Why is there EVIL in the world?
Because of the presence of Satan: Which is bad.
Because of the presence of humans in the world.
Which is worse?
THE ONE THING GOD WILL NOT CONTROL IS HUMAN CHOICE . . . which explains a lot of things:
It explains why men destroy themselves and others -- wars, murders, slaying of the innocents.
God has the power to change all this. He has the power to make all these things go away Why doesn't he?
* * *
The reason WHY God gave human beings the power to CHOOSE was so that we might have the right and the opportunity to CHOOSE Him. We don't relate to God in an automatic, knee-jerk fashion. We are not automotons. We are not robots. God seeks those who love him out of their own choice and desire to do so. We choose to love God or choose not to love God.
Taking Satan Seriously
MOST CHRISTIANS TREAT SATAN AS THOUGH HE WERE GOD'S ALTER-EGO!
When things go bad: blame Satan ("the devil made me do that. . .")
When things go good: credit God. (God did it! Not me! Praise the Lord!)
In both of these two cases, we opt ourselves out completely -- as though we personally had nothing to do with the outcomes at all. It should be critical then, that the idea of Satan being responsible for all bad activity and God responsible for all good activity is a complete misunderstanding.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOD AND THE DEVIL IS NOT THE SAME AS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL.
Satan is not anywhere near as evil as God is GOOD!
There is no coin with God's head on one side and Satan's
on the other.
God and Satan are not two donkeys pulling in opposite directions with you caught between.
There was a time when Satan was the PREMIER created being. He was and is today an ARCHANGEL.
He was ejected from heaven because he wanted to replace God with himself. He took one-third of the angels with him. (Luke 10:18; Isaiah L4; Ezekiel 28)
He became the "Prince of this world" the adversary of God, an angel of light, a "roaring: Iion" the father of lying and
deceit. (John 14:30; I Peter 5:8; II Corinthians 11:14; John 8:44)
His appearance at the final judgment: THE GREAT WHITE THRONE OF JUDGMENT. (Revelation 20 : 11)
Verdict: Guilty
Sentence: Eternal Damnation
Satan's Historical Activity . . .
- In the garden of Eden: Genesis 3
- Marriage with human females: Genesis 6 (?)
- Encounter with Job: Job 1
- Jesus hindered in Daniel's vision: Daniel 10:4-13
- Temptation of Jesus: Matthew 4
- Jesus' remark about Peter: Matthew 16:23
- Entered the heart of Judas: John 13
- Paul hindered: I Thessalonians 2:18
- Resisted by Archangel Michael: Jude 9
- Great Tribulation and Final Judgment: Revelation 4--20
The powers and limitations of Satan . . .
What he can do:
- Spit his venom worldwide and proselyte
- Based on a vast knowledge of human behavior, he can provide strong external temptation.
Cartoon: "I like to think of us as equal opportunity tempters!"
- For the non-believing individual, there is the danger of demon possession. (See Jn. 8:44)
- Has a limited knowledge of the future. He is NOT omniscient.
- Can influence the course of events for nations and men.
Demon possession: The ability of fallen angels (spirits) to exert limited control over the mind and body on non-believing persons.
What is a "non-believer?" Someone who consciously excludes God from his life and whose basic "bent of mind" is to do evil.
WHAT SATAN CANNOT DO:
SATAN IS NOT GOD, NOR DOES HE SHARE THE ESSENTIALS OF GOD!
Meaning: He is not Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Eternal or Immutable. He is a created being. He is not capable of knowing the internal thoughts of a human being. But he does provide a powerful force of external tempation. Satan is a powerful nuisance and all he really wants to do is cause trouble.
HE CANNOT "POSSESS" A BELIEVER WHO HAS BEEN REGENERATED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT!
The Body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God will not co-habit with Evil. Jesus has locus (He is in heaven) but he abides essentially (in essence) with the believer in the person the Holy Spirit.
Because of the promise of Jesus that he would not leave us (Matthew 28:20) and that he would give us another Comforter in his place (John 14:16-17) , the Holy Spirit cannot leave us, and thus will not tolerate a satanic presence. Our bodies are the "temple" of the Holy Spirit.
ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS
HE CANNOT READ A BELIEVER'S MIND, NOR CAN HE BRING DIRECT PRESSURE UPON THE THOUGHTS OF A BELIEVER.
"Greater is he that is within you than he that is in the worId . . ." -- I John 4:4b [One of the most important truths in the Bible.]
Satan thought he had Job figured. He was wrong.
He thought he could tempt Christ. He was wrong. [Jesus was 100% human, and Satan attempted to address his humanness.]
HE CANNOT FORCE A BELIEVER TO DO ANYTHING.
Here's what a believer can do with Satan . . .
"Resist the Devil, and he will FLEE from you . . ." James 4:7b
Translation: He will run like a scalded cat.
(This is a gift and a power from God that even the angels do not share.)
He may be a "roaring lion." He can make a lot of noise. He is really into the spectacular and the sensational, but as far as a believer in Jesus Christ is concerned, he has been defanged and declawed.
(You know how lions hunt? They let the girls do it. That's why some of you over-sexed guys need to be more careful.)
THERE IS NOTHING THE DEVIL CAN MAKE YOU DO!
"But why do I sin?" Because you are a sinner. It's just that simple. It ain't complicated.
Frankly, I'd rather let God be concerned with Satan. If He can't handle him, I can't hope to do much better.
