“That’s Just a Small Sin” – Satan

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One of Satan’s tactics in deceiving Christians and other humans is in telling them “That’s Just a Small Sin.” Joel Beeke in Striving Against Satan says it this way: “Satan minimizes the seriousness of sin, then leads us on to greater sins. Sin encroaches upon us, moving from our thoughts to our looks to our words and then to our actions.” ” …Technically, there is no such thing as a little sin because there is no little God to sin against.” “…When Satan tempts you to commit a little sin, tell him that you will not displease your greatest Friend who died for all your sin–including your smallest sins–by yielding to his greatest enemy (pg.76).”

Here are some random “small sins” that Satan taught us (Christians) ; along with the true sins that we’re ignoring:

1) Satan teaches us to say, “I ate too much,” but the underlying true sin is “I believed food was the gospel at this moment.” or “I loved food more than God at this moment.”

2) Satan teaches us to say, “I looked at a beautiful woman lustfully, but I didn’t touch her;” or “I looked at a handsome man lustfully, but I didn’t touch him.” but, the underlying true sin is “I committed adultery” or “I committed sexual immorality.”

3) Satan teaches us to say, “I really enjoyed the intimate conversation I had with a friend–other than my spouse–of the opposite or same sex. I look forward to speaking/chatting/texting with him or her soon.” but, the underlying true sin is “I committed adultery.” (This is true because conversations that should be had with your spouse, shoud indeed be had with your spouse, and not someone else. Marriage is the 2nd most important relationship on earth, 2nd only to your relationship with God. Marriage is even more important than your relationship with your children, parents, friends, etc.)

4) Satan teaches us to say, “I only thought about that man or woman sexually, I didn’t actually do anything with him or her.” but, the underlying true sin is “I committed adultery or sexual immorality.”

5) Satan teaches us to say, “I only extremely dislike that person,” but, the underlying true sin is “I am a murderer (1 John 3:15).”

6) Satan teaches us to say, “I don’t want my child marrying a minority race because they will have a harder life,” but, the underlying true sin is “I am a racist” (This is evident based on the strange conundrum in the South that interracial relationships are OK so long as a white person doesn’t marry a black or hispanic person. Call it what it is: racism.) or, “I believe God is a liar because some humans are more valuable than others.” (Children will have a harder life if they’re overweight, have a big nose, are short, or very tall, etc. Yet, only a few races seem to be discriminated against…)

7) Satan teaches us to say, “You make me so mad,” but, the underlying true sin is, “It’s my world, not God’s world, and everyone else is just living in it.” or “My sin is your fault, not the fault of my wicked heart.”

8 ) Satan teaches us to say, “If I just had ‘fill in the blank with any sin or blessing that isn’t Christ’ my life would be complete,” but, the underlying true sin is, “The abundant life is not found in Jesus Christ, but is found in other blessings or sin.”

9) Satan teaches us to say, “I’d rather watch sports than spend time with my wife or children,” but, the underlying true sin is, “I love sports more than my wife, children, and God.” (This of course is not saying that Christians cannot watch sports. I’m merely saying that Christians must be careful not to love sports above other more biblically important things: God, family, the church, friends, etc. Sports should be way down on the list of loves in our lives.)

10) Satan teaches us to say, “If I could just start another church, my theology and doxology would produce a flourishing congregation,” but, the underlying true sin is “I am the answer for what ails Christ’s church. I am the gospel.” or “I want a church that looks, thinks, and acts exactly like me.”

11) Satan teaches us to say, “God hasn’t spoken to me yet, telling me to share the gospel with someone (Matt. 28:18-20), to attend church regularly (Heb. 10:25), or to serve in ministry with the local church (Rom. 12:1-8),” but, the underlying true sin is, “My relative opinion of what God is saying apart from the Bible is more accurate than the written, breathed into existence Word of God embedded in thousands of years of history (2 Tim. 3:16-17).”

12) Satan teaches us to say, “No one was saved today, I’m a failure,” but, the underlying true sin is, “The salvation of Christ’s church depends ultimately on me, not God.” (The reality is that you cannot blame yourself if someone doesn’t repent, unless you also pat yourself on the back when someone does repent. Christ will grow His church, and we shouldn’t try to compete with Him.)

13) Satan teaches us to say, “Our church is getting the job done moreso than other churches because we’re the biggest in the community, city, state, nation, or world,” but, the underlying true sin is “We don’t love our neighbors that have yet to believe.” (In other words, as long as there is an unbeliever out there in our community, or in the world even, we should have a healthy dissatisfaction with our ministries. Our work isn’t finished until the entire world woships God alone through Christ alone by faith alone.)

What are your thoughts?