TOPIC:“Satan and the Saint”
By Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Luke 22:31-34
“And the Lord, said, Simon, Simon, Satan hath desire to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” (22:31)
We live in a devil inspired world. A constant and continuous struggle is raging between the forces of Satan and the forces of God. Satan is the master destroyer of men's souls and is behind all the evil found in the world today. His power and influence is seen everywhere.
Now there is much confusion about the existence, person and work of Satan. The average person knows hardly anything about him except that he is depicted as a creature with horns, a long tail, and a pitchfork in his hands. I trust that what I have to say this morning will better help you to understand what the Bible has to say about this evil individual.
I.
Consider, first of all, the features of Satan. Notice again the words of Christ to Peter: “Satan hath desired to have you” (22:31).
From these words and many others from the Bible we find that Christ took for granted the reality and subtlety of the devil. Jesus spoke of him freely and frequently throughout His ministry. According to Christ, Satan is not an imaginary being, a make believe character, a mythological folk tale, but a real individual with all of the traits of personality. Now I know there are some who deny the living reality of Satan, but Christ was not one of them. Make no mistake about it - Christ taught and preached that Satan is a real person.
The name Satan means “accuser.” He is known as the accuser and adversary of the people of God. He is known by a number of different names in the Bible. He is called the prince of devils (Matthew 12:24). Beelzebub (Mark 3:22); Prince of this world (John 12:31); the wolf (John 10:12); Prince of the air (Ephesians 2:2); God of this world (II Corinthians 4:4); appears as Angel of light (II Thessalonians 3:5); the adversary (I Peter 5:8); the wicked one (I John 5:18); the Dragon (Revelation 20:2); the serpent (Revelation 20:2); and especially, he is called the “devil” (Revelation 20:2).
And from these titles which are ascribed to Satan, we glean some of his activities which are attributed to him. He tempts (Matthew 41); he sins (I John 3:8); he murders (John 8:44); he lies (John 8:44); he deceives (Revelation 12:9); he accuses (Revelation 12:10); he devours . . .