LWWW 5 What About Sin? Page Prewitt

[Part 10] What About Sin?
The Bible simplifies sin when it makes the bare bones statement that everything not of faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). Or to put it another way, all unbelief is sin. (Unbelief means that we do not believe what God says about us–that as Christians we are joined to Christ, and He is one spirit with us). In view of this fact, the first thing Satan must accomplish in his effort to get any believer to commit a sinful deed is to tempt him and get him to believe he is an independent self-operating self. In other words, to see himself as an “alone I” or “just me.”
When/if Satan is able to lure us by this lie into the sin of unbelief, he gains the power to boss us on the soul/body level and lead us into any sin deed he chooses. Our union with Christ is not broken; however, our sin temporarily blocks the Holy Spirit from living through us. Confession and repentance on our part is the only way we can receive God's grace and forgiveness and once again walk in the light–in actual fact, have Christ live through us.
The good news is that we can avoid the Satan sin trap by simply remembering and, if necessary, stating the truth that thoughts and feelings are not the real us. They are factual but not real in the eternal Spirit sense. This is the way the Bible says it: The things that are seen are temporal [fleeting] and the things that are not seen are eternal [everlasting] (2 Cor. 4:18). I am not saying that we are to ignore our thoughts and feelings. To the contrary, it is very important that we look at them honestly, and if necessary, talk about them to someone, but as quickly as possible, move past them and begin to reflect on who we are in our spirit center–we joined to Christ rather than how we feel.
Paul uses the marriage analogy in Romans 7 to help clarify this issue. He says in this passage that we must consciously enter into the reality of not only our cut-off from our old husband Satan, but also our marriage to our new husband Jesus Christ. Until we do this, we will remain under the illusion that we are independent. This puts us, unknowingly, under the outer control of our old husband Satan. And as a result, defeat and guilt are our lot.

The Bible simplifies sin 

when it makes

 the bare bones statement

 that everything not of faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). Or to put it another way,

 all unbelief is sin.

For do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another–to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God (Romans 7:1-4).


[Part 11] How Temptation Really Works
The above applies to me in relation to my writing this booklet. In spite of the fact that I have known from the beginning that the task of writing this is something I have been commissioned to do, I have been plagued with the feelings of inadequacy and fear of being unable to do it. And not to be left out, my thoughts go hand in hand with my feelings–I think over and over, I am not good at writing; this is too hard so I will just quit and leave the writing to those who are good at it.” Along with thoughts like this, I feel very inadequate and fearful to attempt such a task.
Satan tried to use this approach when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness (John 4:1-11). He began his discourse with Jesus, not as we would expect, tempting Him with food (Jesus was hungry because he had fasted for forty days) or with power. He tempted Him with pride. Satan preceded all his specific temptations with this piercing statement: If you are who you say you are, you can turn these stones into bread or you can throw yourself off the temple and God will send angels to save you.
Jesus could have come back with, Of course I am who I say I am; I am the Christ, the Son of the living God”–the I” meaning that He had what it took in and of Himself to do what Satan tempted Him to do and go Satan's self-for-self way. The truth, and He made it quite clear, is that He and His Father are One, and He does only what He sees His Father do (John 14:10). His strengths and His abilities are operated only in love for others, just as are those of His Father.
Let's pick up where we left off a couple of paragraphs back with our discussion of my problem writing this paper. Is my struggle with what I am thinking and feeling? Or do I have a much bigger problem? Look at my sentence for a minute: “I am incapable of getting my thoughts organized and written down and I feel inadequate and fearful.”

 If you are who you say you are!!!!

Remember that Satan begins all temptation by trying to get us to see ourselves as independent or, just me.” But as we have said again and again, there is no independent or just me individual in the universe. For that reason the answer to the question is obviously NO! Nevertheless, if I continue to repeat Satan's lies, I put myself in danger of disobediently crossing the line from being tempted to believe I am independent to actually believing I am. If/when I do this, I commit the original sin of unbelief. This gives Satan the freedom to take control of me on the soul level, thus blocking Christ from living His life in and through me. At the same time, Satan gains the freedom to misuse me through my members (body/soul).