God wants His children to be aware of the several roadblocks on their journey to the promised land. Chief among these is the devil. He puts obstacles in our path so we can reject the ways of the Lord (1st Peter 5:7-9). He uses sin as a weapon of destruction knowing fully well that no unclean thing shall enter into the Kingdom of God (Revelation 21:27).

Seeing these obvious threats to the success of our pilgrimage, God always provides an escapes route for us (1st Corinthians 10:13)

In 1 John 3:4-10, John describes sin as a transgression of the law. It is definitely not a Christian virtue. As a matter of fact, sinners belong to the devil because he has been sinning from the beginning (1st John 3:.

The whole duty of Satan is to lure people into disobedience against God, thus truncating their journey to eternal life. He told Adam and Eve that eating the forbidding fruit would not affect their relationship with God. Eventually, they were sent from the blissful garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Today, he has introduced the concept of ‘non-essentials’ to the Christian faith. For instance, the devil convinces people that a sip of alcohol once in a while does not matter; and that premarital sex is not bad as long as the couple would eventually marry each other, without regard for Hebrews 13:4! What about lies? Many ‘Christians’ now lie with impunity and it is termed ‘white’ lies. These are very little foxes that destroy the vine of faith. This is a timely warning for Christian pilgrims to guard against seemingly insignificant habits that can exclude one from the hope of eternal life.

May the Lord grant us the grace to run with patience the race that is set before us.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.