SR
SR October 2015
13
Years ago, comedian Flip Wilson had a catch phrase that
became the byline for his comedic routines. Maybe you
remember him. He would pull a stunt that was problematic
for other people, and when confronted he would say in an
impish sort of way, “The Devil made me do it!” I found my-
self getting angry when I saw this because I thought it
treated sin in a frivolous way. One thing we must recognize
is that sin is serious, and God requires each of us to take
responsibility for the sin in our lives.
Don’t get me wrong. There is a real devil and he is out to
deceive us by causing us to fall into his snares. (I Timothy 3:7b)
For instance, I sometimes have disturbing thoughts go
through my mind...so foreign to my way of thinking, I realize
it must have come from some external source. Perhaps you
have experienced this same thing. The Bible does say the
devil is our adversary and that he wanders around
“like a
roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
(I Peter 5:8) We
need to take him very seriously.
It is important to understand that the world, as referred
to in I John 5:4-5, is the dominion of Satan. When God created
mankind in Genesis, it says that He gave mankind dominion
over all the earth and all the plants and animals that filled it.
(Genesis 1:28-31) But as we go into Genesis 2 and 3, we see
that mankind, represented by Adam and Eve, sold dominion
over the earth to Satan. As a result Satan has become the
ruler of this world. Jesus acknowledged this when He referred
to Satan as the ruler of this world in John 12:31. This means
that, though God created every one of us to be “very good”
(Genesis 1:31), that as soon as we landed in this world, we
were polluted by sin. It is to redeem us from this corruption
and certain destruction that Jesus came into the world, the
dominion of Satan. He broke Satan’s claim on all that was in
the world by giving His lifeblood as an atonement for sin.
(John 3:16)
This puts those of us who are the redeemed, who under-
stand the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross and have
accepted His gift of salvation, in the interesting position of
living in a foreign dominion. Philippians 3:20 states plainly
that our citizenship is in heaven. The old hymn stating
“This
world is not my home, I’m just a passing through”
makes
sense. But we are more than just “passing through”; we are
ambassadors, representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, to
those who are still held in the bondage of darkness that
characterizes Satan’s dominion.
However we must be careful not to credit Satan with too
much power. We are not possessed by him such that we have
no choice but to respond to his enticements. We are people
of free choice. The Scriptures teach that, unless we of our
own free will choose to turn away from sin and accept the
redemption as offered in Jesus Christ, we have already chosen
Satan’s dominion. (John 3:18, Isaiah 59:1-2, Romans 1:19-21)
We cannot blame the devil for the sin that pollutes our lives.
We must take responsibility for that ourselves. Only when
we take responsibility can God move in with His power to
redeem us and overcome the works of the devil. If we refuse
to take responsibility for the sin in our lives, we have no
authority to invite God into our lives to cleanse us from sin.
We cannot exercise authority where we have no responsibility.
This is a great paradox. On the one hand, the devil is a
very powerful being who exercises a tremendous influence
on our lives. On the other, each of us and all of us together
are responsible for the sin in our lives. How can we be
responsible if the devil has such power? Let’s take a closer
look. There is only one way to overcome such power, and
that is by the power of God. I John 4:4 says,
“Greater is he
who is in you than he who is in the world.”
2 Corinthians 10:4
says
“The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but
have divine power to destroy strongholds.”
The paradox is
that only by taking responsibility for the sin in our lives, and
by acknowledging our hopelessness in the face of the devil’s
power, can we release the power of God into our lives to
overcome the devil and receive God’s redemption. It is our
choice. It is by our free will that we choose either to linger in
Satan’s dominion or to appropriate God’s saving power.
Consider the story of Adam and Eve. Read it carefully in
Genesis 2 and 3. Satan did not force them to sell out to him
in eating the forbidden fruit. They chose that of their own
free will. Yes, Satan did deceive them into thinking that this
was the best choice...he did that by sowing lies and jealousy
into their lives. Nevertheless it was their choice —which is
true for each of us. It is important to know Satan’s tactics on
the one hand, and to know God’s Truth on the other. These
are important tools for us to use in confronting Satan’s tactics.
In the power and truth of God, we can overcome. Let us take
responsibility for the sin that is in our lives. Let us not “give
opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:27)
— Dale Rood, Retired Pastor
Dodge Center, MN
Did “The Devil Make Me Do It”
