In yesterday’s blog we started answering this very common question which comes up in both the classroom and counseling room, Can the devil make me sin? You could add with that, Can the devil or Satan give me certain thoughts? Although we have probably all heard someone, when caught doing something bad, “The devil made me do it,” I have also had suffering and distraught people ask this question. But is this true? Can the devil make you do anything?
To answer this question, I will answer four separate questions. Yesterday, we answered question one. Today, we will tackle the others.
- Where do temptations to sin come from? Answered in Part One
- Can Satan indwell a follower of Christ/child of God?
- What is the difference between Satan’s control and influence?
- What does Satan do? (Part Three)
For each of these questions, we turn to the biblical text as the authority for our answer. Personal experience must be evaluated by the biblical text. As followers of Christ, we start with the Bible and then consider our experiences; we do not start with our experiences than try to determine what the Bible means.
Where do temptations to sin come from?
As discussed yesterday, they come from from the desires in our own hearts.
Can Satan indwell a follower of Christ/child of God?
If Satan does not specifically make you sin since temptations to sin come from your own personal desires, then can Satan indwell you if you are a follower of Christ? We have again probably heard someone talk about Satan or even a demon indwelling a person. A sister question here is: Can a follower of Christ be indwelt by a demon?
The Biblical Narratives and Description Suggest No
The Bible never warns any follower of Christ about the possibility of being indwelt by Satan or a demon(s). Furthermore, in the New Testament, there is never a case where a follower of Christ is indwelt by either Satan or a demon. We could press it one step further and recognize there are no commands in Scripture given to followers of Christ to cast demons out of others. Only Jesus and the Apostles cast demons out of people. And, in every instance, those individuals were not prior followers of Christ.
Can Satan or demons indwell a follower of Christ then?
As the Temple of God, the Answer is No
Notice the very clear translation from the NET Bible where Paul discusses believers and unbelievers in cooperation together. He wrote:
15 And what agreement does Christ have with Beliar? Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever? 16 And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 Therefore “come out from their midst, and be separate,” says the Lord, “and touch no unclean thing, and I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,” says the All-Powerful Lord. (2 Corinthians 6:15-18, all emphasis in the original translation)
Beliar refers to Satan or the devil. Paul asks, Is there any agreement between Christ and Satan (and, by extension, a demon representing Satan)? As temples of the living God, God lives in the midst of us. Every true follower of Christ is indwelt by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9). As those indwelt by God, we cannot also be indwelt by a demon.
God and a demon or Satan cannot indwell the same temple. Every follower of Jesus Christ is a temple of God. As such then, it is impossible for a follower of Jesus to be indwelt by Satan or a demon.
What is the difference between Satan’s control and influence?
If a follower of Jesus Christ cannot blame Satan for creating temptations nor can he or she be indwelt by Satan or a demon, then what control can Satan or demons have over a child of God? Here, I think it is important to consider the difference between Satan’s control and Satan’s influence.
Satan can only control the property he owns. He cannot control a believer because Satan does not indwell nor does he have greater power than God. Remember what the Apostle John wrote:
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:4-6)
God, Who is in you, is greater than Satan or any demon, who in not in you. “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
Can Satan or Demons influence us then?
Although you cannot be controlled by Satan or demons, certainly you can be heavily influenced by Satan or demons. In fact, we see Jesus go through a direct encounter with Satan where Satan sought to influence Jesus to do evil. Remember the scene where Jesus goes out into the wilderness to fast and pray for forty days. During that time, we do not know if there were any additional instances of Satan trying to influence Jesus; however, at least the final instance is recorded in the Bible for us (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13).
Satan sought to influence Jesus to do evil. Was he successful? Of course not. Why? Because God cannot be tempted to do evil, nor does He tempt any person (James 1:13). Therefore, Satan sought to influence Jesus, but could not. Of course Satan and demons have an easier time with us. The major difference, they do not speak to us directly as Satan did Jesus.
In our instances of influence, Satan and/or demons will use circumstances or other means to seek to influence us. Think about Job. He never knew that Satan, under the permission of God, brought those tough circumstances into his life. He sought to influence Job to do wrong. Initially, he was unsuccessful. However, as hours turned into days, Job did struggle and ultimately had to repent (Job 42:1-6).
What is Satan’s primary way of influence or temptation then?
Satan may influence us from a variety of ways. We only sin though when we get drawn away and enticed by our own desires in the midst of the influence or circumstance. If we actually sin, sin always comes from our desires that choose self over God. Sin is always a choice; the individual is always responsible for it. Just as Eve misspoke in the Garden (Gen 3) when she sought to blame the serpent for her sin, we also cannot blame Satan or a demon when we sin as well.
As will be discussed in tomorrow’s article, Satan uses various means to seek to influence the believer to choose sin.
So, Can the Devil Make Me Sin?
As I mentioned above, four separate questions help us answer this question.
- Where do temptations to sin come from? – A temptation to sin comes from your own heart. You are responsible for your sin.
- Can Satan indwell a follower of Christ/child of God? – No, Satan cannot indwell a believer in Jesus Christ.
- What is the difference between Satan’s control and influence? – Satan can influence through various means but cannot control a believer since greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.
- What does Satan do?
Question Four is addressed in the next article.
Image Credit Damir Samatulov
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