“Why did God make the devil?”—Will
Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t tell us very much. The devil is one of the most mysterious figures in Scripture.
Some speculate that the devil was once a beautiful creature (an angel?), intended to serve God and carry out His purposes. This creature, they say, got too full of himself and rebelled against God. Even though he was consequently condemned, he was allowed to remain on the earth, doing all he can to pull people away from God through temptation and twisted truths.
The “devil” rarely appears in the Hebrew Bible (most notably as an accuser of men before God; see Job 1, 2 and Zech. 3:1-2). In the New Testament, he is seen more clearly as the ruler of the demonic realm, the powerful and wicked “prince” of this world (Jn. 12:31; 16:11; Eph. 2:1-2).
We may not fully understand why God allows Satan to hang around but we do know these things: The Bible portrays the devil as the opposite of God (he is the essence of evil), but he is not equal to God. He is a creature gone bad, if you will, but not the Creator (he acts only within limits set by God). God doesn’t like what he does and we are given plenty of warnings in Scripture to “resist” him, “watch out for” him and not give him a “foothold” in our lives (James 4:7; I Pet. 5:8; Eph. 4:27).
The devil has been defeated (Lk. 10:17-18; Col. 2:10, 15)—he can’t make you do anything to which you don’t agree. He is ultimately doomed (II Thess. 2:7-10; Rev. 12:9; 20:10). He serves to remind you that though evil and corruption in the world are real, you remain confident that God, triumphant in Christ, wins in the end!
Showing posts with label Satan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Satan. Show all posts
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Why Satan? (Part II)
“Why does God allow Satan to exist?”—Emma
In the previous column, I likely did not answer your question satisfactorily. The figure of Satan is one of the most mysterious in the Bible. We should note that the biblical perception of the devil changed over time. In the Hebrew Bible, Satan only rarely appears as a distinct figure, notably at the temptation of Eve (Gen. 3:1ff) and the suffering of Job (Job 1, 2). At the beginning of the Christian era, people had come to see Satan as the ruler of a demonic empire and the world as a battleground between good and evil.
In the overall view, Scripture presents Satan as a created being (not a separate or equal deity) who rebelled against God and who is free, to some degree, to wreak havoc among humans in the arena of their free will (II Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:1-3; I Jn. 5:19).
The good news: Satan has been defeated (Jn. 12:31; 16:11). His ultimate doom was sealed by Jesus’ death and resurrection (Eph. 1:20-22; Col. 2:13-15). One day he will be imprisoned forever (Rev. 20:7-10).
Understanding the character of Satan helps believers grasp the tremendous power of evil in the world while remaining confident that God in Christ sets us free and makes us new (Eph. 2:4-10). The message of the Bible: God invites us to know Him and His power which rescues us and enables us to stand strong in the face of evil (Eph. 6:10-18; I Jn. 4:4).
In the previous column, I likely did not answer your question satisfactorily. The figure of Satan is one of the most mysterious in the Bible. We should note that the biblical perception of the devil changed over time. In the Hebrew Bible, Satan only rarely appears as a distinct figure, notably at the temptation of Eve (Gen. 3:1ff) and the suffering of Job (Job 1, 2). At the beginning of the Christian era, people had come to see Satan as the ruler of a demonic empire and the world as a battleground between good and evil.
In the overall view, Scripture presents Satan as a created being (not a separate or equal deity) who rebelled against God and who is free, to some degree, to wreak havoc among humans in the arena of their free will (II Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:1-3; I Jn. 5:19).
The good news: Satan has been defeated (Jn. 12:31; 16:11). His ultimate doom was sealed by Jesus’ death and resurrection (Eph. 1:20-22; Col. 2:13-15). One day he will be imprisoned forever (Rev. 20:7-10).
Understanding the character of Satan helps believers grasp the tremendous power of evil in the world while remaining confident that God in Christ sets us free and makes us new (Eph. 2:4-10). The message of the Bible: God invites us to know Him and His power which rescues us and enables us to stand strong in the face of evil (Eph. 6:10-18; I Jn. 4:4).
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Why Satan? (Part I)
“Why does God allow Satan to exist?”—Emma
This question haunts all of us. Put another way, “If God is good, why does He permit evil to continue? Furthermore, how could God create Satan, the very personification of evil?” I suspect the full answer, though shrouded in dimensions and purposes beyond our understanding, has something to do with us.
Scripture is replete with invitations to humans to come to know God, to love Him and trust Him. True love and loyalty, however, are not coerced. Every person is free to choose God—a genuine relationship with Him is possible only in the context of this free will. The freedom to accept God has another side: it inherently contains the freedom to reject God.
In simplest terms, the freedom to deny God is what keeps Satan in business. Called, among numerous names, Enemy (I Pet. 5:8), Accuser (Rev. 12:10), Tempter (Matt. 4:1), and Evil One (Matt. 13:19), Satan schemes to blind the minds of unbelievers (II Cor. 4:4) and distort the truth (Jn. 8:44). These activities of his are implicit in and abetted by the “dark side” of man’s free will. That is, humans, who are by nature inclined to follow the ways of this world as opposed to the ways of God (see Acts 26:18), provide an arena in which Satan, “the power of this dark world, the spiritual force of evil” (Eph. 6:12), is enabled to do what he does best.
But wait—there is good news! Next column.
This question haunts all of us. Put another way, “If God is good, why does He permit evil to continue? Furthermore, how could God create Satan, the very personification of evil?” I suspect the full answer, though shrouded in dimensions and purposes beyond our understanding, has something to do with us.
Scripture is replete with invitations to humans to come to know God, to love Him and trust Him. True love and loyalty, however, are not coerced. Every person is free to choose God—a genuine relationship with Him is possible only in the context of this free will. The freedom to accept God has another side: it inherently contains the freedom to reject God.
In simplest terms, the freedom to deny God is what keeps Satan in business. Called, among numerous names, Enemy (I Pet. 5:8), Accuser (Rev. 12:10), Tempter (Matt. 4:1), and Evil One (Matt. 13:19), Satan schemes to blind the minds of unbelievers (II Cor. 4:4) and distort the truth (Jn. 8:44). These activities of his are implicit in and abetted by the “dark side” of man’s free will. That is, humans, who are by nature inclined to follow the ways of this world as opposed to the ways of God (see Acts 26:18), provide an arena in which Satan, “the power of this dark world, the spiritual force of evil” (Eph. 6:12), is enabled to do what he does best.
But wait—there is good news! Next column.
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