Secret Number 74

Does Satan Cause One to Sin?

Audio read by Tom Parks - MP3

The Byte Show Interview - MP3

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Does Satan personally inspire each Christian to sin?: People have long been trying to get Satan personally responsible for their sins. "The Devil made me do it," is a common excuse people use today. But James shows that "every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed" (James 1:14). And Jesus in the same manner said: "For from within, out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts" (Matthew 15:8,19). The allusion to Satan in some places as tempting man, is not to be understood of his personal agency (else he would have to be individually active with several billion people at one time – an impossible task for him), but it refers to the overall result of his work in introducing sin to the human race. The Bible nowhere shows that Satan is personally omnipresent or omniscient – two powers reserved for God alone. There is, of course, numerous evil spirits who are in various places and one must be on guard against them (Ephesians 6:11-18), and some of them use the methods of Satan to perform their tasks. You and I have Christ on our side. The apostle Paul was well aware of the spiritual strength he had through Christ. He said: "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me: (Philippians 4:13).