Faith and trust are virtually the same word, but faith is not the same as faith in Jesus Christ. You will hear many speak of their faith, but it is used in the same terminology as trusting that the sun will come up tomorrow, that the sky is blue, that they will be here, alive and well tomorrow, and probably the next day. Many that you speak with will say they believe in God, but when was the last time you were having a conversation with someone and they said they believed that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He is the only way to the Father. Their faith stops short, because it is just that, faith in what their five senses can process, and those things that have been true in their lives for a long period of time. Those who say they believe in God do not even tremble when they say so, (James 2:19) for it is not trust in Almighty God, but a god of their own design.
Satan is a liar, a destroyer, and a tempter, he is exceptionally good at what he does, and I believe that very few Christians are even slightly aware of how he operates. Far too many do not understand his principle objective, to be worshipped, they believe that he spends the majority of his time going around tempting the children of God, and while I am sure that is part of his army’s operational agenda, it is by no means the main focus of his attention. Satan watches intently what God is doing, where His hand of protection and provision is, and where it is not, and tempting Christians, at least in the way that many of them perceive these temptations, is far down on his list of daily chores. He is not tempting you to eat too much, there are overweight Christians and there are skinny Christians, I could entertain a plethora of examples here of what too many Christians consider a temptation from Satan, and nearly every one of them could be shown for what they truly are, our own lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.
Those things that we are personally accountable for are our fault, and though some demon may have given us a little push, they by no means need to stick around afterwards, we are quite capable of inventing and continuing in our own sins and then remaining in them. Trust this my friends, you can stand in front of the Lord on your day of accountability and try to blame your falling into temptation on whatever you want, but you will be shown that it was one hundred percent your decision. We have no one to blame for our actions but ourselves, and there will be consequences for those actions. (Gal. 6:7) So stop whining about that food or the booze that keeps calling your name, stop thinking about that porn on your cell phone, stop blaming all the temptations in your life on our adversary, and start being a man or woman of God.
There is only one thing, one thought that Satan needs to place in our minds, “Hath not God said.” (Gen. 3:1) It amazes me how many people I meet anymore who say they are Christians, but seemed to be filled with nothing but doubt, doubt about His care, His provisions, His love for them, it is incredible. When even the smallest change from the normal occurs in their lives, immediate doubt, the future they have envisioned becomes fuzzy and blurred, their presupposed hopes and dreams seem to be growing fainter, their pre-imagined security is revealed to them as what it always was, a lie. They had faith and trust, but only in themselves and their aspirations, the words “faith in Christ” only lasted as long as the times remained the same, but when the possibility of change comes, their faith in Christ is shown for what it truly was, weak at best, non-existent in others. These have little to no trust in the provisions of our Lord for us, their trust was only in the repetition of sameness, and it takes very little for the Lord to show them who they truly are. Words of the Scriptures are read and spoken, but when it comes time to actually live them, well, that’s a different story.
Beyond his own desires to be worshipped, this is the only real concern of Satan towards the born-again believer, get them to doubt the Truths of the Word of God, and it is so easy, just a simple action that requires faith in Christ, actual trust, and many, if not most Christians will fall every time, and then walk around like a scolded puppy that went to the bathroom on the carpet, feeling bad about themselves, feeling like they failed, again. There is absolutely no confidence in Christ when the trials and tribulations come upon these weaker brothers and sisters, they will not walk out in faith, they refuse to trust. Over and over He will afford them opportunities to grow in their trust of Him, and although some may grow very slowly over time, many will never reach an age of spiritual maturity, and they will find anyone to blame but themselves.
For most of these, their lives are ruled by their emotions, and so they are easily tempted and deceived, the doubt that is placed in their minds never dies, and can be modified to fit any situation, all leading to the same conclusion, a lack of trust in the provisions of Jesus Christ. Many of these born-again believers will be ashamed at His coming, (1 John 2:28) few will receive any rewards in the kingdom, they will continue in a life of fear, never truly understanding the reality of the fulness of His grace and mercy, or even the riches of His glory. (Eph. 3:16) They will know the verses, but for some reason will not be able to bring themselves to actually live them.
He is kind, He is patient and above all, our Lord is loving, but there is a difference beyond anything that we can comprehend when that day comes that we will either hear “Welcome,” or “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
