The Devil’s Delights
I fear many Western Christians do not take Satan and the demonic host as seriously as they should. It is not that these Christians fail to believe the demonic realm exists or that they deny that there is a spiritual battle taking place, but rather that we fail to understand what the war even looks like and severely underestimate the tactics and character of our enemy. Part and parcel of our failure to know the enemy is the overestimation of our strength, alertness, and ability to resist temptation. Many years ago, as a youth pastor, I took our youth group on an outing to an open-play paintball match hosted at one of the state's most popular paintball arenas. We stood at the starting line of our first match wearing our rented gear; we had not practiced, did not know the field, were unfamiliar with our weapons, and had no strategy. We had just come to have fun. When the referee called for the start of the match, the opposing team lit us up within a minute and a half.
In the ancient Chinese military classic, The Art of War (attributed to Sun Tzu), it is commented, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
The enemy is real, and he does not play games. This article is a call to diligence.
For many Western Christians, perhaps due to societal naturalism within ourselves that we do not realize, Satan and the demonic host are hardly a passing thought. This results in the critical error of fighting spiritual battles by natural means. We begin attacking the fruit of sin rather than the root and busy ourselves trying to clean up spiritual messes instead of diligently working to prevent them in our lives and our families and churches.
Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Let us take a few moments and refamiliarize ourselves with the ancient enemy of the saints.
Satan’s Disposition
Satan and the demonic host are indeed formidable enemies. Far from the little pointy-eared cartoonish devil or the suave bad-boy demigod that is portrayed by popular media, Satan is dedicated to the destruction of lives – both Christian and non-Christian. In various places, he is called:
· A “murderer” and a “liar” whose desire is to carry out evil (John 8:44); not only that, but Christ refers to him as the “father of lies." Lies pour from his lips as quickly as naturally as a baby coos – it is his very nature
· An Accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10, Zech 3:1-2)
· Cunning and Manipulative – In several places in scripture, we are warned about Satan's wiles. He often masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He is a master of breaking defenses, finding, and taking advantage of the most minor breach (Ephesians 4:27). He does not rest (1 Peter 5:8-9), but rather is always about the business of trying to outwit the believer (2 Corinthians 2:11).
· While Satan cannot read our thoughts (Daniel 2:27-28), he has had thousands of years to observe human behavior – he knows his enemy.
Satan’s Delights
1. Provoking the Believer to sin
The most significant harm that the devil does to the believer is through their own hands. He accomplishes nothing by accusing the brethren because Christ has removed all condemnation by His substitutionary sacrifice. It stands to reason, then, that one of the devil's greatest delights is provoking the believer to sin. If we, being friends of God, can be moved against Him in action, word, or thought, the Devil will have accomplished something that he could never do by his own hand, chiefly, the disgrace of the child of God bringing reproach on God’s name.
The serpent could not force Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit in the Garden (Genesis 3), yet our first parents were moved through provocation to sin against the very One whom they walked alongside in the cool of the evening. Having not been content in his own estate, the devil put it before them that they could be gods themselves. "Has God really said?" remains one of the Evil one’s favorite questions. To doubt God's word is to doubt God Himself, and doubt is one of the devil's most delighted footholds.
It does not seem that numbering the host of Israel would have been an unusual action for the shepherd king David (1 Chronicles 21). Where we may think it was only reasonable that a shepherd would count his flock, God saw the hearts of men (1 Samuel 16:7) and knew that David was doing so in the pride of his heart. It was pride that made a simple numbering detestable. The devil stood against Israel on that day and was allowed to tempt the man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). A brief rabbit trail: What a warning for us as believers and church leaders! How quickly pride can bring a people to ruin! It seems to us that David would be nearly untouchable, yet the Devil knew what subtle winds were most likely to fan even the smallest flickering flames of pride into a raging inferno.
Even the most benevolent activities of the early Church, like selling what they had to give to the poor (Acts 2:45), were not off-limits to the Father of Lies. Satan suggests and ushers Ananias and his wife Sapphira along in their lies and deception. The couple, desiring to receive the accolades of men or perhaps regretting a moment of pious zeal, lied to the Holy Spirit in keeping back a portion of the proceeds from selling their land (Acts 5:1-11). As a side note, it is a sorrowful thing when husband and wife partner together in wickedness (Adam and Eve - Genesis 3, Jezebel and Ahab - 1 Kings 21:25)
Concerning the sexual relations of married life, the Apostle Paul writes instructively, "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband." (1 Cor 7:3). Why is this important to the Apostle? Is it not because of the prevalence of sexual sin? How many have been lured to the devilish delight of sexual perversion only to find themselves entangled in disaster? Marital intimacy, as the Word of God sees it, keeps the devil at bay. 1 Corinthians 7:5 says, “Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
The unforgiving servant was forgiven much (Matthew 18:21-35). Upon having his overwhelming debt pardoned, he departed from the merciful King’s presence and immediately went out to wrest a debt owed to him by a fellow servant. Though the owing servant, who owed far less than the former, begged for forgiveness, he received none from the pardoned man. One of Satan's delights amongst the brethren is to stir up contention and unforgiveness. The Apostle Paul writes that if we refuse to forgive a repentant sinner, Satan has outwitted us (2 Corinthians 2:11). A house divided cannot stand, nor can a local body of believers.
The enemy is not passive but actively looking to shipwreck believers and bind the mind of the unbeliever. If you knew that a prowling lion had been seen outside your home, you would leave your home with great alertness. The enemy is prowling, and believers do not have the option to remain home like the sluggard (Proverbs 26:13) but must continue about life and ministry with our spiritual wits about us.
2. Vexing Believers
Satan delights in not only provoking believers to sin but harming them as much as possible in the process. He asked to “sift Peter like wheat” on the night of our Lord’s arrest (Luke 22:31). He desired to bring unimaginable miseries on Job to elicit blasphemy from the righteous man’s mouth (Job 1:11). He sent a thorn in the flesh for Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7). He even hindered the Apostles travels (1 Thessalonians 2:18).
Satan’s Demise
Seeing the disposition and delights of the devil should open our eyes to the need for increased diligence in our personal lives. It should be noted that the Devil cannot make us do anything. A person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire (James 1:14). There is never a time when we must commit sin (1 Corinthians 10:13). Christ’s temptation in the wilderness is an excellent proof of these facts (Matthew 4). It is also important to remember that the devil and his demons are limited both in their own power and by God's control in what they can and can't do (See Job 1)
If Christians are to resist temptation and survive vexation from the devil, there are a few actions that can be taken:
· Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
· Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Peter 5:9)
· Give no opportunity to the devil. (Ephesians 4:27) – Guard your heart, mind, eyes, and ears. Shun worldliness and pursue godliness.
· Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7)
· Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11-12)
Christians should take these commands seriously, but are we to fear the demonic host? No. Believers are the only ones given the hope of victory through Christ. "Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”, the Apostle John tells us (1 John 4:4). On the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:15). Ultimately, Satan and the demonic host will be cast into hell to suffer eternal punishment (Revelation 20:10). Until that day, let us walk with diligence, knowing ourselves and knowing our enemy. Let us resist him, fight him, and deny him his devilish delights. Soli Deo Gloria.