looked around the kitchen at the tiny pieces of tissue paper scattered everywhere. My then preschool-age son stood in the midst of the mess, looking down, shaking his head, and solemnly said, “I tried not to do it, Mommy, but the Devil made me.” Holding back my smile, I wondered, How did my child know, almost instinctively, that it was possible to blame our enemy, the Devil, for his mischievous ways? Was he wrong?
Adam and Eve were the first to play the blame game. God confronted the couple after they ate from the forbidden tree (Genesis 3:9–13). Adam blamed his wife for giving him the fruit, and Eve blamed the serpent. Because of their actions, sin entered the world, traveling through every person except one: Jesus. Since that moment in the Garden of Eden, our enemy has tried to thwart God’s plan for redemption.
However, since that day, sin has also wreaked havoc within us, independent of Satan’s schemes. Most days, the enemy doesn’t need to trip me up because my human nature falls into sin on its own.
The apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). As believers in Jesus, we are no longer bound by our sinful nature because of the saving work Jesus accomplished on the cross. Yet Paul also said, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice” (Romans 7:19).
How do we reconcile these verses? We are a new creation, but we also live in the flesh? And how do Satan and his followers play into our walk as new creations? Paul also said later in the same letter of 2 Corinthians (12:7), “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” The enemy tries to trip up believers.
The Narrow, Complicated Road
Recently, my son and I read a children’s version of The Pilgrim’s Progress. The main character, Christian, finds a book and learns of his city’s future. He decides to leave the City of Destruction for the Celestial City with a heavy burden on his back. He falls into the Slough of Despond and almost drowns but is rescued. He is tempted to go the easy way to the Celestial City. Thankfully, his friend Evangelist helps him back to the narrow path because there is no easy way. It is on that narrow path that he makes it to the Cross. There, his burden falls off and rolls into the empty tomb, disappearing forever.
Noticing the large amount of pages left in the book, my son asked why so much of the story remains after this climactic moment.
“Christian has not made it to the Celestial City yet. His journey continues, just without his burden,” I explained.
What a beautiful picture of our journey before and after salvation. Our burden has been lifted, but we still have a difficult journey that will last us until the end of our lives.
The Bible refers to our struggle after salvation as the battle between the “old self” and the “new self.” Paul instructed us, “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:8–10). What is this “knowledge” Paul spoke of?
The Spirit’s Renewal
The word knowledge that appears in Colossians 3:10 is translated from the Greek word epígnōsis, referring to a divine knowledge. Paul and Peter used this term more than 15 times in their New Testament epistles. We are being renewed to a true, divine knowledge that comes only through the Holy Spirit.
We will continue to sin because, on this side of heaven, our new self is still connected to our flesh—our humanness. However, as we war with our flesh, the Spirit is renewing us day by day as we put on the new self and put off the old. This supernatural action is possible only as we walk in the Spirit through reading the Word of God and humbly walking with one another, confessing our sins.
This is not a passive position but an active one. We will war with our flesh until we die, and if we do not feel that war within us, we are either living in sin or not a true believer in Jesus—a heavy prospect to consider. In this light, reading Romans 7 becomes increasingly relatable, as Paul cried, “’Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?’” (v. 24). He then continued with hope: “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (v. 25). Knowing just how wicked our flesh is makes our salvation through Jesus even sweeter.
Did the Devil Make Me Do It?
How does the enemy play into all of this? Does the Devil make us do sinful things? Is he actively trying to trip us up? Satan is not within believers because we are filled with the Holy Spirit, but he is present around us, controlling the environment. Because he is “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4), we must be renewed daily. God does not always stop the enemy from trying to overtake us (Job 1:12; 2:6). He allowed a messenger from Satan to torment Paul to humble him (2 Corinthians 12:7). God was not being cruel, but rather was allowing trials in Paul’s life to ensure he did not think more highly of himself than he should. What may look like God not answering Paul’s request to alleviate him from this burden was actually a loving act by the Father.
Dear Christian, this world is not our home. We have been given our new self, but on this side of eternity, we are still attached to our old, decaying flesh. We are being tempted and tried by the enemy because he hates what God loves—which is you. This is why we are to actively live in the promise that all things work together for our good (Romans 8:28), though the results may not be seen until we die. Let’s stop blaming the enemy for all our shortcomings and instead confess our sins, commit to pursuing true knowledge through the Holy Spirit, and live victorious lives on that narrow path.
In the words of Christian in The Pilgrim’s Progress, referencing 1 Peter 1:4–5, “I seek an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away; and it is laid up in heaven, safe there, to be bestowed at the time appointed on them that diligently seek it.” Let’s seek this inheritance together.
