(Don’t) Speak of the Devil…
How much is “too much” when it comes to considering Satan’s influence over our thinking, our sins, and circumstances in our lives? I have known Christian groups who believe that they must always be engaged in certain types of spiritual warfare, even believing they should go head-to-toe with demonic principalities. I’m also familiar with the mindset that we shouldn’t give Satan much thought at all… that he is “bound” and our resisting him is really simply a matter of submitting to God and standing firm in our faith, with no further strategy required.
But God’s word gives us the right way to think about the issue, and it’s not *never* considering Satan’s involvement in a situation, and it’s not *always* thinking in terms of how Satan figures into a situation. Some reformed Christians tend to lean more toward the first mistake, some charismatics toward the second one.
I think 2 Corinthians 2:10 gives insight into this. Paul warns that in the situation he is addressing, care should be taken to avoid being “outwitted” by the devil ( he names names here, you’ll notice.) This war of “wits” implies that some prayerful thinking and wisdom are called for… in fact, a counter-strategy is being proposed against a very real strategist.
Other places we’re warned specifically to be mindful of how Satan can get the advantage over us are in Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 7:
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26, 27).
“Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control” (1 Corinthians 7:5).
Paul warns that the devil may take advantage of human, sinful weakness in these three specific situations: the zeal of the church and the sorrow of the repentant in a church discipline situation; righteous anger that goes on too long; and the prolonged sexual abstinence of husband and wife for the purpose of prayer and fasting. In his cautioning them, Paul could have simply said, “Be careful that you don’t sin as you are handling these things.” But he uses the fact that the devil is seeking an opportunity as an explanation to them for their need to be watchful and careful.
We shouldn’t do less, though it’s kind of tricky in this day and culture to speak of these things. Many Christians who want to be Scriptural and who want to avoid giving the devil “too much credit” have erred too far on the side of not paying that kind of attention. We are reluctant because the Bible shines the spotlight undeniably on the power and promises of our wonderful Lord and Savior to keep and deliver His people, and we are called to do the same. We are to “set our affections on things above” and to dwell on whatever is “lovely and worthy of praise.” We are definitely not called to dwell on what demons may or may not be up to! But we see from the Scriptures that we are called to be watchful and prayerful as we go through our days, daily asking the Lord to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (or ‘the evil one’.) We have an enemy who is watching for an “opportune time” (Luke 4:13.) Let’s learn from God’s word about this, asking the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and discernment, as in all matters pertaining to godliness.
(This post is a response to some discussion on a much better article than this one !…)
July 11th, 2008 at 00:32
I figured that was a response to that very lively discussion over on Challies.
I think there’s a tendency for many believers to overeact to the “spiritual warfare” abuses in certain charismatic circles, by disregarding the evil one altogether. I’ve been in churches where the attitude is that if you just keep your act together spiritually the devil will be irrelevant in your life. I’ve been guilty of that type of thinking myself. But we do need to be aware that we have an enemy, and what his tactics are. If we don’t recognize him, we won’t resist him. His ways toward the reasonable among us always seem reasonable. He may do wild and wooly stuff among the wilder and woolier among us, but he is capable as well of great subtlety. It’s the hieght of arrogance to think that we don’t need to be aware of his schemes.
And I think we, as women, are particularly vulnerable. Our peculiar vulnerability is given as the basis for not being permitted to hold positions of authority over men, or teach men in the church. (1 Tim 2: 11-14) It’s interesting and edifying to ponder the difference between the sin of Adam and the sin of Eve, and their different roles, and how Satan dealt with these two, up until that moment, perfect individuals who had no natural bent towards sin. Why should we expect it to be easier for us to resist him when sin already dwells in us?