"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night," Psalm 1:1-2.
If we would just take the Psalmist seriously and allow the word of God to marinate in our hearts, minds and souls every mourning, afternoon and evening, we would not fall prey to so many misconceptions in the Bible or about the faith. I'll just list a few here today, but there are multitudes.
1) "The devil made me do it." This is a quote popularized by a late 60's comedian but you often here Christians offer this lame excuse for committing a sin. The truth is this: only Christians cannot use this excuse! Ironically, atheists would be right at home making this statement. Why? Well, Satan can only whisper in a Christians ear, he has no power to make us do anything at all. Satan cannot overpower the Holy Spirit dwelling in us so we can easily turn him away. "He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world." The atheist on the other hand, has no defense against Satan and can be indwelt by the unholy one and therefore forced to do something he does not want to do. This is true of any unbeliever. They are powerless against Satan's attacks.
2) "You can't judge me! Jesus said, "Judge not lest ye be judged'." Well, this has a sliver of truth to it. Jesus admonished the crowd not to judge hypocritically. Then He told them, "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from you own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye," Matthew 7:5. Jesus wants us to make our own confession first and realize our own sinfulness, then, we can truly help our brothers/sisters with their sin. In fact, this must be what He means because He follows these commands with, "Do not give what is holy to the dogs nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces," Matt. 7:6. Well, we are not to give holy stuff to dogs nor our pearls before swine. These are the two harshest things Jesus could have called someone. He does not want us defiling what is holy. Now, I ask, how do we know who the dogs and pigs are unless we...judge!
3) The belief that Satan rules Hell. This one really bugs me because the Bible makes it plain that of every one or thing ever created, Satan wants to be in Hell less than anyone! Satan is always trying to devour believers, tempt us to sin, indwell unbelievers, deceive rulers and to rule this world, his temporary kingdom. Earth is Satan's temporary kingdom, Hell was created for him especially, "...'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels," Matt. 25:41b. Satan has a permanent home, Hell, and he is not happy about it and he will not be its superintendent. "The devil , who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever," Rev. 20:10. God will be his superintendent.
God bless you and learn, live and love the glorious Gospel!
Satan is dumb.
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