work in us than just alter our behaviors, He has come to change our hearts. So that not only our will, but our very affections and desires are changed. You cannot change your heart. He can. Go to Him.

We Combat false promises with true ones

When you find in yourself a desire for the forbidden, remember that Satan is crafty. He is desiring to destroy you. Discourage you. Draw you away from God. And that craftiness means he will spin webs of lies that trap you. Every whisper of temptation is attacking your trust in God. To the point that you believe God’s promises for you, you will not sin.

We fight false promises with true ones. We must load up our minds with the promises of God.

He is for my joy and that joy is found in Him. You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. Psalm 4:7

God is for me. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Romans 8:31

By being pure I have more capacity to know God. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

God is so kind, gracious, loving. He is trustworthy. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. Ephesians 2

God is trying to protect me with his law. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:5

When temptation rises, have promises from God you trust and can cling to.

pay attention

Pay attention next time you are tempted towards sin, notice the silky smooth promises from the crafty one. Remember your old sins. How many of them ever met the pleasure they promised? Or did they always, eventually, lead to sadness, death, brokenness, heartache, and distance between you and God?

Every promise from Satan in temptation is a candy coated vial of poison. It appears beautiful, but so does the cheese on a mouse-trap.

We live in a world of distortion. Satan tempts us to turn God’s good gifts into idols. Desire for the forbidden stems from wrong beliefs. Wrong promises.

Fight those promises with new promises. Fight the pleasure of sin with a superior pleasure in knowing God deeply and you will live. You cannot change your hearts bent, but He can. And once it is made new by Him, you can train it by trusting His beautiful promises in His word.

Fighting with you,

Josh.