Skip to content ↓

Satan’s Great Trick

One of Satan’s greatest tricks is to convince you that the sin you are being tempted with is a very small sin. “This is just a little one. It’s not like you’re going to kill anyone. It’s not like you’re committing adultery. You’ve done it before and God didn’t strike you down. The joy will by far outweigh the risk. We will keep this one between just you and me.” And too often you believe his lie. You indulge in what seems like just a little sin, a harmless peccadillo.

One of Satan’s greatest delights is to convince you that the sin you have just committed is a very big sin. That same sin that was so small in the future looms so large in the past. Now he whispers, “Oh, you have sinned so badly. You have sinned so big. How could you have done this? You’ve gone and done it this time—you’ve sinned beyond his grace.” And again, you believe the lie. You wallow in guilt and sink into despair.

Do you see the pattern? Do you see the cycle? Do you see the sheer evil of it? Satan’s great joy is to convince you that the sin you are about to commit is very small and the sin you have just committed is very large. He convinces you of this even when they are the very same sin. Don’t believe his lie! Don’t fall for his trick! But if and when you do, don’t give him his great delight.

There is hope, even when you fall for his trick for the thousandth time. The terrible reality is that there are no small sins, no minor offenses. There are always grave consequences for recklessly disobeying God’s commands. But your glorious confidence is that those consequences have already been faced and met and paid by God’s own Son. There are no sins so small that you can enjoy them with impunity, but no sins so big that they can take you beyond God’s saving grace.

Image credit: Shutterstock


  • The Tallest Trees

    The Winds Blow Hardest Against the Tallest Trees

    Through the weekend had many questions about Christian leaders who fall. And I expressed that just as the winds blow hardest against the tallest trees, so temptations may press hardest against the leaders who rise the highest. Just as floods press against shallow roots, so seductive desires rise up against those whose fall would bring…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 21)

    A La Carte: Toxic servant leadership / Taking our stress to the Lord / The problem with habits / Is it wrong for Christians to choose cremation? / Why does your church meet in a house? / Big book and Kindle deals / and more.

  • Expectations

    Why We Ask So Little of God

    Most Christians expect little from God, ask little, and therefore receive little, and are content with little. Though the Bible calls us to pray and though it promises that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working,” we can still have very modest expectations of what God will accomplish through…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (April 19)

    A La Carte: Why man needs God / Why nails matter / Kids’ picture books / MLK’s famous letter changed a DC church / How to mentor / A tearless eternity / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (TGBC)

    This weeks Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by The Good Book Company. They are giving away a bundle of their best-selling Good Book Guides that are designed to guide your head and your heart through God’s word. Each Good Book Guide includes a concise leader’s guide in the back.  The Bundle includes: Giveaway Rules: You…

  • A Light on the Hill

    A Light on the Hill

    In early 2020, CHBC, along with almost every other church in the world, was forced to contend with the opening days of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time Caleb Morell was working as Pastor Mark Dever’s personal assistant. Dever tasked him with finding out how the church had responded to the Spanish flu epidemic a…