The Devil's Not in Georgia... Probably.

"The Devil made me do it." Unfortunately,this is heard much too often. And though I wish I could say that I only hear it in jest from comedians or children, it saddens me to say that I hear it (albeit not verbatim) from believers and television preachers. Though I have not heard people of faith sincerely and adamantly blame the source and cause of their sin on the prince of the power of the air, their rhetoric regarding the potential threat of the enemy's influence would give most listeners cause to believe that it is an ominous, looming, and ever-present danger. I have heard brothers and sisters credit Satan with plenty of mischievous, yet vague, dealings that result in someone's sin or blatant rejection of the gospel. It is not my aim, nor is it my desire to discredit these unnamed individuals. Nor do I wish to make light of the seriousness of the danger the devil does in fact present. But what really irks me, what boils my blood whilst grinding my gears is the consistency these individuals display in that while they "blame Satan," they almost always forget - or neglect - to acknowledge our natural proclivity towards sin, our grievous disregard for anything holy, and our own responsibility before God to keep his law. They very rarely acknowledge that we need surprisingly little aid with our sin. Our failure (more accurately called - our refusal) to love God is not the devil's fault. It's ours.


Here's where I'm going with this blog. First, I want to briefly look at who the devil is and examine the danger that he actually does pose. Secondly I want to quickly dispel the "fear" (paranoia) some people often adopt when thinking about the devil. Lastly, I want to examine the dangers of that paranoia. This last objective is where I'll spend the majority of this blog.


Ok so, when I say "Satan" or "the Devil," of whom exactly am I speaking of? I'm speaking of the evil power described in the Bible that is the fallen angel that is our adversary, our opponent because he is God's adversary and opponent. He is our accuser. He damns. He is in fact powerful and influential. I'm not trying to deny that at all. His chief purpose is to deny the glorification of God and deceives, manipulates, imprisons, and kills ruthlessly in his attempt to ensure his purpose. We know that unbelievers have no defense against the enemy, but that's a different topic for perhaps a different day. Believers in Christ's sufficient sacrifice not only have a defense against him, they have one that allows them (really demands them) not to be fearful or anxious or paranoid about Satan.


So what is this defense against the adversary? In Christ, we have several promises. One of them is the promise that we are already victorious over Satan. By this, I don't mean that he no longer seeks to do damage to us or that we're impervious to his threats. But, in a sense, we are.

Revelation 2:10 tells us,
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.


So what do I mean then when I say that we are already victorious over Satan if we know that we will be attacked by him and we will feel the attacks? What I mean is that his threats are relatively superficial. He can threaten our comforts, our freedoms, and even our lives. But in light of the fact that Christ died and rose for us to seal our salvation, there is really nothing significant enough for Satan to take away that can result in our loss of everlasting joy in Christ Jesus. For this reason, the potential of our loss of everything in our lives that is less significant than our salvation (which is everything) is insufficient cause for paranoia over the devil. The threat, while present and real, should not be a burden to our sanctification or day-to-day lives because the war is already won.


I say all this and yet I know there are still believers and leaders out there who want to maintain their grip on this paranoia/fear in the name of "caution." I'm not saying caution is bad. In fact, it's wonderfully precious and wise. This isn't always cautionary. Let's call ducks ducks, shall we? When I share something that I'm struggling against my flesh over, or I'm weighing the influence of the fallen world over my life choices, when I hear, "Yeah, be careful because the devil is just looking to get his foot in the door of your life," not only do I see feathers, I hear quacking. This has really happened to me, too. I have had discussions with people about personal convictions (or lack there of) and times of weaknesses. Despite the fact that I was clearly ready to acknowledge my own human and sinful shortcomings that desired something in lieu of God and were a hindrance to my relationship with Him, here's what I heard: "The devil is just lurking around the corner waiting to whisper in your ear." When I pointed out that Satan, not having the advantage of omniscience like God, was probably busy with someone vastly more influential and important to his scheme than myself, I heard, "But he has helpers."


So let me get this straight. Not only do I have to weary of the possiblity of Satanic forces, I have to be on guard for unseen, mostly-unheard demons who have too much time on their hands? And this preoccupation needs to be a priority over my guard against my own sinful thoughts and inclinations that make themselves painfully evident nearly every minute of every day? No. I think not. And that brings me to the first danger of this unreasonable paranoia/caution: an ever-present worry about how Satan and the rest of the fallen angels spend their afternoons takes from the much more-present reality of our battle against our sinfulness.


Let's think about this another way. When we examine the times that Satan enters the scene in the Bible, we can see (with maybe the exception of the fall) that Satan tempts men with the things that are already a naturally-occurring desire in man's heart. When those desires become idols, they are already offensive to God with or without satanic temptation. There are countless times in scripture where man chose the idols of their hearts over the holiness of God without Satan even showing up. We don't need Satan's help to offend God. We do that just fine on our own. So why would we focus on that which occurs 1% of the time instead of that which occurs 99% of the time if both occurrences result in offending a Holy God? The better we get at battling against our own flesh is directly proportional to the rate in which our attention in guarding against the enemy should increase.


It helps to remember that Satan doesn't make us sin. Sin is a deliberate choice that we are held accountable for. A great example of personal responsibility in the bible is when Satan tickle's David's ego and tempts him to count the nation of Israel with the purpose of boosting his self-esteem as the leader of a great kingdom. David's response to God was how we should respond. Notice that even though directly influenced by the devil, he doesn't blame him.

1 Chronicles 21:7 says,

But God was displeased with this thing and he struck Israel. And David said to God, "I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly."

David takes full responsibility for his pride and does not even mention Satan's name.



Another danger in putting too much stock in this precautionary paranoia (more of an offense than a danger) is that you're essentially saying you lack trust in God's sovereignty. We need to remember, as Martin Luther said, that the devil is God's devil. God has already orchestrated everything in our lives including our salvation, trials, and sufferings - which we know are coming, right? So, if Satan tempts me to despair, why would I so whimpishly want to forfeit the hope I have in Christ for a "oh-no-he's-after-us" mentality? What could Satan possibly throw at me that 1. God hasn't already prepared me for, or 2. God hasn't already forgiven me for? For this we go to Romans 8, specifically vs. 33. (More of Romans 8 will come into play for my final point).

Romans 8:33 says,

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?...

This is such a sweet promise! Satan is our accuser right? Well, if God has justified us, though Satan has plenty to accuse us of, who can condemn us? When in spite of this truth, we have a fear of Satan's powers, forces, influences, or schemes, we're essentially denying that God, who has already declared us righteous, has any sovereignty over our lives.


This leads to the biggest problem with this mentality. It's a two-parter that kinda folds into one big idea. Essentially, when you have this mentality, you discredit the gospel. Whoa did she just say that? Yes she did. Here's what I mean. This disbelief can manifest itself in two ways.

1. By being ever-worrisome of the possible, maybe-imminent, is-it-going-to-be-today threat of Satan to the point that it directly distracts the battle you should be waging against your flesh and indirectly distrusts God's sovereignty, you display a lack of assurance in your salvation in Christ. Now, I'm not saying that all christians who seem to have an irrational fear (and I think I've made a good argument of why this type of fear is irrational - see basically everything before this) of Satan are really not genuine believers. I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that if your hope is firmly rooted in Christ and the promise of his sacrifice, start acting like it! Don't be using Satan as a scapegoat for the sins that are already paid for anyway. Own up to them. Confess them. Repent. And be overwhelmed by the joy that there is in the forgiveness that Christ died to offer us. Be sanctified and be more and more prepared for the battle against the flesh that you'll fight every day, and for the day that you might have to face Satan square in the eye.

2. By being ever-worrisome of the possible, maybe-imminent, is-it-going-to-be-today threat of Satan to the point that it directly distracts the battle you should be waging against your flesh and indirectly distrusts God's sovereignty, you display a lack of assurance in the security of your salvation. This sounds very similar to the first sub-point, but it is actually far more grievous. The first indicates doubt which all believers go through at some point in their walk: the doubt that their repentance was genuine and that their salvation was never really sealed. This unbelief is an indication of bad theology. You can't lose your salvation. I can think of no more comforting words than Pauls in Romans 8:35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long: we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.



Here's the main take away. Don't blame something on Satan unless you felt an unmistakeable, definitely-not-just-your-own-sin, evil, demonic force on it. I do believe this happens. But I believe that it happens to most individuals very rarely. If you tell me you battle mano a mano with Satan or his demons weekly, and you're living in America, forgive me for not believing that your battles are anything beyond metaphysical fabrications. Please don't take it personally.

Don't live under the paranoid attitude of Satan's sovereignty. Satan is not God and he is not sovereign. God is God. God is sovereign and he has already sacrificed his son for us and has given us the tools to fight against the ever-present enemy that is our own sin.

I'll just end with a quote from my pastor, Dr. MacArthur:

"Don't blame anybody else. Don't blame Satan. Don't blame your circumstances. Don't blame God. Don't undo your confession by minimalizing your responsibility. You are the sinner. You are guilty. You need grace and you are fully responsible."

We do need abundant grace. How precious it is that we have and serve an abundantly gracious God!