Previous Questions and Answers
Subject: Why does God allow Satan to tempt believer's thoughts?"
Why does God allow
supernatural beings to mess with a beliver's mind, fighting something you cannot
see, and that is on a higher level than a human?
.
Acts 5:1-5
says, “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a
possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it,
and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said,
Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to
lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the
land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it
not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou
hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell
down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these
things.”
God created every living being with a free will—the will to choose, or the will to reject. Angels have a free will. Many have chosen to obey the Lord, and some have chosen to not obey Him. Satan is a fallen cherub angel, and many angels followed him in his rebellion against God. When dealing with the wicked king of Tyrus, the Scriptures dig deeper to the evil one behind him—Satan. Ezekiel 28:12-17 says, “Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” God created hell for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:41 says, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
People have a free will. Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, had to make a choice when they were tempted by the serpent. Genesis 3:1-11 says, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” What a poor choice they made, to disobey God. It brought them their first marital trouble, and the first time they were afraid of anything.
Even animals have a free will. We are not talking about salvation here, but simply about a free will to make choices. Animals display a free will. Do dogs or cats or horses always obey their masters? No. God even judged the serpent, because it yielded itself to be used of Satan. Genesis 3:14 says, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” Then God deals with the wicked one behind the serpents actions. Genesis 3:15 says, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
It is true that angels, at the present time, are in a higher realm than us, but it is not going to remain that way. Hebrews 2:5-10 says, “For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”
God allows all living beings to be tempted, because to show true love, we have to have a real choice to obey, or to disobey. John 14:15 says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Satan is going to be bound, at a future time, for a thousand years (during the Millennium). Revelation 20:1-3 says, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” So people are going to live upon earth with no devil to tempt them for 1,000 years, while the Lord Jesus Christ reigns upon earth. At the end of that time, Satan is going to be loosed for a short time. Notice what happens: Revelation 20:7-10 says, “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” After 1,000 years of being under the perfect Ruler, the Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”)—after 1,000 years of perfect rule, Satan is going to be loosed, and people as the sand of the sea in number are going to follow Satan in his rebellion against God.
The bottom line is this—all of us have to make a choice. Who are we going to serve? Are we going to love and obey God? Or are we going to play the fool and listen to temptation and yield to it? Every generation has this choice to make. Yes, our enemy is crafty. Yes, our enemy is unseen. But, no, we do not have to yield to him. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” 1 Peter 5:6-10 says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”
Ephesians 4:22-25 tells us how to win this battle of the mind: “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.” We are “renewed” in the spirit of our minds by reading the Word of God. Romans 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Psalms 119:5-11 says, “O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Prayer is also a big part of winning this battle against temptation. Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
We are definitely in a battle. We can complain, but that is not going to do any good. We need to decide who we are going to serve: God, or the devil. Joshua 24:15 says, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” We need to get on our gear, and get out there and fight. Ephesians 6:10-18 says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
