Why The Street Is So Loud
Sin is after something more than our behavior. Its intention is to create distance between us and God.
In Proverbs 7, Solomon describes a young man being drawn into a trap he cannot fully see. Like a small fish attracted to the glowing lure of an anglerfish, he sees what looks desirable without recognizing the danger behind it.
The most dangerous thing isn’t always darkness — it’s false light.
Darkness makes us cautious. False light can make us confident. It convinces us that we can see clearly enough to know where something is leading.
The danger of sin is often the presence of bad information that feels like certainty.
1. SATAN HAS METHODS — HE’S NOT JUST MOODY.
Temptation is not simply something that randomly blows into our lives. Ephesians 6:11 tells us to stand against the “wiles” of the devil. The enemy operates through methods, patterns, procedures and strategies.
The trap was being prepared before you recognized the temptation.
Proverbs 7 describes the woman as being outside, in the open square and “lurking at every corner.” The enemy isn't working someone else’s route. He works the roads we travel every day.
A trap is designed not to look like a trap.
We should not be ignorant of the enemy’s devices. His methods are knowable, which means we can learn to recognize them.
2. SATAN’S BEST WORK SOUNDS RELIGIOUS.
In Proverbs 7:14, the woman begins by talking about peace offerings and paying her vows. Her deception doesn’t begin with something that sounds obviously evil. It begins with language that sounds spiritual.
2 Corinthians 11 warns that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light.
The voice most likely to lead us away from God may not be the one that sounds evil. It may be the one that sounds holy while pointing us slightly away from truth.
A path that begins only a few inches off course can eventually take us somewhere entirely different.
We cannot simply ask, “Does this sound good?”
We have to ask, “Does this agree with the Word of God?”
3. THE ENEMY ISN’T SIMPLY INTERESTED IN INFLUENCING YOUR BEHAVIOR.
The enemy's ultimate goal is distance between you and God.
He doesn't have to convince you that God doesn't exist. If he can blind you to your purpose, convince you that your sin has disqualified you, or make you believe that God made a mistake when He made you, he can still keep you from living the life God has called you to live.
The enemy isn't measuring the size of the sin.
He's measuring the direction of the person.
Sin gradually pulls us away from the Light until we find ourselves farther from God than we ever intended to go.
But the enemy isn't the only one with a plan.
God had a plan, too.
Satan had worked the street for thousands of years and thought he was winning when Jesus went to the cross. Instead, he walked directly into God's plan of redemption.
Jesus died.
Jesus rose again.
And through Him, sin and death were defeated.
The false light has teeth behind it.
Jesus is the Light with arms outstretched behind it — a Father calling His children home.
TAKEAWAY
Don't simply pay attention to what you can see. Ask God for discernment to recognize what may be operating behind it.
Know the Word.
Recognize the enemy's methods.
Test the voices you're listening to.
Stay close to Jesus.
You may be imperfect, but God is not.
You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Don't accept your opinion of yourself over His opinion of you.