Beware of Satisfaction

“So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:12-13). Beware of Satisfaction—that probably seems like an odd title to most. The position of some, after all, is to pursue satisfaction no matter the cost.

Let me just say up front, we should be—no, we must be—satisfied in Jesus alone. In other words, Jesus is enough. The Psalmist asks, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:25-26).

The writer of Hebrews states very clearly Jesus is better than anyone or anything we could ever desire or imagine. We are to be satisfied in Jesus. Indeed, He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

So what do I mean by beware of satisfaction? John Owen mused, “Sin is never less quiet than when it seems to be most quiet, and its waters are for the most part deep when they are still.” Commenting on this, John MacArthur writes, “Satan is likely to attack when a believer is most satisfied with his spiritual life. That is when pride, the chief of sins, easily sneaks into our lives unnoticed and leads us to believe that contentment with ourselves is contentment with God.”

Are you satisfied with your spiritual life? If so, beware! And, I might add, beware of anyone who tells you God wants you to be satisfied in anyone or anything other than Jesus. And, as long as we’re on the subject, don’t fall into the trap of, “I was born this way.” Every time I hear that I want to say, “Tell me something I don’t know.” We were all born sinners. We were all born spiritually dead and with hearts hostile to the things of God. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:4-5).

So what do I mean by beware of satisfaction? Simply this—don’t get too comfortable in your spiritual life. Sin has a way of creeping in and taking over. Instead, make it your aim to put to death the deeds of the body, or, as in the King’s Vernacular, “Mortify the deeds of the body.”

John Owen asked, “Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

In other words, don’t get too comfortable. Don’t get too satisfied in your spiritual walk. If you are satisfied, one of two things is true: Either you’re foolish or you don’t know Jesus, and it may very well be the latter. Why? Because putting to death the deeds of the body is a characteristic of God’s children.

John MacArthur notes, “The person who gives no evidence of the presence, power, and fruit of God’s Spirit in his life has no legitimate claim to Christ as Savior and Lord.” To put it another way, if you’re habitually in a lifestyle of sin with no concern for holy living, you’re not in Christ.

Are you satisfied with your spiritual life? If so, beware! “Be on alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).