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The Christian life is the greatest life in the world and a Christian in close fellowship with his Lord experiences joy and peace. However, the Christian life is not without it's problems. Satan resents the fact that he lost a collaborator. Now that you are on God's side, Satan is going to be your fierce enemy. He will do all within his power to cause you to be an ineffective Christian.Doubts
One of the first attacks he uses, and perhaps you've already experienced, is to cause you to doubt your salvation. If he can do this, he can make you frustrated and cause you to be ineffective as a Christian. He will bring questions to your mind such as, “I don't feel like I'm saved” or “maybe it didn't take the first time,” etc. We must always remember, that salvation is not according to feeling but to God's plan based on His Word. We are doubting God, if we doubt our salvation )John 3:36a; Romans 8:16; 1 John 5:13). Satan may also cause you to doubt because of sin. “How can you expect to keep your salvation when you are still sinning?” Satan will ask “surely you can't be a child of God if you still sin?” Let us remember that Christ paid the price for ALL our sin – past, present- and future and that our salvation is a gift. It does not depend on what we do but on what Christ has already done on the cross (Philippians 1:6). Also, when you received Christ you were “sealed” by the Holy Spirit and this seal remains intact until you are taken to Heaven (Ephesians 1:13, 14; 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22).
Discouragement
Satan may also attempt to discourage you by throwing your sin in your face. Just because you are now a Christian does not mean we are exempt from temptation and sin. This will always be a part of our life for we still possess the sin nature with which we were born. In this life, we will never reach a state of sinless perfection. Satan, will do his best to cause discouragement. If he can do this and cause you to want to give up, he has gained the victory. We must always realize sin for what it is, hate it and flee from it (2 Timothy 2:22). But we must also realize that there will be times when we will yield to temptation and sin and we should not become discouraged. God has provided for this (1 John 1:9; 2:1, 2). On the “flip side of the coin,” continued disobedience to God, will rob you of your peace of mind and joy in Christ, resulting in diminished fruitfulness for God in your life. Sin and temptation com to us on every hand – our own desires, advertising, TV, magazines, the Internet, etc., and we must learn to overcome them. We must consider ourselves dead to sin (Romans 6:11). Sin is real and powerful, but we can have victory over it. Becoming familiar with the Word of God and memorizing it can be a help to you in overcoming sin in your life (Psalms 119:11).
Watch out for the thought life too!! This is sometimes where our trouble start. Our mind will wander off and dwell on things contrary to God's will. Let us dwell on the things of God. We are on the winning side and God has provided for our victory in all areas of our life. The secret to victory over our old nature is by allowing Christ to have the victory through us. It is His battle and He is able to make us MORE THAN CONQUERORS (Romans 8:37).
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