Every Christian believes that Jesus is both Lord and Christ, but not every Christian believes that Satan is real. Perhaps it’s because we are so far removed from the events of the first century that we tend to think of God as a force for all things good and Satan as a force for all things evil. While it is true that God is a force for all things good, God is very real and very much alive in the persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:7; Matthew 16:16).
It is also true that Satan is a force for all things evil, but it’s also true that Satan is very real and very much alive. We know from Jesus in Matthew 25:41 that at the judgment Satan will be cast “into the everlasting fire” prepared for him and his followers (Revelation 20:10; 20:15). There would be no reason to cast a non-existent being or a “force” into the everlasting fire. There would only be a reason to do so, if Satan is real and alive – and he is.
How do we know that Satan is real? We know Satan is real the same way that we know that God is real: the Bible. We also know that Satan is real the same way that we know that God is real: in the evidences around us.
Satan is our greatest enemy. Satan is a liar, accuser, deceiver, and tempter. Even though most people know this is all true, far too many listen to Satan rather than to God. Sadly, eternity for those who follow Satan’s will is everlasting fire. This means that it’s very important to know how Satan works so we can resist him (James 4:7).
Satan is known as the accuser because the Hebrew for accuser is satan. We see Satan actively engaged in accusing God in Genesis 3:1-15, calling Him a liar. Satan accused Job of being a hypocrite. Satan stands ready to accuse us, but we shouldn’t fear him, because Jesus has taken care of him for us (Revelation 12:10).
Satan is good at accusing because he is the father of lies (John 8:44). Satan lied to Eve in the Garden in Genesis 3:4-5. Ironically, Satan called God a liar. The only way to handle the liar and his lies is with the truth. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). The Apostle Paul let’s us know that the truth, the Word of God, is a weapon to defend ourselves against Satan (Ephesian 6:17).
As the lying accuser, it follows that Satan is the deceiver. Satan deceives us by convincing us to believe that sin has no consequences. He deceives us into rationalizing that money and things will buy us happiness. He deceives us into thinking that all we need to do is be a good person and we will go to heaven. Satan twists the truth and tries to get us to believe in his deceptions. The antidote to Satan’s deception is the truth. In Matthew 4, when Satan tempted Jesus, he did it by twisting the Scriptures. Jesus knew the truth and resisted Satan’s trickery with the truth of God’s Word.
As the tempter, Satan’s goal is to get us to sin. This is because our sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2) and the further from God we are, the closer we are to Satan (1 John 3:10). Fortunately, we can resist Satan – we can resist temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
Satan is the enemy (1 Peter 5:8) and he will do whatever he can to consume and destroy his enemies. Those who are Satan’s enemies include everyone who are not his followers. Even though following Jesus is easy compared to following other ways (Matthew 11:30), Satan makes it hard for Christians because we are his enemies (1 Peter 5:8).
The important thing to remember is that no matter how hard Satan attacks us, as a Christian we follow the One with all power and authority: Jesus Christ. This means that while Satan is a “threat” we don’t have to be afraid. We can resist him. We can fight against him. As a Christian, we are a part of the Lord’s Army and the victory is already ours in Christ (1 John 3:8; Colossians 2:15; Revelation 12:11).
