A must-read: The Screwtape Letters
(God’s) a hedonist at heart. All those fasts and vigils and
stakes and crosses are only a facade... He makes no secret of it; at his right
hand are “pleasures for evermore.” Ugh! ... He’s vulgar, Wormwood... He has
filled this world with pleasures. There are things for humans to do all day
long without his minding in the least – sleeping, washing, eating, making love,
playing, praying, working. Everything has to be twisted before it’s any use to
us. We fight under cruel disadvantages. Nothing is naturally on our side.
-C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (Harper Collins, 2001)
The Screwtape Letters is the fictional account of a senior
demon named Screwtape writing to a junior demon on how to tempt humans. Although
the book is fiction, it reads like an enemy’s secret plans or an opposing team’s
playbook. With wit and humour, Lewis gives his unforgettable take on the
tactics and strategies that the devil uses to tempt humans.
People have many different perceptions of Satan and his
influence in this world. Therefore, consider the following four ideas about
Satan that the Bible plainly reveals:
Satan is real, not a cosmic metaphor. Some people today
believe that Satan is a symbol of evil rather than a living spiritual being. The
Bible, however, indicates that Satan is a real-life enemy, not just some kind
of cosmic metaphor. Just a handful of examples include
When Jesus was tempted in the desert (check out the “Think
different: The sequel” sidebar), the Book of Matthew says pretty
matter-of-factly that he did more than just battle temptations coming from
within himself – he actually dealt head-on with Satan (see Matthew 4:1-11).
Peter often writes about sin, but goes out of his way to
speak specifically of Satan as a real entity to combat. In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter
talks about “your enemy the devil” and points out that humans are to resist “him.”
John speaks in his gospel of the devil as a real being when
he says, “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted
Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus” (John 13:2).
Jesus, in the Gospels, and John, in the Book of Revelation,
describe at length what’s ultimately going to happen to a being called Satan
(see Luke 10:18, John 12:31, and Revelation 12:9 and 20:10).
Ironically, the fact that many people today don’t believe in
a literal Satan fits exactly into his plan, according to biblical Christianity.
One of Satan’s most effective schemes is to belittle his own existence. C.S.
Lewis talks about this in his classic book The Screwtape Letters (Harper
Collins, 2001), which is a fictional account of a senior demon named Screwtape
writing to a junior demon on how to tempt humans. In it, Screwtape notes:
The fact that “devils” are predominately comic figures in
the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence
begins to arouse in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red
tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that... he therefore
cannot believe in you.
Satan is just a God-wannabe. It’s easy to think of Satan as
the anti-God – a force equally as powerful as God. In fact, however, Satan is a
God-wannabe. He’s a frightening spirit, he’s a great tempter, and he has some
inside knowledge, but he’s a limited creature (Job 1:12, Luke 4:6, and 2
Thessalonians 2:7-8). Therefore, he doesn’t know all things, can’t read your
mind, and isn’t everywhere at every time like God is (because, by definition,
only God has these qualities). So, although the Bible makes it clear that Satan
is a powerful force to be reckoned with, he’s no match for God.
Satan can’t make Christians do anything. Satan may be
powerful, but he can’t make Christians sin and he can’t control them. Satan tempts,
but he can’t back it up with any muscle power. Paul emphasizes this when he
says in 1 Corinthians 10:13:
No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God
is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but
will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to
endure it.
So, God promises that Christians always have an escape plan –
if they choose to take it.
Satan is a born loser. I hate it when a film or book comes
out and the ending is a cliffhanger, forcing me to wait until the sequel to
find out what happens. Fortunately, God didn’t leave you and I with a
cliffhanger in terms of what eventually happens in the battle between him and
Satan. He says emphatically in the Bible that his team wins and the “bad” team
loses (Revelation 20:10).
Satan’s something like the quarterback of a football team
that’s getting trounced 54-0 in the fourth quarter. The losing team still tries
to score as many points as possible, and people on the winning team are still
prone to injury, but the end outcome is never in doubt, even if the losing team
gets a couple mop-up touchdowns.
Satan battles in the spiritual realm. Although some people
believe that sin is a personal struggle between an individual and his or her
conscience, the Bible paints a different picture. Ephesians 6:12 says:
For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but
against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of
the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the
heavenly places.
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