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Transcript 586C
The Devil as a Roaring Lion [1 Peter 5:8-9]
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: I'd like to know about I Peter 5:8 & 9, where it says, "The devil goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Does that mean Christians that are wandering?
HC: The question is raised concerning I Peter 5:8 & 9, "Be sober. Be vigilant, because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." Now who is he seeking to devour!
Well, I've become convinced in my study of the Bible that Satan does not know who are the born again believers. All he knows is that there are these congregations where people call themselves Christians, and they serve the Lord. But he also knows that amongst them there are those who can be snared away from the true Gospel. And he can come to them with his wiles, he can come to them through intimidation, through persecution. He can come through other gospels. He can come in a lot of different ways, and there will be those who will throw in the towel, so to speak, and turn away from the true Gospel and begin to follow a gospel patterned after Satan's liking, where they think they're really serving Christ, but actually they are not serving Christ.
And he is seeking for anyone whom he can devour. He doesn't know who they are that will fall, but he knows that in that congregation there are those who are not truly born again. He doesn't know who they are by name, but he does know that they exist within that congregation. So he's going to heckle and hassle that congregation as a roaring lion.
It's just like having a flock of animals out in the wilderness someplace. The lion is always looking for what he can devour. And who does he devour? Well, he devours the young and the aged, the weak cattle that are on the outskirts of the flock, the ones that do not have real strength. And he'll bring one down and have his food for the night. And that's the way Satan hassles the congregation. He looks for those who will prove to be weak in the faith because they have never become born again, and he will either tempt them back into materialism, or he will tempt them into another gospel, or he will persecute them so they will renounce the faith, or whatever. But this really, I think, is what God has in view.
CALLER: Do you think He's talking to people that are not Christians, or is He talking to everybody?
HC: Well, constantly in the Bible God warns us, "make sure that you are saved." And this is another question. This is another way of saying the same thing. Be sure that you are saved, because if you're not saved, Satan is right out there with all of his wiles. And remember, he's the master deceiver. He's the father of lies. And he's going to snare you off into another gospel, or he's going to draw you away in some other way. And you resist him. And remember what Ephesians 6 says? What is the armor that we put on in order to resist Satan? It's the armor of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the feet shod with the Gospel of truth, and the Sword of the Spirit, and so on. It all has to do with salvation. We get as close to salvation as possible so that indeed we've become born again.
And only when we're born again, and absolutely born again, and know this, are we safe from Satan.
CALLER: How much are we really fighting against Satan, or are we, if we're in Christ and we're truly born again?
HC: If we're in Christ, if we're truly born again, Christ has done the fighting for us. He has become our Conqueror. That is, on our behalf He has conquered. And Satan is a completely defeated foe. We have no fear of him any longer. We are safe in Christ, because Christ has won the battle altogether for us.
Now until we are born again, however, if we're not born again, we're not safe in Christ. Our sins have not been paid for, and we are fair game for Satan. Even though we are corporately identified with the Kingdom of God because of joining that church, nevertheless he's going to hassle and hustle us, and he's going to keep after us. And those who are not born again eventually will fall away.
CALLER: Oh. So that's why in Ephesians it tells us to put on the armor because after we have it on we don't have to worry.
HC: That's right. Put on the whole armor of God. Then we can resist the fiery darts of Satan. Then we're safe, you see.
CALLER: And how did you come to the conclusion that Satan doesn't know who's who.
HC: Well, I came to that conclusion in a very very interesting way. In our Sunday School class we were studying the Book of Ezra. And as we were going through Ezra, we discovered that indeed it was like many other parts of the Bible. It was an historical parable. And it actually was a fact of history, all the things we find recorded in Ezra, but there were spiritual truths that were contained in the language of these historical events. And we discovered as we went through Ezra that those who were on the other side of the river (and we find that reference in a number of places) were really a picture of Satan and his forces, that were seeking to frustrate the building of God's temple, or the sending forth of the Gospel. Ezra came of course to bring the Gospel, to reestablish the law. And the people on the other side of the river were against this.
And then, amongst other things, in Ezra 5 these men from the other side of the river, who spiritually represented Satan and all of his hosts, said to those who were busy with the law of God, "What are the names of the men that make this building?" In other words, they didn't know the names. And they sent a letter to the king, and they said in verse 10 of Ezra 5, "We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them. And thus they returned us answer saying, We are servants of the God of Heaven and earth and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up." That has to do with the erection of the temple that Ezra was building at this time. That's particularly in view. And the erection of that temple was a figure of building the house of God. We are all temple builders.
But in this we discovered that these from across the river did not know the names of those who were doing the building. And so immediately the truth began to shine through that Satan does not know who those are that are born again. And I don't know of another verse in the Bible that would suggest that he does. And that of course immediately indicated why he continues to hassle the church and everybody that's in it, because he keeps hoping that he's going to snare someone else away from the true Gospel. And because there are enough people in any congregation who are unsaved, he is victorious now and then, as one will get snared off into another gospel or as one will depart from the church and go back into his old ways, and so on. And so he's very encouraged all the time as he goes along.
CALLER: We know that Satan no longer has dominion over a true born again believer. Does he know that he doesn't have any more dominion over him? And if he does, why would he still be hassling him?
HC: You see, a lot of times we give Satan credit where credit is not due. We must remember, Satan is not God. Satan is not omnipresent. Satan is not infinite in his knowledge. Satan can't be everywhere at once. Satan is a fallen angel, who is a created being.
Now by right of conquest, anyone who is unsaved is a slave of Satan, and those who are far enough away from the true Gospel can be used of Satan in many ways. As wicked people Satan can entice them to persecute and to do wicked things and so on, if God permits him to do this. And frequently God does permit him to do this.
But when a person joins the church, when he is a member of the congregation, whether he's born again or not, then he has come very close to the shelter of salvation. He's where God's people are and where the blessings are all around. And this is not the easiest place for Satan to work. Now he can have an emissary in there. There may be someone in the church who is a false prophet, and definitely the Bible speaks of this. And this false prophet is going to be working his best to try to lure anybody he can in that congregation away from the true Gospel. But let me ask you this. Is there any human being who really knows who is born again? No, we don't know who really is born again. We suspect that this one or that one is born again, and we have to make sure in our own life that we are born again. But we can't really ultimately know who is born again. Only God knows that.
And so Satan likewise doesn't ultimately know who is born again. But he keeps working away at a congregation, hoping to find those who are not, and he rejoices when he can bring someone into another gospel, or lure them away from the congregation. And this is really the activity that any congregation faces. And I really think this relates to I Peter 5, where it talks about Satan going about as a roaring lion. He's hassling the flock just like a lion would hassle and come against the sheep, the flock of sheep. If there are any on the outside, or on the outskirts, or who are showing weakness, he will kill that one. And the closer we are to the Shepherd, and the more we entrust our lives to the Shepherd, the safer we are.
Thank you for calling and sharing. Good night.