How can I overcome my sinful addictions? – Part 4

“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.’ ” John 8:42

We will look at a second reason why we are hindered from overcoming our addictions. It is because of SATANIC LIES (John 8:37-44). We observed last time thatJesus’ audience was comprised of believers (“many believed in Him… those Jews who believed Him” – John 8:30b-31a) and unbelievers (“you do not believe Me… why do you not believe Me?” – John 8:44-45). While Jesus spoke to the believers about abiding in His Word to be set free from bondage to sin (John 8:31-32), the unbelievers listened in and were offended that Jesus spoke of being set free from bondage since they were descendants of Abraham (John 8:33).

Jesus then said to these unbelievers, “ ‘37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.’ 39 They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.’ Then they said to Him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.’ ” (John 8:37-41). Jesus acknowledged that these people were physical descendants of Abraham, but they were not spiritual descendants. These unbelieving Jews had no room in their hearts for Jesus’ word because they have a different father than Jesus’ Father in heaven (John 8:37-38). When they said Abraham was their father, Jesus said if that were true, they would “do the works of Abraham” (John 8:39). But instead of behaving like Abraham who embraced the truth (cf. Genesis 15:4-6; 18:1-22), they sought to kill Jesus because He told them “the truth” which He “heard from God” the Father (John 8:40). When Christ accused them of doing “the deeds” of their father (John 8:41a; cf. 8:44), He was implying that they had a different spiritual father than God or Abraham.

Then these unbelievers made reference to what they thought was Jesus’ illegitimate  birth, “We were not born of fornication” (John 8:41b). While claiming that God was their “Father” (John 8:41c), they were also taking a jab at Jesus by saying His mother was pregnant before she was married (cf. Matthew 1:18). I find that many Muslims have this same view of Jesus’ birth that they use to justify their rejection of Christ.

What these unbelieving Jews and many Muslims today do not understand is that God is Jesus’ Father. “Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.’ ” (John 8:42). Jesus refuted their accusation that He was born illegitimately because His birth was supernatural (“I proceeded forth and came from God”), not immoral! Moreover, Jesus also denied that God was their Father. The phrase “If God were your Father…” is a second class condition in the Greek language which means it is contrary to fact. It would be translated, “If God were your Father [and He is not], you would love Me…” Christ’s point is if they were God’s true children they would love Him instead of trying to kill Him, and they would acknowledge that God “sent” Him.

Christ then says, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” (John 8:43). Even though Jesus’ message is clear and true about His identity and origin, these unbelieving Jews could “not understand” Him. They were “not able to listen” to Jesus’ message because they had hardened their hearts toward Christ (cf. John 5:40; 7:17). Why? Jesus explains: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44). When Jesus spoke, these men wanted to kill Him because their father, the devil, has been a murderer and a liar from the beginning. These men were enslaved to sin because they were in denial about their relationship to Satan. The devil had lied to these leaders about the identity of Jesus and these leaders believed his lies which kept them from believing in Christ. This is at the heart of all who reject Jesus Christ. They have been deceived by the father of lies – Satan himself (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:4; 11:3-4).

Addictions are much more than some chemical dependency or deep psychological need. Underneath the addiction there is an invisible kingdom that governs and controls human behavior. Jesus lived continuously in this awareness that the invisible control center of the earth was where the great issues of life were settled. He points out that there is a hateful dictator (the devil) working behind the scenes; a murderer who wants to destroy human beings, and his process is to deceive them, to lie to them, to make them think and believe a lie. That is what happened to these men and it can happen to you and to me. We can believe Satan’s lies that appeal to our pride and ego so that we are no longer capable of understanding and recognizing truth when we hear it from God.

Look with me now at three lies Satan uses to keep us in bondage to sin. Turn to Genesis 3. The first people God ever made were perfect and they lived in a perfect environment, the garden of Eden. Genesis 3:1-7:

The first lie: “Has God indeed said…?” (Genesis 3:1). Satan attacks God’s Word as untrustworthy. Satan keeps us in bondage to sin by telling us God’s Word cannot be trusted. When God’s Word says to forgive others (Ephesians 4:32), Satan says, “Don’t let them off the hook. Make them pay.” But unforgiveness hurts you more than anyone else. When God’s Word says “he who believes in the Son has everlasting life” (John 3:36a), Satan says, “Jesus is not God’s Son. He is merely a prophet or good moral teacher.” If I can’t believe God in Genesis 3:3 how can I believe Him in Revelation 3:3? If I can’t believe God in Genesis, how do I know I can trust Him with my eternal destiny?

The second lie: “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4). Satan attacks the concept of objective truth. God says every sin has a penalty, but Satan says, “That’s not true. It is okay to sin. You will feel better.” Initially you may feel better. But in the end, you will be more miserable and empty than you ever imagined. We live in a world that no longer believes in objective truth. Nothing is certain anymore. You believe what you want to believe and I’ll believe what I want to believe. People are more concerned about feelings than they are truth. That is why fake news is so common today.

The third lie: “You will be like God.” (Genesis 3:5). Satan confuses our concept of God and our designed role.Satan told Eve that the only reason God did not want her to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden was because God was selfish. “God doesn’t want anyone to become like Him by knowing good and evil. He doesn’t want you to reach your full potential. If you obey God you will be limited and unfulfilled.” But Satan knew no one could be like God. How did he know? Because he tried it himself and got kicked out of heaven (cf. Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:11-19)!

Once Satan got Eve to focus on the one tree she couldn’t eat from rather than the hundreds she could enjoy, she lost sight of God’s goodness and plunged herself, her family, and the rest of the world into sin.

The devil wants us to think that if we sin we will become more like God, knowing good and evil. That somehow sinning makes us more godly, more in control of our lives and therefore more like God. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Sin separates us from God and makes us out of control and headed for destruction.

If we are going to overcome addictions, we must come out of denial and realize that we are no match for “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). We cannot overcome Satan and his lies in our own strength. He is much too strong and wise for us. We need a DELIVERER named Jesus Christ who alone can overcome the power of the devil and his lies. Satan is no match for Christ.

Prayer: Lord God, all of us to some degree have been deceived about ourselves, our world, and the god of this world. We have been tricked into believing lies about You as well. Much of my battle with addictions can be traced to Satan’s kingdom rather than to chemical imbalance or psychological need. My bondage to sin begins with my denial of what is true, including Satan’s existence and deception. The devil uses lies to keep people enslaved to sin and unable to discover the truth of Jesus’ identity. This is at the heart of all who reject Jesus Christ. They have been deceived by the father of lies. Lord, I pray that You will bring a great awakening to this lost world so all may see their need for our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. I now invite the Holy Spirit to guide me into all truth so that any deception that has kept me in bondage to sin can be exposed and replaced with Your truth. Use me, I pray, to advance Your gospel of truth so people may discover the freedom only Jesus can give from bondage to sin and shame. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.