Showing posts with label C.S. Lewis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label C.S. Lewis. Show all posts

Monday, August 16, 2010

The Devil, Demons, and Deception

When the Lord brings a particular topic up several times from different sources in a single day, it is wise to take heed. Especially one like this: Satan, demons, and temptation. My Pastor preached an amazing and informative sermon entitled  We Believe... God Wars; I received a text from someone in another state about Satan, demons, and temptation; my devotional just happened to be on that subject that afternoon; and the X-Files I watched dealt with it too.


OK, God. I'm listening.


What's the point? First, we need to neither give them too much, nor too little, thought. Here is a great passage from C.S. Lewis' book The Joyful Christian:


"The commonest question [I am asked about The Screwtape Letters] is whether I really "believe in the Devil".

Now, if by "the Devil" you mean a power opposite to God and, like God, self-existent from all eternity, the answer is No. There is no uncreated being except God. God has no opposite. No being could attain a "perfect badness" opposite to the perfect goodness of God; for when you have every kind of good thing (intelligence, will, memory, energy, and existence itself), there would be none left of him.


The proper question is whether I believe in devils. I do. That is to say, I believe in angels, and I believe that some of these, by the abuse of their free will, have become enemies to God and, as a corollary, to us. These we may call devils. They do not differ in nature from good angels, but their nature is depraved. Devil is the opposite of angel only as Bad Man is the opposite of Good Man. Satan, the leader or dictator or devils, is the opposite, not of God, but of Michael." (Emphasis mine)




I love the reminder that Satan is not the opposite of God, but of Michael, the arch angel. God created both and has full power and authority over both. Satan is just really ticked off about his final end and is taking as many as he can with him- both angel and human.


What is our role in this already won war? To win some battles through the power of Jesus Christ. There is a war going on. Ephesians 6:10-20 gives us a great synopsis of this. However, there is one other seldom used passage I love on this topic.


   When the servant of the man of God got up early and went out, he discovered an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. So he asked Elisha, "Oh, my master, what are we to do?"
   Elisha said, "Don't be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them."
   Then Elisha prayed, "LORD, please open his eyes and let him see." So the LORD opened the servant's eyes. He looked and saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
2 Kings 6:15-17


There is a constant battle around us, and the way in which Elisha handled is a great example. He knew it was there, he gave it thought and credit, but he did not dwell on it. You didn't hear him always talking about the unseen realm. He focused on doing God's will.


As for Christians being tempted by demons/ the Devil we must remember that Satan- the accuser - is not omnipresent. He can not be everywhere at once like God. Thus most people have to deal with his demons. Honestly though, what difference does it make? Temptation is temptation, and the blood of Christ covers them all no matter who incited it.


As for the "strength" of the temptation, we need only to remember His Word to us in 1 Corinthians 10:13. "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it."
He will always prove a way of escape- if we are willing to look to Him for it.


There really is nothing else to this. Yes, it is here. Yes, we need to know about it. And NO, we shouldn't let it consume our thoughts. We should let only Christ and Him crucified have that honor.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Tools of Satan- Part 1 of 3: Condemnation

I heard my pastor the other day say that Satan has only two tools he can use against us: Condemnation and Temptation. While I certainly agree with these, I thought of one more our adversary uses. Fear/Anxiety. While these three things can seem monumental, we usually give Satan too much credit. We tend to think of him as the opposite of God or Jesus. C. S. Lewis said it best, that in reality, “Satan, the leader or dictator of devils, is the opposite, not of God, but of Michael.” (C. S. Lewis, The Joyful Christian) Satan is not omnipotent- All powerful; omniscient- All knowing; or omnipresent- In all places at the same time. God has all of these traits and Satan none. The Devil must therefore resort to using tricks, or tools, and I want to focus on how he uses these to try and mock God.

Romans 8:28 tells us “that all things work together for the good of those who love God.” (emphasis mine) God can use our past, present, and future to work for good, so Satan has his three tools to try and combat these. But praise God, He has given us the weapons with which we can stand and defend ourselves.

Our Past: Condemnation

Any little thing we have ever done, our adversary loves to keep shoving in our face. We are constantly reminded of how we have failed in every area of our lives; How a person as messed up as us, who has committed as many sins as we, can never be truly useful to God. He wants nothing more than for us to live as defeated Christians who daily feel the weight of past sins.

The Cure: Grace

Yep. He's right. I HAVE messed up. I HAVE sinned greatly, but you know what's so amazing about our God? David says it beautifully in Psalm 32: 1-2, 5 “How happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How happy is the man the Lord does not charge with sin, and in whose spirit is no deceit!... Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and You took away the guilt of my sin.” We've been forgiven! Grace has been given to us. Why keep dwelling on something God forgot as ours? Gratefully hold firm to the grace He has extended. Don't wrap His gift in the stench of our past- display it with joy!

Ask the Lord today to reveal any areas in your life in which you live as though defeated. Then put them behind you for good.
If there are none, praise God for the amazing gift of His grace which is so evident in your life!