The Heavenly
Competition
Part 2
As we delve into our
new study of the various kinds of activities and character traits
that can potentially provide a point of access, or “legal ground,”
for Satan’s work in our lives, I’d first like to sharpen our focus
on the nature of the battle we are caught in between God and Satan.
In our last issue I stated that I believe that God created Lucifer
to be an alternative object of devotion for mankind. He wanted us to
have a choice between Himself and another alluring, supernatural
being. So God and Satan, as he is now called, are constantly vying
with each other for our love and devotion.
They are very
different in their motives and what they have to offer, however. God
sincerely loves us and desires us to enter an everlasting love
relationship with Him that will fulfill every longing of our
God-created hearts as well as fulfill His own divine love nature.
Satan, on the other hand, is incapable of love. He is a master of
deception, however, and can offer thrilling and tantalizing
experiences as a means of luring man away from God and into his own
camp. His purposes are (1) to hinder man’s entrance into the Kingdom
of God (Mat. 13:19), (2) to destroy his usefulness in God’s Kingdom
should he enter it (2 Peter 1:5-9; Rev. 12:17), and (3) ultimately
to use him for his own hidden purposes of gaining world domination
(Rev. 19:19). (The latter requires extensive demonization and
connection to high-level cosmic beings.)
When we understand
the nature of this competition, we can more wisely evaluate to whom
the various activities in our lives are paying homage—God or Satan.
The two are intensely jealous for our loyalty (1 Cor. 10:21-22).
When we, as Christians, choose to yield to Satan’s temptations and
engage in thoughts and pursuits that are in line with his mindset,
it strikes a grievous blow to God’s heart, just like infidelity in a
marriage would do (cf. Hosea 4:12).
Occult Activities
Probably one of the
most obvious ways we can “flirt” with Satan is to be involved in any
of the many occult activities occurring in the world today. The
focus of many of these is on gaining hidden knowledge or
experiencing supernatural abilities. This is precisely the nature of
the allurement that Satan used on Eve in the Garden of Eden, telling
her that if she listened to him, she would have greater knowledge
and be more like God Himself (Gen. 3:5).
God makes Himself
very clear in stating that anyone who participates in such
activities is “detestable” to Him (Deut. 18:10-12). This blatant
entering of Satan’s camp instantly attracts the attention of his
demonic henchmen. They will claim any evidence of interest in these
activities as legal grounds for “hanging around” the person in an
effort to draw him deeper and deeper. As a foothold is established
in the person’s life, the effects will begin permeating his thought
life, inner character, and behavior. The deeper he involves himself
in occult activities, the more apt he is to establish a stronghold
that connects him to increasingly higher forces of darkness.
A partial list of
such activities includes:
Idolatry
Part 3
In our last issue we
looked at the role that occult activities play in giving evil spirits
access to our lives. In this issue we will look at the closely related
area of idolatry. Certainly giving abeyance to any other “god” than
Jehovah is another way of committing spiritual “adultery” (Ezek. 23:37).
It is intensely offensive to God but greatly pleases Satan, again
opening the door for his evil spirits to work in our lives.
Usually when we think of
idolatry, we think of pagan idols of wood, stone, and metal, which no
Christian would think of worshipping. This horrible practice was what
motivated God to send severe judgment against the nation of Israel. Even
in the Old Testament, however, Ezekiel taught that idolatry can be a
matter of the heart and be just as offensive to God. In fact, God says
He will set His face against anyone practicing idolatry in his heart,
canceling blessings and not responding to his prayers (Ezek. 14:2-8).
Idolatry of the heart
can take many forms, some of which may be difficult to recognize and
thus all the more dangerous to our spiritual health. Even such high
priority issues as family, job, ministry, or health can become idols if
we are not willing to sacrifice or put them in jeopardy to be obedient
to God.
Other issues that can
creep into idol status include behavioral compulsions that evidence
themselves in an undue emphasis on appearance, cleanliness, orderliness,
performance, or control. Usually these reflect psychological baggage
acquired from childhood and may be difficult to turn from without
knowledgeable and supportive inner healing directed at the root issues
driving these behaviors.
Addictions are another
psychological issue that can arise out of deep, unresolved pain from the
past and take on idol status. Drugs, alcohol, nicotine, gambling, sex,
and pornography are more obvious types of such addictions, but food and
work, or constant busyness, can also be addictive behaviors used to
drown out pain. In reality, they are taking the place of God, who is
able to bring true healing to our deep emotional wounds (Isa. 61:1-3).
This does not mean that prayer and faith alone are always sufficient to
overcome an addiction, however. Often knowledgeable and compassionate
help is again needed to ascertain the deep, inner roots of pain the
person is endeavoring to escape and then to identify the false beliefs
imbedded in them so that God can transform them through the application
of truth. This is the truth that will set the person free (John 8:32).
The most frequent and
grievous idols of the heart are those that arise out of the interaction
of our inherent sin nature, or flesh, and the world system in which we
are engulfed, both of which are prime avenues through which Satan works
(Rom. 8:6-8; Gal. 5:17). A potential idol of this nature that Scripture
particularly warns us about concerns our attitude towards money and
material gain. Money is a powerful and alluring commodity, capable of
providing security, prestige, and entertainment. The world system is so
totally built around the attainment of these things that even Christians
are apt to forget that God is infinitely more capable of supplying these
for us and has promised to do so if we simply make Him and His
righteousness the highest priority in our lives (Mat. 6:33; Phil. 4:19).
If we choose to trust in money, rather than God, to supply our needs and
give us security for the future, we are engaged in the idolatry of
mammon. We have put money in the place of God. Scripture clearly states
that we cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24) and equates a quest
for material possessions (greed and covetousness) with idolatry (Col.
3:5-6).
Because idols of the
heart can be so insidious, we would all do well to examine our lives and
take stock of what is most important to us. If any of these identified
priorities could not be laid aside to do God’s will, it needs to be
recognized as an idol of the heart. If it is an issue that is serving as
a psychological “crutch” for us, we need to seek out the right kind of
help to explore its root. If it is any other issue, the godly response
is to confess our sin to God (1 John 1:9), submit to His will and
priorities for us (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 5:15; Eph. 2:10), and ask Him to
break off any connections to the evil spiritual realm that were
established in our lives because of this unrecognized “idol.” Not only
is He faithful to do this, but He will also open the door to greater
blessings coming into our lives because of our uncompromised devotion to
Him (Rom. 8:28-39).
Religious Matters
Part 4
Continuing on in our
study of the avenues through which Satan and his forces gain access to
our lives, we will look next at the area of religious matters and the
various ways Satan can trip us up in the guise of true spirituality.
While we can readily recognize the many overtly false religions
of the world that place another supposedly divine being in the place of
the true Creator God, Satan’s clever deceptions can take place even
amidst mainstream Christianity in our own country. Because Satan can
never measure up to all that God has to offer as he competes with Him
for man’s devotion, he must use clever means of deception to allure man
to himself.
For this reason we must
be very careful about following any seemingly aberrant teachings
of the Word. While our hearts and minds must certainly be open to
growing in new understandings of Scripture, whenever a particular
teaching seems contrary to the traditional views of the recognized
Church, we must carefully discern whether it is truly coming from the
Holy Spirit. While at times false teachings may be purely a matter of
ignorance, at other times they arise from a person’s own fleshly desire
for acclaim or from an ungodly spirit as an effort of Satan to pull us
away from Christ. Following either leads us directly or indirectly under
the influence of Satan’s forces and can establish a foothold for their
further deceptive work in our lives (Mat. 7:15; Rom. 16:17-20; 1 Tim.
4:1; 1 John 4:1; Jude).
The way to evaluate
whether a seemingly new or varied interpretation of Scripture is truly
coming from God is to look at the fruit in the life of the person
teaching it and the effect that it has on the Church body. Wisdom that
comes from God will be delivered in a spirit of humility, gentleness,
and mercy. It will harmonize with other teachings of the Word and
resonate with the inner spirit of other godly individuals who are
well-versed in the Word. In contrast, a spirit of jealousy,
belligerence, self-exaltation, hypocrisy, and strife mark the one whose
wisdom is not from God, but earthly—or even demonic (Mat. 7:15-20; James
3:13-18).
Rationalism,
or allowing human reasoning to supersede the Word of God in establishing
truth, is one type of false teaching that Satan uses to infiltrate and
weaken the “Christian Church.” Scripture clearly states that the depths
of wisdom and knowledge revealed in God’s Word are beyond human
comprehension and that the reasonings of even the wisest men are
“useless” and “foolish” in comparison (Rom. 11:33-36; 1 Cor. 3:19-20).
Yet some individuals, upon encountering parts of the Bible they believe
cannot possibly be taken literally or truly mean what they say, feel
they are doing the Christian community a service by using human wisdom,
or reasoning, to come up with an alternative explanation that “makes
more sense” to them. In reality, this questioning and redefining of
“what God says” exactly replicates the pattern of Satan in the Garden of
Eden (Gen. 3:1), and falling for it can put man into the same Satanic
snare that it did for Adam and Eve (Rom. 6:16). Faith in God’s Word is
the defining characteristic of a true Christian. It is what binds us to
God Himself (Eph. 2:8; Heb. 11:1-6; 1 Peter 1:6-7). Whenever we doubt
what God says or operate outside of faith, we fall into dangerous
territory, and our defense against the evil one is greatly weakened
(Rom. 14:23; Eph. 6:16; 1 John 5:4).
Legalism
is another doctrinal deviation that masquerades as true spirituality
within many churches yet denies a key feature of the Gospel message.
Christ came to set us free from the binding restrictions of the Law,
which were never intended to make man righteous but only to lead him to
the Cross where justification is made possible through faith alone.
Through His sacrificial death Christ has attributed His own
righteousness to every believer, accomplishing what the Law was
incapable of doing (Rom. 4:13-24; 8:2-4; Gal. 3:19-25; Eph. 2:8-9; Heb.
10:1). He also imparted His Holy Spirit to indwell and guide us in holy
living (Rom. 8:9-11; Gal. 5:16, 18, 22-23). To follow the Law or any
man-made, external system of rules as a means to attain godliness not
only denigrates the work of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, but
also places oneself under a curse and in bondage to Satan (Gal. 3:1-5,
10-14).
Many divisions
within the Church also have Satanically-inspired roots, and
participation in them is seen by the spiritual realm of darkness as a
step in their direction, which can open the door to further solicitation
on their part in one’s life. While some divisions are necessary to
maintain doctrinal purity and to make God’s true servants evident (Luke
12:51-53; 1 Cor. 11:19), those based on foolish speculations, petty
differences, or social status are unpleasing to God (2 Tim. 2:23; Titus
3:9-11). God desires His Church to be united in one faith with one mind
and one purpose (1 Cor. 1:10-13; 3:3-11; 12:18-27), not divided over
cultural differences or minor discrepancies of Scriptural
interpretation.
Rebellion
Part 5
As we continue our study
of the avenues that provide open doors for Satan in our lives, I remind
you again of the great competition occurring in the heavenlies between
God and Satan for the devotion of mankind. This is the context within
which we must understand and weigh both our actions and the inner
contemplations of our hearts. No neutral territory exists in the
God/Satan rivalry. A step away from one is always a step towards the
other. God created us to be His perfect counterparts in love. He paid
the supreme “bride price” to redeem us from Satan’s hand after the Fall
and has showered us with innumerable, great, and awesome spiritual
blessings (John 10:10; Eph. 1:3; 2 Peter 1:4). As a jealous lover, He
desires absolute loyalty to Him in every aspect of our lives (Ex.
20:4-5; Jer. 11:3-4; Mat. 28:19-20) and is deeply grieved when we
respond to Satan’s flirtations and take steps in his direction (Isa.
63:10; Ezek. 6:9).
In this issue we will
look at the sin of rebellion, which represents a willful
disobedience or turning away from God (Isa. 59:12-13; Jer. 5:22-24; Neh.
9:26) or a failure to believe Him or His promises or to treat Him with
reverence (Deut. 9:23; 1 Sam. 12:14). It is most overtly evident when
one turns from serving God to another false deity, such as the ancient
Israelites did over and over again both before and after they entered
the Promised Land (e.g., Ex. 32:1-4; Josh. 22:16; Judges 2:11-13).
Perhaps more subtle is the rebellion of the person who places his own
will above God’s will (Isa. 65:2), as Moses did when he struck the rock
in the wilderness (Num 20:9-12), or gives greater homage to a human
role-model than to God, as the Corinthian believers did (1 Cor.
1:12-13). Any of these actions represents a yielding to the flesh (Rom.
8:7), demonically-inspired lies (James 3:15), or other forms of
temptation coming from within Satan’s world system (John 14:30) and puts
out a “welcome mat” to his family of evil beings.
God sees rebellion as
such a serious betrayal of one’s loyalty and commitment to Him that He
equates it with the sins of divination and idolatry (1 Samuel 15:23),
which definitely involve collusion with the evil spiritual realm. Since
rebellion is putting one’s own self, another person, or a spiritual
being in the place that God wants to occupy, the connection to idolatry
is certainly clear.
When God instructs us,
above anything else, to love Him with all our heart and with all our
soul and with all our might (Deut. 6:4-5), He truly means all of
us all of the time. One momentary lapse in Moses’ life caused him
to forfeit being able to enter the Promised Land (Num. 20:12). David
also suffered severe losses in his life because of his brief period of
rebellion and giving in to the lusts of his flesh (2 Sam 12:9-14).
In the case of the nation
of Israel, Scripture clearly speaks of the many curses they brought upon
themselves because of their great and repeated rebellion against God
(Deut. 28:15ff; Jer. 11:3-4; Dan. 9:9-11). These curses were probably
carried out by evil beings assigned by God Himself to afflict both the
nation and the individuals in it (cf., 1 Kings 22:19-23). We have no
reason to believe that God responds to rebellion any differently today
(Heb. 13:8).
As serious an offense as
rebellion is, it does not supersede God’s compassion and willingness to
forgive when repentance is made, however. While some of the judgments,
losses, or consequences incurred may remain, God eagerly welcomes the
repentant rebel back into a place of fellowship with Himself and even to
a place of blessing and prosperity (Deut. 30:1-5; Ps. 107:10-15; Luke
15:11-24). Regardless of how many times the Israelites repeated their
cycles of rebellion, God always extended His compassion to them when
they turned their hearts back to Him (Neh. 9:26-31). David was restored
to a place of great honor, blessing, and service in His kingdom (Ps.
32:5; 2 Sam. 7:8-16) and is remembered as Israel’s greatest king. Truly,
God is our model of perfect love and supreme example of a forgiving
heart.
Deception
Part 6
As we examine the
subject of deception as a potential avenue of Satan’s entrance into our
lives, we come face to face with the very nature of Satan. Just as love
defines the essence of God’s nature (1 John 4:8), so deception defines
Satan’s. When we walk in love, God lives in us (1 John 4:12); when we
walk in deception, we manifest the works of Satan, who is the father of
all lies (John 8:44). Deception marked his work in the Garden of Eden
and has been his defining mantra ever since (Gen. 3:13; 2 Cor. 11:3;
Rev. 12:9). It also marks the spiritual beings in his service (1 Tim.
4:1; 1 John 4:6) and those through whom they work (1 John 2:26; 2 Pet.
2:13; 2 John 7).
Because Satan gained
dominion over man in the Garden of Eden (Rom. 6:16; Col. 1:13), he has
been able to corrupt our inner being with his own nature (Jer. 17:9).
(Usually we consider this to be the “flesh.”) Lies and deception are
therefore a natural outpouring of the unregenerate or unsanctified heart
(Mat. 15:19; Rom. 1:28-29; 3:13; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9). Unfortunately,
when we indulge in this behavior, we are submitting to Satan’s influence
and opening a door through which he can establish a foothold. Should we
become entrenched in such activity, a true stronghold of darkness can
take hold of our lives.
Deception can take many
forms: lying, bearing false witness, perjury, libel, slander; fraud,
double-crossing, cheating, infidelity, false representations, false
measurements, concealing of truth, exaggeration or distortion of truth,
half-truths, duplicity. Matthew 5:37 says, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and
your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (NIV;
italics mine). That should leave little doubt that entering the realm of
deception opens the door to Satan.
Believers lie to God
when they don’t acknowledge their sin (1 John 1:8) or when they say they
know God but do not obey Him (1 John 2:4) or claim to have fellowship
with Him and yet do the things that please Satan (1 John 1:6). Ananias
and Sapphira lied to God about the nature of a gift they brought to Him.
In this case Scripture explicitly states that Satan filled their
hearts to lie against the Holy Spirit, again confirming the origin of
such lies. For them, the consequences were very severe—instant death
(Acts 5:1-10).
Any time we sin against
God’s commandments to abstain from falsehood and deception (Ex. 20:16;
Lev. 19:11; Eph. 4:25), we reap consequences (Prov. 19:5; Jer. 9:5-9;
Hos. 10:13; Micah 6:10-15). While this may not be instant death, God has
repeatedly said that He will shorten the lives of those who are
deceitful (Ps. 34:12-13; 52:2-5; 55:23; Prov. 21:28). He abhors all
forms of deceit (Micah 6:10-13ff; Ps. 5:6; Prov. 6:16-19; 12:22), and
His response to it is usually severe. The one who lied to God in the Old
Testament sacrificial system was put under a curse (Mal. 1:14). God also
put Israel under a curse because of the deception that occurred at Ai.
He would not be with them in battle until they made things right in His
sight (Josh. 7:11-12). At the very least, the deceitful person misses
out on God’s blessings (Ps. 32:2; 34:12-17; Matt. 6:33), and cannot come
into His holy presence (Ps. 24:3-4; 101:7).
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