Why do I do stupid things? Where do those desires come from? How did that idea pop into my head?
The answer is more complicated than you might think. Consider the following verses reflecting upon the same incident in King David’s life:
Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. (1 Chronicles 21:1 ESV)
Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” (2 Samuel 24:1 ESV)
And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. (1 Chronicles 21:8 ESV)
Satan was involved. God was involved. David was involved.
That’s a pretty complicated scenario and it begs a couple of fairly important questions:
- Does God tempt people to sin?
- Does God use Satan to accomplish his will?
- How free am I to determine my own actions?
The first question is fairly easy to answer. No, God does not tempt people to sin. The Bible says:
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (James 1:13–14 ESV)
Temptations come from inside; they arise out of our twisted and fallen desires. They represent a wrong internal response to an exterior challenge or opportunity. Does God arrange for those challenges or opportunities? The answer to that must certainly be yes. God is often portrayed in the Bible as testing those who would follow him:
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:1–2 ESV)
The Apostle Paul even referred to God as “God who tests our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4 ESV) Therefore we might say that this isn’t just something that God does, it is something that God is. He is “God who tests our hearts.” The purpose of all this testing is also made clear:
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:3–4 ESV)
God tests us in order to assess and facilitate our growth and development as believers. Combining Genesis 22 and James 1 we might say that God tests us to know us and to grow us. But he does not tempt us. God’s desire is never for us to do wrong, it is always for us to reject wrong and to grow in all that is right, beautiful and true.
That leads us to our second question, “Does God use Satan to accomplish his will?” Again, the answer to that has to be yes. In the Bible the devil is rather like a dog on a chain. He can be trusted to do what rabid dogs do – he will bark, bite, ravage and destroy if permitted. The good news is that God holds the chain. He will lengthen it or shorten it as it serves his purpose. We see that in the story of King David’s census referenced above, but we also see it in the story of Job. In that story we are told:
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:6–8 ESV)
Notice that Satan, along with all the other angelic beings, came to present himself to God. Like every other angel – fallen and otherwise – he is subject to whatever limitations the Lord sees fit to establish. In the case of Job God lengthens the devil’s chain and allows him to ruin Job’s business and destroy his children in a horrific accident. But he is not to touch Job’s life itself. That limitation is made explicit:
“Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” (Job 1:12 ESV)
God sets the boundary. The devil just does what he does.
We see the same in the New Testament. We are told that at some point God will again significantly lengthen the devil’s chain:
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. (Revelation 20:1–3 ESV)
While good Christians disagree about the meaning of the thousand years, the sense of the symbol itself is not disputed. God limits and then extends the devil’s reach into human affairs as it suits His purpose.
That brings us to our third question, “How free am I to determine my own actions?” The answer to this question is complicated. Certainly we are required by God to control our emotions and desires and to act in a godly and loving manner. We see that in the second temptation narrative in Scripture when Cain was feeling jealous and angry towards his brother:
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6–7 ESV)
You must rule over it. Human beings are required by God to responsibly manage their emotions and desires. But are we able to do so? The story of the Old Testament would seem to suggest that the answer is no. Even David, the best of men, gives in to lust in the matter of Bathsheba and then to pride in the matter of the census. Paul speaks without hope regarding the plight of man apart from the work of Christ:
both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:9–12 ESV)
Are we free? Certainly we make real choices, but the testimony of the Old Testament, here affirmed by the Apostle Paul, is that all our choices lead in the direction of our fallen desires, lusts and ambitions. Our free choices lead us into death and ruin.
So what hope does the Bible offer?
Much in every way! First of all the Bible offers us Christ whose every word and desire conforms perfectly to the will of the Father.
For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise (John 5:19 ESV).
No other human being could ever have said that and that’s why the Apostle Paul said that we are saved, ultimately by the obedient life of Christ:
For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19 ESV)
Jesus does for us what we could never do for ourselves – thanks be to God!
But there is more. He also promises to give us the Holy Spirit! When we join with him through faith and confess our sins and place them upon his body on the cross we are washed and cleansed and ready to receive the Holy Spirit. This Spirit comes into our heart and immediately begins to speak to the Father for us and to us for the Father. He begins to prompt and empower us in right directions. Therefore the Bible says:
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV)
Slowly but surely, the Spirit begins to turn us around and towards Christ. The rest of that glorious passage in 2 Corinthians 3 reads as follows:
where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17–18 ESV)
Slowly but surely, the new Voice in our head overpowers the old and we are pointed and prompted in the way of Christ.
I suppose then, that we are never entirely free – but then again, human beings weren’t created for full and entire freedom. We are exalted creatures, surely, but always under lordship and influence. Once we were enslaved to our passions, stirred up and distorted by spiritual adversaries; now because of Christ, we are guided and helped by the Holy Spirit who whispers guidance, truth and encouragement to us from our heavenly Father and who steers us and strengthens us towards the image and likeness of Christ.
Thanks be to God!
SDG
Paul Carter
N.B. To listen to Pastor Paul’s Into The Word devotional podcast on the TGC Canada website see here; to listen on SoundCloud see here. You can also find it on iTunes.
