Quote from Forum Archives on September 8, 2004, 5:18 pm

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

If I Were the Devil By: Paul Harvey

 

  I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

  I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come
  from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;
 
  I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people,
  instead of the other way around;
 
  I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their
  state revenue;
 
  I would convince people that character is not an issue when it
  comes to leadership;
 
  I would make it legal to kill unborn babies;
 
  I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life,
  and invent machines to make it convenient; I would cheapen
  human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are
  valued more than human beings;
 
  I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of
  His name was grounds for a lawsuit; I would come up with drugs
  that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get
  sports heroes to advertise them;
 
  I would get control of the media, so that every night I could
  pollute the mind of every family member with my agenda;
  I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.
 
  I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable.
  If the family crumbles, so does the nation;

  I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies
  on canvas and movie screens, and call it art;
 
  I would convince the people that right and wrong are
  determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer
  to their agenda as politically correct;
 
  I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out
  of date, and the Bible is for the naive;
 
  I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe
  that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and
  obedience are optional; Hmmm
 
  I guess if I were the devil, I'd leave things pretty much the
  way they are.

 

Is Satan a Christian?

   

 

We often hear when someone dies, He didn't go to church but

he was a good Christian man. Millions consider themselves

Christians even though a large percentage have no religious

affiliation. Let us consider what a Christian is in light of

Scripture.

 

First, is someone a Christian if they believe God exists? In

Genesis 3, Satan speaks of God as alive. Therefore, saying

that we simply believe God exists does not make us a Christian,

because that would make Satan a Christian.

 

Second, are we a Christian if we believe God is powerful?

In Job 1:10, Satan acknowledges that God controls what

happens to man. Satan was there in heaven, saw creation

and knows the power of God. Accordingly, simply believing

God is powerful is not enough to make one a Christian because

that would make Satan a Christian.

 

Third, are we a Christian if we read the Bible? In Luke 4:10,11,

Satan quotes Psalm 91:11,12. So reading the Bible, in itself,

does not make someone a Christian because then Satan would

be a Christian.

 

Fourth, are we a Christian if we believe that Jesus Christ is

the Son of God? James 2:19 says, "You believe that God is

one. You do well; the demons believe, and shudder" (NASB).

On several occasions demons spoke to Jesus or others affirming

their belief in the deity of Christ (Matthew 8:28-31; Luke

4:31-35,40,41; Acts 19:11-17). Therefore, simply believing

Jesus is the Son of God does not make someone a Christian

because then Satan would be a Christian.

 

Fifth, are we a Christian if we attend church? Paul writes in

2 Corinthians 11:12-15 that Satan transforms himself into

an angel of light while demons transform themselves into

ministers of righteousness. Where would these ministers

go to steal the flock away from God? At least part of the time

they would be at church with the saints. Accordingly,

simply attending church does not make someone a Christian,

or Satan would be a Christian.

 

Sixth, are we a Christian if we do good deeds? When we do

good deeds we often have personal motives for doing them.

Besides that, we notice Matthew 4:1-11 when Satan tempted

Jesus. Satan's motives were evil, but consider that he was

willing to feed Jesus, protect him if he fell and fulfill Jesus'

desires. Consequently, simply doing good deeds does not

make us a Christian, or Satan would be a child of God.

 

All of these things are part of being a Christian. But none

of them alone makes a Christian. Instead, we must become

a new creature (John 3:3-5), which is accomplished by dying

to self and being born again in Christ (Acts 2:38; Romans

6:3,4; Galatians 3:27). When we arise from baptism, we are

a Christian through the gift of God.

 

A Christian will live for God by bearing fruit for his kingdom

(James 2:20-26; Revelation 2:10). Scripture requires that we

express love for God by bearing fruit in service to God in

a variety of ways (cf. John 14:15). When we coddle people

by perpetuating the image that anyone who is a good person

is heaven-bound, we further Satan's plans and dilute the

cause of Christ.

 

Serving God is an absolute not subject to the whims, emotions,

and reasons of men. We are a Christian by the plan of Christ,

not by the changing definitions of men. Let us always stand

for that truth.

 

 

Have a Blessed Day

Dave and Barbara

 

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