OUTLINE:

Judging
Our flesh is so trained to draw conclusions from what is seen. The Bible tells us, “the righteous man shall live BY FAITH” (Ro 1:17).

A. W. Tozer
The world of sense intrudes upon our attention day and night for the whole of our lifetime. It is clamorous, insistent, and self-demonstrating. It does not appeal to our faith; it is here, assaulting our five senses, demanding to be accepted as real and final.

A. W. Tozer
But sin has so clouded the lenses of our hearts that we cannot see that other reality, the city of God, shining around us. The world of sense triumphs. The visible becomes the enemy of the invisible, and the temporal, of the eternal. That is the curse inherited by every member of Adam's tragic race. At the root of the Christian life lies belief in the invisible. The object of the Christian's faith is unseen reality.

Heb 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

The Truth Is Simple
The great thing about Jesus Christ is that He has all the answers because He is Truth, incarnate (Jn 1:14-17). Sin deceives us into believing that Jesus does NOT have all the answers; rather, we must consult the world to find them. This is a LIE!

The Futility of Human Flesh
We are INCAPABLE of beating sin at its own game! The nature of sin is that it is deceptive. This means that its first order of business is to go unidentified! ONLY the Light of the Word is able to illuminate sin, identify it, and then deal with it.

The Deceitfulness of Sin
“How does sin go undetected?” Answer:  Mt 6:23 - when we exchange truth for a lie, light for darkness, good for bad, bitter for sweet, etc. (Is 5:20).

The Deceitfulness of Sin
Sin poses as a friend, as something good, even righteous, for us. (eg. Ps 55:21; Pr 5:3)

The Deceitfulness of Sin
You are incapable of controlling sin on your own! Sin wants to deceive you of this very truth; it wants you to think that you actually CAN control it so that you don’t cut if off (ala Mt 18:8-9), but you HAVEN’T, you CAN’T, you NEVER WILL!

The Total Depravity of Man by A. W. Pink
We are expressly told that there is no lion in the "way of holiness," that no ravenous beast shall be found there (Is 35:8-9). No, we have to step out of that way and trespass on the devil’s territory before he can "get an advantage of us" (2Co 2:11).

The Total Depravity of Man by A. W. Pink
That is why we are so emphatically enjoined, "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it" (Prov. 4:14-15).

The Total Depravity of Man by A. W. Pink
We certainly do not regard Eve as being guilty of any sin at this initial stage, but the sequel shows plainly that she incurred great danger and exposed herself to temptation by approaching so near to that tree whose fruit had been divinely prohibited…

The Total Depravity of Man by A. W. Pink
…and we need not be surprised to discover, as she also did, that that ground was already occupied by the serpent. This has been recorded for our learning and warning.

“Playing with fire.”
Sin deceives us into thinking that we can play with fire and not get burned. The truth is that eventually, given the superior nature of fire, we get burned (we sin). The best strategy is to avoid it, back away, “resist” it (ala Eph 6:13; Jas 4:7; 1Pe 5:8-9).