Sin has allies. The group of allies from which sin derives its power represents an “axis of evil”. These are forces beyond the scope and capability of our will and strength to manage. This co-op of subtle but devastatingly destructive powers wrestles us to the ground spiritually, teaming up to overwhelm us with confusion and wickedness. Their purpose is to rule us, control our thoughts and behavior, and entice us to ignore and dishonor our God.
Any one of these allies can defeat us easily, but we must face the combined force of all of them working together. For us to think that we can fight these forces on our own is ludicrous to the point of being ridiculous. We need to understand our enemies...and we need to know our limitations before we confront them.
The axis of evil includes the world, our sinful nature, and Satan. We want to introduce each of these individually.
The World. James 4:4 says, “Friendship with the world is hatred toward God,” while 1 Jn. 2:15-16 admonishes us with the following:
Do not love the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world, the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting what he has and does, comes not from the Father, but from the world.
The greatest danger in this place called “the world” may be found, not in sordid, unseemly patterns of behavior, but in our pride (“boasting”). We will see this truth time and again throughout our studies: Pride and arrogance will bring us down faster than anything.
Pride is our attachment to the world...and pride is a big sin. It is the gateway to many other sins, and puts us in “opposition” to God. Prov. 16:5 says, “The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.” James 4:6 adds, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Grace is found when we are “humble”, a spiritual posture that has many applications, as we shall see. And when grace flows due to humility, two notable things occur: 1) we can “resist the devil” (James 4:7)...and 2) God will “lift us up” (James 4:10). We need grace to flow.
The world works closely with the sinful nature and Satan. Love for the world will pull us away from God, sometimes by imperceptible degrees. Spiritual traps and dangers permeate the world, and we must be prepared to see the ambushes coming, and deal with them.
The Sinful Nature. Since the time that Adam and Eve “sinned” in the garden, we have received an inherited nature which delights in sin. Gal. 5:19-21 shows us the acts of the “sinful nature”, as follows:
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like."
When we sin, as we will see very soon, the sinful nature “takes over” and becomes the driving force for our behavior, rather than God. The propensity this nature has for sin, and the strengthening it gets from the world and Satan, make it...not just a “tendency” to do wrong...but a “dynamic force” pushing us toward evil. We are not equipped to control this force by our own strength, and—to be sure—this force is spring-loaded to perform sins and acts of self-righteousness. And it will also thwart our spiritual performance and progress. This nature is always with us...right at home in our hearts.
Paul said of his sinful nature: “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Rom. 7:18). We can accomplish nothing with the sinful nature in charge, so we must find a way to “de-throne” this tyrant. And we will.
Satan. Satan is evil...but he is beautiful...attractive...appealing. From our perspective, he is irresistible. He is also tricky...cunning...deceitful. He makes us believe good is bad and bad is good. Ps. 10:13 suggests the way Satan deceives, saying, “Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, ‘He won’t call me to account’?” Satan makes us believe God doesn’t “really” require the things He commands.
Satan deceives us the way he did Eve in the garden, and we are just as gullible as she was. Satan queried her with this: “Did God really say, ’You must not eat from any tree in the garden’” (Gen. 3:4)? Satan will do anything to get us to doubt God and His Word.
If we are moving toward God, Satan will throw up roadblocks to stop us, and the more we grow, and the bigger a threat we become to him, the more attention Satan will pay to us. But God is greater, as we shall see, so we do well not to be deterred by Satan. Satan operates in so many forms and at so many levels, we will need to consider his ways throughout future studies. We basically underestimate how powerful he is, and how much help we will need to keep him from overpowering us. The thing he wants most is for us to attempt to fight him by ourselves. We need reinforcements...and they are available.
Conclusion. Satan does his work to stimulate sin, and the world welcomes all sinners. But these are not the worst. We have discovered the real enemy...and it is us. We are our own worst foes...and “we” are occupied by “sinful natures”, sometimes known as our “flesh”. The enemy is inside of us, and it is deadly.
Any one of these allies can defeat us easily, but we must face the combined force of all of them working together. For us to think that we can fight these forces on our own is ludicrous to the point of being ridiculous. We need to understand our enemies...and we need to know our limitations before we confront them.
The axis of evil includes the world, our sinful nature, and Satan. We want to introduce each of these individually.
The World. James 4:4 says, “Friendship with the world is hatred toward God,” while 1 Jn. 2:15-16 admonishes us with the following:
Do not love the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world, the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting what he has and does, comes not from the Father, but from the world.
The greatest danger in this place called “the world” may be found, not in sordid, unseemly patterns of behavior, but in our pride (“boasting”). We will see this truth time and again throughout our studies: Pride and arrogance will bring us down faster than anything.
Pride is our attachment to the world...and pride is a big sin. It is the gateway to many other sins, and puts us in “opposition” to God. Prov. 16:5 says, “The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.” James 4:6 adds, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Grace is found when we are “humble”, a spiritual posture that has many applications, as we shall see. And when grace flows due to humility, two notable things occur: 1) we can “resist the devil” (James 4:7)...and 2) God will “lift us up” (James 4:10). We need grace to flow.
The world works closely with the sinful nature and Satan. Love for the world will pull us away from God, sometimes by imperceptible degrees. Spiritual traps and dangers permeate the world, and we must be prepared to see the ambushes coming, and deal with them.
The Sinful Nature. Since the time that Adam and Eve “sinned” in the garden, we have received an inherited nature which delights in sin. Gal. 5:19-21 shows us the acts of the “sinful nature”, as follows:
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like."
When we sin, as we will see very soon, the sinful nature “takes over” and becomes the driving force for our behavior, rather than God. The propensity this nature has for sin, and the strengthening it gets from the world and Satan, make it...not just a “tendency” to do wrong...but a “dynamic force” pushing us toward evil. We are not equipped to control this force by our own strength, and—to be sure—this force is spring-loaded to perform sins and acts of self-righteousness. And it will also thwart our spiritual performance and progress. This nature is always with us...right at home in our hearts.
Paul said of his sinful nature: “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Rom. 7:18). We can accomplish nothing with the sinful nature in charge, so we must find a way to “de-throne” this tyrant. And we will.
Satan. Satan is evil...but he is beautiful...attractive...appealing. From our perspective, he is irresistible. He is also tricky...cunning...deceitful. He makes us believe good is bad and bad is good. Ps. 10:13 suggests the way Satan deceives, saying, “Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, ‘He won’t call me to account’?” Satan makes us believe God doesn’t “really” require the things He commands.
Satan deceives us the way he did Eve in the garden, and we are just as gullible as she was. Satan queried her with this: “Did God really say, ’You must not eat from any tree in the garden’” (Gen. 3:4)? Satan will do anything to get us to doubt God and His Word.
If we are moving toward God, Satan will throw up roadblocks to stop us, and the more we grow, and the bigger a threat we become to him, the more attention Satan will pay to us. But God is greater, as we shall see, so we do well not to be deterred by Satan. Satan operates in so many forms and at so many levels, we will need to consider his ways throughout future studies. We basically underestimate how powerful he is, and how much help we will need to keep him from overpowering us. The thing he wants most is for us to attempt to fight him by ourselves. We need reinforcements...and they are available.
Conclusion. Satan does his work to stimulate sin, and the world welcomes all sinners. But these are not the worst. We have discovered the real enemy...and it is us. We are our own worst foes...and “we” are occupied by “sinful natures”, sometimes known as our “flesh”. The enemy is inside of us, and it is deadly.
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