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 Satan
desires to have all men the way he desired to have Peter (Lk.
22:31). Relentlessly, he seeks to gain advantage over men
through the employment of devious and persuasive devices (2 Cor.
2:11). That some don’t care and that others don’t take him
seriously only makes his work of destroying souls easier. Peter
calls him our adversary, who, “as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Not that he
looks or sounds like the lion (better that he did!), but that he
seeks his prey as the hungry lion, even when appearing as an “angel
of light” 1 (1 Cor. 11:14). It matters little to Satan that
most of his followers deny (even resent) being identified with
his kingdom. Why should he care about those who deny voting for
him so long as he carries the election? Men serve Satan as they
serve sin, claims to the contrary (even by some “religious”
folk) not withstanding! As John puts it, “he that doeth sin is
of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
But
even worse than Satan’s seeking a place in man is that man
will give it! When Paul says “neither give place to the devil”
(Eph. 4:27), he Implies man’s ability to resist. James says
plainly, “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas.
4:7). This means that no man has to serve Satan; that
every man as a free moral agent can choose his master. It
means that the only place Satan can have in man is that which
man gives him! Such bespeaks of a potential and power for
which every man should be thankful. Satan’s power is limited.
With God’s help we can resist; we can endure (1Cor. 10:l3),
therefore we must. The devil ever seeks a place in man, but
thanks be to
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God, he cannot take it!
Not
only can the devil be given a place in man, his given, place
becomes a growing place. Sin begets sin. The attitude that
permits one will permit yet others, and with increasing ease.
Recall David’s lustful looking upon Bathsheba and how it led
to adultery, lying and finally murder. In every sin lies the
germ of a hundred more. And with each successive sin comes a
degree of hardening (Heb. 3:13); a gradual dulling of the
spiritual senses that soon numbs the violated conscience. Once
given a place, the devil is hard to displace and soon expands
his base of operations. That’s why he needs resisting — and
early!
In
addition to being a given and growing place, the devil’s place
is also a distracting place. In his second letter to the
Corinthians, Paul writes, “But I fear, lest by any means, as
the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be
corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward
Christ.” (11:3) “Simplicity” here is singleness and
sincerity as opposed to double or divided. Satan would divide
and distract our minds from Christ — perhaps with cares;
perhaps with riches and pleasures, or in other ways, just so
long as it is occupied with earthly things and not spiritual
(Col. 3:2). Mark it well: whatever distracts us from Christ;
whatever hinders our doing His will or encourages not doing it
is of the devil! His deal is simple: give him a place in
you now and he’ll give you a place with him in eternity.
(Matt. 25:41) Dan S. Shipley
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