The Devil Made Me Do It
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Introduction:
How many of you have ever heard people say, “The Devil Made Me Do It,” when they were referencing some sin they had committed. People often will blame Satan for their sins. Tonight, we are going to take a closer look at who really is behind all of those evil things we do and think about. You might be surprised that it is not who you think it is.
Read Text. Pray.
Discuss the omnipresence of God vs. Satan.
1. God is not the source of temptation (v.13)
1. God is not the source of temptation (v.13)
Consequently Satan is also not the main source of our temptation, though he does tempt
2. Temptation Comes from Our Sinful Desires (v.14-16)
2. Temptation Comes from Our Sinful Desires (v.14-16)
Picture of a stillborn birth - promise of life, but results in death
Life Cycle of Sin:
Sinful desires lure our hearts
We consider sinning against God in our hearts
We act on that desire and commit sin
Sin produces death
Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.
so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:21
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
5:
let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
3. How Can I Resist?
3. How Can I Resist?
Not all sin is generated from our internal desires. Some of our sin can be generated by temptation by Satan, or more likely one of his demons. However, they cannot make us do anything. While they create a spirit of sin like bitterness, jealousy, envy, and so on, nowhere are we commanded to rebuke these spirits, but rather we are called to resist sin and the devil will flee.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Listen to how Wayne Grudem describes this in his Systematic Theology.
In marked contrast to the practice of those who today emphasize “strategic level spiritual warfare,” in no instance does anyone in the New Testament 1) summon a territorial spirit upon entering an area to preach the gospel, 2) demand information from demons about local demonic hierarchy, 3) say that we should believe or teach information derived from demons, or 4) teach by word or example that certain “demonic strongholds” over a city have to be broken before the gospel can be proclaimed with effectiveness. Rather Christians just preach the gospel, and it comes with power to change lives!
Therefor though the New Testament clearly recognizes the influence of demonic activity in the world, and even, upon the lives of believers, its primary focus regarding evangelism and Christian growth is on the choices and actions taken by people themselves. Similarly, this should be the primary focus of our efforts today when we strive to grow in holiness and faith and to overcome the sinful desires and actions that remain in our lives and to overcome the sinful desires and actions that remain in our lives and to overcome the temptations that come against us from an unbelieving world. We need to accept our own responsibility to obey the Lord and not to shift blame for our own misdeeds onto some demonic force.”