The Devil Made Me Do It

Before we make the devil the scapegoat for all our woes and sins, three truths about the devil help us understand his person and work in the world and in our lives, what he can and cannot do, and how we must fight him.

                First, he is a creature, has limitations, and now has a fatal wound. The devil is a creature – not an equal with God. The devil is a rebel, and therefore subject to all the blindness, self-deception, half-truths, and flat-out lies that we tell ourselves – except that he is the father of lies, and therefore mired deeper into the dark pit of falsehood than any other creature.

                As a creature, he is not omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent. He is a strong but a limited enemy. Now that the Son of God has come in our flesh, defeated Satan, and died for sin on the cross, the devil has a fatal wound (John 12:29-31; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8). The first gospel promise has been fulfilled: his skull is crushed. He was defeated by the Word against whom he rebelled. His destructive, deceptive hold has been broken. He cannot deceive the nations en masse any longer (Rev. 20:1-3). The gospel is going forth into his former strongholds. Jesus Christ has the devil on His leash. He has bound the strong man, the devil, and is now spoiling his house with the two-edged sword of the gospel.

                Second, he looks for easy prey. He walks about as a roaring lion – an interesting picture. He is roaring, so you can hear him coming. He is looking for the unwary – who would not hear a roaring lion and either get away quickly or ready a weapon? The unwary, the world-loving, the sin-loving. The devil works in the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:1-2). The devil cannot possess a child of God – but if the child of God makes close friendship with unbelievers rather than “comes out from among them,” he can place himself more directly under Satan’s deceptive influence. The same is true of getting your news and understanding of the world from unbelievers – Satan’s dupes – or even from professing believers who hold to false gospels, loose views of Scripture, or who exalt tradition or human understanding above or as equal to Scripture. Satan works in the shadowy world of untruth, half-truth, and twisted truth.

                Therefore, if we neglect God’s pure word in our lives, do not arm our minds with his promises, and bring our thoughts captive to Christ, we put down our main weapon against his attacks. If we are listening to the advice of those who are not walking with God’s word (Ps. 1) or with cold-hearted professors, we bring ourselves under the sphere of Satan’s lies. A life consumed with entertainment, social media, and sports does the same – we cannot be watchful and wary against his deceptions or hear his roaring if we are mesmerized and distracted by the world.

                One step further – the world is the devil’s graveyard. He has been cast down from heaven and walks in the earth to make war against the Lamb’s wife (Rev. 12:17). He is defeated, but he can still deceive and trick. He is angry and wounded, and he insinuates, undermines, and hypnotizes sinners. He does this in those who are “led captive by him to do his will.” The most practical strategy against Satan’s wiles is to come out of the world – its agendas for life, self-centeredness, dangerous loves and filthy lusts – or we bring ourselves within the reach of his tearing claws, his bite. Then, tragically, it might be said at some level, “The devil made me do it.” But this would only be because we allowed him to do it to us by our unbelief, disobedience, and worldliness.

                Third, he can be resisted in faith. This brings us to our victory in Jesus. We have already triumphed over the devil because Christ’s victory is ours. He leads us in his triumph. Our victory over sin and Satan is then lived out in union in Christ – in his victory. He has shown us the way – upraised sword of sacred truth, using God’s armor (Eph. 6:10-18), constant watchfulness in prayer (Matt. 26:41), and setting our thoughts and affections upon our Savior, who is our Life (2 Cor. 10:4-5; Col. 3:1-4). Let us give Satan no footholds. We are not ignorant of his strategies. We must walk in God’s light, be children of light, and have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness (Eph. 5:8). Trust God and triumph!