Is Satan Lawless or a Legalist?

Maria Billingsley

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One tends to remember the 'one liners' of one's mentors.

One of mine said that Satan was an "arch-legalist".

Yet he will be represented on earth as the "man of lawlessness".

Can he be both?

Thoughts please.
Satan is neither lawless nor a legalist. These are traits we can possess here on earth. Though his work is seen through the works of man, he achieves this in humanity through deception. Satan is not under the"law" so he can not be lawless or a legalist. He can only deceive us into these trappings.
Blessings
 
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timewerx

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One tends to remember the 'one liners' of one's mentors.

One of mine said that Satan was an "arch-legalist".

Yet he will be represented on earth as the "man of lawlessness".

Can he be both?

Thoughts please.


I think in one of the meanings of the Greek word for Diabolos (Devil) is "lawyer".

I think it draws the distinction of using the law to put to justice the guilty VS using the law to condemn the innocent.

So yes, the devil can be both, lawlessnes in not subjecting themselves to the laws of the Lord and a legalist (lawyering) in using man-made laws, including man-made religious laws and all its loopholes and weaknesses to wrongly judge, condemn the innocent.
 
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Carl Emerson

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Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1Ti 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.


Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Mat 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Mat 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

Yes the way Satan is used by God to refine is well known.

But separating the wheat from the tares is not his job - that will be done by angels

Matt 13

The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.…
 
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dms1972

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One tends to remember the 'one liners' of one's mentors.

One of mine said that Satan was an "arch-legalist".

Yet he will be represented on earth as the "man of lawlessness".

Can he be both?

Thoughts please.

Yes I suspect he/it can be both, why would one suppose he practices what he "preaches", if he is also the father of lies?

Satan accuses the brethren before God, and he criticises God to us. That was was going on in the story of Job.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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One tends to remember the 'one liners' of one's mentors.

One of mine said that Satan was an "arch-legalist".

Yet he will be represented on earth as the "man of lawlessness".

Can he be both?

Thoughts please.


Whichever is to his advantage at any time.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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He wears whichever hat that suits his immediate ploy. He's the father of lies, after all.


And those who lie are of his family. And that concerns me about our president and his proclivity to lie.
 
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Halbhh

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Satan is a legalist. You can be sure that he has studied the word of God exceedingly thoroughly in order to devise a way to outwit God using God's own word against Him. Which of course, such an endeavor is doomed to failure.
Not to outwit God, but us! But if we listen to Christ, we hear a key (necessary) help we need then:

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

We know that all Christ says comes from the Father. We need every word He says, and then we have the "every word that comes from the mouth of God"

We need to remember, listen, hear, God's words, so that we cannot be led astray.

If we do follow Christ, listening to Him, then He has already prayed for our protection from the enemy! (we can hear in John chapter 17 this prayer for our protection) Generally we'd be tempted or tripped at our weakest area, during a time we are not looking to Christ, not remembering His words. But we can try to remember to pray as Christ taught us to pray in Matthew chapter 6 -- and there we see a wording we need.

One tends to remember the 'one liners' of one's mentors.

One of mine said that Satan was an "arch-legalist".

Yet he will be represented on earth as the "man of lawlessness".

Can he be both?

Thoughts please.

 
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timothyu

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And those who lie are of his family. And that concerns me about our president and his proclivity to lie.
Think bigger. God says to follow His governance, His Kingdom not man's, but at the same time not to rebel against mankind.
 
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Lulav

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Satan will setup and establish his own government, which of course goes against Gods law/rule
That already happened a long long time ago...... Back in Babylon and has been seeking to return to that ever since.

He's neither. He's the tempter and the accuser of the brethren. He is a tool and can only do what he is instructed to do. His job is to sift the wheat from the chaff.
Yes, he has been given a sentence, back in the Garden and he's been trying to keep it from happening ever since.

Satan leads people to disobey God’s law

Satan does not lead people to obey God’s law

Obeying God’s law leads to life

Disobeying God’s law leads to death.

satan comes to kill, steal and destroy.

It’s absurd to think that the devil wants people to obey God’s law.

Remember we all have been given free will and he must have also or he wouldn't have sinned against God 'fallen'. What he does is make us question God and make a choice to follow what he teaches us or to do our own things which leads to destruction.

He deceives and tempts but cannot make anyone do anything they don't want to do.

He does have rules he must follow as is written so he can't go beyond the boundaries set for him.
This can be seen to the greatest extent in Job.
 
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nolidad

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One tends to remember the 'one liners' of one's mentors.

One of mine said that Satan was an "arch-legalist".

Yet he will be represented on earth as the "man of lawlessness".

Can he be both?

Thoughts please.

Yes! Simply because legalism is lawlessness in that it establishes ones own standard whether it agrees with God or not! That makes it lawless.
 
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fhansen

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One tends to remember the 'one liners' of one's mentors.

One of mine said that Satan was an "arch-legalist".

Yet he will be represented on earth as the "man of lawlessness".

Can he be both?

Thoughts please.
The heart of Satan is lawlessness, disorder, and he desires to spread that mentality. But one can be legalistic without being obedient to God, as true obedience and fulfillment of the law come about only to the extent that one loves...something well outside of Satan's territory.
 
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timothyu

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I'm sorry but that doesn't make sense to me so I can't answer. Can you reword it please?
Not really. there has never been a government of man that has followed the will of God, at least for long. And what I stated is the will of God. People are too hung up on the governance of man instead of the governance/Kingdom of God.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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Think bigger. God says to follow His governance, His Kingdom not man's, but at the same time not to rebel against mankind.

"Not to rebel against mankind?" So the American revolution was wrong?
 
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