A couple of weeks ago, a TV viewer wanted to know what the Bible tells us about Satan. In the interest of letting the Bible speak for itself, I will keep the points brief:

1. Satan would be one of those spirit beings who did not keep his proper domain (Jude 6).

2. He is considered the god of this world (II Cor. 4:4).

3. He is called the tempter (Matt. 4:34).

4. He is limited in his abilities to tempt mankind (I Cor. 10:13).

5. His goal is to devour anyone and everyone (I Pet. 5:8). That is why he is called man’s adversary.

6. He transforms himself into an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14).

7. He is the only option for man to serve, other than God (I Tim. 5:15).

8. He can be resisted (Jas. 4:7).

9. He is indirectly connected with every sin that is committed (I Jn. 3:8).

10. He is known for his many wiles, to try and ensnare people (Eph. 6:11; II Tim. 2:26).

11. He will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).

12. His power of death was destroyed through Christ’s death and resurrection (Heb. 2:14).

Chuck

As one reads through the book of Daniel, there are many great stories to revisit. One that stands out is when Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were cast into the fiery furnace for not bowing to the golden image (Dan. 3). Another is when Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for breaking a law by praying to God (Dan. 6).

Do you remember how Daniel’s enemies were able to get him in trouble with the king? In Daniel 6:4, the governors and satraps concluded that “they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error of fault found in him.”  You might expect these evil men to struggle to get Daniel to do anything wrong. You would be right…in the eyes of the Lord.

The interesting thing is what these wicked individuals decided to do. “Then these men said, ‘We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”  (verse 5). They realized that if they are going to discredit Daniel in the eyes of king Darius (who liked Daniel), they would have to use Daniel’s loyalty to his God against him.

They convinced the king to make a decree that for thirty days no one could petition any god or man except the king (verses 7-9). Thus, when Daniel prayed to God as he always did, his enemies now had something of which to accuse him to the king (verses 12-13). They had successfully used Daniel’s faith against him. 

This is a valuable lesson we need to learn as Christians today. When God’s people are faithful, Satan will do all he can to get us to grow weary in doing good (Gal. 6:9). If members of the church will not engage in the immoral acts the world offers, then the devil will use our dedication to the Lord to create division within the body of Christ. This is exactly what the faithful church at Philadelphia was warned about (Rev. 3:7-13).

The devil can use the faithfulness of Christian’s against them by having our good actions condemned as evil ones (I Pet. 3:15; 4:14). For example, the world criticizes Christians who are rightly opposed to homosexual acts (Rom. 1:26-28). Similarly, local churches can be criticized for rightly disciplining a person who brings reproach upon the church. Some people will resist scripturally-required church discipline, and well-intentioned, faithful Christians can stumble in the face of this criticism even though it is something God calls for.

This should not surprise us. Why? Just like the enemies of Daniel, a local church full of godly members who are united in serving the Lord can still be divided by Satan if he uses their faithfulness against them. If the church strives to please the Lord by trying to keep itself unspotted, Satan can try to use this as a tool (I Pet. 5:8). However, the faithful will endure because they stay focused on two Godly goals; keeping the church unspotted (Eph. 5:27) and doing everything we can to help others be faithful to God (James 5:19-20).

To illustrate these points, I was told a wonderful story recently. A congregation and its preacher were trying to help return his wayward daughter to the Lord. She had been living in an ungodly way, and they wanted her to repent. Eventually, the preacher had to tearfully read the letter of withdrawal. His daughter stood up while he was reading and started to come forward. The preacher (her dad) ran down and embraced her. There was not a dry eye in the building. I was told this while attending a funeral. Both the preacher and his daughter were in attendance at the funeral. May we trust in the Lord and in His ways even when those around us offer criticism.

Chuck

We are told in the book of James that God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). This is a very important principle to keep in mind.  It is commonly said by religious people “that God put this or that in front of me to strengthen me.” We know that God does not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist (I Cor. 10:13). The James passage goes further and explains that our God does not tempt us at all.

Are we to conclude that if a person is mugged or robbed that the Lord did this to help the victim’s faith? Certainly not. Things that happen to mankind can come as a result of bad choices, freak accidents, wickedness or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Consider those in Luke 13:4.

No matter what happens in our lives, Satan is working on us (I Pet. 5:8). As our adversary, he can even tempt us when nothing bad has happened. We can become complacent or take blessings for granted and become unthankful. The burden is on us to avoid these pitfalls.

When challenges arise and are overcome, Christians might be tempted to say, “God knew what I needed and put that before me.” The Bible states otherwise. Look at Paul’s thorn in the flesh as recorded in II Corinthians 12. Paul said that this affliction was given to him to help him not to exalt himself above measure (verse 7). But notice in that verse the apostle stated it was a messenger of Satan. God did not send this affliction. Nor did God take it away. Paul used this as an opportunity to lean on the Lord (verses 8-10).

The faithful do not need their Father to tempt them in order to grow. Our God allows the devil to tempt. God’s people will either allow it to strengthen them (James 1:2-3) or allow it to cause them to stumble. Because we are being tempted with so many things daily, there is no question that God will provide a way of escape whatever we face.

The next time you are faced with temptation and triumph over it, recognize that you succeeded because you leaned on the Lord. May we all walk by faith.

Chuck