It’s about an hour until the clock strikes midnight and sister Gotta Do is taking a quick trip down memory lane—a very quick trip, mind you, as she finds it difficult to recall every moment on this year-in-review journey.

One thought glaringly highlights the fact that exactly 365 days ago, she was in this very scene scrambling to create her Thou Shalt Do’s for the new year. She glances at her personal ten commandments as minutes tick closer to twelve.

Funny, they read strikingly similar to last year’s version.

With minutes gaining, she ponders the reasons why she didn’t keep to the spiritual disciplines she had set forth; disgustingly admitting that failure amassed within just three weeks into the new year!

“Sure, I did do the devotionals with my family some of the daysno! This year is going to be different. I really mean it this time around.”

   She found herself feeling frustrated (almost self-loathing) because she considered that she must be doing something wrong. She recalled how she struggled with the godly things that she resolved to do to glorify and please God, only to discover that she missed a day, two days… twenty-one!

She joked that she would probably do well every December 31st to create The Ten Inconsistencies and spare herself the self-condemning beat-down.

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Has a similar down-to-the-wire drama ever been part of your story?

There had been times I identified and tried to improve areas of my Christian walk but it seemed things got worse instead of better. My failures seemed to be in direct proportion to my efforts to succeed.

As believers, we don’t intentionally set out for failure. We move forward with pure intentions. But in our pursuit, we find ourselves exhaustingly sprawled out on the spiritual battlefield.

Does Satan have a secret weapon uniquely designed to recalibrate our resolve that shifts us onto a course of inconsistency?

The Lure of the Law

Satan is a liar and the father of lies.  Lying is the only weapon in his arsenal.  However, he has mastered lying, dressing it up as good, holy, and (at times), as truth!

And he does this with subtle persuasion. Satan will use ANYTHING in order to destroy and he has crafted the lie of rule-keeping as standard.

He will even use the simple act of creating one’s New Year’s Resolutions to cause mental mayhem!

For illustration purposes, you could say that his secret weapon is the lure to embrace religious rules. The bible calls these rules the Law.

Hold on, I’m not saying that the Law is bad. There isn’t anything wrong with the Law WHEN it is in its proper place.

The Law is NOT for those of us who are saved. When the Law connects with those for whom it is intended, it does the job in a superb way.

Unfortunately, trouble arises when Christians want to stay connected to the rules.

 

Religiosity looks so compatible with
the Christian life that many never expect to
fall prey to it. The Law cleans up nicely; however,
appearances belie the sinister force behind the Law: 
the lure to adhere to it.

 

The Greeks had a secret weapon in which they hid themselves in order to enter Troy. We know this as the Trojan horse. Anything done in secret (concealed) in order to undermine or infiltrate with the ultimate goal of bringing someone or something to ruin is the proverbial Trojan horse.

So, characteristically speaking, the lure to keep the Law (religion) is one of many Trojan horses Satan uses to cripple believers.

Religiosity looks so compatible with the Christian life that many never expect to fall prey to it. The Law cleans up nicely; however, appearances belie the sinister force behind the Law: the lure to adhere to it.

The Law has stealthily invaded the contemporary church, purporting to refine godly character.  Instead, its rigid rule-keeping disciplines bring the church down, keep it in bondage, and wreak spiritual imbalance.

Please hear me, I am not trashing the Law; I oppose the lure.

Romans 5:20 says that the Law came in order that transgression might increase. Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of the Law was not so that believers would keep it. The bible clearly teaches that its purpose was to reveal sin; but, it can stimulate the act of sinning.

And anyone who embraces the Law will fall victim.

This may come as a surprising discovery to any born-again believer who adheres to the Law and tries to maintain it as the Christian standard.  This standard was never theirs to adhere to.  The Law doesn’t keep a person from sinning—it causes one to sin!

Understanding this, why did an omniscient God give His written Law knowing that mankind would never be able to keep it in the first place?

Very good question!  We will dive in and address this in the next blog.

It is sin that gives death its sting and the law that gives sin its power (1 Corinthians 15:56 TPT).