25221 Introduction

Have you ever watched an ant colony? The ants move along invisible trails that other ants have somehow marked out. Working together they carry tiny bits of dirt to the top of the anthill.

When something falls on the trail or the anthill, they scurry about frantically.

Now suppose you really care about ants and a storm is coming. Without your help the ants are going to die in a flood. You want to save them. You shout at the ants, “Move to higher ground,” but they pay no attention. You take a stick and try to redirect their trail. It doesn’t work. They think you are trying to hurt them.

Your ways are completely incomprehensible to the ants. You live on a different level—higher, richer and more advanced—and they can’t understand what you are trying to communicate. The only way for you to save the ants is to become an ant yourself and use their language to help them in a way they understand.

This is what God did for us.

Jesus came to earth to speak our language—to show us our Father’s heart of compassion and way of salvation. He became like us so we could know and experience God. Jesus took our anatomy as a human being—with a spirit, a soul and a body—so He could reconcile us to God. As a man—as a three-part being—Jesus undid what Adam had done in the fall. He restored us to God’s original design: we were created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27).

In becoming one of us and dying on the cross as a sinless human being, Jesus paid the price the law demanded for our sins. Adam had chosen the desires of his own soul over the will of God, but Jesus chose God’s will over the desires of His own soul. He surrendered His soul to the leading of the Spirit and gave His body to die on the cross for our sins.

In the sacrificial love of Jesus on the cross, we are set free to become the people God created us to be. When we invite God into our life, His Spirit comes to live in us and our relationship with God begins. Then, in God’s design, our soul—our mind, will and emotions—surrenders its own desires (will) and comes to rest under the loving leading of the Spirit. In this way, the body (as directed by the soul at rest in the Spirit’s leading) radiates the nature of Christ in earthly, physical reality. And so we become as Jesus was—spirit-soul-body channels through which the love of God floods the earth.

Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” ( John 14:9). We see the love of our heavenly Father in the stories Jesus told; in the way He stopped to help the sick, interact with outcasts, and befriend sinners; in His teaching; in His prayers and in His death. We see God in Jesus’ life of love.

This Bible study is designed to help you know God as He really is and to direct your heart toward His love. Jesus’ life speaks restoration to us. We are valued and cherished beyond measure. We are precious to God. He has a grand and glorious plan for all His people.

God has chosen you. He has made a way for you to be adopted into His family. He loves you with an unstoppable, limitless love. That love came to rescue you completely, to set you free and to make you whole. Jesus came to give you eternal life in heaven and abundant life, here and now, on this earth. God created you to know His love, abide in His love and radiate His love.

Open your heart to Jesus who came to share the Father’s love with you.

25216 Suggestions for Study

About this Bible Study

  • The Bible passage included in this study guide is from the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible. Feel free to use a different translation if you like.
  • The study questions are designed to encourage you to think deeply about God’s Word and to help you open yourself to more of His love.
  • If you cannot print this study guide, you can write your answers on a separate sheet.
  • This study can be used individually or with groups.

Suggestions for Individual or Group Study

  • Begin and end your reading and study time with prayer. Ask God to help you understand the Bible passages and reveal more of Himself to you. Thank Him for your time together.
  • Read and reread the Luke passage as you work through each of the lessons. Reflect on what you have read and see if anything stands out to you.
  • Do not feel you must answer the questions all at once or in any particular order. Even choosing a few questions will allow you to benefit from the study.

Suggestions for Group Study

  • Each time you gather with your group, come prepared—ready to share, ready to listen and ready to learn.
  • As the group leader guides the discussion and encourages members to share their thoughts and ideas, be willing to participate, but try not to dominate. Listen to others in the group without judging them. What the Holy Spirit shows you will not necessarily be the same as what He shows someone else.
  • Remember that what is shared in the group stays in the group. Being able to share without fear of being talked about helps create a safe place for honest discussion and healing.

Suggestions for Group Leaders

  • Begin and end each group time with prayer.
  • Unless the Holy Spirit specifically leads you otherwise, help the group stay focused on the passage being studied.
  • Encourage group members to listen and learn from each other without judging.
  • Give everyone opportunities to share. Imagine that Jesus is in your group; see how He interacts with other members. Love those around you, being sensitive to their needs and backgrounds. Encourage all to come to a deeper understanding of God and His love.
  • As the leader, try not to dominate the discussion with “right” answers. God will teach each member through the verses being discussed and through the insights of others in the group.
  • Be assured that the Holy Spirit will guide you and give you the strength and wisdom you need to be a thoughtful, caring leader.

25215 Loving with Perfection

Luke 15:11–32

Years ago, I copied a quote I’d read somewhere into the front of my Bible: The greatest of saints is simply the greatest of receivers.

Think about that.

Can it be true? Is it really possible that our Father simply desires us to receive from Him?

I became a Christian when I was 16. Now, as I write this, I am almost 60. But it has only been in the last 15 years or so that I have finally begun to realize that God really does love me unconditionally. He loves me when I sin, like the lost son, and He loves me when I am prideful and self-righteous, like the hardworking, older brother. My behaviors and thoughts have nothing to do with His care and compassion for me. Love, not law, defines and fills God’s heart. My heavenly Father wants to have a loving relationship with me—a relationship in which I receive all He has planned for me.

God is love. He is always full of compassion for us. He always has our best interests at heart. Nothing can stop God from loving you. He values you. You are of infinite worth to him.

Jesus told this parable about the lost son and his older brother to help us understand our Father’s heart. He told the story to help us see our Father as He really is. Each and every moment of each and every day, He gives His gift of love to us.

However, the giving of a gift is only half of the transaction. A transaction is not complete until the gift is received. The question is: Will we accept the invitation to a joyful, love-relationship with our Father that He freely offers?

Read Luke 15:11–32 (Parable of the Lost Son).

Questions

Q. 1. What do the father’s actions tell you about his heart toward his younger son?

Q. 2. If you had been away for a long time and someone you knew came running joyfully to welcome you, how would you feel? What would their joyful welcome tell you about how he/she felt about you?

Q. 3. What do the father’s words in verses 31–32 tell you about his heart toward his oldest son?

Q. ”4.

was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” How are these words central to the father’s joy and his desire for both his sons?”]

Q. 5. What words would you use to describe the father in this story?

Q. 6. God doesn’t want us to live life as the lost son or as the older brother. How do we come to live life as God planned for us to live it?

Q. 7. What do we experience when we choose to be in relationship with our heavenly Father?

Q. 8. What have you learned from this parable about how your heavenly Father sees you?

Q. 9. Putting aside what you may have learned from Jesus’ parable, how do you actually believe, deep down in your heart, that your heavenly Father sees you?

Q. 10. Our Father’s love for us is not the issue. Always it is strong and unwavering. the issue is whether or not we will accept the compassion He is freely offering. What wrong thoughts might be keeping you from embracing the vast, unconditional love the Father freely offers you?

Q. 11. How do you know when someone really loves you?

Q. 12. How do you personally know that God really loves you?

Reflection

If possible, listen to the song “Reckless Love” as recorded by Cory Asbury. (To watch a video, you will need Internet access.) If you cannot access the video, slowly and thoughtfully read the lyrics. Let God speak to you through the words.

25214 Loving the Self-Righteous

Luke 15:25–32

Have your good deeds as a Christian ever made you feel that you were better than someone else?

Mine have.

Before I’d committed the sin referred to in the introduction to the first lesson, I’d been obedient to Christian rules and worked hard to be a good and productive person. Based on these behaviors, I considered myself valuable and right. I thought of myself as the hard-working, older brother. Like the Pharisees—the religious leaders of Jesus’ time—I considered myself better than others. I had worked hard to be “good” by obeying solid, Bible-based rules, and I assumed I was deserving of God’s favor, blessing and love. I looked at others who did not measure up to “church” standards and considered myself to be better than they.

Self-righteousness led me to think I was doing what God wanted and was therefore deserving of His blessing. Pride told me I was worthy of God’s love.

However, I couldn’t seem to receive the love pride told me I deserved. No matter how hard I tried to be “good,” I never felt I had actually done enough to please God and earn His love.

This was because, as Jesus points out in this parable, the Father’s love doesn’t work like that. As I came to realize later in life, God’s love is completely unconditional. It is not based on human ideas of merit nor can it be earned by self-effort. Our Father freely gives His love to all people. In the New Covenant, Jesus shows us that we are of infinite worth to God. He loves us, not because of what we have done or failed to do, but simply and purely because it is His nature to love.

Read Luke 15:11–32 (Parable of the Lost Son).

Questions

Q. 1. Verse 28 says that the older brother was “angry.” Based on verses 25–27, what do you think he was angry about?

Q. 2. In your own words, what did the older son say to His father in verse 29?

Q. 3. Based on these words, how do you think the older brother felt he deserved to be treated? Why might he have felt this way?

Q. 4. In what ways are you currently, or have you been in the past, like the hard-working, self-righteous older brother? Think deeply.

Q. 5. In verse 30, what did the older brother say to his father about his younger brother? Why do you think he felt the need to point this out?

Q. 6. In verse 28 and 31–32, how did the father respond to his older son?

Q. 7. What do these words and actions tell you about the father’s heart for his older son?

Q. 8. Think of someone you know who is religious and self-righteous. How do you imagine our heavenly Father would interact with him/her?

Q. 9. The parable doesn’t tell us whether or not the older brother later chose to enter his father’s house and join in the music and dancing. What do you think it would have taken for the older brother to decide to join in the celebration with his father and younger brother?

Q. 10. God loves us unconditionally, regardless of our sin. Yet, He wants us to be righteous and good. How do we become truly good, not in the way the older brother thought he was, but like God designed us to be?

Q. 11. What, if anything, of your own self-righteousness or self-sufficiency is resisting the unconditional love of God? Search your heart.

Q. 12. What would it take to overcome that resistance and receive the Father’s love for you?

Reflection

Earlier in Luke 15, Jesus had shared another parable. Read Luke 15:4–7 (below).

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15:4 “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it? 15:5 Then when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 15:6 Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 15:7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.

Read these verses again slowly.

Imagine that you are a little lost lamb. You have wandered away from the flock and night is coming. Unable to find your way home, you are lonely and afraid. Jesus notices that you are missing and sets out to find you. When He sees you, He runs to meet you. His face lights up in a smile. His eyes sparkle with joy. He has found you. He kneels on the ground in front of you. He lifts you to his strong shoulders…and carries you back to the flock.

Close your eyes for a moment and reflect on Jesus’ love and care for you.

25213 Loving the Rebellious

Luke 15:11–24

Have you ever done something really bad—so bad that you felt God couldn’t possibly love you?

I have.

As a 38-year-old, “mature” Christian, I did something so awful that I couldn’t believe God could love a sinner like me. I couldn’t forgive myself for what I had done. I didn’t like myself, let alone love myself, and I felt that God couldn’t possibly like me (or love me) either. In this way, I condemned myself; my own twisted thinking cut me off from God’s love.

My heavenly Father still loved me; it was just that the lies I believed kept me from believing and accepting that He did.

Have you stopped to consider that how you think God feels about you may not be the way He actually feels at all? Is it possible that you have excluded yourself from God’s forgiveness and compassion because you simply cannot believe He could really love you?

Jesus told this parable of the lost son so that we would understand: Our Father values us for who we are, not because of what we do or don’t do. Our sins—those we have committed knowingly or unknowingly, those we have committed in the past and those we will commit in the future—do not exclude us from God’s love. Our Father desires that each one of us live in continual, joy-filled, loving relationship with Him.

Read Luke 15:11–24 (Parable of the Lost Son).

Questions

Q. 1. What do verses 12–13 say that the lost son did? What choices did he make?

Q. 2. Based on verses 14–17, why do think the son decided to return home?

Q. 3. According to verses 18–19 and 21, what did the son plan, and then say, to his father? What do these words tell you about the son’s perception of himself?

Q. 4. What do these words tell you about the son’s perception of his father?

Q. 5. As described in verses 20 and 22–24, how does the father greet his lost son?

Q. 6. What do these actions tell you about the father’s heart for his son?

Q. 7. After being welcomed home with celebration, how do you think the son saw his father?

Q. 8. In this story the son assumed he would be treated harshly upon his return home. Think of a time when someone treated you harshly and legalistically after you had done something wrong. Describe that time and the feelings you had.

Q. 9. Think of a time when someone offered you forgiveness and compassion after you had done something wrong. Describe that time and the feelings you had.

Q. 10. How does the lost son respond to his father’s reception?

Q. 11. What sort of life do you think the lost son would have lived had he not accepted his father’s full welcome and only allowed himself to be a hired servant?

Q. 12. In what ways might you be judging yourself and thinking of yourself as undeserving of love? Can you identify any wrong thoughts that are keeping you from fully receiving your heavenly Father’s love?

Reflection

Music can help connect us to God in deep ways. If possible, listen to the song, “When God Ran” (To watch a video, you will need Internet access). If you cannot access the video, read the lyrics. Open your heart to the message.

25212 Parable of the Lost Son

Luke 15:11–32

15:11 Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons. 15:12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them. 15:13 After a few days, the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth with a wild lifestyle. 15:14 Then after he had spent everything, a severe famine took place in that country, and he began to be in need. 15:15 So he went and worked for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 15:16 He was longing to eat the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 15:17 But when he came to his senses he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger! 15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers.”’ 15:20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him. 15:21 Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 15:22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe, and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! 15:23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it! Let us eat and celebrate, 15:24 because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again—he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

15:25 “Now his older son was in the field. As he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 15:26 So he called one of the slaves and asked what was happening. 15:27 The slave replied, ‘Your brother has returned, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he got his son back safe and sound.’ 15:28 But the older son became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and appealed to him, 15:29 but he answered his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet you never gave me even a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends! 15:30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 15:31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything that belongs to me is yours. 15:32 It was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.’”

25211 Introduction

Jesus came to show us the Father and to reconcile us with Him. He told the parable of the lost son to help us see our Father as He really is. As a vivid illustration, Jesus tells of a father’s love for his sons and how he wants to be in relationship with each one.

Our heavenly Father loves us just like the father in this story. In God’s sight we are worthy and valuable no matter what condition we are in. God loves us with a great, unstoppable love. He loves us despite our sins and wanderings. He loves us even when we are self-righteous and think we are better than others because we follow rules.

This is how God sees us, but so often we don’t know of or cannot accept His unconditional forgiveness and grace. We judge ourselves based on the good or evil we think we have done. If we have done bad things we listen to the voice of condemnation and beat ourselves up with guilt or shame. If we have obeyed the rules, we consider ourselves good and right and pride wells up within us. To further complicate the problem, we falsely assume that God, our Father, judges us in the same way we judge ourselves. We assume He condemns us because of our bad behaviors or values and loves us because of our good deeds and hard work.

However, this is not how our Father thinks of us. God does not see us through the rules of the law; He sees us in love. In this story, we hear of the contrast between the Old Covenant of law and the New Covenant of grace. Both the lost son and the hard-working son are measuring themselves according to what they have done—according to the law. They judge and value themselves—and assume that their father judges and values them—based on their obedience to the Old Covenant of law introduced through Moses.

Both sons are focused on what they think they deserve based on the law. They view acceptance, blessing and love as rewards to be achieved or withheld based on their behaviors. This is how things work in the Old Covenant—or in any law-based religion.

But the father is clearly not thinking like either of his sons. His actions come from his loving heart. He loves both his sons—not because of what they have done or failed to do—but simply because they are his sons. The father treats his sons with love, kindness, care and compassion. He loves his younger son and his older son and desires that both join him in joyful relationship.

God reaches down to us in love. Even our best attempts to obey the law, or any other set of religious rules, will not help us earn our way to God. Yes, God wants us to be good by His definition—to be right and holy like He is. But we can’t achieve that by following rules; we only come to be good in loving relationship with God. God doesn’t love us because we are good; He makes us good because He loves us. He makes us good through our inner relationship with Him. That inner relationship can’t help but work itself out so that we actually become good on the outside as well. In this way, obedience is a by-product of living in right relationship—of living in love.

The Christian life is not to be one of external conformity to the law—of legalism. Neither is it to be one of disregard for the law—of license. Rather, the Christian life is to be one of liberty. In liberty, we are set free from sin—not just from the consequences of sin, but from the actual thought and deed itself. In the Christian life, as God intended it to be, our loving relationship with God sets us free to be our true selves, fashioned after the image of God.

In the New Covenant, the Father sent His Son to die for our sins and reconcile us to Himself. Regardless of our wanderings or our self-righteous ways, our Father loves us unconditionally and always. A loving relationship with our heavenly Father is the foundation for all that we were created to be. Reconciled with God—dwelling in His love—we become right from the inside out.

22830.031 Echo into Eternity

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:12–13, NIV)

A reward time is coming. There is a time when each one of us will stand in front of the Judgment Seat of Christ for the purpose of receiving reward or suffering loss of reward. We do have accountability to the Lord for what we have done or not done here on this earth. Jesus Christ is coming back, and he is bringing a reward with him.

Only to the extent that we build our lives on the foundation of Christ, by allowing him to live his life through us, can we expect the deeds we do in the body to be able to stand the test of fire.

God’s grace in many ways prioritizes opportunity. We serve the God who provides the opportunity to each one of us to respond to his grace. He is the God who draws us to himself through his Son Jesus Christ. He creates in us an increasing desire to invest in the imperishable values of his eternal kingdom. For those who respond to the opportunities he presents to us, the future is one of glory beyond human description to be enjoyed in his presence forever.

There is a message to those of us who are on the King’s team, “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14, NIV). The time is short, and the eternal destinies of multitudes are at stake. We need to wake up and get busy doing the King’s business. If we follow this exhortation, Christ will shine on our lives. And when Christ shines on our lives, things happen!

We all have opportunities to build our eternal treasure, and the message to us is clear: We need to respond properly to the message of God, we need to reach for the best that God has to offer, and we need to press on toward the heavenly goal God has for us. Prayer, the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit will deliver us from the wiles of the consumerlator so that we can develop into the Converterlators God has planned for us to be.

Most of us are not “great” people in the eyes of the world. From a kingdom perspective, this gives us an advantage. God often uses the weak among us to accomplish great things. Each day is a new opportunity for us to serve him. Each new day is an opportunity to strategically invest our time, talent, and treasure into things of eternal value.

The question is, Are we spiritually astute enough to see this time as a time of eternal opportunity? In Matthew 6:20, Jesus tells us to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (ESV). Yes, we can have an eternal 401k. Yes, our treasure can last forever. It is guaranteed. The returns are fantastic; in fact, they are beyond our human ability to measure.

In what ways are you investing your time, talent, and treasure so that your life will echo into eternity?

Converterlators strategically invest their time, talent, and treasure into things of eternal value.

32713 Proclaiming the Gospel

The gospel means good news. 

The rightful, righteous, benevolent King of all creation has returned to restore peace out of chaos, to bring life out of death, to shine light to dispel all darkness, to execute justice, and to cause his creation to prosper once again. And you have an honored and unique role to play in his new kingdom as his own son/daughter!

Now that’s really good news!

Jesus directs us to make this news known to the whole world. 

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

Matthew 28:19-20 is known as the Great Commission. Jesus commissioned his disciples (that means you) to a global task. Every ethnic group in every language is the object of his love. No nation is beyond the reach of his grace. 

Here is how it works.

It begins with people. Because of our sins, the world was plunged into chaos and death, violence and evil, darkness and fear. When God touches and transforms the life of individuals, they become his agents of light to bring his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. It is people who are called by his name that God will use to restore all things.

Jesus not only taught about the kingdom of heaven but also showed its nature and culture of love and power. Following the examples of Jesus, we are to proclaim the gospel not only by declaring the truth about Jesus and God’s salvation in Christ but also by demonstrating his love, truth, and goodness.

God has made you ambassadors for Christ, as though making his plea through you to the world to be reconciled to God  (2 Corinthians 5:20). He has also made you the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14) because you are now children of light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8). Jesus also said to “let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

In other words, not only you carry the gospel but also you are the good news the world sees. That is why Paul admonishes us to live in a way worthy of God and his calling (1 Thessalonians 2:12; Ephesians 4:1). 

People are hurting without hope. They are living without peace. They are looking for love in all the wrong places. When they learn that you believe in Jesus, they are watching you closely to see if your God is real and if his love is true.

Meditate on the following teaching of Jesus in light of the Great Commission.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me. Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.” – Matthew 5:3-11

32811 Standing Firm in Christ

Resist the enemy. The who? Scripture is unabashed in describing what we’re up against as Christians.

Ephesian 6:10-12 says, “Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.”

Additionally, 1 Peter 5:8-9 says, “Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering.

Throughout the gospels Jesus can often be found confronting demons (also called evil spirits) and even being tempted by the devil (Satan) (Luke 4).

It is clear from the Bible that Satan is an intelligent, cunning enemy and one who would easily defeat us were it not for the mighty power of the Lord. He is often described as having schemes or plans and is strategic in his tempting. Luke 4:13 assumes this when it concludes the description of Jesus’ temptation: “So when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.”

We have two other enemies as well: the influence of surrounding cultures (called “the world” in scripture) and ourselves—specifically habits, desires, priorities, and expectations that are contrary to what Jesus desires for our lives. That enemy is what scripture calls “the flesh” or “the old self.”

So as Christians, we are pressured to turn from following Jesus by three sources, Satan (and his demons), the world around us, and the old self within us.

Whew. So all we have to do is just resist and trust God, right?

Well, not so much. “Just trust God” has often been the Band-Aid advice well-meaning Christians give to those dealing with major struggles. The problem is not actually with the advice but with the assumption that applying that advice should be easy.

When we come up against seemingly insurmountable temptations, our intent to trust God quickly crumbles. It is a story sadly repeated throughout the history of God’s people. From the first pages of scripture with the temptation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), to Israelite’s depressingly fast slide into idolatry (Exodus 32), to the decades of wavering between idols and God (1 & 2 Kings), God’s people have always struggled to depend only on God.

It’s the same for us today. We easily scramble to meet our own needs, seek fulfillment, and pursue contentment without the slightest thought about depending on God to provide for us. It is no wonder, then, that we also easily find ourselves stuck in sinful habits, surrounded by voices that blame and condemn us, seeking escape and solace by whatever is closest at hand.

So what has to change to begin seeing victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil?

First, and deepest, is Resisting False Identity and learning to embrace our true identity as one fully known and fully loved.

Second, is Resisting Isolation and depending on God’s community—risking vulnerability with our brothers and sisters in Jesus.

Third, is Resisting Satanic Condemnation and trusting God’s scandalous forgiveness—receiving the gift that counteracts shame.

And finally, Resisting Temptation and depending on God as we actually do the work and practices of resistance.
We are told in John 16:33 the Christian life is not going to be easy “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world.” Our lives involve the juxtaposition of peace and trouble. Christ’s peace and ultimate victory over the world doesn’t mean the absence of trouble. His presence instead allows us to have courage and hope. Courage, that God will provide for us in the midst of this sweaty, dangerous task of resistance, and hope that our God-sustained resistance will ultimately bring freedom and victory!