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

[Paul]

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