Author Archives: Dan Lemburg

About Dan Lemburg

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No Escaping it!

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As a matter of course, man without God is drawn into the world system made ever more powerful at the direction of demonic powers. Here we find those who have worked their way into positions of advantage (power), aiding and abetting the enslavement of their fellow men. Though the conflicts and challenges we experience in life may seem on the surface to be with people themselves, ultimately our struggle is against Satan himself as he goes about manipulating us through the world system he has developed and refined.

We dare not forget what Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12: “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” 

Now it’s not hard to see how such captivity can happen to those who have little or no knowledge of God.(Ephesians 4:19) But what about those of us who have come to know, love and serve God? What is the effect of this powerful world system on our lives? The truth is that its impact is clearly oppressive for us as well. So we would be foolish to think that we could remain untouched while living in a world infected by such sin.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

 

 

Satan & the World System

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Knowing what we now do about the motivating forces of pride, self-will and self-interest, it’s not hard to see how Satan can easily manipulate our weaknesses to his advantage. He does this mainly by influencing people through the world system, which he has established with the help of man. What is this world system? It is a structuring of society—politics, the economy, arts and entertainment, education—in such a way as to provide an alternative to mankind’s innate God-created spiritual need.

Even if the devil were never involved, society would need to function in such a way that people could cooperate in an interactive system of some sort. So we shouldn’t think that participating in the world’s social order is somehow disgraceful in God’s eyes. Otherwise, we would have to retreat from society altogether. That doesn’t seem very practical, nor is it the real issue. Rather, where we place our hope is what’s truly important: do we try to find fulfillment mainly in what the world has to offer, or is our hope rooted in Christ and His kingdom?

It’s extremely helpful, though, to understand how Satan has tweaked society for the purpose of serving his deviant objectives. Let’s think for a moment about how he uses the world system to enslave people through the power of sin. Take, for instance, the sin of greed. It’s not too hard to see how financial systems throughout the world have been structured in such a way as to bring about enslavement to greed. Or how about our sexuality? Can you see how what is deceptively called “adult” entertainment (pornography), or even something seemingly so innocuous as fashion works toward enslaving people under ever more serious sin? The media is awash with titillating images designed to ensnare us for the purpose of boosting their ratings. Another massive pitfall is man’s desire for power—born out of his inherent sense of pride. Political and corporate systems have been developed and routinely manipulated by Satan to entrap people in power’s insatiable grip. And the list goes on.

As a matter of course, man without God is drawn into these powerful systems. And there we also find those who have worked their way into positions of advantage (power), aiding and abetting the enslavement of their fellow men. Yet though the conflicts and challenges we experience in life may seem on the surface to be with people themselves, ultimately our struggle is against Satan himself as he goes about manipulating us through the world system he has developed and refined. We dare not forget what Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12: “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” 

Manipulation by the Devil

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The devil has found fertile ground in mankind because of the frailties of human nature. And with man’s help he has developed powerful tools of manipulation in his pursuit of destroying us. Let’s face it, he’s had plenty of time to figure us out. How does he go about this business of enslaving people? Well, just as God mainly works through people in all He does on this earth, Satan and his demons work through people in wreaking their havoc.

Further, it goes without saying that demons, being spiritual creatures, have direct access to man’s immaterial nature. They have no trouble taking advantage of a person’s dead spirit, since people naturally lay themselves open to attack when devoid of the life of God within.

Jesus talked about a man who got rid of an evil spirit only to have it, along with seven others, enter once again when it returned to find its house “unoccupied, swept, and put in order.”(Matthew 12:44) Many other passages in Scripture make it clear that demons are able to exert powerful influence over the heart, oppressing and sometimes even possessing people.

Watch out for Satan!

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Our difficulty in choosing God over self is complicated all the more by the presence of a powerful adversary. When God banished Satan from heaven, He sent him here. Have you ever asked yourself why God, who “knows our frame” and is “mindful that we are but dust,”(Psalm 103:14) would place us in a world controlled by Satan and his minions? Outside of God’s intervention, such a world leaves domination by Satan as the only reasonable prospect.

We don’t have a chance without God! Even with the power of God’s Spirit residing within, our ongoing struggle with self-will is greatly affected by the challenges Satan presents. So it’s critical that we understand Satan’s role in bringing about the domination of sin over people’s lives.

The enemy presents sin as good and pleasurable—concealing the bondage, fear and unhappiness it always brings. By its very nature, sin stirs up hope in the human heart. It’s a lot like the hope inspired by the promises Hitler made, which ultimately led to the loss of some fifty million lives in World War II. The Nazis offered the German people prosperity and future peace in return for allegiance to Hitler and his cause. But all along their hidden agenda was complete domination, not only of the world but of their lives as well. The destruction their collaboration ultimately caused is a graphic reminder of the consequences sin always brings in the end.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

 

 

The Cancer of Pride

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Have you noticed the blemish of pride in people around you? I see it wherever I turn. Having been in the world of business for the past several decades, I’ve witnessed enough pride to last me several lifetimes. But this isn’t only an issue among the rich and powerful; pride affects the poor just as easily. And pride obviously runs rampant in the Church, often marked both by the self-promotion of its leaders and the obstinacy of its members.

Pride not only manifests itself in rebellion against God, but is also the cause of harm to our relationships with others. The root of pride in our nature makes us feel like we’re better than those around us. This cancer spans the common experience of man, from the personal level to interaction between nations. It is witnessed in our offensive attitudes and behavior toward one another, and in extreme cases even results in crimes against humanity. So it’s not hard to see why God cannot tolerate the festering of pride in His children. It’s just too destructive. And on the flip side, this is precisely why humility is such a coveted virtue in God’s eyes.

Pride? Me?

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All sin is ultimately rooted in what C.S. Lewis calls the great sin: pride: “Pride leads to every other vice; it is the completely anti-God state of mind.” (Mere Christianity) He says pride is essentially competitive in nature. And being so, the natural course of ego and conceit (pride, self-importance) is to demand our own way—no matter what God has to say about it. So it’s not hard to see why the Bible defines sin as “lawlessness.”

Lewis goes on to say that pride, “is one vice of which no man in the world is free; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine they are guilty of themselves… and the more we have it in ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.” It’s not at all uncommon for Christians themselves to be oblivious to pride in their life, or at least not appreciate the extent to which this cancer influences them.

Pride is at the very core of the problem of sin because a demanding ego causes us to pursue the things of the world, where it’s easy to experience instant and tangible satisfaction for our misdirected needs—however deceptive and short term this fix might be.(1 John 2:16)

Being the offspring of self-will rooted in self-interest, ego constantly seeks to enhance itself in an attempt to satisfy the desires of the heart. When you think about it, it can easily be seen how all the sins described in the Bible are rooted toward serving this end. So, in our struggle against sin, it’s very helpful to understand why we continue to do what we do, even though we ultimately do not find it rewarding. Pride is the culprit, and the flesh is its instrument.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Enabled to be Godly

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It’s a wonderful thing to have such utter confidence in the fact that our freedom from law and sin has allowed us to share in God’s own righteousness. And that’s not all! Our redemption is set in stone—a salvation and heavenly reward that no one can strip away from us. But standing in such a marvelous and rock-solid hope carries the danger of breeding complacency. “Now that I’ve got my ticket to heaven, what more do I need? Why worry about it?”

Such an attitude is always rooted in the self-centered belief that, at the end of the day, our relationship with God amounts to little more than making a better life for ourselves here and now, with the added bonus of a fabulous heavenly life later. Sadly, this is the way many Christians think about God and His purpose for their life. But it really shouldn’t surprise us much; multitudes of voices unrelentingly and convincingly preach this very message.

This watered-down gospel, though, has no real basis in Scripture. Quite the opposite actually: devotion, selflessness and discipline bear the true mark of a godly person. “Godly? Who said anything about godly? I’m just glad I’m saved!” Well, saved is wonderful, but our reconciliation with God encompasses a whole lot more than merely our initial regeneration—no matter how dramatic our born-again experience might have been.

The primary reason for God doing all He has through Christ Jesus is to pave the way for godliness to become the standard of our life in Him. Salvation, then, is merely the starting point in our walk with God. Through redemption, we are provided the framework essential to choice. And choice by faith is the very heart of our life—and growth in that life—as Christians.(Titus 2;11-12)

A Fungus Amongus

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I was reminded of the problem of sin recently while watching a T.V. program about fungus in a tree (I always pick the most exciting shows!). While the fungus had originated in the crotch of the branches at the center of the tree, it quickly spread throughout its branches and leaves. How to eradicate the fungus was the question.

An arborist went to work on the tree, cutting away its dead branches and pruning back those still alive. But he also did something I would never have thought of doing: he cut out branches from the center of the tree in order to open it up to fresh air and sunlight. Then, as wind blew through the tree and the sun shined within its branches, the fungus eventually dried up and died. To make certain the tree would not be re-infected by the fungus, he raked up all the diseased leaves which had fallen to the ground below.

As I watched, the Lord seemed to say that this is how He goes about eradicating the fungus of sin from our life. Cutting away the dead branches, pruning others, and raking away the diseased leaves spoke to me of our responsibility to say no to sin. But what was even more obvious was the analogy to God’s strategy for healing the true source of sin. Namely, that He addresses the cause of our sinful fungus by removing the diseased inner branches of our heart to allow the presence of His Spirit to flood our life within.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Stategies Against Sin

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Sin doesn’t stem primarily from our physical body; it’s a heart problem rooted within the soul. We know that our soul cannot change until it is influenced by a healthy spirit. And nothing happens until our spirit is first empowered by the life of God. But when it is, the soul, mind and body are pushed automatically toward their purpose. Ultimately this is the answer to the dilemma of the sinful weakness of the flesh.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t consciously try to curb sin in our flesh by saying no to it. It would be pretty foolish to let sin run rampant in our body while waiting for change to happen within our heart. Rather, these strategies are designed to work hand in hand with each other. Only when we renounce sin in our flesh and then couple it with the pursuit of healing and change in our heart do we stand a chance of experiencing transformation in our behavior.

Put God in charge–and then cooperate with Him. He has a plan!

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Sin’s Root

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We see in Scripture conflicting opinions about what causes sin, and therefore its remedy. The Jews—the Scribes and Pharisees in particular—viewed sin as being a product of a person’s outward behavior. So they attempted to manage it through a form of law which evolved over time into a system of commandments even stricter than those found in the Law of Moses.

Jesus, on the other hand, knew that sin is primarily a matter of the heart, saying in Matthew 15:19: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”

Since most of the sins just listed are acted out by our behavior, it’s not too hard to see them simply as a response by our flesh to some outside stimulus received through our natural senses. In other words: “I wanted it, so I did it!” But in reality, sin manifesting itself through the actions of our body is a symptom of a much more serious disease within.

Sin is a barometer of the heart—a very clear indicator of what is residing within self. Sin is more than just actions; it is rooted in our attitudes, intentions and motives. Given this fact, I find it disturbing (though not surprising) that it’s so common among Christians to ignore the significance of these inner motivations.