Truth Magazine

By Lewis Willis

One of the great disappointments in the Lord’s work is the number of members who decide they will no longer serve God. They just “drop out.” They probably did not intend to, but they did. At one time they likely looked with wonderment on the departure of someone else. Now they are victims themselves. They have developed the same harmful attitudes and actions as others, and in the end, they depart the faith with all other apostates.

In this article we will consider some of the reasons why Christians do this. And, we are talking about Christians! Perhaps by study we can avoid the calamity that has be-fallen others.

Some Christians Fail Because:

1. They forget what they heard. In becoming Christians we must hear the gospel, believe it, and obey it (Rom. 10:17; Mark 16:16; Heb. 5:9). We are taught that we must thereafter live a life of faithful service unto God. The process of edification informs us of varied duties we sustain as God’s people. Through teaching, the blessings of faithful service are outlined, just as the punishment for disobedience is taught. Unfortunately, many Christians forget what they have heard. James talks about the man who looks in a mirror, but turns away, forgetting what he saw. This man is called “a forgetful hearer” (Jas. 1:24-25).

Jesus addressed this same subject. He spoke of the foolish man who “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not,” contrasting that man with the wise man who “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them” (Matt. 7:24-27). Even our children are taught this lesson. They sing about the Wise Man and the Foolish Man. Do not allow yourself to forget what you have heard from the pages of God’s word. If you do, you will fall from grace like others.

2. They will not consider. Isaiah wrote: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel cloth not know, my people doth not consider” (Isa. 1:3). This is a shocking comparison! The ox and the ass know who owns them and where they belong, but the Jews did not! Actually, they would not acknowledge who they were, and where they belonged. Many today are doing the same, and that is why some fall away. They are thought-less  they will not consider.

3. They yield to the world. When we obey the gospel, God separates us from the world, adding us to the church. Unfortunately, many look back longingly to the ways of the world. They will not remember the sadness and heart-ache of sin. They only remember the instant gratification and pleasure it brought. They forget the injunction, “love not the world” (1 John 2:15-17). They will not remember the teaching of God’s word which says, “And be not con-formed to this world” (Rom. 12:2). Soon these are living again in the same old sinful way they were living, before they became Christians. “They are again entangled therein, and overcome” (2 Pet. 2:20). They are sin’s victim again, and lost to the Lord.

4. They are unprepared for sudden temptation. One of the biggest mistakes we make is thinking “I’m a Christian, I can’t be tempted to do evil again.” This is the old false denominational doctrine which says “once saved, always saved.” The idea of this heresy is that God takes control so that we cannot sin and be lost. Just remember, this is a false doctrine.

Christians are tempted, and sometimes we fail in living as we should. Paul used the word “overtaken” to describe this situation: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). Even the apostle Peter himself fell back into sin and was restored by Paul (Gal. 2:11-14). God does pro-vide us with “a way to escape” temptation, enabling us to bear it (1 Cor. 10:13). Sadly, many Christians will not pre-pare themselves by knowing the escape routes and they fail in the challenge of living the life of a Christian, re-turning to the world.

5. They fail to be watchful. One of the words frequently used in describing the life of the servant of the Lord is “watch.” Jesus said, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). Peter warned about the workings of the Devil, telling Christians to be sober or watchful: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Many will lose their souls because they were not watchful, as they were taught to be.

6. They are indifferent. Many Christians are not fervently for the Lord, nor are they against him. They simply become indifferent toward him and his cause. They are called “lukewarm” by the Lord, and it is said God will spew them out of his mouth (Rev. 3:15-16). More Christians are in danger through this sin than perhaps any other. Life is regularly drained from the church because of membership indifference. Too many of us just simply will not listen to the admonition of the Lord. When Peter gave what we call “The Christian Graces” he concluded by warning, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (2 Pet. 1:10). The lack of diligence in serving God is a prescription for falling away from him.

7. They neglect their study and duty. One of the consistent messages of the Scripture is that we are to study to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Tim. 2:15); we are to give attendance to reading, exhortation, and doctrine (1 Tim. 4:13); we are to understand what the Lord’s will is (Eph. 5:17); and this understanding comes by reading the word (Eph. 3:3-4). Through this study God describes our duty. He spells out exactly what he expects, and what he will not permit us to do. A failure to do our duty is sin (James 4:17). It is because many will not study God’s word, and do their duty, that they fall.

Conclusion

How can we avoid this danger? What can we do which will prevent falling away? Let me suggest these things briefly:

 Develop a stronger faith in the Lord and his work

 be prompt or instant in your obedience to the things you learn you are to do

 be devoted and dedicated to your mission  going to heaven when you die

 do the best you can  do not settle for or accept any-thing less than the best you can give

 help one another  we need the strength that comes from others who are living the Christian life

 be diligent in prayer  the great avenue of prayer gives us access to the ear of God, and to the help that only he can provide, especially in forgiving us our sins, before we allow them to take us down. These things will keep us faithful and secure.

 Do you feel yourself in danger of falling away? Is it possible? Do you need to consider these things in your own life? Paul warned us to take heed, lest ye fall (1 Cor. 10:12). The Bible says “Save yourselves” (Acts 2:40). Are you doing that?

Guardian of Truth XL: 10 p. 20-21
May 16, 1996

By Larry Ray Hafley

Some thought so (Matt. 16:14). Why? Jeremiah taught the people of Judah, Jerusalem and Josiah that external reforms were worthless without internal repentance. Josiah’s reformation led to a transformation of national life, but Jehovah sent Jeremiah to say, “Trust not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord are these” (Jer. 7:4). “What meaneth this?”

As we learn from the chronicles of the kings in Kings and Chronicles, the law, the sabbath, and the temple were restored. The “order” and the “courses” of divine service were “according to the pattern.” Remnants of Israel and Judah rejoiced. They exulted in anticipation of national exaltation, brought on, as they supposed, by their ritual restoration.

“Not so fast,” Jeremiah said in effect. First, “amend your ways and your doings, and, secondly, I will cause you to dwell in this place” (Jer. 7:3). “If you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings . . . Then (and only then) will I cause you to dwell in this place” (Jer. 7:5-7). You cannot, God said, have one without the other  “If . . . then.”

The people saw the new panels. They smelled the sweet aroma of new wood. They were dazzled by the beauty of ornate craftsmanship. In these things they fancied that they saw victory and smelled success. However, Jeremiah thundered, Do not trust in these things; “amend your ways and your doings.” The flesh, blinded by the splendor, was deaf to the spiritual. National ruin, bondage, destruction, and captivity were assured. Their religion, hence, their reformation, was of the eye, not of the mind. In the few, where it was in the conscience, it was not in the hand, not in their deeds and doings.

Jesus so spoke.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Though this section appears later than the events of Matthew 16:14, who can doubt that this was a consistent refrain from the mouth of the Messiah during his minis-try? Thus, Jesus was seen as “Jeremiah.” Again, “What meaneth this”? What application may we make?

Briefly, this: We may have restored “the ancient order of things.” We may have made “all things according to the pattern,” but if our ways and doings are not amended, our worship is void and vain, dead on arrival. The restored public temple meant nothing while the private temple housed murder, theft, and adultery (Jer. 7:3-11). So, trust ye not in lying words, saying, “The church of Christ, The church of Christ, the church of Christ,” while your daily life is full of hypocrisy and iniquity. As temple service in structured order availed nothing apart from repentance and renewal, so “church service” in “that form of doctrine” means nothing apart from walking in newness of life. The faith of the humbled heart must match the activity of the harmless, helpful hand (Titus 2:11-14; James 1:26, 27).

Guardian of Truth XL: 10 p. 9
May 16, 1996

 

It made some question the reality of religion.

It made some think I was a pretender.

It made some think that I regarded my spiritual welfare as a matter of small concern.

It weakened the effect of our worship service.

It made it harder for the preacher to deliver his message.

It discouraged the brethren, and thereby, robbed them of a blessing.

It caused others to stay away from church.

It made it harder for me to meet the daily temptations of the devil.

It gave the devil more power over lost souls.

It encouraged the habit of my non-church going.

Forsaking the assembling does much harm to the cause of Christ.

 

(Reprinted from Truth, Dallas Ave. Church of Christ, Lancaster, Texas.)

Guardian of Truth XL: 10 p. 8
May 16, 1996

By David McClister

In a very significant sense, it does not matter where Satan came from. The emphasis in the Bible is instead on what he does. It is not how he came to exist that is of concern. It is the fact that he exists that concerns us. He continues to work against us in his attempt to master humanity, and to us Jesus left the continuation of the war.

In the previous part of this study we noted two Old Testament texts, Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-16, that are commonly thought to be ac-counts of the origin of Satan. Neither of those texts are about Satan’s origin, however, as a study of the contexts revealed. In this part of the study we will examine two New Testament texts that are also commonly put forward as explanations of Satan’s origin, and we will also attempt some conclusions on the matter.

Luke 10:18

In Luke 18:10 Jesus says, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” Those who think that Satan is a rebellious, fallen angel believe that this verse settles the matter convincingly. However, again, we must look at this statement in its context.

In Luke 10:1ff Jesus had sent out seventy disciples on a preaching mission. Actually, it was more than just a preaching mission, for Jesus also sent them out to heal and cast out demons (vv. 9, 17). It is important to under-stand exactly what these seventy disciples accomplished and what Jesus himself accomplished in his ministry. While Jesus was on this earth, he waged war against the kingdom of Satan. Before he could establish his kingdom (the kingdom of God), he had to invade the territory of the enemy, conquer it, and render the enemy (Satan) helpless and weak. This he did by preaching the gospel and visibly demonstrating its power. The healing miracles, and especially the casting out of demons, were not random acts of kindness; they were instead direct assaults on the kingdom of Satan. By proclaiming “the release of the captives” in the gospel (cf. Luke 4:18), Jesus was pro-claiming the defeat of Satan’s power over man. Through the gospel man no longer needed to be the slave of Satan and of sin. Jesus came to free man from Satan’s dominion, a dominion epitomized in sin and death.

It is in the context of this spiritual warfare that we must understand the miracles associated with the ministry of Jesus and, later, of the apostles. The miracles were physical, visible demonstrations, examples, or illustrations of what Jesus can do for men spiritually. Nowhere is this clearer than in the casting out of demons. Demon possession was an obvious manifestation of Satan’s dominion over people. What more control over a per-son could Satan have than to invade his body, through a demon, and control his actions? When Jesus cast out demons he was freeing people from Satan’s grip, he was destroying Satan’s hold on them. It was an especially clear demonstration, on the physical level, of the power of the gospel, and it was an illustration of how Jesus could free men from the kingdom of Satan and put them under the reign of God.

The same is true also of the healing miracles of Christ. Sickness and death were manifestations of Satan’s power over man. By healing the sick, Jesus was releasing people from the power of death wielded by Satan, thus defeating him. Note what Jesus said about the woman who “had a sickness caused by a spirit” in Luke 13:16: “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” Jesus was demonstrating his power over Satan in his healing miracles, his power to free men from Satan’s mastery. The healing was an illustration of what Jesus can do for us spiritually through his gospel. Thus it is no mere coincidence that Matthew links the activities of preaching the gospel and healing the sick in Matthew 4:23: “And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” These two activities went together quite naturally.

When the seventy disciples re-turned they reported their great success to Jesus. They were overjoyed that “even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (v. 17). Jesus had sent them out like an army to invade Satan’s territory and to wage war. Their campaign had been tremendously successful. Satan suffered a defeat with each demon they cast out. Jesus responded with an acknowledgment: “And He said to them, `I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you (vv. 18-19). Notice Jesus’ mention of “over all the power of the enemy.” Satan was being defeated in the ministry of Jesus. The seventy disciples had shared in that ministry, and it would culminate in the greatest de-feat over Satan: the death and resurrection of Christ that decisively defeated Satan’s power of sin and death respectively. So when Jesus says, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning,” he was de-scribing how greatly his ministry was defeating the power of Satan over men. No longer would Satan’s power be unchallenged and absolute. In his work, Christ was destroying the seemingly invincible power of sin and death. In language reminiscent of Isaiah 14:12-14, Jesus compares the former power of Satan to a star, and that star has now fallen. Revelation 9:12 and Matthew 24:29 also uses the imagery of a falling star to describe the defeat of power.

So again, this so-called “proof text” is not about the origin of Satan at all. It is only by bringing such an idea into the text that it can do service for this doctrine.

Revelation 12:7-9

Perhaps the most popular origin of-Satan passage is this one, Revelation 12:7-9. It reads: “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Anyone who has ever looked at John’s Revelation knows that it abounds in strange symbols. It is only by the violence of treating symbolic language literally, and by ignoring the context, that we can get a story of the origin of Satan out of this text.

Revelation 12 is a symbolic description of the spiritual circumstances that led up to, and caused, the persecution that John’s readers faced. John wrote Revelation to give its first readers an insight into their suffering, to see it in a larger context. They were caught up in a tremendous struggle between God and Satan. Satan was trying to destroy the church using Rome as his agent. John thus was giving his readers a perspective on their situation that would help them to endure. As a figurative and symbolic description we certainly must not read it literally, nor should we treat it as some kind of chronological historical narrative of what had happened.

Revelation 12 is admittedly a difficult passage, but students of Revelation who view the book from the standpoint of its historical context generally agree that it is about the victory of God’s people and the defeat of their enemy, Satan. The first part of the chapter (vv. 1-6) lays before us a story of the birth of a male child who becomes the ruler of the nations. This imagery represents Christ (the allusion to the Messianic Psalm 2 in Revelation 12:5 confirms this). How-ever, a great dragon (Satan) immediately challenges his appearing. The appearance of Jesus unleashed a great spiritual war (v. 7). Satan’s dominion over the human situation had, until now, gone unchallenged. When Christ appears, Satan’s power over man is effectively destroyed, and Satan suffers a crushing defeat (v. 9). The basic story John presents here in verse 7ff is that Satan has lost his bid for dominion over humanity. He and his forces are no match for God and his forces. He cannot defeat God and his Son. In a great destruction Satan is cast down, symbolizing his ruin.

That Satan is cast down to earth is, I think, significant. It is a change in the battle front. Since Satan could not defeat God in the spiritual realm, he then turns his attention to the physical realm where he hopes to be victorious. It is the same battle for spiritual mastery over man, but now it is a spiritual battle fought out on earth. This time instead of trying to destroy the Son of God (which at-tempt failed), he now tries to destroy the people of God who live on the earth. Satan floods the earth with his lies, deceptions, temptations, etc. in his effort to destroy God’s people, but this too fails (vv. 11, 17).

Revelation 12:7-9 is about how Satan received a crushing defeat by the appearing and work of Jesus. John wrote this to encourage his readers who were suffering because of Satan’s attack on them through the agency of a wicked world power, Rome. They could endure if they knew that the victory was theirs. Knowing the origin of Satan would have done nothing to encourage them to persevere under severe trials.

So Where Did Satan Come From?

If none of the passages that are so commonly cited as accounts of the origin of Satan are truly about his origin, then where did he come from? Well, I am not sure the Bible exactly tells us. We may have a curiosity about the subject, but we must not allow such curiosity to prompt us to find answers that are not there.

The best we can do, I think, is to infer a few things about Satan. First, only God (the Godhead) is uncreated. Every-thing and everyone else in the universe is created. Hence Satan is a created being. The Bible nowhere says that he is an eternal being like God. Second, the Bible attributes omnipotence only to God (the Godhead). Hence Satan is not an omnipotent being. Although he has great powers, God limits his use of them (cf. 1 Cor 10:13; Job 1-2).

Third, there are beings who were made and who exist above the human level. We may call them spiritual beings for lack of a better term. Among these spiritual beings are angels, but these apparently are not the only kinds of spiritual beings (cf. Eph. 6:12; Rev. 4-5). Concerning this order of beings we know more about angels than any others. The picture we get from God’s word is that spiritual beings are very much interested in, and sometimes involved in, the affairs of earth. For example, angels mediated the Law of Moses (Gal. 3:19), angels announced the resurrection of Christ (Matt. 28:5), and angels desired to see the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation (1 Pet. 1:12). While it may be stepping out on a limb, it also appears that spiritual beings, while they are created, nevertheless are not bound in their existence by the restraints of time or age.

The Bible nowhere identifies Satan as a human being. He is obviously one of the spiritual beings of which we read in the Bible. This is not to say that Satan is an angel. In fact, it would have been so easy, in any number of con-texts, for any of the Bible writers to say plainly that Satan was an angel, but they never did. He is, nevertheless, a spiritual being and the Bible describes him as, among other things, “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). We first see Satan in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3), at the very beginning of human history, and he has existed continually since then.

Fifth, spiritual beings, like human beings, have freedom of will. Jude describes the punishment of rebellious angels in v. 6 of his epistle, and Peter speaks of angels sinning in 2 Pet. 2:4. Hence Satan stands opposed to God because he chooses to do so. God certainly did not create him for evil or as an evil being, for the Bible tells us plainly that there is no evil associated with God (James 1:13; 1 John 1:5).

It seems that the most we could say about Satan’s origin is that he is a created, but spiritual being who has chosen to oppose God, and he recruits other spiritual beings and human beings in his efforts. Much more than this is only speculation.

Conclusion

In a very significant sense, it does not matter where Satan came from. The emphasis in the Bible is instead on what he does. It is not how he came to exist that is of concern. It is the fact that he exists that concerns us. He continues to work against us in his attempt to master humanity, and to us Jesus left the continuation of the war. “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:10-12)

Guardian of Truth XL: 10 p. 6-8
May 16, 1996