2 Lies We Believe About Satan

"Enemy-occupied territory -
that is what the world is.
Christianity is the story of how
the rightful king has landed...
and is calling us all to take part
in a great campaign in sabotage."
~C.S. Lewis~

Who is satan?
Satan was one of the chief angels in heaven. Ezekiel tell us that satan was the model of perfection...full or wisdom...and perfect in beauty. These characteristics changed; satan became filled with violence and corrupted in wisdom (Ezekiel 28:12-17). Satan had intentions of becoming "like the Most High" (Is. 14:14), but this is not possible.

Satan is not everywhere...he cannot hear your thoughts. He had a beginning and will have an end. He will be cast into the lake of fire and tormented for all eternity (Rev. 20:20). Be assured...God has no beginning, and there is no end to His reign.

What can't satan do?
He is not all powerful (omnipotent)...
his power is limited and only from God
(Job 1:12, 2:6, James 4:7...)

He is not all knowing (omniscient)...
he doesn't even know when Christ will return!
(Matt. 4:36)

He is not present everywhere (omnipresent)...
he must rely on the demons who follow him.
(2 Cor. 12:7)

2 Lies We Believe About Satan
Lie 1: Everything bad that happens is 'spiritual welfare'.
We are in a battle between good and evil.
This is made clear in Ephesians 6:12:
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places"

Some of the bad things that happen are a direct assault from satan, but bad things can also be a result of our poor decisions. One of the greatest opponents to your Christian growth is you and your flesh. Also, the fallen world in which we live can be a huge factor in this... the world we live in today is filled with sexual images scattered across the internet, billboards, and malls.

We do battle satan, and spiritual welfare is real, but we cannot blame all our sins on them. Even if satan is the source of every single one of your problems, you still have a personal responsibility and will be held accountable for every one of your sins.

Lie 2: I have never been exposed to satanic activities.
If you believe this lie, then I guess you have never read your horoscope, had your palm read, or played video games that deal with witchcraft. But, have you never seen ads on facebook, myspace, or well, gotten on the internet? It doesn't take a long and hard search. It is literally right at our fingertips.

May I just remind you what Paul reminded us in Philippians 4:8?
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—
think about such things."

Remember, you must feed what you want to live, and starve what you want to die. Your heart and your motive will be exposed in everything you do, for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34)