What Do We Know About Satan?
Sermon Notes
Today we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Romans. It’s a series about renewing your mind for the transformation of your life, and what we’re talking about specifically today is Satan. What do we know about Satan? If we look at the world, if we observe the world, it doesn’t take long for a skeptic or a believer to realize there’s good and evil in the world. Both skeptics and believers can see there’s good and evil on the news, on social media, in our cities and neighborhoods. There’s good and evil all around us. Now Christianity teaches God created us and the world for good, but Satan wants to take what’s good and turn it into evil. Satan wants to tempt us to think evil things, tempt us to do evil things, tempt us to walk away from God, and so today we’re talking about the deception of Satan. Let’s turn to Romans 16 and get into it. Romans is in the last quarter of the bible, and we’ll be in Romans 16:17-20, as well as Genesis 3. Title of today’s message is What do we know about Satan? The big idea is Satan’s deceptive plans were crushed, by the eternal grace of the cross...Satan’s deceptive plans were crushed, by the eternal grace of the cross...
Here’s your context. Romans was written by the Apostle Paul who was a skeptic and enemy of Christianity, until 35 A.D. when he has an interaction with Jesus that changes his life, and he becomes a Christian. He writes this letter to teach others about Jesus and the gospel that transformed his life. In the first 11 chapters he focuses on the gospel and our vertical relationship with God, but in the last 5 chapters he focuses on our response to the gospel and our horizontal relationship with others. Now ch 16 is the last chapter, we’re breaking it down into 4 weeks, and last week in our study of vs 1-16 we learned about the importance of Christian community. This week in our study of vs 17-20 we’ll learn about some of the things that can threaten Christian community. It’s things like divisions, false teachings, Satan’s deceptive plans. Let’s check it out.
Romans 16:17-20 states, “Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching you learned. Avoid them, 18 because such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words.” Paul’s giving a warning about things that threaten the unity of Christian community. It’s a warning about people coming into the church community causing divisions and deceptions, over essential doctrinal teachings of the faith. In ch 14 he teaches us to have liberty on nonessential issues, but here he’s teaching is to part ways with people causing divisions and deceptions, over essential doctrinal teachings like the gospel of Jesus. Paul says in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Now I would remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved... 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance, what I also received: that Christ died for our sins, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day...” Paul says that this gospel message, this teaching about Jesus, is of first importance! It’s the most essential teaching in Christianity!
If Jesus didn’t live, die, and rise again for our sins, we wouldn’t have any salvation, any churches, any Christian communities. Our salvation exists because of Jesus. Our churches exist because of Jesus. Our Christian communities exist because of Jesus. Without Jesus none of those things would exist. So the primary thing we should be looking for in a church isn’t great skinny jean worship or highly entertaining children and student ministries. Those things aren’t bad, they just aren’t primary, because they wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Jesus and the gospel. Paul says it’s the gospel that’s primary. He says if the pastors, teachers, churches aren’t teaching the gospel of Jesus we should part ways with them, because it means they’re teaching another gospel. We should part ways with them, because we’re in danger of being deceived by their false teachings.
Again vs. 18 states, “They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words. 19 The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Notice Paul mentions Satan here. It’s because Satan’s the father of divisions and deceptions, the father of false teachings, the father of lies. Jesus said in John 8:44, “Satan was a murderer from the beginning and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there’s no truth in him. When he tells a lie he speaks from his own nature, because he’s a liar and the father of lies.” He’s the father of divisions, deceptions, false teachings, and lies. If you notice Jesus says he’s been like this from the beginning, meaning the beginning of human creation. So let’s go back to the beginning of human creation, let’s go back to Genesis ch 3, and see what Jesus is talking about. As we study Genesis 3, we’ll learn 6 things about Satan.
Genesis 3:1, “Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made.” The serpent is Satan, and the 1st thing we’re learning about Satan is...
#1 Satan is a created being = The text says Satan was made, which means he’s a created being. He isn’t the Creator, he’s the created. He isn’t God, he’s a creation of God. Satan didn’t start out as an evil being, he started out as a good being, as a good angel. In Genesis 1:31 it says everything God made was good, which means at one point Satan was good. He was a good angel until somewhere between Genesis 1 and Genesis 3 he chose to rebel against God, to sin against God, by trying to be his own god. 2 Peter 2:4 states, “God didn’t spare the angels who sinned, but cast them into hell, and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment.” So Satan and the other angels started out as good created beings, but they rebelled against God, they sinned against God, and that’s when they became evil angels. That’s when they became demons.
#2 Satan is limited = Since Satan’s a created being, it means he’s limited in what he can and can’t do. He isn’t omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent like God. Instead he’s limited in wisdom and power, and he can’t exist in multiple places at the same time, which is why he needs an army. He needs other demons, evil spirits, evil people to help carry out his rebellion since he’s limited. Since Satan and demons are limited in wisdom it means they can’t read our minds or tell the future, but they can observe what we do in our daily lives. So if a psychic tells you what you had for breakfast or knows what you did in secret, it’s observation not fortune telling. Satan and his demons have been observing human history for thousands of years, which is why they know exactly how to tempt us. They can’t tell the future, but they can observe and take notes on the best bait to put on the hook, so we’ll be tempted to bite and walk away from God. Vs 1 says that Satan’s cunning, he’s crafty, especially when it comes to our temptations, which we’ll see next.
Again vs. 1, “Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman Eve, ‘Did God really say, you can’t eat from any tree in the garden?’ 2 The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said we must not eat it or touch it, or we will die.’ 4 ‘No! You will certainly not die,’ the serpent said to the woman. 5 ‘In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” What we’re learning here is one of the primary ways Satan tempts humanity, which is...
#3 Satan distorts what God says = Satan tempts us by distorting what God says. He gets us to question and doubt what God says is good for us, so we won’t follow what God says. He says to Eve “Did God really say?” That’s doubt...He’s trying to cause Eve to doubt...He also distorts the truth saying she certainly won’t die, when God says in Genesis 2 she certainly will die. We know it’s God who tells the truth, because ever since Adam and Eve ate the fruit everyone in human history has died physically and spiritually. One of the primary ways Satan tempts us is by distorting what God says, because he’s the father of lies like Jesus said. So when he whispers lies in your ears like he does with Eve, it becomes a trust issue. You have to ask whose word will you trust? Will you trust God’s word or Satan’s word? Satan tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God’s word, doubt God’s goodness. He got her to focus on the one thing she didn’t have, instead of on all the things she did have, and we do the same thing. Sometimes we focus so much on the things God hasn’t given us, that we forget about all the things God has given us. We should be thankful for everything God’s given us, trusting he always knows what’s best for us. We should trust what he says is always better for us, than whatever distorted lies Satan tries telling us.
Vs. 6, “The woman saw the tree was good for food...” What we’re learning here is...
#4 Satan offers flesh cravings = Satan tempts us by distorting what God says, but he also tempts us by offering us flesh cravings. The text says Eve saw the fruit from the tree was good for food, which is a flesh craving. Flesh cravings are things our body naturally desires like food, water, and sex. These flesh cravings and desires aren’t evil. They’re good things God gives us to enjoy, but Satan tempts us to use them in ways that aren’t good and will sinfully destroy. He tempts us to use food for gluttony, drinking for drunkenness, sex for objectifying others. He tempts us to use flesh cravings in distorted ways, that leads us away from God’s ways.
Again vs. 6, “The woman saw the tree was good for food, and delightful to look at...” So Satan tempts us by distorting what God says, by offering us fleshing cravings, and...
#5 Satan offers eye cravings = Satan tempts us with eye cravings. The text says the fruit was delightful to look at, which is an eye craving. Eye Cravings are things that are external from the flesh. They’re things we crave by sight like wealth, power, and fame. We see someone with a nice car, so we crave a nice car. We see someone in a position of power, so we crave a position of power. We see someone enjoying the luxuries of fame, the luxuries of a famous youtuber, and we crave the fame. Having wealth, power, and fame isn’t evil, but Satan tempts us to use them in evil ways that aren’t good. He tempts us to use money for greed, power for oppression, fame for arrogance. He tempts us to use flesh cravings in distorted ways, that leads us away from God’s ways.
Again vs. 6, “The woman saw the tree was good for food, and delightful to look at, and
desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” They ate the fruit. Both Adam and Eve sinned, they rebelled against God, they ate the fruit. It says Adam was with her, but he never helped her fight against Satan’s lies. So instead of trusting what God said they trusted what Satan said, and the result was sin which leads to death. The result was they hid in shame from God and each other.
Vs. 7, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” That’s a chance for them to repent and restore their relationship with God. I mean you can’t play hide and seek with God, because he’ll win every time! He knows exactly where you are every time! So the reason he asks Adam and Eve where are you, is because he’s giving them a chance to stop hiding so they can repent and restore their relationship. If you read the rest of the chapter you’ll learn instead of them repenting, they start blaming Satan and each other for their sins. But God holds each of them responsible, which means...
#6 Satan can tempt you, but he can’t force you = Satan can tempt you to sin, but he can’t force you to sin. Adam and Eve were tempted to sin, but they weren’t forced to sin. I know some people wonder if we can be possessed by demons and forced to do things against our will. The bible does record some cases where people are possessed by demons, but those are rare and it never happens to Christians. It’s only non-Christians who can get possessed by demons, since they don’t have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them like Christians. 1st John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world,” meaning the Holy Spirit dwelling inside Christians is greater than Satan and demons dwelling in the world. So the only people who can get possessed by demons are non-Christians, but it’s extremely rare. What’s more common is both Christians and non-Christians getting influenced by Satan and demons distorting what God says, offering us flesh cravings, offering us eye cravings. The more we give into sin, the more influence Satan and demons will have in our lives. They can’t force us to sin, but they can tempt us to sin, and God will hold each of us responsible for sinful decisions we make like he does with Adam and Eve.
But how does God respond to Adam and Eve’s rebellion? He responds with grace. We see it in vs 8 when they heard the Lord walking in the garden. The Hebrew word for walking in this context expresses relational friendship. So as they’re walking away from God in sin, God’s walking toward them in friendship. As they’re hiding from their friendship, God’s walking toward them to restore their friendship. Sin is us walking away from the God who wants a friendship with us...Sin is us walking away from the God who wants a friendship with us...Grace is God walking toward us in our sinfulness, to restore his friendship with us. What Adam and Eve were experiencing is God’s grace. They still had consequences for their sins in vs 14-24, but God gave them grace, and a promise that the consequences of their sins wouldn’t last forever. It’s because Jesus will come to make things right again. God tells Satan in vs. 15, “He shall strike your head, and you shall strike his heel.” It’s a future promise that Satan will strike Jesus’ heal with the crucifixion, but Jesus will strike Satan’s head with the resurrection. Some translations say he’ll crush Satan’s head! Satan will strike Jesus with the crucifixion, and deceive people to turn away from Jesus, to crucify the very God who came to offer them friendship. But Jesus will strike Satan with a fatal blow offering eternal grace, eternal life, eternal friendship to anyone who believes in his life, death, and resurrection for the forgiveness of their sins. Paul says that gospel promise is of first importance, and he reminds us of that gospel promise in Romans 16.
Romans 16:19-20 says, “I want you to be wise about what is good, yet innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” Again this is a future promise that Jesus is coming back to crush Satan and sin forever, so we can enjoy our eternal grace and friendship with God forever. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is a fatal blow, that we’re seeing crushing Satan’s rebellious plans to separate us from our friendship with God. We’re seeing his plans being crushed with every person who puts their faith in Jesus. We’re seeing his plans being crushed with every salvation, restoration, obedient action that goes against his tempting deceptions. We’re seeing his plans being crushed by every marital, family, individual transformation that happens through faith in Jesus. We’re seeing his plans being crushed every time we gather together like this to worship Jesus in the unity of Christian community. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was only the beginning of Satan’s eternal destruction and humanity’s eternal restoration. Paul’s warning us of Satan’s deceptive plans, but reminding us that Jesus will finish, the restorative work he started.
The big idea is Satan’s deceptive plans were crushed, by the eternal grace of the cross... Satan’s deceptive plans were crushed, by the eternal grace of the cross...Like I said in the intro, it doesn’t take long for a skeptic or a believer to realize there’s good and evil in the world. God created us and the world for good, but Satan wants to take what’s good and turn it into evil. His greatest goal is to lure you away from walking in the enjoyment of relational friendship with God. In Romans 16 Paul’s warning us that Satan will create divisions and deceptions to lure us away from our relational friendship with God and each other. But he also reminds us to put our hope in Jesus, because Satan’s deceptive plans were crushed, by the eternal grace of the cross.
How’s Satan achieving his goal in your life?...How’s he luring you away from enjoying relational friendship with God?...Is he luring you away with deceptive doubts about God’s love for you, doubts about God’s forgiveness for you, doubts about God’s desire to have relational friendship with you?...Is he luring you away with sleeping in, excessive gaming, scrolling through thing on your phone that are a waste of time, so you skip cultivating your relationship with Jesus in your devotional time?...Is he luring you away with cultural teachings and sin cravings?...The good news of the gospel is you can always repent and turn to Jesus, if you’ve turned away and been lured away by Satan. Jesus is walking in the proverbial garden of your heart right now, offering a hand of relational friendship, and he’s asking “Where...are...you?”