 |  |
(I John 3: 12). For the one who is an unbeliever in Christ and is therefore not a child of
God, the domination by Satan can be a very real thing. It might be helpful to remind
ourselves of a passage from Luke's Gospel:
"And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject
unto us through Thy name. And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from
heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all
the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in
this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your
names are written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank Thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in
Thy sight. All things are delivered to Me of My Father: and no man knoweth Who the
Son is, but the Father; and Who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will
reveal Him" (Luke 10: 17-22).
The scribes and Pharisees by their very refusal to see and accept Christ as the "sent"
Son of God were spiritually blinded, asking derisory questions:
"Where is Thy Father?" (8: 19).
"Who art Thou?" (8: 25).
These leaders were the `wise and prudent' of Luke 10: 21. If we come as "babes"
(same verse) relying in faith to be taught by our Father we shall be illumined by the
"Light of the World". Another comparison we find made by Christ:
"And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the son abideth for ever" (8: 35).
This thought is echoed in I John 2: 17: "And the world passes away . . . . . but he that
doeth the will of God abideth for ever". The servant dies in service. "Whosoever
committeth sin is the servant of sin" (8: 34). Christ warned the scribes that unless they
repented they would die in their sins (8: 21).
To those who threatened His life our Lord patiently points out that there are two
witnesses to the Truth. His words, given Him by the Father, and His miracles, the
witness of the invisible Father through the hands of Christ. Such was our Lord's reply to
their unreasonable statement that "Thy record is not true" (8: 13).
Well may we say that these words today are constantly put into the mouths of many
people by Satan. It is just like Satan's first attack on God's word by his lying suggestion
"Ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3: 4). The constant denial of the plenary inspiration of
the Scriptures is repeated in many forms by people both in and out of organized religion.
If Satan can weaken or destroy the channel by which the knowledge of God and His
salvation comes, the ground is clear for every evil idea of departure from the way God
has planned.
One extreme of such deviation results in the practice of sodomy. This is repeatedly
condemned by God in the Old and New Testaments yet the voice of church leaders is
silent. The press report frightening advances of religious cults. These misuse the Bible
and bear fruits of disruption of family ties and twisted minds. All this is because Satan is