Originnally posted on 4.22.20
Since I mentioned the importance of doctrine, this is the right place to insert the following necessary word.
This blog segment treats an unpleasant reality. God, Who is love, has an enemy. That’s almost unbelievable on the surface. But, the reason that a good, loving God has an enemy is because He is holy and His enemy is evil. Therefore, His enemy, the devil, will do anything possible to oppose Him.
The human race is made in the image of God and has a special, divine purpose to be with Him and enjoy Him forever. That is reason enough for the devil to oppose us as well. Striking the human race is striking at God. So, not only does God have an enemy, we do as well. Any soul the devil can keep out of heaven, he considers a victory. It’s one less soul eternally praising God and one that joins the eternal misery of the damned.
I know that fact is not pleasant or inspirational, but it is at the core of biblical doctrine and is vital to understand if a person is going to have an advantage against the devil. To be ignorant of a formidable foe, or to underestimate him, is never a good position in war. And as much as mankind may try to disregard it, we are in a serious spiritual conflict, vying for our souls (1Peter 5:8).
In one sense, the Bible is remarkable in that it reveals the enemy of our souls. It is the only book in the world that speaks authoritatively on this subject. The devil is evident in both testaments. In another sense, the Bible’s revelation of the devil’s existence and evil toward us is not remarkable. We need to know about him. We live in the same world with him. And a caring God would have us informed of potential spiritual peril.
Genesis 3 starkly pulls the veil off of the intent and activity of the devil against our race. His lies to Eve regarding the forbidden fruit and the subsequent disobedience of her and Adam brought on the unfathomable Fall of mankind. The Fall was the worst possible thing that could have happened to us. As you know, it brought on all the misery, frustration, brokenness, sorrow, toil, sickness, disease, and death experienced universally by people throughout time.
While the devil is vividly seen in Genesis 3 and many people grasp his cunning in bringing down our first parents and, hence, our race, I think his present activity to keep our race down is largely underestimated, and even undetected, by spiritually superficial, worldly-minded moderns. This evil being we call the devil, who was made superior to humans and once occupied heaven, still operates freely among us with his favorite tools— lies and deception. And, nowhere are they more abundant, or sinister, or dangerous than in the realm of religion. The devil operates today on a very simple premise: If the Gospel is God’s means to rescue souls from the Fall, then an alteration of that Gospel is the best strategy to keep souls from salvation. And, from the devil’s perspective, deception is the best strategy because the souls embracing it believe it as the truth, become emotionally attached to it, and contend for it— all on the scantiest biblical basis (Proverbs 21:30).
Actually, many people believe that the devil could not, or would not, interfere with the doctrines of Christianity. Many accept any minister or teaching that comes under the name of Christianity, thinking that whatever is called “Christian” must be true. They falsely assume that Christianity is out of bounds to the devil’s interference. Nothing could be further from the truth. According to Jesus, Christianity is the focus of the evil designs of His enemy. Christ revealed this point in His luminous parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13).
There is much more to say about this important subject. We will endeavor in posts to come to elaborate a bit without belaboring the point.