Posted on 09/08/2016 1:30:40 PM PDT by metmom
"Stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:11).
One of Satan’s most effective tactics is to challenge God’s credibility.
Paul's exhortation to "stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:11) refers to the various tactics Satan employs in spiritual warfare. One of his tactics is to call God's character and motives into question by raising doubts about His Word.
He used that approach in the Garden of Eden, when he said to Eve, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" (Gen. 3:1). In one brief statement Satan disputed and distorted God's Word. God didn't forbid them to eat from any tree. They could eat freely from every tree except one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:16-17).
Satan followed his distortion with an outright denial of God's Word: "You surely shall not die!" (3:4). He implied that God lied when He said that sin will result in death. Satan then went on to tell Eve that if she ate the fruit, she would in fact become like God Himself (v. 5). The implication is that God was withholding something good from Eve, and to keep her from seeking it, He intimidated her with empty threats of death and judgment.
Do you see the insidious nature of Satan's approach? Tragically, Eve didn't. Rather than trusting and obeying God, she believed Satan's lies and concluded that the tree was good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise. Then "she took from its fruit and ate" (v. 6).
Satan deceives and spreads his lies from generation to generation (2 Cor. 11:14). Although he is subtle, his attempts to discredit God by disputing, distorting, and denying His Word should be obvious to discerning Christians.
Don't be victimized by Satan's attacks. Become strong in the Word through systematic Bible study. Yield to the Spirit's control through prayer and obedience to biblical principles.
Suggestions for Prayer
Ask God for the discernment to recognize Satanic deceptions, and the wisdom to pursue truth. Pray for God's enabling as you discipline yourself for diligent Bible study.
For Further Study
Read 1 John 2:12-14. How did John describe those who are strong in the Word?
Studying God’s Word ping
...and any human being who calls God a liar stands in for Satan as his helper.
This is frequently a tactic you see from atheists, trying to call God a “mass murderer”, etc. Logically, it’s absurd, since, if God exists, how can inferior beings pass moral judgement on Him?
The analogy I like to use is of the jury system. It’s only fair if you are judged by a jury of your peers, yet we are not God’s peers; indeed, God has no peers. So we are no more fit to sit in judgement of him than young children are fit to sit in judgement of their parents.
Except that in one respect, God never kills a person.
Even if their physical body ceases to function here on earth, He has not taken the LIFE from them.
They are still alive in the afterlife where ever they are going to spend it.
It would be interesting to find out how many of them support abortion as a *woman’s right to choose*. They would then be in no position to condemn God.
They would then also, hypocritically, be mass murders as well.
Well death of the body is still death, even if it isn’t death of the spirit as well. Otherwise, any murderer could use the defense: “hey, they are still alive in the afterlife, so I didn’t really murder them!”
Nice segway to Cain.
God asked Cain a question. Cain did not want to answer God’s question. So Cain tried to change the direction of the conversation by asking a question with a false paradigm.
Am I my brother’s keeper?
The answer is NO! I am my brother’s brother. Jails have keepers. Zoos have keepers. Plantations have keepers.
Much of the modern church is built on the theology and Cain and rejects the theology of God. Many errors and problems come from the wrong paradigm.
The consequence of what you are saying is that words have no meaning. If God were to do something that all would agree is evil if a man did it, by your definition it is good because God did it.
For example, we all agree that torturing children for fun is evil. But if God decided to torture innocent children for fun, you and others would simply declare either that when God tortures innocent children it’s morally good, or, there is no such thing as innocent children.
Or we hear something along the lines that we are just incapable of understanding the ways of God.
In other words, words have no meaning.
Not just atheists. I have seen some so called "religious people" say it. They weren't foolish enough to call God a murderer, but more or less implied exactly that, when they wondered why all those innocent people had to die in Noah's flood, or when He ordered the complete destruction of certain people groups in the Old Testament. God has His reasons.
Yes, like this.....
Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
*every intention*.
*only evil*
*continually*
God did not wipe out innocent people. There were none except Noah and his family and God saved them.
And when they were done building the ark, they went on it and stayed there for another 7 days before the flood came. God delayed even in judgment to give people a chance.
They didn't take it.
Let me digress slightly. I believe the only "innocent" one that there ever has been, is Jesus. Not one other person on earth has EVER been innocent, in that not one is without sin.
I have a feeling, that since God hates sin, I would say that He does what He does, in order to contain sin, or keep it from spreading.
Then, He will torture all those "innocent" people in Hell forever. No one is without sin. No one is "innocent." Make sense? 😀
Absolutely and I couldn’t agree more.
Problem is, when you are talking to the kind of people who have the mindset already that God is killing innocent people, sometimes you have to start with their position to get them to see the truth. You need to show them they are wrong.
The other day I heard a preacher say that a preacher’s biggest problem is trying to convince unbelievers that they are in bondage to sin and believers that they are not.
Interesting for sure. I would assume the first group includes a lot of false religionists. 😀😆😄
“The consequence of what you are saying is that words have no meaning. If God were to do something that all would agree is evil if a man did it, by your definition it is good because God did it.”
No, that is not true. What I am saying is that you cannot anthropomorphize God, and try to judge Him as if He were a man. That doesn’t mean God’s action would be good or evil, simply that we are in no position to judge the morality of God’s actions.
Since God has no peers that can fairly judge Him, logically He can only judge Himself. If He says His actions are good, we just have to take His word for it, the same as children simply have to take their parents word for it when they say they know what is best. To think otherwise is to indulge in a sin of pride by imagining that you are superior enough to judge God.
Now, your example itself is ludicrous, since God doesn’t torture anyone “for fun”. Anyone that would do that wouldn’t fit the definition of “God”. So you offer a patently impossible example to illustrate a nonexistent flaw in my logic.
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