by Geoff George Paxton

Created on: April 15, 2010

Is Satan Real?

We would love it - be in seventh heaven, or over the moon - if Satan was not real.

Sadly, the reality is that he is real - and is after us all the time.

Scripture gives us ample evidence of how he works in our lives, but we do not need Scripture to tell us that he keeps nudging us, insistently, persistently, to do the things we do not want to do.

We do not have to get into heavy theology about sin and all that goes with it. Every time we do anything that has harmful consequences to someone else, Satan rubs his hands with glee. The same applies every time we neglect to do something that would benefit someone else. Think about that staff member who did such a good job on that sales presentation. Did you tell him, and build him up, or ignore it, and find fault with something petty?

I have heard preachers using the image of a Cross as a word picture. The vertical column, the upright, depicts the relationship between us and God. The cross-bar depicts the relationships we have with one another. Satan operates where the two parts intersect, breaking, or damaging, our relationships with others, and, in the process, driving a wedge between us and God.

But there is a solution. When Adam and Eve ate the apple, God said that a son of Adam would bruise Satan’s (the serpent’s) head, just as Satan bruised his heel. Jesus Christ was that son of Adam, also called the second Adam. As Jesus started his ministry he went to John the Baptist and was baptised by him in the Jordan River. Jesus did not need to repent of his sins, but he took on all the sins of others who had been baptised there. When Jesus was nailed to the Cross, Satan had a party, “I have won!” he rejoiced. But, when Jesus rose from the dead, Satan lost, his head was bruised. What Jesus had achieved was to pay for my sin, your sin, everyone’s sin - everyone who turns to him and believes.

Satan is still alive and well, and very active.

Thank God that for those who accept Jesus as Lord and saviour, Satan has little power, because he is a defeated force. That makes him (or her - perhaps the feminine suits Satan’s nature better) even more vicious in his attacks on those who follow Christ.

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