Battling Our Inner Traitor

Much is being said these days in the media concerning evangelical and even fundamental preachers falling into gross sin. The failures of these very public men seem to occur mostly in the areas of moral and financial accountability. Whenever such things happen, the godly and ungodly are both shocked. How can trusted Christian leaders do such things? While the due process of law runs its course and the media have a heyday, Christians wrestle with this question of how.

Yes, Satan attacks Christian leaders in his attempt to hinder the gospel, and he is pictured in the Bible as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). And we shouldn’t be dismissive of the scriptural warning. But sometimes I think we tend to assign all the blame to him, implying that we are mere victims and, therefore, not completely responsible for our actions.

The same passage that warns of Satan’s threat also instruct pastors to “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2-3 NASB). Peter sees the threat of personal ambition as well as the threat of Satan’s attack. It is this inner traitor that tends to be granted immunity when he needs to be dealt with mercilessly. Paul refers to this traitor as “the flesh” (see Galatians 5:16-26).

John Newton recognized this traitor within and wrote to a fellow minister asking for prayer in his struggle with the flesh. Newton had a vivid way of describing this struggle with himself:

I have a troublesome inmate, a lodger, who assumes as if the house were his own, and is a perpetual incumbrance, and spoils all. He has long been noted for his evil ways; but though generally known, is not easily avoided…. Time was when I thought I would shut the door, to keep him out of my house, but my precaution came too late; he was already within; and to turn him out by head and shoulders is beyond my power; nay, I cannot interdict him from any one single apartment…. We often meet and jostle and snarl at each other; but sometimes (would you believe it?) I lose all my suspicion, and am disposed to treat him as an intimate friend. This inconsistency of mine I believe greatly encourages him, for I verily believe he would be ashamed and afraid to be seen by me, if I always kept him at a proper distance. However, we both lay such a strong claim to the same dwelling, that I believe the only way of settling the dispute will be (which the Landlord himself has spoken of) to pull down the house over our heads. There seems something disagreeable in this mode of proceeding; but from what I have read in an old book, I form a hope that when things come to this crisis, I shall escape, and my enemy will be crushed in the ruins. (Letters of John Newton. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2007, pp. 307-308)

While we keep watch around us for our adversary the devil, we should be just as diligent to look within and keep our guard up against this inner usurper and struggle with him until the Lord takes him down in ruin and sets us free in perpetual righteousness.

Battling Our Inner Traitor