[Faith-talk] FW: Satan And the Saint, Part 2 for 6/27/14

[Joanne Jordan]

Hello Linda
This is Joanne Jordan. I think I saw that you deleted this one by accident.
I am forwarding it to you.

-----Original Message-----
From: Faith-talk [mailto:faith-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Paul
via Faith-talk
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2014 12:48 PM
To: Helena Short
Subject: [Faith-talk] Satan And the Saint, Part 2 for 6/27/14

Yesterday, we looked at the "mystery of iniquity" from the standpoint of the
creation of Satan.  If you have studied yesterday's article carefully, and
thoughtfully, you must have come to a definite conclusion.  What was that
conclusion? If you concluded that Satan is an imponderable in our
theological concept of God and His loving, protective care, you would not be
too wrong in your deduction.

There are three definite statements in the Bible relative to God, three
definitions of God Himself.  They are:  God is spirit, God is light, and God
is love.  Nowhere can we harmonize in any logical or easily-to-be-understood
way the reason for Satan's existence in the light of what God is and in the
light of what God can do.  This is all the more reason why the Bible speaks
of him and the effects of his personality as "The mystery of iniquity."

As we have already seen, a mystery suggests someday, somehow, and somewhere
a solution.  I cannot think of any factor theologically that is more
baffling and disconcerting to the mind of the thoughtful believer in the
Word of God than the question, "Why did God ever make Lucifer?" It is well
for us, once and for all, to dismiss this question from our minds because
the solution lies in the future.

Let us turn our attention to some of the diabolical acts of this person who
we know rebelled against God, took one-third of the angelic beings with him,
and is now the archenemy of both God and man.  The very titles given to him
in Scripture denote his character.  He is not only called a liar, but he is
the father of lies.  He is described as the serpent, the god of this world,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.  He has always
used a twofold attack in the role of adversary.  He is called the great
adversary.  The very term means to be against or opposed to.  Satan is not
only opposed to God and all that He stands for, but he is opposed to every
individual who pledges loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ, and becomes a
follower of His.  When the Apostle Paul Said, "We are not ignorant
concerning his devices," speaking of Satan, he revealed a truth that every
child of God sooner or later becomes knowledgeable of.

We may not have any more room in this post to consider Satan's role as an
adversary.  It appears he has never changed his tactics, but from the very
outset in the Garden of Eden, he accused God to man.  This is only one side
of his opposition.  He said to the woman, "Yea hath God said, ye shall not
eat of every tree of the garden?" In other words, he accused God of
concealing something from man that would be most desirable for him to
discover.  God had made it crystal clear that man was not to taste of the
tree of knowledge of good and evil.  In fact, he was not even to touch it.
This was the only prohibition God put upon our first parents.

Satan, in his subtle manner, placed a great big question mark in the mind of
Eve.  In language of today, we might say that Satan said, "Don't pay any
attention to God.  Look at that tree, look at that fruit, look how beautiful
it is, how harmless, how delicious.  Go ahead, take it and eat it." The sad
story says, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that
it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with
her; and he did eat.

Notice the sequence.  She saw, she took, she ate.  Satan has never changed
the progress of temptation which leads to sin.  Let me make it very clear
that there is no sin in temptation.  In fact, the holiest and purest men and
women who have ever lived were sorely tempted.  Even our precious Lord was
tempted in the wilderness immediately after His baptism.  Only when
temptation is yielded to does it become sin.  Nevertheless, Satan uses the
eye-gate frequently to call attention, whether in a visual or mental way, to
something that is contrary to the will of God.  As long as he can keep the
Christian occupied with that sight or thought long enough and strong enough,
he knows the normal reaction will be to take or to participate or to
disobey.  It is always at the point of disobedience that sin occurs.

The main factor I should like to point out is that in this instance, as in
the story of Job found in the book that bears his name, you will see Satan
hard at work accusing God to man.  He did it to Eve, he endeavored to do it
to the Lord Jesus Himself and to Job through the comforters, and even his
wife who suggested that he curse God and die.

The second area that the adversary is hard at work in is accusing man to
God.  Probably the greatest insight into this is found again in the book of
Job.  You will remember that God gave His appraisal of Job to Satan by
saying, "Have you considered My servant Job that there is none like him in
all the earth?" God embellished this by pointing out that Job was upright,
that Job despised evil and followed that which was wholly good in the sight
of God.  Satan very quickly replied, and we just simply give a free
translation in the common vernacular, "Why shouldn't Job love you? You gave
him everything his heart desired.  You have made him rich, powerful, he has
excellent health.  Why shouldn't he love you? Besides all this," Satan went
on to say, "You have built a hedge round about him, making it impossible for
me to touch him.  Oh, but I have news for you, God.  You just let me at him,
and he will turn around and curse you to your face." In essence, that is
what Satan said to God  regarding Job.

Well, we all know the story if we have even had a casual perusal of the
book.  Yes, Satan is extremely subtle and will use every possible area of
attack.  Could it be, dear Christian, that you are facing some terrible
imponderable trial, some unexplained testing? Perhaps there may be areas in
your life that you are almost ashamed to face.  You feel you could never
even discuss them with a fellow human being, though he be a Christian.  Let
me say that such feelings and such sensations are frequently satanically
produced.

Tomorrow, we shall turn to another characteristic of this diabolical
creature, Satan.  Until then, if the adversary is endeavoring to produce
guilt complexes, to cause temptation, trial and difficulty to come into your
life, remember there is only one way, and just one, and that is to resist
him.  Take your God-given authority as a child of God and in the strength
and might of the Spirit of God say, as our Lord did, "Get thee behind me
Satan."

And there you have the second part of the late Dr. Ralph Montanus' series on
Satan and the saint.  In the meantime, I pray that you were and will
continue to be fed with strong meat relevant to knowing something about our
ultimate enemy that you didn't know before, and that you will eventually be
able to use your God-given authority to chase him away.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe,
individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord
willing, tomorrow we will present Part Three of this series.  Your Christian
friend and brother, Paul _______________________________________________
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