Spiritual warfare with Satan is a battle of 'identity' (Leviticus 20)

Today's passage describes the "sin that must be put to death" which includes:

- Offering one's child to Molech (pagan god)

- Calling up a spirit or medium

- Practicing witchcraft

- Cursing one's parents

- Committing adultery or incestuous acts

- Engaging in homosexual acts

- Having sexual relations with an animal

All of these sins have a common factor that they do not acknowledge God's sovereignty. They are sins of idolatry where people trust pagan gods like Molech more than God himself. These acts violate God's order of creation and challenge his authority, and are serious acts of rebellion that prove they are not God's people.

In short, if we were to summarize the sin that must be put to death, it would be the sin of 'unbelief' that does not acknowledge God as God.

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Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NIV)

The Bible clearly states that our identity as saved saints is not our own but God's possession, for which he paid the price of Jesus' blood.

Therefore, as God's possession, the life we must live is one that clearly identifies who we are in Christ, even before our actions.

Spiritual warfare with Satan is a battle of "identity" from beginning to end. However, Satan cunningly avoids this issue and persistently digs into our actions to blur our identity. Whenever we sin, Satan makes us doubt that we are God's children and shakes our identity, clouding our assurance of salvation. He attacks us by condemning our actions one by one, and asking the familiar question, "Can you claim to be God's child while living so wretchedly?"

But if we build our faith on the rock of "identity," we can remain centered even against Satan's attacks and dig deeper into the embrace of God's grace every day. We can recognize our sinful nature and limitations more clearly and realize how much we need the Lord's grace... We cannot live even for a moment without His grace.

I boldly proclaim my identity once again today.

"I am a child of God who spared no effort to give His one and only Son and purchased me with His blood!"

"I am the bride of Jesus Christ, who loved me, a sinner, so much that He sacrificed His one and only life for me!"

"I am the temple of the Holy Spirit, in which the holy God willingly dwells forever, despite my dirty and insignificant flesh!"

<Prayer>

Dear Lord, I hold on to the identity that You have planted in my life. As a child of the Lord who has stamped my identity with the cross and resurrection, it will never be revoked, even if heaven and earth disappear. I pray that I may hold on to the identity that You have allowed me in the spiritual battle that I face every day against Satan, and live with a clear sense of salvation and joy. When my weakness, mistakes, and sometimes stubbornly repeated sinfulness are revealed, I ask that I hold on to the identity that sustains my life and continue to approach the throne of grace. Please make me even more humble, and help me to be a humble learner. Please hold on to the eternal, unchanging identity that You have allowed me today, and help me to move forward through all my weaknesses and limitations. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen!

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39, NIV)