Misconceptions about Satan:
• He does not have horns.
• He does not carry a pitchfork.
• He does not wear a red suit. In popular culture, the devil is often presented as a humorous character (example: Capital One commercial).
• He has never been in hell. “...the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). “The devil...was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone” (Revelation 20:10).
Satan’s names:
• “Satan,” meaning “adversary” (Job 1:6; Matthew 4:10; Acts 5:3; Revelation 12:9)
• “The devil,” meaning “slanderer” (Matthew 4:1; John 8:44; 1 Peter 5:8)
• “Beelzebub,” meaning “lord of flies” and suggesting all that is vile and detestable (Matthew 12:24-26)
• “That ancient serpent” (Revelation 12:9; 20:2)
• “The tempter” (Matthew 4:3)
• “The prince of this world” (John 12:31)
• “The prince of demons” (Matthew 12:24)
• “The god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
1. Satan is REAL.
Jesus refers to Satan as “he,” not “it.” Satan is a person, not simply an evil force.
a. He was originally an ANGEL.
When God created the world, he “saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). This means that in the beginning all of the angels were good. But by the time of Genesis 3, we find that Satan, in the form of a serpent, was tempting Eve to sin (vv. 1-5). Therefore, sometime between creation and Genesis 3, there must have been a rebellion in the angelic world with many angels turning against God and becoming evil (demons).
b. He REBELLED against God.
Isaiah 14:12-15 possibly speaks of Satan:
How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
But you are brought down to the grave,
to the depths of the pit.
c. He became the ENEMY of God.
d. He is LIMITED in power.
2. Satan is the ORIGINATOR of sin.
a. He committed the first MURDER.
“He was a murder from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him” (v. 44).
“You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17).
…sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12).
b. He told the first LIE.
“When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (v. 44).
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4).
One of Satan’s biggest lies: RELIGION is the way to God.
Religion: Man’s attempt to please God by adhering to RULES and RITUALS.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death (Proverbs 14:12).
Why are many drawn to religion?
(1) It provides a system of MEASUREMENT.
(2) It provides a false SECURITY.
The difference between religion and Christianity:
• Religion is spelled “DO.” Christianity is spelled “DONE.”
Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified (Galatians 2:16).
• Religion focuses on the EXTERNAL. Christianity focuses on the INTERNAL.
They answered, “We are Abraham’s descendents and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” (v. 33).
For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendents are they all Abraham’s children (Romans 9:6b-7a).
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does” (vv. 39b-41a).
A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly.... No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly... (Romans 2:28-29; see Jeremiah 9:25-26).
Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham (Galatians 3:6-7; see Romans 4:12).
• Religion is driven by DUTY. Christianity is driven by DEVOTION.
