Your Adversary, the Devil: Part 5*
1 Peter 5:8
What Satan Can and Cannot Do to Us (Continued)
 By Dave Redick

It is not a case of Satan moving in to take over a perfectly healthy mind against its owner’s will. There are just too many places that indicate that free will persists, even in the most notorious examples of sin.

A lady sat by her window one bright spring morning. The sun was out. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The birds sang as they went about their business. Soon the lady saw that a particular bird had chosen a rosebush for its home and was busy bringing in sticks and hair and feathers and other material to make its nest.

"Little bird," she said to herself. "I wish I could speak to you. You’re building too low. Your babies will be vulnerable."

But birds can’t talk. Neither can they understand.

The days passed, the nest was finished. Then there were eggs and finally, four big, hungry mouths to feed. Mom and Pop bird worked all the daylight hours chasing down bugs and worms and bringing them back to the nest.

Then one day as the lady sat next to the window, she was startled to see both of the parent birds in great distress. A big snake had crawled up and was devouring the little birds. The adult birds protested from branches above the nest but were no match for the snake. In a short time their babies were gone – a sad reminder of the foolishness of building too close to the ground.(1)

You and I face an enemy even more deadly than the snake in that story. We face the devil, the "serpent of old." Issues like where and how we build our lives are critical to our survival and that of our families.

We’re doing a series of lessons about our adversary, the devil. In last week’s sermon we began to consider what Satan can and cannot do to us. We saw (1) that he can persuade us to walk the path of destruction but (2) he cannot take away our free will. We saw (3) that he can offer us many things that can deliver happiness but (4) he can’t offer us anything that will last. We’ll continue with the list this morning, adding three more things he can and cannot do to us…

Francis J. Roberts has said, "Confusion is the dust raised by the feet of the devil."

From the very beginning, Satan has sought to raise the dust of confusion and twist and change what God has clearly said, spinning his lies to make things that are wrong appear to be acceptable, fashionable, and right.

Kathi and I enjoy watching The O’Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel on Cable. On it, the show’s host, Bill O’Reilly, takes on various political figures and issues of the day, applying the theme of his program, "The spin stops here." It’s a show that many people either love or hate, so I won’t require you to like it along with me. I just want to borrow that theme phrase for a moment. "The spin stops here."

Do we understand what "spin" is? Miriam Webster Online(2) says that it means, "to evolve… or fabricate by processes of mind or imagination." (Sounds a bit like some theology books I have read.)

An example of spinning something politically would be to take something that is bad for you or your party and figure out ways to make it sound good to those who have not yet made up their mind about it. You "evolve…. or fabricate by process of mind or imagination" to make evil sound good or good sound evil. You might also cast your critics to look foolish or overbearing or premature in their judgment or any number of other things undesirable. You might also divert attention to some related issue.

Whether or not the spin actually stops with Bill O’Reilly we’ll have to let the viewer decide(!). I do know that some folks have no idea when the spin starts, nor do they know how to stop it.

I can tell you when the original spin started. Original spin started with the original sin. It started in the Garden of Eden. Recall that when the Serpent began his deception of Eve he told her a bold-faced lie – a real whopper. But then he spun it. He began by questioning Eve about the only restriction God had placed on the first couple.(3) "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?" Can you sense the suggestion or restriction? Eve repeated what God had said: "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’" Satan immediately contradicted God’s word with this whopper: "You surely shall not die!" That assertion was the very opposite of what God had said. In fact, you can’t get any more opposite. How in the world could it be that Eve would be deceived? Ah yes, spin.

Before Eve could take a firm position, Satan said, "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Do you see the spin? God’s word had not changed. It still said, "The day you eat from it you shall surely die." Neither had the lie changed. Satan’s words were still, "You won’t die." But suddenly there is dust in the air, raised by the feet of the devil. There is false doctrine.

Listen to some of the warnings of the Bible about the devil’s false doctrine.

1 Timothy 4:1: "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons…."

Acts 20:29-30: "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them."

2 Tim 4:3-4: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths."

The New Testament is full of these warnings.

Were talking about what Satan can and cannot do and what I’m saying here is that he can deceive you and me with false doctrines – teachings that contradict God’s word – by spinning his lies to make them sound like something different that what they really are. The only way to stop the spin is to stay informed about what God’s word says. And it helps if you learn to recognize the spin.

What I mean here is that Satan cannot get into our minds directly and move the brain cells around or re-route the synapses so as to take full charge or our free will. I know I’ve stepped off into some deep water again here, but I think it’s important that we address this issue.

In last week’s message I made my case for believing that Satan cannot remove our free will, so I won’t repeat that reasoning here. Having said that however, let me stress that he can certainly deceive us into believing that we’ve lost our free will. He can also get us to do certain things with our free will that may later restrict our ability to reason and make good choices - such as taking drugs, using alcohol, or habituating ourselves to sinful behavior. But all of these things back up squarely against choices we make (or have made in the past.) It is not a case of Satan moving in to take over a perfectly healthy and innocent mind against its owner’s will. There are just too many places that indicate that free will persists, even in the most notorious examples of sin. Indeed, where there is no free will, there could be no accountability for sin. Yet the Bible charges that "all have sinned." If you doubt what I say, go back and review the examples I presented in my last sermon.

Even in what may be the most notorious case of sin of all time, free will persisted all the way to the end. I refer to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Let’s take a look at it. We’ll begin in Luke 22:1-4:

At first reading that sounds like Satan did enter Judas directly and take over control of his mind so as to remove his free will. But before we conclude that we need to read all that the Bible says about it. It’s always dangerous to build a doctrine on one verse if the Bible says more about it.

We’ve seen what Luke said about the betrayal, but John also tells what happened with Judas at the last Passover meal with Jesus. He gives more details on what Luke only summarized. Look with me at the parallel verse in John 13:21-26.

Ah, there it is again. Satan entered into Judas, then he went out to betray Jesus, right? Well, no, not exactly. Look back with me at verse 2-4 of this same chapter.

So you see, Judas had made up his mind to betray Jesus even before he came to the Passover supper.

Just when did Satan first introduce the thought of betrayal to the heart to Judas? Neither John nor Luke tells us. We know that the Jewish leaders were already looking for Jesus so that they might seize him. In fact, according to John 11:55-57, they had put out the word to watch for Him.

We also know that by this time Judas had already developed a strong case of greed. John 12:6 says of him, "…he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it."

Let’s see… developing greed to the extent that he would actually steal money from his closest friends … along with the knowledge that the authorities wanted very badly to get their hands on Jesus…

All it would take would be a suggestion from Satan. "Hey Judas, I know you like money. Here’s an opportunity. You could make a killing if you’d just turn Him in. After all, they’re going to catch him anyway. Why not get in on the action?"

Once the wood is stacked and the tinder is arranged, it only takes a spark to build a roaring blaze.

Satan didn’t suddenly roar up to Judas and wrench control of the steering wheel of his life away from him. He can’t do that. No, he very subtly coaxed Judas along, inches at a time, but with Judas still in control of his free will, toward his ultimate trap. Finally, when Judas was where he wanted him, Satan sprang the trap, and the deed was done.

In fact, I think I could argue effectively for the idea that even in the final minutes before Judas’ left the Passover supper, Jesus was giving Judas one last chance to repent.

That Satan entered Judas cannot be denied. But he entered a willing subject who had been surrendering ground to him for months or even years before this.

Satan cannot operate directly on our minds, against our will. However…

We’ve already seen in John 13:2 that Satan "put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him…."

We’ve also noted that this was not done supernaturally or against the Judas’ will, but rather, gradually, deceptively, a step at a time. Then at some point there came the suggestion of betrayal.

So how does Satan do that? How can he suggest things to our minds?

I am one who believes that under normal circumstances(4) God does not speak directly to people today. In fact, He has not spoken directly to the majority of the human race or even to His own people in any period covered by the Bible. He spoke through the Patriarchs in the earliest days of man’s history, but you can count them on the fingers of your hands. He spoke through Moses and the prophets during the Old Testament period, but again, not to everyone. In the New Testament times, He has spoken to us though His Son according to Hebrews 1:1-2. This included giving His word through His apostles(5) and His New Testament prophets. Thus, God has always spoken though intermediaries except in those cases where he spoke to the intermediaries themselves.

Now if God doesn’t speak directly to people today, would we expect Him to allow Satan to do so? It’s something to consider. It doesn’t seem very likely to me. Besides, what do you think would happen to many people if Satan suddenly appeared and did speak to them directly? They would probably be scared straight!

It is not reasonable for us to expect that Satan would speak directly to us today or whisper things into our physical ears. Besides, why would he have to? There are plenty of deceived people today who are spouting his message anyway – something that would probably continue even if he took a couple of hundred years off!

So how does Satan suggest things to our minds?

Sometimes he does it through intentionally deceptive words and suggestions of other people whom he has captivated to do his will. More than once I have observed in the lives of Christians where a new friendship has turned out to be deadly as that new "friend" influenced that brother or sister to think and do evil. It should come as no surprise then that the Bible warns us, "Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’"(6)

Sometimes he does it through well meaning people who are deceived. (You don’t have to be an intentional liar to repeat a lie.) 1 Tim 1:6-7 says, "For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions." This one is particularly deceptive because we are accustomed to thinking that right motives will insure right teaching. That simply isn’t true. Right motives are good, but we still have to compare what we are hearing with the standard of God’s word.

Sometimes Satan suggests things to our minds through the prevailing beliefs and values of the majority culture. This is what John had in mind when he told us not to love the world or the things in the world.(7) It is what Paul meant when he said that we should not be conformed to this world.(8) Most of us want the approval of others. We don’t want to stand out from others when it means we will be ridiculed or belittled. We find it much easier to just conform, sometimes doing things that would seem foolish beyond the fog of peer pressure. If you doubt what I say, just take a look at fashion in the area of what people wear. My kids used to love to go through old photos and laugh at how mom and dad used to dress. Of course one day their kids will do the same. At one point pants are pegged so tight that the wearer can hardly breath - at another the crotch hangs down to the knees – all in the name of fashion. What are we talking about? Prevailing beliefs and values of the majority culture.

Most of these fashion issues are relatively harmless. The danger comes when majority culture begins to define what is morally acceptable in the areas where God has spoken. Witness what has happened in our country over the last few decades with attitudes toward homosexuality. For awhile it was gays coming out of the closet. Now the issue is same-sex "marriage."

Satan does not have to speak directly to people. It is far more effective for him to have people do it for him.

Satan can deceive us with false doctrine. He cannot operate directly on our minds. He can however, suggest things to our minds through other people and through the popular culture.

That’s all for today. We’ll continue with this next time. For now, let me quote again the words of the great apostle Peter:

Footnotes: Use your back button to return to your place.

1. From "Present Day Parables" by J. Wilbur Chapman
2. http://www.m-w.com
3. See the early verses of Genesis 3
4. I say "under normal circumstances" because there do seem to be a very few exceptions. One such is when God spoke directly to the Hebrews at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19-20. But even in this case, Moses, God’s prophet, stood between the people and God because they were so fearful. The modern idea that God speaks directly to anyone and everyone is simply not supportable from Scripture, in my opinion. Adding this to the idea that the gift of prophecy was to cease (1 Corinthians 13:8) further verifies this conclusion.
5. See Acts 1:8, 12-13 where Jesus told His apostles that they would be the ones to carry his witness to the world – something that is still in force today. Their witness comes down to us in their writings. The office of apostle and New Testament prophet were foundational according to Ephesians 2:20. The foundation of the church is in their writings for us today, that is, the written New Testament.
6. 1 Corinthians 15:33
7. 1 John 2:15
8. Romans 12:1-2

*Links to all sermons in this series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

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All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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