The Devil, that Old Serpent ~ Who and What he is.

The only reason for this study, the only one of it’s kind on this site, is for the purpose of the engaged Christian, the true believer, to know respectfully the  greatest enemy of the world, saved sinners and lost sinners.  He is also the source of many, if not all, the perils, snares, traps, and sins in the world.

People don’t know who he is. They look to stories, traditions, paintings, illustrations, folklore, mythology, legend, myth, and many other tales that all had their parts in distorting the truth behind the “Accuser of the Brethren”.  That people trust an idea, representation, or interpretation of the devil and not the word of God is beyond me. The Bible has MUCH to say of our foe.

Today, the Devil has many names, with some examples being, Satan, Devil, Beelzebub, Belial, Adversary, the accuser, the deceiver, Dragon, Serpent, King of Babylon, Little Horn, the king of fierce countenance, the wilful king, the man of sin, the son of perdition,, that wicked, and Judas Iscariot.  He is called by one or the other of these names 174 times in the scriptures.

He is called “the Devil, that old Serpent”  Peter the apostle tells us to Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, WALKETH ABOUT, seeking whom he may devour.

Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Ezekiel 28:14-15

He is our adversary. Our enemy.  The word of God is very descriptive of the deceptive one, the “accuser of the brethren”.  Unfortunately, many people get there beliefs and stories of “the Devil” from other literary arts, works and ideas then that of the Bible.  Because of this, you have a mash of what he truly is.  That is how he wants it.  For people to be deceived about him and who he is and what he is capable of.

Many, even professing Christians, believe in some deluded nonsense of a mystical, pre earth, “civil war” fought in heaven between the 1/3 of the angels with Satan in rebellion against God and his angels where the story dictates that Satan and his angels are cast out of heaven to earth. 

This has been a commonly accepted teaching that is derived largely from John Milton’s  book, “Paradise Lost” (1667), which describes Satan and his angels having been cast out of Heaven in or around the time of Adam and Eve. 

Ideology Through Phrasing

There are dangerous Fundamental Philosophies and Quips that have been used from one generation to the next.  We preach certain things because they sound good, and often fall into line with the Fundamental way of thinking.  These things commonly used in hit in pulpits are not sound doctrine, and do not usually mean what we try to make them mean.

Some of these are used to allow us our own liberties in preaching on anything and anyone we want.  In fact today, much of our preaching we hear is just men talking about things that anger them, or some pet hobby horse.  

Very little edification.  We thrash the cults when they quote half verses or segments of verses for some supposed doctrinal truth, but we, like any other denomination have fallen into the same snare.  We do the same thing in the pulpits, and the streets!

You may have heard men say, “Good preaching is not always good doctrine, and good doctrine is not always good preaching.” I understand what this is meant to be, some doctrines are rough, and definitely not crowd pleasers, but our preaching should always reflect our doctrine!  You can’t truly preach truth unless you are being distinctive in your doctrine.

We have preached these things so much, that these things, sometime ideologies, are now our positions.  Then, we find the scripture to back it up after are position is already stated. The scriptures should be our position first, not phrases.  Here are just some examples;

Independent but not Individual

Christians, there is such a thing as individualism.  With individualism comes preference, convictions, and standards.  They are all different things in and of themselves.  Some men may be convicted about drinking to much coffee, and for them, they feel God would have them to stop.  It does not make it wrong for all men to drink it.  Thank God for that cause I love it.

Some men prefer reading, some prefer watching.  Some write, some speak. Some prefer coaching some prefer playing.  Some men teach, others preach.  Some like sugar some like cream.  Some like salt some like pepper.  Concerning the body of Christ, there is much more underlined stuff there.  It has to do with gifts and how they can be used.  It may have to do with culture and where some were raised.  

You have to wonder what we are doing to our own body when we so hastily cast the heretics, and people struggling out. Especially when we consider that we should be the very ones restoring, admonishing, and encouraging them.  We should be the ones with patience.  Even with the dirty and simple minded.  In the NT, the body of Christ can have church and order exactly how they see it laid out in the word itself.  And it is not like we see in the modern vision.

Most of my past doubt in affairs, angst and frustrations of the church stem from actions of men, not God. I never fully believed certain traditions of men in the Baptist ranks, though I may have preached them for righteous indignation, peer pressure, amens and support or to fit in, I still wondered about our attitudes and thoughts for others not like us.  

I wonder about the crazy guy that was invited by a zealous member.  Most are afraid of those types, I love them.  I wonder about the scantily clad young girl.  Most men are afraid to even approach her for fear of what the brethren or their wife might say, but that is the one that I want to reach.  She doesn’t know any better, she is just worldly.  They shouldn’t shock us or scare us. 

Preaching the Gospel of Christ Without Charge

Making increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love.  This is how the body is increased, by edifying itself. Like the living organism it is.  It doesn’t need money.  I understand it’s necessary uses and things like that, but money has become way to centralized in our manners and serivces at this point.  

Edification; it’s how the body, the working organism is established to work. Not preaching for money to build churches and ministries gallore and making the gospel of Christ with charge, but allowing money to flow through the body like blood flows through our veins, working where there is a need.  Not where needs are created.

Not just all the funds going to every ministry or minister under the sun.  Not just all the funds going specifically to just the men in position.    Not most of our money going abroad to men we don’t know, blindly casting our pearls before swine.  I bet you have never thought of that phrase the other way? These sorts of things that we do today, they were never practiced in the NT! Why do we do it today?

Churches today take up thousands, most going abroad, about 80-20.  I think it should be exactly opposite.  The local body and their needs 80, the foreign field, 20.  I know I know, "string em up! he is anti-missions..."

The Wild Bunch ~ A Testimony of a Baptist with Independent Tendencies

Personally, for me, it was in fact a Independent Baptist man that led me to God and the saving power of his Son Jesus Christ. It was a Independent Baptist that showed me a clear presentation. It was the Independent Baptist that showed me the gospel to where I clearly understood it and grasped it’s significance.  The Independent Baptist taught me and showed me the truth and infallibility of the King James Bible.  

On a practical note, an Independent Baptist preacher taught me the invaluable definitions of balance.  An Independent Baptist showed me the importance of individual liberty.  I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for all the Independents Baptist in the sense of the truth and certain positions they have maintained for decades. The wars they have fought and the battles they have won, yeah, I can claim their name to certain extents, knowing their true history.  And I am proud for it.  

I remember being introduced to the first “real” Christian men I ever met.  They were men in a small Independent Baptist Church, 50-70 strong.  An eager bunch to say the least.  All sermons where edifying, instructive and admonishing.  The teaching was verse by verse. About 7 guys in all were all allowed opportunities to preach from time to time, very rare among pastors today to be so selfless with their pulpit.  The song leader was a charismatic man that loved the old time hymns, thank God I was exposed to true song and worship at infancy in salvation so I did not carried up in praise music and charasmania. 

The Independent Baptist were also the first REAL Christians I think I ever met outside of my own family.  It was the first evidence of real Christianity that I ever saw in my entire life.  I was 16 at the time.  I had also grown up my entire life in the Bible belt town of Columbia, SC.  Pastors would kick me, the skateboarder off the steps of their church, but never tried to build dialogue or relay the gospel to me.

These men loved God sincerely and genuinely, those dear people, they loved that old book.  They loved preaching and many of those men to this day still do.  They loved singing and fellow-shipping.  I mean, clean stuff.  Hymns, no mumbo jumbo, just classic old songs from the 17 and 18th century. Get togethers and such, BBQs, just hanging out with like minded decent people. Laughter, love, joy, peace, times of my life I wanted never to end. 

"Hi, can I give you something to read please?"

Here I go with another flip side observation.  “Oh you are just picking all the things that used to believe in and do and preaching against them now?” Well, thats not really the case but if you want to believe that what do I care. Sorry!  

I can’t help it.  It’s just my makeup I guess.  It is my knack to teach doctrine through disproving traditions and many human elements that have slipped in under the radar into our ways of service and worship.

Now, lets all get together and go pass out some tracts.  Have you ever heard or participated in such events with your church? There is a danger with such things as gospel tracts, tract blitzes and track bombings.  

I’m not opposed to tracts, but there is the danger of people handing out a million papers to a million people and never opening their mouth to actually witness.  I have seen tracts evolve from a form of opening conversation to more of a “just read this and God bless” and many go on there merry way with their conscience appease that they did something for God. It’s all very Catholic of us isn’t it.  The same as a confessional crutch.  I know people who feel miserable about themselves unless they fulfill some daily or weekly quota. 

In large groups, public outreach operations, especially amongst youth groups there is  this tendency to “one-up” the other that leads more to one becoming a nuisance more than a testimony.  I have seen this hundreds of times in several different places.  Gospel tracts used in such manners turn in to gospel trash.   

A Convoluted Commission

The fact remains is that men have long made it a practice to use the word, and I cannot stress enough how serious I mean to say, “use the word of God” for private agendas and to further their private kingdoms.  For the common good or whatever lies they have to tell themselves these days, many just continue on, examining others, never examining themselves.  Men will privately interpret passages for private reasons.  It is a common practice displayed among decent and devious men  alike and has been in the works since the time of Christ. 

Missionaries and preachers have long claimed unfounded and loose interpretive callings for ministerial nonsense and money grabbing shakedowns by way of using the Great Commission. They have long found, as the definition of commission states, their doings, performing, perpetuating, sending, act of entrusting, duty; and it is now their proper authority and warrant for exercising certain powers, administrations, and duties in the Great Commission passages.  

These passages in the gospels have been used for centuries to solicit services and funds from among Christian bodies.  Sure their is gain, but no one ever discusses the other spectrums of disorder. To use these passages to solicit service, or even funds and offerings is unscriptural and dangerously close to adding to his word.  

In many cases now, I can only see it as defraudation or using guile and gimmicks to obtain an desired affect.  By applying a teaching or doctrine to these scriptures, then saying they are directly for the body of Christ is adding to the doctrinal position of the passage.  To do so, one must ignore the scriptural integrity of Gods book.  There is a very specific reason for men to deny that there is any disorder.

You will see variations of this in every evangelistic, Baptist church you can find. It is the big idea that is fully entrenched in well fortified Baptist traditions and preserved by some mafia like omerta! It is why there is never a real discussion or theological sit down over it.  Men will look at you like a two headed dragon just for suggesting this may be an off base position. They act this way because the great commission is the prominent “big idea” that many Fundamentalist, and Evangelical, Bible Believing Christians have in their minds for the reasons for doing much of what they do.  Who would ever dare question it right?