The War Against the Evil One

Saturday, April 12, 2008 | Labels: , , , , | |

Around each and every corner lurks that which will attempt to snare you into its grasp. There lies within this world a dark evil that resides in the hearts of each and every individual. This evil has a desire to consume the individual with its passions and bring them to their own self-destructions.

Satan is alive and well, and a wise man once said "The greatest accomplishment of Satan is his ability to convince the world he does not exist." The architecture of his plan is present in modern day and it easily witnessed too when one dares to look close enough.

That which Satan does best is corrupt good. C.S. Lewis discussed these ideas himself:

"...good should be original and evil a mere perversion; that good should be the tree and evil the ivy; that good should be able to see all round evil (as when sane man understand lunacy) while evil cannot retaliate in kind; that good should be able to exist on its own while evil requires the good on which it is parasitic in order to continue its parasitic existence."

- C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock, 1994

Satan perverts that which God has created, and through that perversion it illustrates that all evil as the world knows it is a parasite of goodness. God created everything wonderful and beautiful and Satan's goal has always been to pervert that which God has made while at the same time hiding his existence from the world.

Fortunately, God has equipped his followers with the tools necessary to battle the temptations of Satan as he brings them into our lives. It is inevitable that each and every Christian will fail in temptations, but Christ's delivery from the consequences of sins gives the Christian the hope to further battle both his own desires to do evil and to battle the manifestations of evil in the world.

God also gave to the Christian his word. Like a double edged sword the word of God transcends and brings light to the deceptions raised by Satan. Satan has a way of being very convincing to the world until God's reflection is placed before it. Many individuals find that living by Satan's illusions is far more convincing than living by God's truths, but God's truths always have revolved around love, compassion, patience, peace, kindness and gentleness. These are illustrated further in Galatians:

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

- Galatians 5:19-25

As one can see, there are also perversions of God's goodness, and these perversions are emphasised as truths by Satan himself, and he convinces mankind of the world that these perversions are the true path to happiness. Happiness itself becomes a perverted notion because apart from God happiness is something that is simply an illusion.

This war has been raging since the beginning of original sin. It will do the Christian well to acknowledge both the power of Satan and his persistent goal to destroy as many individuals along with him before he is cast into hell for all eternity.

Craig Chamberlin





Related Articles:
Individuals Should Not Take Truth at Face Value
When the Christian Heart Fails in Sinful Temptation
When the Christian Heart Fails to Love the World
Truth is Artfully Etched in the Hearts of Mankind
How Can God Exist When There is Evil?