Imagine yourself being in the middle of a heated battle and a soldier runs in, declaring that he has found a copy of the enemy's plan of attack. What would you do? You'd definitely study it and most probably devise a plan of counterattack. This is precisely what Gurnall is doing in this part of his book. He is letting us know how the enemy attempts to attack us in order to make us at best, inefficient, and at worst, rendered useless. But, he also teaches us how to carry out and win our counterattack.
Before he has us learn about
our enemy, Gurnall briefly revisits the fact that we must fight our own sinful
nature as it will fight alongside our enemy against us, "Were there no
devils you would still have your hands full resisting the corruptions of your
own heart. What Paul wants you to see is that your old nature is only a private
in the war against your new nature. Satan comes to the battle as an ally of the
flesh and launches a massive attack. He is the general who marshals your sinful
inclinations, exercises them mercilessly, and sends them out as a united front
against the power of God in your life. This knowledge should make every one of
us diligent to keep our lusts unarmed - for they will be all too eager to
declare their allegiance to Satan when he comes to tempt."
It may not be obvious to us that we have areas
in our lives where we are weak and prone to temptation, but out of His love,
God allows them to come to light so we can deal with them, rather than allowing
them to stay and cause us trouble.
Ephesians 6:12 warns us,
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Gurnall reminds us that even though we may
fight with man, who is made of flesh and blood, our chief assailants are evil
spirits, directed by the devil himself and sent out to war against us. Christ, Himself, referred to Satan as the
prince of the (this) world (John 14:30).
One of the areas of
disagreement that has occurred in Christianity for many years is whether a
Christian can be infiltrated by Satan. Gurnall
puts that fear to rest when he says, "If you are a saint, you do not need
to fear that Satan will infiltrate your soul. God will not permit it. But the
devil can and does attack along the borders of your faith. Though you are not
the proper subject of his power, you are and always will be the chief object of
his wrath. He wrestles with you at every opportunity, and you will only
overcome him as long as God supplies His strength (emphasis added) in
your behalf. If He steps aside, you will immediately find out how helpless you
are against your strong opponent."
It is important to understand
the nature of these evil spirits and why God allows them to operate in this
world, not so we are in fear of them, but in order that we have a better
understanding of them. Gurnall points out
several reasons why God permits our enemy to come against us, and when we
understand why, we realize that it's actually for our benefit.
First, it helps to convict us of our sin. We need to truly believe that nothing we can
do can save us as it is easy for us to fall into the trap of believing that we
need to work our way into heaven. Maybe some of us have already accepted that idea and are busily trying to accomplish it by the way we live our lives. Gurnall puts it very plainly when he says,
"Before the Holy Spirit can convict such a person of his need for Christ,
he must agree with God that all his righteousness (and good works) are but
filthy rags....The finest human being - the most sincere philanthropist or
moral crusader - has within him the same seeds of corruption, the same
potential for wickedness as the devil himself. If his true nature has not yet
shown through, it is because God's grace is intervening. For until you are made
a new creature in Christ, you are of the same brood as the Serpent; his seed is
in you. And the devil can only beget a child like himself."
Second, it is to keep us
humble. Gurnall felt it especially important for those who have been walking
with Christ, since a very early age, to recognize the potential wickedness in
their heart. He said, "Our old nature (whose residue is not cast off until
heaven) has the devil's stamp of 'traitor' on it from the day we were
born." When we truly realize the significance of the great debt that
Christ paid on the Cross for us, we will then recognize the depth of sinfulness
that lurks in our hearts. It is also so that we don't compare ourselves
to another, and come away prideful, feeling that we are less sinful than
they.
Third, it is so we better
understand why we can be so easily persuaded to sin if we are not aware of
Satan's purpose. Satan gives us false promises, uses clever arguments and
many are won over by him as he appeals
to their greedy natures.
At this point, Gurnall turns
his attention to how wicked spirits are responsible for provoking a believer to
commit sin. He breaks it down into two
types of sin that we can be enticed to commit. The first one is what he refers
to as sins in the heart. He says, "When thoughts and feelings
overtake you that you know are not pleasing to God, what can you do? You do not
want to be critical - but you are; you do not want to covet - but you do. How
can you take these stones of offense and rocks of stumbling Satan hurls into
the path of your thoughts, and use them to build a monument of glory to the
Father? In two ways in particular: by keeping a close watch on your heart and
by steadfastly resisting its sins."
So, first we need to keep a
close watch on our heart. We need to do a self examination and ask ourselves
what kind of welcome does Satan find when he comes at us with these sins in the
heart and asks us to dwell upon them? Does Satan find our hearts fertile ground
or does he find soil that quickly extinguishes any thought or desire he
attempts to plant? While we may turn
them away when they're presented to us in the light of day, do we gladly
entertain them when no one will see?
Gurnall warns us, "Christian, this is imperative for you to
realize: When wicked or unclean thoughts first force their way into your mind,
you have not yet sinned. This is the work of the devil! But if you so much as
offer them a chair and begin polite conversation with them, you have become his
accomplice. In only a short time you will give these thoughts sanctuary in your
heart. Your resolve - not to yield to a temptation you are already entertaining
- is no match for Satan and the longings of the flesh. Your confidence must
rest on this face: Unclean thoughts will not stay where the love of Christ
reigns supreme."
Second, we must steadfastly
resist the sins that lie within our heart, which will show where our loyalties
really lie. Christ told us in Matthew 5:28 that even spending time on a thought
is as bad as actually doing it. It is
just as much sin as having actually done the deed. We cannot allow Satan's thoughts to have free
reign in our minds without consequences. You must renounce every vile thought that
is not in obedience to God, the moment it presents itself.
We cannot stop Satan from
trying to influence us, but we can put safeguards in place. God's intention in allowing the enemy to
attack us is so that we learn where our weaknesses are and remove them. Just as
a soldier of an army is trained to look for their areas of vulnerability, so it
is within God's army. We cannot have any areas of vulnerability that the enemy
can use to his advantage. In order to make sure we are not vulnerable, there
are several precautions we can take.
The first precaution is to
make sure our heart is under Christ's control every single day. Gurnall
encourages us, "Here lies the secret: to control your thoughts, ask Christ
to control your heart. David cried out to God many times when he knew Satan's
attacks were beyond his power to deflect. You will need to pray more and harder than
ever when you are called to a duty that brings you in closer contact than usual
with the world. This is where Satan's thoughts attack like a plague of locusts.
First, be sure you are going on God's business and not your own. Do not try to
stave off the onslaughts of Satan in your own strength....Make Him (God) the
censor of your thoughts, and you will not need to worry. The devil's arm is not
long enough to reach you when by earnest prayer you place yourself under the
shadow of the Almighty."
The second precaution is to
set a strong guard around your outward senses. Be careful where you look and
what you hear, as Satan flies around looking for access to your inner man.
The third precaution is to
reflect on what we've allowed to affect us throughout the day, as it has probably
affected our thoughts and attitudes. Gurnall
warns us that "Much of the unholy noise that erupts (anger, envy,
impatience, bitterness, and all the rest) is because you have left it (your
heart) to its own desires." We need to be diligent and watch for anything
that may allow access for the enemy.
In the next chapter, we will look
at how the enemy can get to us by a second way, which includes not only deceptive
teachings, but also by way of tapping into one of our weakest areas, spiritual
pride.
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