If I Were the Devil By Thursday
Quote from Forum Archives on September 8, 2004, 5:18 pmPosted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>
If I Were the Devil By: Paul HarveyI 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I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out
of date, and the Bible is for the naive;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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Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>
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.
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
I do not mail idea-central unsolicited. If you are receiving this newsletter from me it's because you have subscribed to this mailing list. If you receive this newsletter and are not a subscriber then someone, other than me, has forwarded it to you.
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