Cornerstone Berean Church

Building your life on Christ the Rock requires acknowledging His authority, trusting in His power, and resting

in His mercy.

The one who comes to Jesus will listen to Him and gladly obey Him and will stand in the storm, but the storm will bring ruin to the one who hears Jesus but disregards Him.

The path between knowing and obeying is by thinking like Christ.

Jesus followers will conform themselves to Jesus’ teaching, humbly confessing their own sins first

and carefully testing their own hearts always.

Based on:

Precious Remedies against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks 

Satan's Devices to Keep Saints in a Sad, Doubting,

and Questioning Condition and the Remedies Provided

Introduction

What are “devices”? (2 Corinthians 2:11)

What is Satan’s aim with these devices? (1 Peter 5:8)

Device #1 (1 John 3:19-20; Hebrews 12:1-2)

To cause us to “be poring and musing upon sin.”

To be minding our sins more than we mind Christ.

What is the root problem? (Romans 10:1-3; 2 Corinthians 12:9)

What is the root problem of self-righteousness?

What is the root problem of despair over sins?

Remedy #1

To consider that, though Christ has not freed you from the presence of sin, yet He has freed you from the condemnation of your sin (1 John 1:8-2:1; Romans 8:1).

“Though sin and grace were never born together…yet they must keep house together.”

Remedy #2

To consider that, though Christ has not freed you from the molesting and vexing power of sin, yet he has freed you from the reign and dominion of sin (Romans 8:23; Romans 6:14).

Remedy #3

To keep one eye upon the promises of remission of sin and the other eye on the reality of sin and its ongoing influence (Psalm 103:8-14; Galatians 5:17).

“This is the most certain truth, that God graciously pardons those sins to His people

that He will not in this life fully subdue in His people.”

Remedy #4

To look upon all your sins as debts fully satisfied by Christ (2 Cor. 5:21; Colossians 2:13-14).

Remedy #5

To seriously consider the reasons why the Lord is pleased to have His people exercised, troubled, and vexed with the effects of sinful corruption (Psalm 119:67 and 71).

To humble them.

To drive them to the means God uses to mortify sin.

To teach them to rely on Christ for their sanctification.

To wean them from the things below.

To grow their compassion toward others who also struggle.

To learn to distinguish between a state of grace and a state of glory.

To make heaven more sweet to them when they finally arrive there.

Remedy #6 

To solemnly consider that believers must learn to repent for their being discouraged by their sins since this discouragement springs from ignorance and unbelief (Isaiah 50:10; Acts 10:43).

Pride leads to a critical spirit, but God’s grace leads to humility and teaches us to put on compassion.

It is love that will empower you to

respond to your enemies with love,

but you will need to think

of yourself first.