I heard about someone who bought an item at an auction sale. For some reason or other, they got the idea that this thing had been in the possession of someone who had been involved with the occult. They felt that its presence in their house was creating an opportunity for Satan to create problems for them. They claimed that when they got rid of it, the problems stopped.
I have heard stories about people who are involved in evangelism who believe that certain geographical areas are held by certain demons, which they call territorial spirits. Some of these, they claim, are very strong and you have to identify these spirits and take special measures to remove them before evangelism will be successful.
I have known people who refuse to play with playing cards because they believe that they represent Satanic ideas and if you play with them you may be negatively influenced by them.
I was once called to the home of a family whose young son was being frightened by something in his room that they believed was there because of the previous owner who had been involved in new age religious practices. They asked me to pray and to remove the demon they believed was in that room.
We frequently hear about people who pray for a hedge of protection around an event or around people so that Satan will not have an influence.
What is the reality of these stories? To those who experience them they are very real. However, in his book, Demons, Lies and Shadows, Pierre Gilbert says, “The interpretation we give to any personal experience or anecdote depends primarily on the worldview we begin with.” What is the worldview which we have as followers of Christ? We are probably frightened by things related to Satan and demons. Should we be? What is the best way to deal with evil powers? This question came from a pastoral evaluation a year or so ago when someone asked me to speak on the, “reality of demonic powers and how to deal with them.” As Christians, it is important that our worldview be formed not by our experience or by the experience of others, but by the Word of God. So let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about these things.
There are people who do not believe in the existence of evil powers. Our church’s confession of faith indicates that “We believe Satan is a personal spirit being. He heads the kingdom of all evil and opposes God...”
As we look into Scripture, this belief is affirmed. We encounter Satan right in the beginning of the Bible where we learn that he is behind the temptation which Adam and Eve experienced. Although the text speaks about a serpent, we understand that this serpent is the personification of Satan and the evil power behind the temptation.
Jesus also encountered Satan when he was taken into the wilderness and tempted for 40 days. Once again we see the existence of this evil power.
In the last book of the Bible we also read many passages which speak of the existence of Satan. For example, in Revelation 12, we have a visual representation of the history of God’s work in the world and present there is the one who opposes God’s work, pictured in that chapter as a red dragon.
These are just a few of the chapters which speak about Satan or the Devil or demonic forces or powers, so the Biblical answer to this question is quite clearly that they do exist.
However, the more important questions are, “What is their power?” and “What is the nature of what they do?” Gilbert asks, “Do we live in a world dominated by evil and occult forces that forever threaten to overwhelm us at the least sign of weakness or spiritual carelessness?”
The answer to these questions begins right in the very first chapters of the Bible. These are questions of worldview and the Bible gives us a very particular and important worldview which can help us understand these things.
When Moses wrote the early chapters of Genesis, he was writing to the children of Israel of that day. God was calling these children of Abraham out of Egypt in order to be His people. Before this, they had lived in the context of a pagan worldview and Genesis was written to help them understand things from God’s point of view. Interestingly, that pagan worldview has similarities to the way in which some people view the evil forces which we know exist in the world. Genesis provides a strongly contrasting worldview to the pagan worldview and to the worldview some have of the powers of the demonic world.
At last years regional mission conference, Nard Pugyao told us about the culture of fear in which he grew up in a pagan tribe in the Philippines. The worldview in which he grew up is the same as the worldview of the ancient people among whom the Israelites had lived. Those people lived in terrible conditions of fear. In this pagan worldview it was believed that the whole world is inhabited by different gods. It is believed that these gods are evil, that they could inhabit the physical universe and through that physical universe attack people, whom they did not like. They believed that the gods were the main actors in the universe and human beings were used by the gods for their own purposes.
Some perspectives of how Satan and the demonic world operates are similar to this worldview. There are some people who believe that physical things can be inhabited by evil spirits. Some believe that this world is basically evil and we always need to fight against the evil or we will be overcome by it. They believe that Satan is a significant power and in a constant battle with God. Some of the books which have influence people in looking at the world in this way and sowing fear among believers are the books by Frank Peretti – “This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness.”
The Genesis account of creation provides us with a contrast to this worldview which is good news. That is one of the reasons why Genesis was written - to help the people who had been living in the fear which accompanies this pagan worldview to come to know God who is very different.
The creation account tells us that the world is not inhabited by millions of evil gods who are out to get us, but by one God who has created the world and declared it good. Pierre says, “The power that governs the universe is not hostile to humanity. It is not bent on destruction. That power loves and cares for creation.” The creation account tells us that the physical things in the world are not under the influence of a multitude of malicious gods, but is simply a physical creation by a good God who has made it for people to live in and enjoy. Therefore, we understand that a stick is just a stick. The creation account tells us that, as Gilbert says, “… though we may not be the center of the universe, we are indeed in the center of God’s love!” The creation account, including 2:15-17 teach that, as Pierre Gilbert says, “human destiny is not determined by some external and irresistible force, but by the very choices that humans make.”
The worldview given to us in Genesis provides a worldview that lets us know that God is in charge and that He is a good God who has created a good world. We do not need to fear contamination by accidental association, we do not need to live looking behind our shoulders wondering if we are going to be attacked by Satan. God is in charge of this world.
This God worldview is consistent throughout Scripture. For example, in I Corinthians 10:25ff Paul addresses the matter of meat sacrificed to idols. In those passages, he shows that an idol is nothing, the meat is not tainted in any way that could negatively influence a person. He tells us there that the reason to avoid meat sacrificed to idols has nothing to do with the fact that the meat might be possessed, but rather for conscience sake or in order that we will not cause someone to stumble. To prove this, Paul goes right back to the worldview of Genesis when in I Corinthians 10:26 he quotes Psalm 24:1, which says, “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”
This is a radically different worldview than the pagan and than some presentations of how the demonic operates. It removes the need for fearing these powers and opens the door rather to properly fearing the one who has true power over the universe and that is God.
So if the world is not permeated and controlled by evil, but if Satan and demons still exist, what is the work of these evil powers? As we study all the passages in which Satan and the Devil are mentioned, it becomes clear fairly quickly that the works of Satan are limited. There are only three things that these evil forces are involved in.
First of all, Satan is a tempter. This, of course, was the first work that is attributed to him in Genesis 3. In 1 Chronicles 21:1 we also see this work when it says that, “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.” On several occasions, it is the Devil who tempted Jesus. One occasion was the temptations in the wilderness, recorded in Matthew 4. But on another occasion the words of Peter, when he suggested that death was not an option for Jesus, were identified by Jesus as the work of Satan’s temptation. In Matthew 16:23, Jesus responded to the temptation by saying to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!”
But what power is really present in these temptations? Gilbert says, “…Satan is, for all practical purposes, portrayed as an irrelevant quantity. He is present and he does tempt Jesus; but he is not a very significant actor and his action is devoid of impact.” Satan tempts, but can never make us do evil. The choice still lies with us.
The second work of Satan is as an accuser. He accuses us before God and says that we are not worthy. In Zechariah 3:1, we read of a vision in which the writer says, “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.” Revelation 12:10 speaks of our enemy as, “…the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night...” But this work is also ineffective because Jesus is standing at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf because of his blood shed on the cross.
He also accuses us in our hearts and tries to discourage us. Whenever we believe that we are not good enough, whenever we have a general sense of guilt, it is a work of Satan as the accuser who tries to cause us to give up. But he has no power to make us give up, only to discourage us.
The third way in which Satan works is as one who seeks to interfere with the work of God. There are numerous examples of this in the Bible. In Matthew 13:19, in the parable of the sower, we read that “the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.” When Herod killed all the babies 2 years old and younger, as recorded in Matthew 2:16; when Luke 13:16 speaks about a woman “…whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years…”; when in II Corinthians 12:7 Paul identifies his thorn in the flesh as “a messenger of Satan, to torment me” we see examples of Satan seeking to interfere with God’s work. Yet, especially in this last example, we see that while Satan tries to interfere, God uses even the evil of Satan for His purposes.
II Corinthians 2:11 says, “we are not unaware of his schemes.” The works of Satan and of his demons are obvious. We can always recognize them by one fundamental characteristic. Satan is a liar. John 8:44 says, “…there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” So whether we experience temptation, accusation or interference, we have a choice to reject the lies and believe the truth of God.
Although we read of the influence of Satan in the gospels and in other places in the Bible, we see another powerful reality and that is the much greater power of Jesus who has defeated evil.
The defeat of Satan is seen in the work which Jesus did while he was on earth. Repeatedly in every story mentioning these evil powers, we see that the power of Jesus was greater. For example, in Matthew 8 we read the story in which Jesus cast out many demons from the man possessed. If you examine this concept it is very encouraging to see how many stories there are in which Jesus demonstrates His power over these evil forces. For example, in Mark, between chapter 1 and 7 there is story after story of Jesus driving out demons.
When the disciples came back from their teaching mission, we read in Luke 10:18, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” The coming of Jesus has spelled the beginning of the end of Satan’s power and influence. The death and resurrection of Jesus mark the final defeat of Satan. When we live in obedience and faithfulness the promise of God, as given in Romans 16:20 is, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Because of Jesus’ victory, the final end of Satan is certain and Revelation 20:10 gives us the final picture when it says, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Jesus has absolute power over all demons. It isn’t a battle between two powerful but equal forces. The world we live in is one in which there is no contest because Jesus has already over come evil.
Does that mean we do not take the evil powers or the influence of evil seriously? Not at all! Satan exists. There are demons which have power to tempt, accuse and even interfere. But, from all that we have seen, it is clear that the power is limited. We take it seriously, but we do not live in fear. We recognize that they can make all kinds of trouble, but we do not fear their power because the power of God is greater. As I began to work on this message, the thought crossed my mind that I might have a difficult week because in this message I would be attacking Satan. But even as that thought crossed my mind, I was encouraged to realize that I am under the power of God and Satan can’t touch me. That thought was a temptation to fear and back off. I was able to go ahead because I know that Satan has no independent power to do things to me. I live in a world created by a good God and am in a relationship with the all powerful Lord of the universe who has demonstrated by the death of Jesus on the cross that He loves me and cares for me. Therefore, I do not need to have such fear. Pierre Gilbert says, “Demons are real, but their reality is mere illusion in the presence of the massive absoluteness of God.” Given this reality, how do we deal with this enemy?
If we are in a situation in which we need to confront these evil powers, as I did when the family asked me to pray in their son’s bedroom, I believe that all we have just spoken of encourages us to talk to God about it. Although we see Jesus addressing demons, I believe that when we encounter issues of possession and demonic influence, we do not need to address the enemy at all because of the victory of Jesus. In Jude 9 we read, “But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
Instead of telling the demon to be gone, we should speak to God and ask Him to remove the threat of whatever the enemy is doing. If the enemy is sowing fear, we talk to God about that fear. If the enemy is accusing us, we talk to God about what we are experiencing. If the enemy is interfering with the work of God, we ask for the power of God to overrule. If we think that someone may be under the influence of Satan, we talk to God about removing the influence. Why would we want to be found talking to Satan or demons, when we can talk with the only One who has ultimate and complete and compassionate power over the universe.
Although Satan can influence us, Matthew 15:18-20 indicates that it is the human heart which is the ultimate source of evil. Gilbert writes, “The Bible indicates that human beings are solicited by two voices: The voice that leads to God and the voice that leads away from God…The voice that leads to death originates from two sources. One of them is the human heart…the other…human free will: the unrestricted ability humans have to reject God and choose self…” Ephesians 4:27 indicates that we should “not give the devil a foothold.” That tells us that the power to allow Satan to influence comes from our permission.
Because evil comes from the heart, Satan is present only as one who can tempt, accuse or seek to interfere. He is defeated as we put our trust in God. Therefore James 4:7 tells us, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The power to overcome all evil influence is through faith in God.
Because of what we have looked at, we do not need to live in constant fear of what Satan might do. We do not need to look over our shoulder. As we live in a relationship with God, we can be rest assured that God’s got our back and will not let Satan sneak up on us. His tricks are obvious, built on lies and moving towards destruction. The best strategy to overcome them is to put on the armor of God, mentioned in Ephesians 6. This armor is simple Christian living. It is having faith and using God’s Word and praying and righteous living. When we are thus engaged with God, Satan has no power to do anything to us.
Pierre says, “The shield of faith refers to the unswerving certitude that the truths found in God’s Word are indeed authoritative and trustworthy. It is the ‘shield of faith’ that extinguishes the missiles of the evil one, not magical rituals.”
Is there an enemy? Yes!
Do we need to live in fear of him? No!
Do we need to live in faith in order to overcome the influence he has? Yes!
May we recognize the amazing world we live in – a world created by a good God who has already won the victory and in whom we can live securely and at peace.
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