Are You Afraid?

How can we believe in God, yet disbelieve in the devil? The same scriptures tell us about both. Can we really believe we are alone here on this planet, that evil doesn't exist, or only exists in us?

Perhaps we are afraid to believe in the devil, because believing would put us in a dangerous position. We would have to live in constant fear of a creature much more powerful than us, and totally evil. Or, we would have to submit to the authority and power of Jesus to protect us from such a creature. Fear or faith.

Instead, we just ignore, disbelieve, in the hope that the devil will not be real, will just go away, or won’t notice us. Believe me; the devil is truly happy with that decision. Oh, he would love it if you believed and lived in constant fear of him. But he’s just as happy if you ignore him.

He only has one fear, that you will believe and move under the authority of Jesus. You can choose to believe in him or not, but know he will do all he can to keep that from happening. If you have a relationship with God, the devil is your enemy!

When the devil rebelled against his creator, he was cast out of heaven. He was not cast out alone. When he was banished, one third of the angels were flung out with him (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6, Revelation 12:3-4).

Where did they end up? People often think of Satan as in hell. You can probably picture him there; pitchfork in hand, flames dancing around him. But scripture paints a more sinister picture.

According to scripture, the devil is here. 1 John 5:19 says, “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” The whole world, this world, your world. Satan has power over this world.

“Wait,” you might be thinking. “Jesus has power over the world.” It is true, Jesus said, “All authority is given to me.” But let’s look at some of the other things Jesus said and didn't say.

In Luke 4, we see Jesus being tempted by the devil. “And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, ‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I will give it to whom I will.’”(verses 5-6).

He was trying to get Jesus to worship him. Jesus merely quoted the scripture, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” But Jesus didn't call Satan out as a liar, because he wasn't lying. The devil does have authority and power here on earth. Later Jesus calls the devil “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30).

Why is it that evil people prosper? Why do bad things happen to good people? Because Satan has power here on Earth, and he can give it to whomever he chooses. Does that cartoon character they call the devil seem any scarier to you yet? If not, check your pulse. Even though Satan is scary, we are going to discuss why you don't have to be afraid in the next post.