Is Satan for Real?

  • Mike Rydman
  • Jul 31, 2007

Is Satan for Real?

 

I consider myself a skeptic. Call it a gift of "discernment," or just a propensity toward general distrust, but I am not by nature one to take things at face value.

 

For me, while running the continual risk of being dead wrong on some conclusions, I do tend to see things as "black and white," and usually don't find myself comfortable with gray areas. In many ways I am a product of the rationalistic world into which I was born and raised. As I get older, (and maybe more mature at the same time) I am beginning to become more comfortable with mystery and unanswerable questions, but I am also fairly deep seeded in my general distrust of what I see and hear.

 

I have an inclination to ask "why" a lot. I find that in spite of my still extroverted personality I do question people's motives, and usually do not initially trust people's stated agendas. I probably spend an inordinate amount of time wondering, "What's behind that person's thoughts, words or world view?"

 

In spite of what I just wrote, I have become increasingly comfortable with the mystery of God. Our Father in heaven has revealed His heart in Scripture, and His personality through Jesus Christ. At the same time, I recognize now more than ever that God is God, and He is more than I can contain in my own, limited thoughts. This is perhaps one reason why reading through my Bible results in added insights and understandings of who God is, what He does and why He does it the way He does.

 

But in spite of the post-modern world we now find ourselves in, we still have many of the trappings of the modern, rationalistic world still in view. Rationalism was and is borne out of skepticism. Belief in the supernatural is growing among the general populace, but the belief that Scripture is the Word of God, like Jesus is the Word of God is increasingly on the decline. The people we traffic with do not necessarily believe something simply because the Bible tells them so.

 

Recently, I decided to read up on Satan and demons, the unseen Enemy. Spiritual warfare is a subject I have not really ever taught on, and spiritual oppression is not necessarily a topic of frequent conversation between believers - at least the believers I know. So, I decided to read up on the subject, because I can't believe that Satan is only at work in third-world countries.

 

Here in the western world, we have come to somehow believe that Satan does things differently than he does in other places. Many of us have heard the stories of foreign missionaries who speak of people being demon-possessed, and of exorcisms that release people from the bonds of demons. People in those places have no problem believing in satanic forces. However, in our own immediate world it is easy to conclude that Satan doesn't let his demons do much damage in or among us, because we westerners are so much more "advanced" and aware. Satan has somehow convinced many of us that he does not exist, which is a brilliant strategy I should think.

 

The western, industrialized Church is smug. We're smug because we think we've learned all there is to learn, and more knowledge should result in more power against the Enemy. We've come to conclude that Satan does not concern himself with us at all. However, Satan is still at work, and rather effectively in our immediate world - even in our churches. Clinton E. Arnold, in his book 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare offers the following list of Satan's ploys that "blunt our commitment to the redemptive mission" here in the midst of westernized Christianity:

 

-making Christians think how extremist or obnoxious they might appear to friends by

      "forcing their faith" on others

-making Christians think that everyone has already heard the gospel

-inciting so many problems in the church that efforts to resolve conflict sap all of our

      energy and attention

-causing Christians to believe that only missionaries and evangelists should be concerned

      with outreach

-convincing Christians that there is a fair chance that everyone will be saved ultimately

      anyway, given such a loving God

 

Any of us can read Arnold's list and personally relate to at least one of what he listed. The question is, do we equate examples of misdirected thinking and its sinful outcomes to our own weaknesses, or is it possible that the Enemy is also participating in this corporate and collective departure of the Church from its purpose and mission?

 

If we are to take Scripture at its word, then we have to also take as truth the existence and efforts of Satan to thwart our faith relationship with Jesus Christ and to block people still unsaved from ever acknowledging the sovereignty, holiness and grace of God extended to us through Jesus. Our Bibles have much to say about Satan, and about the power of God in us to defeat the presence and power of Satan over us.

 

We are given God's power:

"and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come." Ephesians 1:19-21

 

This tells me that God is big enough and strong enough to defeat any enemy, even the Enemy who tells mankind lies about himself, about ourselves, and about God, Himself.

This gives me hope.

 

"...and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:6

 

While living here in the Great Northwest may seem like a little slice of heaven, it is not heaven. Yet Scripture tells us that Jesus-followers are already elevated in our freedom to take for ourselves the power of God to defeat the Enemy.

 

So what does Scripture tell us to do about Satan and his nasty little demons?

 

Colossians 2:8-10 says, "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority."

 

So, and first of all we are charged to accept the fact that we can be deceived, and that we can be deceived by our culture and/or by Satan. Both will attempt to counterfeit the truth of Jesus Christ, and both sources combined with our own sin can blunt if not shipwreck our faith relationship with the God of the universe, the God who loves us. So point one? Know the truth, and be aware of its counterfeits.

 

And secondly? Resist the attacks!

James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

 

How do we resist the attacks? By humbling ourselves in submission to God. Allowing the Holy Scriptures to fill our hearts gives the Holy Spirit ample room within us to sovereignly lead us away from untruths and misdeeds. Also, knowing where and when we are most susceptible to temptation and the willingness to run in the opposite direction will give us the opportunity to experience the power of God in ways that surpass the estimation of our own power.

 

I am a skeptic, yet I trust the Bible as truth. My Bible teaches me that there is a fallen angel who goes by Satan, that he has a whole swarm of nasty little demons who do his evil bidding, and that they're on a mission of destruction. We would all do well to take God at his word, and revel in his power to overthrow any remaining outposts the Enemy may still maintain in us.