Satan’s Assault on the Individual (Part I)

By Bob Myhan

The Scripture says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). In his efforts to devour, Satan attacks on four distinct fronts: the individual, the family, civil government, and the church. In this issue, we will study the individual, and Satan's assault thereon.

In order to understand Satan's assault on the individual, it is necessary to understand this "front" as well as we can. Of all God's physical creatures, the human individual, in the infant stage, is the most helpless, and is helpless for the longest period of time. As a consequence, you and I were born into the world with physical needs which we could not meet -- we felt hunger but could not satisfy it, and we experienced pain but could not relieve it. This is probably why Adam was created as an adult, rather than as an infant. But man is more than just a physical being with physical needs. He is also a spiritual being with spiritual needs. And he is even more helpless, spiritually, than he is, physically. The Bible says, "Oh Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23). Without God's help, he could not know if he had any spiritual needs, much less what they were, or how to supply them.

The devil's primary assault is not against the body, although he often afflicts the body as a part of his overall attack plan. He is far more interested in our spirits, for only the spirit is capable of a right relationship with God. While sin may be committed with the body, it begins in the heart (Matt. 12:35; 15:16-20). Thus, if he wants to entice us to sin, Satan must enter our hearts. But we can resist his efforts, and are told to do so: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). So, if we have a better understanding of what the heart is, we can better understand how Satan will attack, and be better prepared to resist him. Forewarned is forearmed!

The Nature of the Spiritual Heart

 When we speak of the heart, in regard to sin, we do not mean the physical heart which pumps blood throughout the body. We mean the spiritual heart. While the Bible does not specifically reveal the nature of the spiritual heart, it does mention its functions. And, by analyzing the nature of these functions, we can derive the nature of the heart. First, it can be said with certainty that the heart is intellectual, because of its intellectual operations. Men think in their hearts (Matt. 9:4), reason in their hearts (Mark 2:8) and understand with their hearts (Matt. 13:15), all of which are intellectual, or mental, operations. Thus, the intellect, or mind, is at least a part of the spiritual heart.

We can say, with equal certainty, that the heart is emotional in nature. Moses wrote, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart" (Lev. 19:17).  Hate is emotion. Peter wrote, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently" (1 Peter 1:22). Love, also, is emotion. So, while the heart is not merely man's emotional nature, the emotional nature is a part of the heart.

The Bible also teaches, implicitly, that the heart is ethical in nature. This means the heart functions in the realm of "right or good conduct." For example, the heart either does or does not condemn us, based on whether we believe we are obeying God's commandments (1 John 3:20-22). When the Bible speaks of the heart in its ethical capacity, it denotes the conscience (Romans 2:14-15; John 8:1-9).

The Scriptures also describe the heart as being volitional in nature ("of or relating to free exercise of the will," "voluntary"). The Scriptures speak of the intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12), purposing in the heart (2 Cor. 9:7) and obeying from the heart (Romans 6:17), all of which are operations of the will. Therefore, the will is a part of the heart, wherein sin is conceived. Thus, in order to influence us to sin, Satan must invade our thoughts, and try to make us think and act in ways that would not be pleasing to God. This invasion of the spiritual heart is temptation to sin, and your only defense is twofold: to think on things that are honest lovely, and of good report (Phil. 4:8), and to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart [emotions], and with all thy soul [conscience], and with all thy mind [intellect], and with all thy strength [will]: this is the first commandment" (Mark 12:30). This means we must learn, love, approve and will to do the will of God, if we are to resist the devil. &

Why Don’t You Dance?

By David Maxson

I can still remember hearing a couple of my teenage church friends talking about the girls they had kissed or “made out” with. They bragged about it. I felt strange because I had never kissed a girl. The irony was you wouldn’t find either of those guys at a dance. Why? Because Christians don’t dance. Period. No exceptions. Everybody knew that.

I remember being asked one time why I didn’t dance. My weak reply: “It’s against my religion.” I guess that was better than saying, “My parents won’t let me,” but that reply, by itself, sounds creedal at best and at worst it sounds downright Pharisaical.

I read about a guy who went to a “Christian” school that didn’t have dances. After he became a Christian he said, “You know, we used to go to the dance because we’d take a girl out to the dance, get her all warmed up, and then we could go out and neck.” He said, “Then when I became a Christian, I realized you don’t go to the dance, you just go right out and neck.”

We need to be sure our young people know why it is wrong to dance. Some know but lack the courage to say it (like me when I was asked). Others have no clue. They may be surprised to find there isn’t a verse in the Bible that says, “Don’t dance.” They may be shocked to find examples in the Bible of people who danced before the LORD as an expression of their joy (2 Sam. 6:16).

We need to focus on what lies at the heart of the issue (and the “heart” is the issue). Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Mt. 5:27-28)

Jesus never specifically condemned dancing. He never said, “Thou shalt not make out.” You can’t quote Jesus’ position on watching sensual movies, visiting beaches with nearly nude men and women, or wearing clothing so tight there’s nothing left for the imagination! It’s not there. He didn’t specifically say anything about those activities. He didn’t have to.

Consider the application Jesus gave to His instruction on lust: “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell” (Mt. 5:29-30). Any questions?

The issue is not about dancing. It’s about the heart. It’s about lust. The question is not, “Does the Bible condemn dancing?” The question is, “Does dancing produce lust?”

We can go even deeper than that. Before Jesus ever talked about lust, He talked about salt and light. He talked about salt losing its saltiness and putting lamps under baskets. He said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5:16). Our purpose on earth is to glorify God, and we can’t do that when we seek to satisfy our lustful appetites.

Read the following passages carefully. “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God” (1 Thess. 4:3-5). “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts…” (2 Tim. 2:19-22).

Young brothers and sisters, how should you respond when someone asks you to a dance (or to a crowded beach, or to a dirty movie, or to make out)? Do a better job than I did. Tell them kindly about the dangers of lust. Tell them you’ve made a covenant with your eyes (Job 31:1). Tell them you care too much about their purity. Tell them you’re a Christian and what that means to you. Tell them about Jesus who died to set you free. Then tell them how badly your Savior wants to set them free. [Via Embry Hills Bulletin, 2/18/04] &