No One Believe In Me Anymore

The late, great Keith Green performed a song titled, “No One Believes In Me Anymore.” Here is a passage from the song:

Oh, my job keeps getting easier
As time keeps slipping away
I can imitate your brightest light
And make your night look just like day
I put some truth in every lie
To tickle itching ears
You know I’m drawing people just like flies
‘Cause they like what they hear

So who is Keith representing in this song? Satan, that’s right, the father of lies, the prince of this world.

Um, Bro Dave, you said this was going to be on the full armor of God and I’m all dressed ready to go, so why are you talking about the devil?

I’m glad you finally put it on, but you won’t always wear it if you don’t know the reason for it.

Read this disturbing report from The Barna Update from April 13, 2009:

    Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” An additional two out of ten Christians (19%) said they “agree somewhat” with that perspective. A minority of Christians indicated that they believe Satan is real by disagreeing with the statement: one-quarter (26%) disagreed strongly and about one-tenth (9%) disagreed somewhat. The remaining 8% were not sure what they believe about the existence of Satan.

Barely one-third of self-described Christians disagree strongly or somewhat that Satan is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.

“No one believes in me anymore.”

“Oh my job keeps getting easier.”

How is it possible that Christians, a majority mind you, do not believe that Satan is a living being? Two possibilities: 1) They are not reading their Bibles; and/or 2) Their ministers are not preaching about the Evil One.

Why would anyone carry the bulky armor of God if they do not believe Satan exists? From what do I need to defend myself? While it is true too many Christians overplay the Satan card, blaming him for everything when most times it is sin that brings destruction to our lives, but there are far too many Christians reading from the New Touchy-Feely Version (NTFV) Bible who do not have time for something as disturbing as Satan in their lives.

There is only one being more powerful than Satan; that is Jesus Christ. Satan was there to tempt Jesus when He was fasting in the desert:

    “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him…” (Luke 4:1-3a)

You know the rest of the story. So my question to those who believe Satan is a mere symbol would be: “Is Luke 4:1-13 mere symbology?”

And what about this passage from the Old Testament:

    “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ So Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.’” (Job 1:6-7)

Would this be a mere symbolic story of how evil resides on the earth? How about at the Last Supper?

    “When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.’ Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke. Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, ‘Lord, who is it?’ Jesus answered, ‘It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it. And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What you do, do quickly.’” (John 13:21-27)

So Satan didn’t actually enter Judas Iscariot, evil symbolized by Satan is what actually entered him. That is what you would have to believe if you did not believe Satan is an actual being.

In other words, you have to believe the Bible to be a lie because I could go on for hours proving the existence as Satan as a real being, unless of course you do not believe in the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible.

If that is the case you have bigger problems than not believing in Satan.

Now that I have your attention, tomorrow we will start getting our issue of the full armor of God.

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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