Question Time at St Matthew's Church Fellowship.

What is "Evil" and "Satan" in the light of our Christian faith today?

Recently I had a chat over the Internet to a friend who lives in Southampton about the influence and power of the Internet. Our discussion went on for about a minute and he said, Modicum, you need to be aware of how 'Evil' and 'Satan' are destroying many people through the Internet.

What is the 'Internet'

The terms Internet and World Wide Web (www) are a global data communications system. It is a hardware and software infrastructure that provides connectivity between computers. In contrast, the Web is one of the services communicated via the Internet. It is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs. The term the Internet, when referring to the Internet, has traditionally been treated as a proper noun and written with an initial capital letter. There is a trend to regard it as a generic term or common noun and thus write it as "the Internet", without the capital.

You need to be aware of how 'Evil' and 'Satan' is destroying many people through the Internet.

What is "Evil" and "Satan"? In Christianity, Satan is "the Evil One." But what is "Evil"?

"Evil" is a value judgment. It depends a lot on who and what you are. For example, cats are evil if you're a mouse, but not if you're a human with a pet cat. Therefore, "evil" cannot only be the essence of who or what any entity fundamentally is. When Christians call Satan "the Evil One," this can mean varied things to 'Satan' or "evil" from the point of view of Christianity.

What is "Evil" according to Christianity? The answer depends on which Christians you ask. In Christianity, if you ask any of these groups (who call themselves Conservatives, Evangelicals, Liberals, and even Humanists and Atheists have their own way of defining "Evil" and "Satan." You will discover that their definitions are varied about "Evil" and "Satan". However, "Good" and "Evil" are defined solely in terms of one's attitude toward the influence of a Christian God. Humans are said to have been created for the purpose of glorifying God only. Therefore, total subservience to the Christian God is "good," because the Christian God is good to all that He created. God is in control of all that is good, humans and even to "evil," too.

On the other hand, liberal Christians take a more humanistic view of morality. They tend to think of "good" and "evil" in terms of concrete benefit and harm, primarily to humans. So what I am sharing with you in this Insight about "Evil" and "Satan" is just a tip of an iceberg. Many great thinkers have written books about "Evil" and "Satan" and I do remember when

I read the book titled "The Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie 1988. Many people were hurt and dismayed because in that book 'Evil' and 'Satan' were exposed and called by names. You need to read the Bible if you want to know and understand the power of "Evil" and "Satan" and how Jesus exposed "Evil" and "Satan's" power.

Evil and Satan on this line are words. But both are reality to say the least. 'Words'- why, how, when, and the who asks them matters." The Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie 1988 hungered, hurt, and confused many people. Some wanted to kill the Author. Why? Because he call a spade a spade not a big spoon.

The only man who confronted Evil and Satan and overpowered them was Jesus Christ the Son of God. How, why, and when ?

According to Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13 and Luke 4:1-13. After Jesus was baptized, the Spirit led him into the wilderness and for forty days he was tempted by the (devil, evil Satan). The Devil-Satan as it is called tempted Jesus in three areas.

1. Material and Physical testing. 'If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread'. Jesus answered, quoting from the book of Deuteronomy; "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God".

You will remember that when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they became hungry, and God fed them with special food called manna, which fell from heaven. He showed them that they were dependent upon him for all their needs.

2. Power and leadership testing. 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. "For it is written. 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' Satan even starts quoting scripture now He quoted from Psalm 11, " For He shall give His angels charge over to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone". If you read Psalm 11, you fill out that Satan left out the part about 'to keep you in all your ways'. Why? Satan knew that Jesus was his enemy number one.

Jesus answered, quoting from the scripture, 'it is written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' Remember, Satan is a lair. God rules in the kingdoms of men and it is He who gives power to the people He wants to have that power.

3. Faith and Spiritual testing. Satan tries even third time. He told Jesus that if Jesus would worship him, he would give him all those kingdoms. Jesus replied, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall serve!'" Again Jesus is quoting from the writings of Moses in Deuteronomy.

After Satan left, angels came and helped Jesus. There were also other times in his life that angels came to help him.

Once when Jesus was talking about who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven, he called a little child to him and told the people that they must become as little children. He said, "I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my father who is in heaven."

We are told by the writer of the book of Hebrews that there are 'ministering angels who are sent to help those who are saved. What a comforting thought!

When Satan tried to get Jesus to do wrong, Jesus always answered him with scripture. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke's accounts of the story, with each temptation, Jesus said, "It is written", and then he would quote the scripture.

You can study and memorize Bible words and "hide" them in your heart to keep from doing wrong. If you do this, you will always know how you should act in any situation. Think about how Jesus would act. He overcame the power of the enemy by stating the facts he acted on. Our knowledge of scriptures must become the source of our power on the battlefield. The enemy is out there ready to attach us.

Do you know who is Satan?

How do you know? Modicum


Prayer Request for October

Maryam Rustampoor, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh, 30, were arrested and sent to Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. The two women did not rob a bank, kill a man or beat up someone.

Their crime? Loving Jesus. And it is for this reason alone they are still imprisoned.

In August during a court hearing, the two were questioned repeatedly about their faith. They were told to return to Islam.

"We love Jesus," was their reply. Prosecutors asked the women, who had already spent five months in prison, if they regretted being Christians.
"We have no regrets," they said. "We will not deny our faith."
The judge sent them back to Evin Prison - notorious for its brutality - to "think about" their decision.
"We have already done our thinking," they told him.

Maryam and Marzieh are among dozens of Iranian Christians arrested, detained or interrogated in Iran in recent months. The harassment is the radical Islamic government's response to an Iranian revival that has thousands of Iranians coming to Christ each month.

The Voice of the Martyrs helps the Iranian church in many ways, including supporting gospel television broadcasts transmitted into Iran and printing Christian literature for distribution inside the country.

Please continue to pray for Maryam Rustampoor, and Marzieh Amirizadeh, that God may protect and use them as witness for Jesus.

© The Voice Of The Martyrs