"The Devil Made Me Do It"

He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. --1John 3:8

One of the earliest and most popular African American comics was Flip Wilson.  In the 1970s he would do skits on variety shows (programs that featured a variety of entertainment, unlike today's reality shows and singing contests).  One of the characters he played was a woman named Geraldine Jones; in one of her earlier skits, she said, "The Devil made me buy this dress."  That line became so popular that she used it in several other situations--whatever dumb thing she did or said was followed by, "The Devil made me do it." This phrase was ingrained into the American pop culture for almost a decade.

The phrase became popular because there was a germ of truth in it.  The Devil does try to make us do dumb things.  But as pop culture evolved, the phrase ended up trivializing spiritual matters.  On Sundays the nation heard, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but...against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12).  On Saturday nights, the world turned this concept into a parody.  Why did I tell that little white lie? The Devil made me do it!  Why did you have that affair with your best friend's wife? The Devil made me do it!

So what makes Satan such a provocateur?  What makes him so effective in his mission?  Let's take him at his word, literally.

The Deceiver
"He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden?"...You will not surely die, 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 3:1, 4-5)

Satan's first words in Scripture give us a clue to his character as a deceiver.  His approach was very clever, designed to make her question her memory, her belief, and God's motives.  See, he wanted Man to be separated from God, like he was.  But his approach was not, "Come on, break the rule.  It'll be fun!"  That would have made the humans dig in their heels, and take a stand.  So he started with a half-truth.  See, Satan already knew what God had said.  "And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die'." (Genesis 2:16-17)

Satan blurred the lines that God had made specific.  He didn't ask why they couldn't eat anything they wanted; he asked whether God would allow them to eat any fruit growing from any tree.  Eve answered with the words of God, plus a little bit of her own: "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "  With that bit of legalism tucked in there, Satan had a handle.  He could say, "You can touch it--it won't kill you."  And it would be true.  They could touch it; they could throw it like a baseball, juggle it, paint pictures of it--they just couldn't eat it.  From there he could say, "God wouldn't kill you--he loves you."  How many times do we fall for this line even today?  "I don't think a loving God would _______ (you fill in the blank: cause so much suffering, send people to hell, or demand that I live up to His standard)."

I heard a very good description of parenting on the radio program "Focus On The Family" today.  The guest said, "Every child is born with two burning questions on their hearts and minds: Do you love me? and Can I get my way?"  As a parent, our job is to answer the first question Yes, Always; and the answer to the second question is Not Always.  Similarly, in our relationship with our Heavenly Father, the same questions arise.  "God, do you really love me?"  His answer is unequivocally YES!  But then we try to reason with God: "If you love me, why can't I have my own way?"  If we become secure in our love of God, Satan will come and put that second question in your mind, in order to lead you astray.

The Accuser
"Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything that he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.  But stretch out  your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." (Job 1:9-11)

Satan knows human nature very well.  He had doubtless seen many people turn their backs on God after tragedies.  So he approached God and tried to drive a wedge between Him and His own.  God allowed Satan to test Job's faith.  Job's response wasn't perfect--if you have read the book of Job, you know that in the end, God gives Job a stern lecture.  But Job did not lose faith in God.  Neither should we, when all manner of tragedy befalls us.

Jesus is our example.  If He could endure leaving heaven and becoming a man; if He could endure the hatred and spite of men who lived with him, who saw his miracles and yet accused him of being a devil; if He could endure the shame and pain of death on a cross--if He could endure all that, then we can not lose heart. Hebrews 12:3 says, "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Jesus is our advocate.  When Satan comes to accuse us before the Father, Jesus covers us with His shed blood, so that our sin is hidden and we are seen as righteous before God.  "Even now, my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high.  My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God." (Job 16:19-20). With this in mind, Paul wrote in Romans 8:34, "Who is he that condemns?  Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

The Tempter
"The tempter came to him and said, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread...If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down (from the highest point of the temple).  For it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."....All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me.' " (Matthew 4: 3, 6, 9)

Satan appealed to Jesus at the human level: He was hungry, so Satan urged Him to feed himself with whatever was handy.  Jesus could have turned the stones to bread--he later turned water into wine.  But Jesus didn't answer to Satan, and his fast was for a spiritual purpose.  So next, Satan appealed to Jesus on a spiritual level: Let's go to the Temple, where God lives; let's show all these humans your authority over the spiritual realm, and let's see if God your Father will save you from an untimely death.  But Jesus didn't ask that of God, and His response was not to put the Father to the test.  We know God had answered the judges and prophets of old--Gideon had asked for a sign, as had King David, and the prophet Elijah.  Malachi 3:10 urges us to test God in our giving: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.  Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."  God asks us to test him, to strengthen our faith; but Jesus was not asked to test God for that purpose, so He declined.  Finally, Satan put all pretense aside, and showed his whole hand.  Satan controlled all the earth, and he said he would let Jesus rule over it all if He would acknowledge the devil as a god.

The closer we get to God, the more tempted we will be.  Jesus endured much more temptation than what is recorded in Scripture.  He fasted for forty days, and not a day went by when Satan did not sorely tempt him. We have but a few examples of Satan's words, but they are representative of his mission in our lives--to keep us from knowing God, or if we know Him, to make us ineffective as Believers.

Do not be deceived.  Do not be bowed down by accusations.  When you are tempted, do not succumb. We are over-comers, through the blood of Jesus Christ.