Crouching Sin, Conquering Savior

Crouching Sin, Conquering Savior

Matthew 4:1-11 T Lent 1

INI

“Sin is crouching at your door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” That was what God said to Cain, when anger and jealousy overwhelmed him. But Cain ignored the warning. Instead of mastering his sin, he let it master him – leading him to kill his brother.

            Sin was also crouching at the door of Cain’s parents – Adam and Eve. The temptation to sin for them came in the form of a serpent, who tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the tree that God told Adam to not allow anyone to eat from. Yes, Eve tempted Adam, but Adam was toast after he failed to be the man and spiritual leader that God made him to be, when he passively stood by while he let his wife be tempted by the devil.

            They fell for Satan’s deceptions. And the way Satan deceived them is the same way he deceives you and me. He starts out by asking… “Did God really say?” Satan will crouch at your door, twisting God’s Word before your eyes. At first, Eve responded well to Satan’s tactics. Eve responded by telling the serpent that the Lord said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, nor should you touch it, lest you die”. She did the right thing. She responded to Satan’s temptation with the Word of God – saying, “I can’t go there. My Lord forbids me.”

But Satan wasn’t finished. When Satan knew that he wasn’t going to trick Eve on God’s clear command alone, he changed tactics. He turned Eve’s heart against her Creator, making her believe that god was withholding something good from her. He said “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan made sin look like wisdom. He made rebellion feel like freedom. He made disobedience seem like enlightenment.

The final blow came when Eve saw the fruit. It looked good to her. It was desirable in her eyes. The thought of what COULD be, of what she might gain – overwhelmed her. So, she reached out, took the fruit, and ate.

Sin crouched at her door. And instead of her ruling over it, it ruled over her.

Isn’t that exactly how Satan tempts us? He starts by making us question God’s Word: “Did God really say?” He plants a seed of doubt, whispering that maybe God isn’t as serious about His commands as we’ve been told. Maybe He’s holding something back.

Then, Satan twists the truth. He doesn’t just question God’s Word—he reinterprets it. He makes sin seem beneficial, convincing us that it will help us discover our “truest selves.” “You won’t really die,” he says. “You’ll still wake up tomorrow.” But that’s the deception. Sin does kill. It brings physical death, and worse, it leads to spiritual death even while we are still living.

Satan’s ultimate goal? To make us believe that God is withholding something good—that disobedience will lead to greater happiness. And when doubt has done its work, he places the sin right in front of us, making it look irresistible.

And like Eve, we often hesitate when confronted with the possibility of sin. We reason with ourselves. We tell ourselves that it’s not OUR fault. We blame other people for bringing the temptation to us, just like Adam did to Eve and Eve to the serpent. But that’s not good enough. Our God has warned us – sin is crouching at the door. We must rule over it. But too often, we willingly let it in.

We see this play out all the time in our daily lives. Whether it be big societal temptations gradually creeping into God’s Holy church. For example, Satan tempts the church to outright reject God’s created institution and promises on marriage and sexuality. He tempts us to blame the indulgement of pornography, lust, or marital infidelity on the promiscuity of other people and the sexual culture we live in. He tempts us to passively sit back and allow Satan to convince our family, friends, or co-workers that God “made us” in a way that rejects God’s biological design and sexuality. Some may simply reject God’s Word on marriage – seeing this sacred space God has set up for families to flourish, as a mere piece of paper given by the state. Lately in Christian Churches, Satan has used marriage and sexuality to get us to question God’s Word, and eventually, completely fall away from it because we’ve been reeled in through Satan’s deception.

But so often, sin crouches at our door in little ways that often go undetected. There’s a huge temptation to gossip. Or to hold grudges. Or to indulge sinful desires behind closed doors. We convince ourselves that that doesn’t make us bad people. We are sinners after all, aren’t we? Surely God doesn’t mind if I scratch this itch every once in a while? Is it really all THAT bad? No one is going to know, so does it matter? …. The more we entertain such thoughts, the more desirable the sin becomes. The more desirable sin becomes, the more your conscience is silenced by the desires of your sinful heart. And before you know it, like Eve, we take the fruit and eat. We blame others for our failures. Ultimately, we’re banished from God’s presence.

Be on guard—sin is crouching at your door. That’s God’s warning. Sin promises happiness, telling you that indulging in it will lead to a better life. But that’s the lie. The truth? Sin doesn’t lead to flourishing—it leads to death. It pulls you away from God, the very source of life. And God hates sin because it destroys His creation. That’s why He gave Cain—and us—the command: “You must rule over it.”

But how? How do you resist when temptation looks so good? When it promises you something you think you’re missing?

The answer is not found within yourself. The answer is in Christ Jesus, your Lord. Where Adam, Eve, you, and me have failed at ruling over sin, Jesus has succeeded. Where we have been deceived, Christ has stood firm. Where we doubted God’s goodness, Christ trusted completely. Where we entertained sin, He crushed it under His foot. He has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin.

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus didn’t stand there and reason with him. Jesus didn’t hear Satan out. Jesus didn’t even dare to entertain Satan’s lies and deceptions of God’s Word. To each temptation, Jesus responded with the Word of God – “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” … “It is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” …. It is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

In each response to Satan’s temptation, Jesus never doubted the goodness of His heavenly Father. Nor did he ever think that His Father was holding anything back from Him.

Jesus shows us how to fight against the temptations of the evil one. But it isn’t as if he expects US to go out there and slay Satan by sheer will power and might. Jesus didn’t just show us how to resist temptation – He conquered sin itself! On the cross, he bore all the times we’ve fallen, every time we’ve allowed sin to rule over us. His blood covers us. His victory is our refuge. Because of Him, when sin crouches at your door, you do not stand alone. Christ stands with you.

Our refuge is in Christ and His Word as we resist temptations today. We resist temptation by clinging to the truth of God’s Word – and not just some parts, but the WHOLE thing. We can’t put some commandments on a higher pedestal than others – rather we should trust that EVERYTHING our Father has given us in His Word is for our good, protecting us from what could destroy us.

We’re weak and frail in our sinful flesh. So, cling to the one who has already won the victory against Satan – Jesus Christ your Lord. For Jesus has fulfilled God’s promise in Genesis – He has crushed Satan’s head on the cross. His blood spilt on the cross covers your failures, and frees you to live a God-pleasing life. He is your refuge and strength, a mighty fortress for you against Satan. Because of Him, when sin crouches at your door, you don’t stand alone. Jesus stands with you.

So, stay in God’s Word – arm yourselves with the truth. Know that Satan will come and try to allure you. Temptations will arise, but know this: Christ has conquered sin, eternal death, and the devil. And by His grace, you CAN rule over it.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston