Tag: adversary

If The Devil Had A Self-Help Book

If The Devil Had A Self-Help Book

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Friday’s Column: Brent’s Bent

I recently preached a sermon based on an idea I took from Paul Harvey’s “If I Were the Devil.” My inspiration came from reading in John 15.18-25 about Jesus’ words to His disciples shortly before His betrayal about how the world would hate Christians as much as they hated Him. I immediately thought of Andrew Carnegie’s book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, for reasons I can only attribute to my ADHD. God created us to be social creatures. Remember, God said it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2.18). So I expected the devil to twist Jesus’ words to persuade potential converts that their desires should be more like Carnegie’s and less like Christ’s. In other words, he’d write a self-help book about how to make the rest of the world fall in love with you rather than hate you. 

So, if the devil had a self-help book, he’d write, “If you are of the world, the world loves its own.” (Compare John 15.19) Rather than risking the world’s wrath by becoming a disciple, make friends with it. Ignore James’ statement that being friendly with the world makes you an enemy of God (James 4.4). Instead, give in to your flesh’s desires, even if it means separating yourself from God (Romans 8.5-8). Yes, give in to the desires of your flesh, eyes, and pride, and forget that God will destroy this world and its lusts in the end (1 John 2.15-17). The pleasure of sin is yours for the taking if you’re willing to go to such lengths, unlike poor old Moses (Hebrews 11.25). The world will make it worthwhile until you pay for all the fun (Romans 6.23). 

The devil will try to convince readers that serving yourself is better than following another, especially if there are no tangible benefits from subservience, such as better treatment than your master. (Compare John 15.20). So it’s best to go your way, to be free to choose for yourself, without being yoked (Matthew 11.28-30). This restraint is especially true when one considers that Jesus steers him down a “constricted” path (Matthew 7.13-14 NASB). But there is an alternative highway that is easy. And the way must be correct if it seems fitting (Proverbs 14.12). Besides, who needs some dusty old road from a long time ago when men have built newer roads since then (Jeremiah 6.15-17)? So, be your own man or woman; aim to be autonomous. 

Finally, the devil would remind his readers that Jesus revealed that people treated Him cruelly “simply because they could.” (Compare John 15.25) What Jesus did, did not matter. There were just those who despised Him. So, what was Christ’s compensation for being loyal to His Father, healing the sick, and raising the dead? The people crucified Him. Why take the risk that someone will persecute or despise you even though you are doing good? It just seems like too much trouble. Avoid worrying about the welfare of others and focus on your interests instead (Philippians 2.4). It’s the proverbially “dog eat dog” world. The iron rule of “might makes right” is what people practice, not the golden rule (Matthew 7.12). 

Yes, the devil will try to convince you that he has your best interests at heart. The apparent problem with the devil’s self-help book is that it is full of lies and mistruths. Jesus reminds us that the devil is the father of lies (John 8.44). Thus, lies are all that the devil can authoritatively speak. Jesus was honest with us, not discouraging or scaring us away when He gave us His warning about how the world would receive us. And Paul told Timothy that “all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3.12 NASB). If the world hates us, that is a good thing, as long as their reason for hating us is because we are one of God’s “peculiar people” (1 Peter 2.9 KJV).  

Death was not the end for Jesus, and He assures us that it will not be the end for us, either. The author of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus was able to endure the cross and disregard its shame because of the joy set before Him (i.e., His return to Heaven)—Hebrews 12.2. So likewise, there is no reason for us to sorrow regardless of what may occur. And those of us in the United States have yet to put our lives in danger as a result of practicing our faith (cf. Hebrews 12.4). At most, men may take our lives, but they cannot take our eternal reward (Matthew 10.28). And for those facing physical persecution as those of olden Christians, we take heart from Paul’s words to the Corinthians:  

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4.7-11 NASB95). 

If you want to make friends and influence people, stick with the Bible. It truly is the best book on the subject. And, wherein his principles find a Scriptural foundation, also consult Mr. Carnegie’s work for the business world. But avoid those books on the subject written by the adversary (1 Peter 5.8). Instead, he writes self-help books that are how-to guides for self-immolation (cf. Revelation 20.14-15). 

Brent Pollard
The Serpent

The Serpent

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Tuesday’s Column: Dale Mail

Dale Pollard

Interesting conversations with godly people are some the best ways you can stir your desire to get into His word more. Studying the Bible will always bring to the surface questions we didn’t even know we had— along with the answers to the most important questions you could ask. 
Here’s an idea. Find somebody with a wealth of Biblical knowledge and create a shared note on your cell phone or computer. If there’s something on your mind or something you’d like to know more about, it helps to have another brain working to help you get to the bottom of it. 
It’s also a great way to keep you thinking about Biblical subjects! Below is a portion of a shared note that my brother and I have had for months now (Gary’s input is italicized and correspond with the numbers you see). 
Thoughts On The Serpent 

  • The serpent was crafty and could walk. Why this animal? Its craftiness seems to be linked with its intelligence (1). When the subject of possession is brought up, demons typically come to mind. The possessor of the serpent (2) seems to change form once again as Satan is described as “walking about on the earth” (Job 1) and traveling to the pinnacle of the temple (Matt. 4.5). Satan’s mobility had improved since the removal of his serpentine legs (3). Could it be that he was never a serpent from the beginning? What if he merely chose the animal for reasons unknown, and used his intelligence to utilize this particular creature’s capabilities. If the serpent changed his form to the Leviathan, then that would be a logical explanation for his mobility in Job (4). A mighty beast, with unnatural intelligence (5) that humans couldn’t tame. This would also explain how humans are able to dominate and tame all animals (Gen. 1.26-28) but weren’t able to tame the beasts in Job. 
  • (1) Rev 12.9; 20.2
  • (2) Satan is always portrayed as a serpent…except when he isn’t (i.e., cursed to crawl in Genesis, walking in Job 1 & 2, flying in synoptic gospels at temptation of Jesus, moving tactically in I Peter). I have to think that, like the angels, he had the ability to project his consciousness into non-sentient beings (i.e., no free-will override), or disguise himself as humanoid (II Cor 11.14; Gen 3.18; Heb 13.2). We know very little about who/what satan really is, but because he was a fixture in God’s entourage before banished to earth, I have to assume he was a watcher of some kind. 
  • (3) A curse that improves mobility is no longer, by definition, a curse. 
  • (4) God specifically names Leviathan as the pinnacle of his non-human creation. He would not have extolled leviathan if its characteristics were synonymous with the accuser in Job 1, 2. This would also imply a duality of personhood never attributed to satan (i.e., existing as two entities simultaneously). Since this predates Jesus’s arrival by probably 4500 years, satan is likely still in the accuser position in God’s entourage. This would make him a powerful cosmic being with the same abilities other watchers enjoyed. When he became the ruler of planet earth, his power was “chained” or throttled (II Cor 4.4; Eph 2.2; Lk 10.18; Rev 20.1-15). 
  • (5) I was unable to verify the leviathan’s unnatural intelligence, but Job does describe its unnatural strength. 

Happy studies! I hope this inspires you to begin your own interesting conversations. 

Why Doesn’t God Just Kill the Devil?

Why Doesn’t God Just Kill the Devil?

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Thursday’s Column: Captain’s Blog

carl pic

Carl Pollard

This is a question that has been asked for centuries. If God is all powerful, why doesn’t He just kill Satan? In order to adequately answer this question we will need to look at a few different aspects of the Devil himself, as well as the attributes of God.
It’s not hard to find evidence of a world filled with sin, and logically it would make sense for God to just destroy the source of the problem…or would it? Let’s notice a few things about Satan.
Where did he come from? In Genesis 1:31, God sees His creation and it says, “everything was very good.” All of God’s work was perfect. From this we can conclude that Satan started off as good and became evil. While Scripture doesn’t reveal his exact origin, it says enough for us to draw a logical conclusion. For example, 2 Peter 2:4, Matthew 12:24, and 25:41 point to Satan as the leader of a groups of angels that have abandoned heaven. So we have to ask, why was Satan cast out of Heaven?
Based on the previous verses and what we read in Jude 6, the angels were created with free choice. And Peter explains that the angels sinned (2 Peter 2:4). We read the phrase “The Devil and HIS angels” so Satan was most likely the leader and instigator of this rebellion in heaven. Satan tried to rebel against God and failed miserably and will face the consequences of his actions (Revelation 20:1-3). Since Satan cannot win against God, he now wants to get payback by taking his anger out on God’s creation.
So why doesn’t God destroy Satan? Aside from the fact that he’s an angel and killing him would be different from killing a human, we run into another issue.
Even if Satan were destroyed, man would still sin. James 1:14 tells us that as humans we are carried away by our OWN desires, and these desires lead to spiritual death. Satan doesn’t cause everyone to sin, at every location on earth, because he doesn’t have this kind of power. Even if God destroyed Satan, there would still be sin on earth.
There is one other aspect we must look at in order to answer this question; What is the definition of good? Without evil, how can good exist? If God is good, then evil must exist. Without darkness, how can we recognize light? There is balance and perfection in everything.
We are given free will, and if there were no other choice except faith in God, we would not have faith by choice. We would have faith by force. I think about when I was younger and got in a fight with my siblings. Mom would force us to hug each other. That hug was not done out of love, but by mom telling us to get it done. Do you prefer to be loved by choice or by force?
Satan will get what he deserves, but God is defined as a God of love. If God took away our free choice (either to serve Him or sin) then He would be a God of Force. God has the power to destroy Satan, but in doing so we would still be in a fallen world filled with sin. God loves us enough that He wants us to come to Him by choice. This is something each one of us should strive to do.
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Satan’s Schemes

Satan’s Schemes

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Neal Pollard

Paul makes an interesting statement while addressing the successful effort the Corinthian church made in disciplining an erring brother along with the successful outcome of his having repented. He urges them to show him love, comfort, and forgiveness. The bottom line Paul gives for the urgency of their obedience is “so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11). Back in the first letter, the church’s attitude and actions regarding a brother needing discipline was horrible, and Paul commanded them to act (1 Cor. 5). Here, they have acted and their efforts worked. They were in a prime position to grow and thrive. Yet, Paul reminds them of Satan’s motivation (to take advantage of us) and means (his schemes). 

But, when does Satan like to try and employ his schemes and take advantage of us? When we aren’t being sober and vigilant (1 Pet. 5:8). When we aren’t focused on resisting him (Jas. 4:7). When we aren’t standing firm in the Lord or against his schemes (Eph. 6:10ff). When we aren’t exercising self-control (1 Cor. 7:5). If you study those contexts and others that mention Satan more closely, you will see that he would like to take advantage of us in good times and bad times. He may be at work through the willing choices, words, and actions of people who unwittingly aid his cause through their sins. 

When might he seek to employ his schemes?

  • When new elders are appointed
  • During building programs
  • As numbers swell through baptisms and families placing membership
  • When preachers come and go
  • In a flurry of exciting activities
  • In the heart of some church problem or struggle
  • At the center of some personality struggle or conflict within the congregation
  • Through some controversial doctrinal, moral, or even cultural issue
  • When brethren put politics, race, or another issue of lesser importance over Christ and His church

Obviously, there are many more examples. The point is that Satan would love to use the good times or bad times we experience as a church to undermine and harm the work of the Lord. That should not make us paranoid, so paralyzed by fear that we refuse to act, or petrified to make needed changes. It does mean that we must not be ignorant of the fact that he doesn’t want the church to grow or move forward, and he will do what he can to stop it. What is so exciting is that he stands no chance against God. James says, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (4:7). Let us never be afraid to “dare and do” for God. We can do great things for Him and keep an eye out for the devil’s schemes.

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Picture from my last trip to Ngorogoro Crater, Tanzania, 12/17.

The Rasputin Rule

The Rasputin Rule

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Neal Pollard

Very little good can be said of Gregory Rasputin. Robert Goldston, in The Russian Revolution, writes that he “was, like his father before him, essentially a rowdy peasant. He soon developed a reputation in his hometown as a horse thief, drunkard, seducer of young girls, and general good for nothing. He had no education and remained largely illiterate all his life. His one apparent attribute was great physical strength. He was a coarse-featured man with a heavy black beard and strangely piercing eye” (82). Because times in Russia circa 1905 were desperate and grim, a rascal like Rasputin could rise. He went to Saint Petersburg, weaseled his way up the ranks of nobility, and eventually rose to become the most intimate advisor of Czar Nicolas II and especially the superstitious Czarina Alix. Many historians believe that, in the fateful, final years of the Romanov dynasty, Rasputin was the unofficial, yet undisputed, ruler of Russia.

He was grossly immoral and unscrupulous. At his words, jobs and even lives were spared or taken. Though he had abandoned his wife and children, Rasputin made his way as a self-professed prophet and “holy beggar.” The Czarina, in all her correspondence, simply called Rasputin “the Friend.” The royal family implicitly trusted Rasputin. Rasputin, in turn, urged the royal family to rule by absolute despotism. Many thought Rasputin to possess powers of hypnotism and the ability to do magic. Giving him the control of hundreds of millions of peoples’ lives, the Czar contributed to his own murder and that of the entire royal family in the revolution of 1917. For Rasputin’s part, he was murdered in 1914 by a small group of conspiring nobles who lured him to one of their houses and shot him repeatedly after poisoned food and wine did not do the trick.

The most amazing part of this story involves the irony of it all. A ne’er-do-well essentially becomes head of the largest country in the world. A grossly immoral man is viewed as a “holy man.” The head of a dynasty that had lasted hundreds of years put all its trust and hope in such a one. What incredible folly!

However, the majority of humanity has done the same thing from time immemorial. The prince of darkness, the king of ne’er-do-well, is their spiritual advisor. As foolish as it is, people stake their eternal destiny on his wholly corrupt guidance. They risk it all, mesmerized by his wiles. Consequently, they are duped into calling “evil good and good evil…who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight” (Isa. 5:20-21). Yet, it is not a revolution but The Judgment that will undo them. They stand to lose more than physical life; they will lose their souls (Mat. 10:28). Beware of the pied piper of souls! Be careful who you make your spiritual counselor. It matters!

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Identifying The Source Of Trouble In The Congregation

Identifying The Source Of Trouble In The Congregation

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Neal Pollard

One of my dad’s most memorable sermons, which he preached in more than one location, was actually a two-parter.  The first part was preached Sunday morning. Dad warned that he was going to identify the source of the problems in the congregation. He used a wipe board or chalkboard, and only put the first initial of each one up there as he preached. He said that everyone should come back that night and he would disclose the full names that went with the initials.  At one congregation, after the morning sermon, a large number of people came forward in response to the invitation.  Sure enough, that evening dad put the full names next to the initials:

  • Accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10)
  • Adversary (1 Pet. 5:8)
  • Beelzebub (Mat. 12:24)
  • Belial (2 Cor. 6:15)
  • Devil (Heb. 2:14)
  • Enemy (Mat. 13:39)
  • Father of lies (John 8:44)
  • God of this world (2 Cor. 4:4)
  • Prince… (Eph. 2:2; John 12:31)
  • Roaring Lion (1 Pet. 5:8)
  • Satan (Mat. 4:10)
  • Spirit that works in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2)
  • Tempter (Mat. 4:3)

Now, in no way am I discounting the free will choices people make. James 1:13-15 very clearly places the blame of sin on the individuals choosing to act on their lusts and desires. One is not possessed or overtaken by the devil to do his will any more than a person is overtaken by God and made to do what’s right. But Jesus calls the devil the “father” of sinful behavior (John 8:44). John tells us that the one who practices sin is “of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:8). Those who sin are doing his will (2 Tim. 2:26).

Satan is at the heart of national, congregation, familial, and individual sin.  We’re told to resist him (Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9). The hopeful fact is that, with God’s help, we can always successfully do so.  Let’s be aware that the devil does not want God’s children or His work to succeed. If he can thwart our efforts as a church to be united, faithful to God’s Word, evangelistic, and productive, he will do so. Knowing this, we should be more determined not to let him win!

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A Global Adversary

A Global Adversary

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Neal Pollard

In the wake of the recent siege on an upscale mall in Nairobi, Kenya, the Kenyan Government has mentioned the possible role played by American teen boys and a British woman–perhaps the infamous “White Widow” linked to the London Bombing in 2005–in the deadly attack led by Somali militants.  Since our nation went to war after the attacks on September 11, 2001, the government has frequently stated that this war is unique.  It is not against a particular nation per se or even a specific religion.  It is against particular people, bound together by a similar philosophy, mindset, and methodology.  Such a war is difficult to prosecute, since a front might pop up in Indonesia, Kenya, or no one knows where.

As formidable, frightening, and frustrating as such a foe is, Christians of every generation have been engaged in similar warfare.  It is not with people, but the devil (1 Pet. 5:8).  The warfare is most unique.  Paul writes, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:3-5).  The warfare, weapons, and tactics are unconventional and spiritual.  We do not conquer by subjugating or injuring–we lose if we do that.  In fact, we are not the conquerors in this sense.  The battle belongs to the Lord.  Victory occurs when those fighting for the enemy leave his camp and come over to the Lord’s side.

We personally wage that war here at home, but the battle rages across the planet.  We may wage it thousands of miles from home, but our fellow-spiritual soldiers all over the world are armed with the gospel and on the front lines. Unlike the war on terror, Christians know this battle must rage until Christ comes again.  May we never surrender!