Envy, Covetousness, and Doubting Our Salvation – Purity 1714
Purity 1714 07/19/2025 Purity 1714 Audio Podcast
Purity 1714 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a double rainbow over the mist and majesty of Niagara Falls comes to us from Arthur Cincotti who is vacationing there with family. Bible Study with the Cincotti’s is on hiatus this weekend as Arthur and Suzanna will be exploring the falls on both sides of the border.
Well, It’s Saturday and although I wouldn’t mind seeing Niagara Falls again, I don’t envy my friend Arthur – I am happy for him, Suzanna, and their relatives. While I won’t be visiting one of the seven natural wonders of North America today, I will be going to one of God’s natural wonders in Cambridge NY, as our family will be gathering together with friends at Lake Lauderdale County Park to celebrate my step-daughter, Elisabeth’s high school graduation party. So, I am happy for Arthur, and I am happy for myself and everyone who will be at our party.
So often in life we can fall prey to the devil’s trap of comparison where the enemy leads us to think that our blessings are not as good as someone else’ blessings which leads us to be ungrateful for the blessings we do have and to be envious (or covetous) of what others have. I use the word covetous purposely there because it is declared a sin -as it is prohibited in the Ten Commandments- and to remind us that God cares about our feelings and the negative desires of our hearts.
While envy and covetousness are not exactly the same, they have the same “wicked” spirit that is sinful. John Piper teaches that “both envy and covetousness are destructive, even lethal, sins against our neighbor but for different reasons. While envy is an evil, perverse, twisted kind of valuing of our neighbor (we wish we were him), coveting is an evil, perverse, twisted kind of devaluing of our neighbor (we care more for his stuff than for him).” (Piper Article – Love What Others Have’ – The False Gospel of Covetousness)
If this wasn’t bad enough, envy and covetousness could also cause us to possibly doubt our salvation as the enemy could take our sinful feelings to influence us to believe that we aren’t really Christians, either because we have a “wicked heart” or that God’s favor has left us both “proving we are not a real Christian”.
So remember, if you’re feeling jealousy, envy, or covetous, to take those thoughts captive the Lord doesn’t want you feeling that way and when you have a clear view of God and who you are in Christ, you can rejoice with those who rejoice and simultaneously rejoice over the fact that you are saved and be content with the blessings the Lord has provided every day, regardless of the circumstances.
Speaking of being saved and the danger of doubting our salvation, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotional from yesterday spoke on that topic so I am sharing it on the blog today to help us to be aware of more of Satan’s schemes that would cause us to doubt God’s love for us and our place in His kingdom, Charles Stanley writes:
“Why We Doubt Our Salvation
It’s difficult to live a fruitful, Spirit-filled life if you are unsure of your relationship with the Lord.
John 10:27-28
It is challenging to live an effective and empowered Spirit-filled life if you constantly doubt your faith. Why, then, do believers so often doubt? Let’s consider some key reasons:
- Sin. When disobedience is present in our life, our prayers will be hindered (Psalm 66:18), as will our grasp of spiritual truths. So, it’s understandable that sin can muddle a believer’s thoughts about salvation.
- False Teaching. For example, if we’ve been taught that salvation is dependent upon good works, we have been misled. Our salvation is based on God’s grace alone.
- Overemphasis on Emotions. Too often, people tie their experience of being saved to an emotional high. This leads many believers to doubt their salvation during times of life’s natural “emotional lows.”
- Disbelief. Acts 16:31 clearly states, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” If you’ve made this saving confession, then you are saved, and nothing can separate you from the Lord.
If you doubt your salvation, prayerfully examine your heart. If any of these falsehoods are hindering your faith, allow the Lord to comfort you with His truth and love.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. WOW. This short devotion is packed with so much applicable wisdom about our faith and the reasons we may struggle to believe and live a Christian life.
So, you doubt your salvation?
Stanley’s reasons tell us why but let’s walk through them to try to resolve this issue and give you assurance by going through them in reverse.
Disbelief – if you have never said a prayer to make Jesus your Lord and Savior – you should doubt your salvation! – because you aren’t saved. Romans 10:9-10 tells us we need to confess verbally that we believe in Jesus. If you never have and “want to believe” – stop playing games. Make a prayerful declaration of faith in Jesus. If you aren’t sure – take a step of faith admitting as much but, still proclaim your need for Jesus as Lord and Savior. Say it… if you can.
If you can’t, ask yourself why: “Why can’t I believe? What would make me take that step?” Then go find the answers – it’s only a matter of life and death – and the only thing that will save you is resolving this issue.
Emotions – Okay, if you have said the prayer and meant it in your heart – you are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9) – but you might not always feel like it. Despite our feelings, we have to stand on God’s word and trust it. The Bible is true, and we have to stand on its unchanging truth to have peace. It’s biblical facts over feelings that we are shooting for here. Our feelings are controlled by our thoughts – so to get past feelings of doubt, we need to start acting like the Christian that we are, by reading the Bible and renewing our minds with its truth. You can think and act your ways out of your feelings of doubt. Attach yourself to mature Christians who can encourage you in this process.
False Teaching – This is a tricky one if you grew up in a religious tradition that taught that you have to earn your salvation or that you could lose it. Again, the answer to our doubt is to think and act. We have to take responsibility for what we believe – so read Ephesians 2:8-9 again and purge yourself of any ideas that would tell you that you have to earn your salvation. The gospel isn’t good news if you could lose your salvation or if you have to earn it. Again, find mature Christians who can encourage you in this.
Sin – Here we go – this is the reason Christians doubt their salvation the most – their sin. If I am a Christian, why do I continue to sin? You sin probably because you haven’t repented of it You haven’t decided to follow the Lord fully yet in that area of your life and you are struggling with guilt and shame because you are feeling the consequences of your sin. So get real, go to a Christian recovery program and learn how to overcome your particular sin with God’s help and the support of the church. God has set us free from sin but overcoming and healing is process that will take time. Simply put doubts caused by sin are overcome when you stop sinning. So commit yourself to live as a Christian and to progressively experience God’s help and mercy until you experience your freedom in Christ.
I know it might not feel very simple to overcome your doubts but it’s not about feelings remember. If you choose to follow the Lord with the way you live, God will help you to grow and to have peace about your salvation and your new life in Christ.
Lean on the Lord. Connect with Christians who can help. And keep on believing, because when you do the doubts go away and the peace that goes beyond all understanding comes in.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Overcoming Sin – Changing.
Titus 3:4–7 (NLT) But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Today’s verses are the second of two passages of scripture that fall under the second point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Overcoming Sin – Changing.
2. Believers are children of God, born again by the Holy Spirit.
Today’s Bible verses reinforce the fact that we are saved by the kindness, mercy, and love of the Lord – through His grace – we are saved by faith in Jesus and when we are saved we receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
We are not saved by the righteous things we do, we are born of the Spirit and become God’s children through spiritual means, not the sweat of our brow.
Rejoice for the Lord is good!
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 213
But the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled … so He told them this parable. – Luke 15:2
We can be thankful for their grumbling (though, in the long run they surely were not). If they hadn’t complained we would not have the masterpiece of literature that fills the rest of the chapter. Note, this is not three but only one parable. It is not a parable of the lost and found, but the parable of the sought after, found, and rejoiced over. It is in three parts—the found sheep, the found coin, and the found son. The angels rejoice over those who are found. But the scribes and Pharisees didn’t; they grumbled because in seeking the lost, Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. Instead, these religious leaders ought to have rejoiced. Today, we must not shy away from disreputable people if we are seeking to find them for Christ. Nor should we think it wrong for others to do so. Indeed, we ought to rejoice over everyone who goes forth to win the lost and over every soul that is saved. Do you rejoice with the angels?[1]
———————more tomorrow——————————
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 221.
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