Why is satan a threat?

[oi_antz]

This question I believe was answer in the garden.

The tree of knowledge was present from the beginning. Adam and Eve lived with this tree for sometime. It was not until Satan presented Eve with a true option that she was tempted and opted to take that option.

The option to eat of that tree (Free will) was presented the first time they were told not to eat that fruit. The fruit did not become appetizing until it was presented as such. So they had free will, they just did not know they were discontented until the antagonist pointed out their apparent discontent.

This I believe is the primary limit of his role. Whether He likes it or not he is a servant of God. Just like Pharaoh was a reluctant servant of God.

To what end? To Help God provide us with true complete Choice.

Thanks for explaining that

 

[elman]

According to Scripture, Satan can cause someone to become spiritually blinded (2 Corinthians 4:4) to the point where they will be deceived by his lies (2 Corinthians 11:13–15) and thus become ensnared by him (1 Timothy 3:6-7; 2 Timothy 2:26). Jesus called the devil the father of lies (John 8:44) and I think the title is fitting.

Ephesians 6:12 states that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And according to Scripture, Satan is the ruler of this world and the prince of the power of the air (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2). He is also described as an accuser (Revelation 12:10), a tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), a deceiver (Genesis 3; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:3), and as a prowling lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

However, Jesus did give His followers the authority to overpower the devil and his demons (Luke 10:17-20). He cast out demons Himself and so did His disciples (not just the twelve either). We are also told in Scripture how to protect ourselves against his attacks (Ephesians 6:10-17; James 4:7). Romans 16:20 declares that God will soon "crush Satan under your feet" and that he will one day be defeated and cast into the lake of fire (Luke 10:18; John 12:31; Revelation 12:9; 20:10).

Eph 6:12 could be all about the internal struggle we each have to win with the help of God over evil. The heavenly realms would be us, if God is in us.

 

[elman]

Hi Handmaid, I want to comment about this. I know that when sifting truth from lie, there is only one truth and there could be an infinite number of lies. There is also the potential for part-truths, that is, a glimpse of the truth that doesn't fully describe the whole truth. Whenever we share understanding we are limited by the words we use, so there is no way that someone can ever really portray the full understanding they have by using words. The best we can do is paint a picture in the reader's mind in an effort to convey our understanding. Communications 101 says there is no way two people can ever have exactly the same understanding, which is why Jesus is the only one who is able to teach us the truth, because He sets The Holy Spirit to work within us. So sometimes when it seems Christians disagree, it is because we are limited in our ability to share our understanding. There are times of course when we might be downright wrong and it is up to one of us then to repent

Being wrong in our understanding of God is not sin. We all make many mistakes in that area--James 3:2. Romans 14 is a good chapter addressing when Christians disagree on drinking and eating and holidays.

 

[DiligentlySeekingGod]

Eph 6:12 could be all about the internal struggle we each have to win with the help of God over evil. The heavenly realms would be us, if God is in us.

This is an interesting interpretation. May I ask why you think (believe?) this?
(If it wouldn't be off-topic to answer)

 

[elman]

This is an interesting interpretation. May I ask why you think (believe?) this?
(If it wouldn't be off-topic to answer)

If we have with the help of God achieved victory over evil within ourselves, we have no reason to fear any evil outside of us. God is able to protect us and we are assured that nothing, no power in heaven or on earth can separate us from HIs love. Ultimately therefore the battle of Armageddon that matters is the war between good and evil that we are personally engaged in. If we win that battle all is good but if we lose it, nothing else matters.

 

[bling]

Wow...I had no idea this would get so many responses! I have read through them and I want to thank you for the very thoughtful posts. I am troubled by the response that denied God making satan...wasn't satan a fallen angel? Didn't God create the angels? Didn't God create everything?

I'm still not convinced...it seems to me as though there HAS to be a satan in order to make Christianity "work". Just like in pretty much every other story there has to be a force of evil to know good. That is a big sticking point for me, and why I am not sure I can subscribe to Christianity. It seems to storybook. Why would an all knowing all powerful being create such a force of evil? I don't understand.

Satan is not around to give us someone to fight or to just help us to “know” good by seeing the contrast.

Satan helps us to reach the point of outwardly visibly sinning and makes us aware of our sinful attitudes.

You see: SIN IS NOT THE PROBLEM. God actual quenches His own desire of stopping us from sinning, to allow us to sin and satan to help us sin more. The whole problem is with our fulfilling our objective. God is allowing and/or doing all He can to help us fulfill our objective (this at great cost to God and shows the selflessness of God.)

Man’s objective is to obtain Godly type Love so he can love with all his heart, soul, mind, and energy. This Love is the most powerful force in all universe (compelling even God to do all He does) and is given as a free undeserving unconditional gift by God (making it Charity). Humans do not like to humbly accept “charity”, so that requires sin. Humans will seek forgiveness from their creator to relief their burden to the point of humbly accepting God’s forgiveness and thus obtain Love “…he that is forgiven much Loves much…”

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Hi Handmaid, I want to comment about this. I know that when sifting truth from lie, there is only one truth and there could be an infinite number of lies. There is also the potential for part-truths, that is, a glimpse of the truth that doesn't fully describe the whole truth. Whenever we share understanding we are limited by the words we use, so there is no way that someone can ever really portray the full understanding they have by using words. The best we can do is paint a picture in the reader's mind in an effort to convey our understanding. Communications 101 says there is no way two people can ever have exactly the same understanding, which is why Jesus is the only one who is able to teach us the truth, because He sets The Holy Spirit to work within us. So sometimes when it seems Christians disagree, it is because we are limited in our ability to share our understanding. There are times of course when we might be downright wrong and it is up to one of us then to repent

Hi oi antz, I agree that there is only one truth, and that Truth is Jesus Christ who says He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. And I read another poster say an almost truth is still a whole lie. LOL So there is no such thing as a half truth. That is why I said we need a standard. For the scripture is the very word of God. If we eat that, it will feed our spirits.The very word of God becomes lodged in our hearts and the Holy Spirit processes it back out into our lives. We get scripture tangled up sometimes. That is true. But if we just allow the word to abide in us, He will lead us into all truth. I agree with you too that sometimes we are limited in how to express our spiritual understanding because words get in the way. But scripture is not understood totally by our intellect, but also by the spirit.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

This question I believe was answer in the garden.

The tree of knowledge was present from the beginning. Adam and Eve lived with this tree for sometime. It was not until Satan presented Eve with a true option that she was tempted and opted to take that option.

The option to eat of that tree (Free will) was presented the first time they were told not to eat that fruit. The fruit did not become appetizing until it was presented as such. So they had free will, they just did not know they were discontented until the antagonist pointed out their apparent discontent.

This I believe is the primary limit of his role. Whether He likes it or not he is a servant of God. Just like Pharaoh was a reluctant servant of God.

To what end? To Help God provide us with true complete Choice.

Hi drich0150
Yes it was in the beginning that man learned to sin.Man's whole existence was wrapped up in the Glory of God. However the option was not offered by Satan as you think. It was presented by God whe He issued the commandment Do not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. At that point, man was presented with the choice to either obey, or to disobey. Now Satan knew what God had said. He tempted the woman by introducing doubt, "has God said?".That opened the door to temptation and the woman did four things, she saw,she desired what was forbidden, and she ate it, and gave some to the man. I have often what would have happened if the man had not eaten. And we are still doing these four things today. But, that is why Lord Jesus came. He knew we could not break the cycle on our own.Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we are incapable of choosing righteousness. I agree God provided us with a free will, thereby giving us choice. Someone about cursed me out when I said God is pro choice.Free will is a gift God gives every man. But choice does not give us free will. It is quite the opposite. It is our God given free will that gives us choice.We choose to obey or to disobey His commands.

It is very interesting how we see, lust, and act on that lust. I will digress for a moment. If You all have not seen the movie The God's Must Be Crazy, rent it. It is hilarious but teaches a profound lesson. It is about a bushman in Africa who was walking along and a low flying plane passed by. The pilot dropped a coca cola bottle out of the window that fell into his path. He thinks it is a gift from the gods so he takes it home. It was amazing all the things the family found to do with this gift from the gods. But, everyone in the family found that they needed the gift more than the rest of the family. It was not until the older child hit the younger child in the head with the bottle that the father realized this gift was not so good after all. The gods must be crazy. The movie is about his adventures to either give the gift back or he would walk to the end of the earth and throw it off. It is in documentary format but don't let that stop you.

 

[drich0150]

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

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[Emmy]

Dear SigmaChiBryan. Strong`s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible says: " Satan`s origin unknown." We know that God is Love, since when can Love create Evil? that makes no sense. ( I say this with love.) We know that where God is, there also must be Love, and where no Love is, there will be nothing like Love. It might be too simple to call anything but Love, Evil, or do you have a better name, perhaps indifference? We live in an imperfect world, where selfishness is the norm, and there are still men and women who prefere to look the other way rather, than a good neighbour who loves, as God wants us to love and finds a way to be of help. Why is satan a threat? because he is given too many opportunities to follow his evil intents to hurt, maim, or simply spoil a Christian`s existence. The best thing for real followers of Christ, is to look upon Satan`s attacks as a way to learn from . God does not allow it for only this reason, God allows it until we ask for help and guidance. Satan is a threat for many, but with God on our side, we always will be given a chance to overcome satanic attacks of aggression: " we ask God and we will be helped." I say this with love. Greetings from Emmy, sister in Christ.