Dr. Mike Murphy
June 26, 2022
It was a sad day at the small, rural church. Many of its’ members sat in the courtroom as one of their own was being sentenced. One of the churches own members stood, facing the judge as the procedure began. He had served on the board of the church, even being trusted with handling the day to day finances of the church. He had recently been convicted of embezzling over thirty thousand dollars from the church, an amount that would be very hard for any small, rural church to overcome. As he faced the judge for sentencing, he was asked if he wished to make any statement before his sentence was rendered. He looked at the judge, and told him, “Your Honor, I cannot tell you how sorry I am for what I have done. I was in financial trouble, and did not think about those I might hurt. I just took a little to start with, but after no one found out I took a little more. I finally found myself taking money from the church each week without even thinking about it. All I can say in my defense, ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’. ”
‘The Devil Made Me Do It’, a common statement we have all heard for years. But just who is the devil? And just what can he make us do?
Both the excuse and the devil himself are almost as old as man. From the very beginning we see man quickly turn to the devil to excuse our actions. From the first bite of the apple we see these words easily rolling from our tongues(Genesis 3 13). And these words carry about as much weight with the Lord today as they did in the Garden of Eden(Genesis 3:14-19). Although Satan does roam this world looking to cause havoc in our lives(1 Peter 5:8), there is absolutely nothing he has the power to make us do. It is our own choices that lead us to sin, not a demonic creature forcing us to do evil(James 1:14-15). We sin because of the works of our own flesh, not because of the demonic works of Satan(Galatians 5:19-21).
We often give Satan far more credit than he deserves, finding it easy to cast the blame to someone besides ourselves. Although Satan may tempt us toward sin, it is ultimately our choice that brings us into sin(Romans 7:20). Until we look to ourselves for the blame, we will never identify the solution. Look at a man with a drinking problem as an example. Is it the fault of the man for buying the bottle and consuming it until he can no longer function, or is it the fault of the alcohol company for producing it? The ultimate choice resides with the man, he has the ability to decide whether or not to purchase the bottle, and he also has the ability to seek help for any problem he may have in his life. The same can be said of us, we have the ultimate choice, and God is always standing there with open arms waiting to help us make that choice(1 Corinthians 10:13).
So if Satan cannot cause us to sin, just what powers does the devil have? To answer this we need to take a close look at Satan himself. And God’s Word gives us all the information about Satan we will ever need!
The Bible refers to Satan by over forty names, all showing us the characteristics of just who Satan is. From the prefall name of Lucifer(Isaiah 14:12), to the name of Abaddon who will bring destruction during the Tribulation(Revelation 9:11), his name may be different but his purpose is the same. The Bible makes it clear just who Satan is, and the purpose that he thinks he holds. Satan was the Lord’s highest created angelic being, who fell from the cherished position he held in the heavens because of his sin, and now spends his days doing all he can to destroy God’s plan for mankind. The book of Isaiah paints us a very good picture of Satan, and shows us the very characteristics that define him. Isaiah 14:12-17, “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit. “Those who see you will gaze at you, they will ponder over you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a wilderness and overthrew its cities, who did not allow his prisoners to go home?”
Notice the similarity in each of Satan’s statements. In each we see him state, ‘I will’. We see in this the conceded pride that lead Satan to think he could place himself on the throne of God, and the sin that lead to his fall. We also see in this the same sin that drives Satan to this day, as he works daily to circumvent God’s plan of salvation. In Satan’s prideful and twisted mind, he still tries to fulfill those ‘I wills’ we saw him make above.
Although Satan can be very cunning and resourceful in his attempt to destroy God’s plan, we often credit him with far more power than he is due. We often see Satan pictured by the world as a presence controlling us like puppets, knowing our every thought and orchestrating our every action. This could not be farther from the truth! Satan should not be taken lightly, he uses every tool in his arsenal to destroy the heart and soul of man, and he is a master at deception. But we do have to remember that his toolbox is not completely full!
Satan suffers from what I like to refer to as having an ‘omni complex’. He is not omnipresent like the Lord, he cannot be in all places at once. As a created being, he can only be at one place at one time. He is not omnipotent like the Lord, he does not have His unlimited abilities. Again, because he was created by God, his powers are limited to only that which God has given him. He is not omniscient like God. He does not know all things, and does not have the ability to know our thoughts. Satan’s powers may be great, but they are not unlimited like the Lord’s. And because of this, he will never sit on the throne of God. And the truth is, he knows it!
Satan is, though, an expert on human behavior. He is very good at knowing how to push our buttons, by watching our actions he knows which temptations work best on each of us. Satan uses this temptation to continue to rebel against the Lord to this day. He works feverishly to turn people from God’s plan, and to bring them to follow his plan of destruction. And he will do anything within his power to bring this about.
We often do not realize the greatest tool Satan has against man today. The greatest tool he has is one many do not even recognize. Satan’s greatest tool against man is the fact that many today do not even believe he exist. In recent polls, only 35% of Americans believe that Satan is real. The cartoon images of a spiked tail and a pitchfork have replaced the reality of a real life deceptive demon. And that is just the way Satan likes it. He can tempt and manipulate many without them even knowing where the influence is coming from.
But as Christians, God has given us a guard against the psychological warfare that Satan uses. John told us that if we have God’s Word in us, that Satan has no control over us(1 John 2:14). Satan’s power is limited by the relationship we have with Christ, because we are filled with the presence of Christ in each of us. Although Satan may spread his evil to much of the world, he can only influence us when we allow him to.
1 Peter 5:8 tells us, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Satan roams this world spreading evil, with his teeth of deception. Happy to sneak up on many who are not even aware he is lurking. Satan reminds me of a story I heard several years ago. A man found himself one day at a local zoo observing a mountain lion in a caged area. As he stood there watching the beast, a zookeeper enter the cage with nothing more than a broom. He watched in amazement as the zookeeper moved around the cage cleaning it, not worrying about the mountain lion at all. He could not believe as the zookeeper moved over to where the mountain lion was lying, poking him with the broom so he would move out of the corner. The mountain lion hissed at him but moved to another corner of the cage. As the zookeeper exited the cage, the man walked up to him and commented on his bravery. The zookeeper chuckled and told him, “I am far from brave!” “That mountain lion is just old and does not have any teeth!” When we have the Holy Spirit in our lives, we soon realize that the beast, Satan, does not have any teeth! He may hiss at us and not like us being here, finding us in his way. But he knows that we have the power in us to prevent the world from ever having to say, ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’!
Hoping Satan in always toothless in each of your lives!
