I've been reading a book lately about spiritual warfare that was mainly about demons. The author, along with another well known Christian author, both implied that demons are responsible for our sinful thoughts and temptations. I always thought that was just our sinful nature and that demons COULD tempt us (i dont know about the sinful thoughts) and sometimes did, but that we were generally responsible for everything we thought or were tempted to do. How much of what we think ARE we responsible for, and are we really sinning if a demon puts sinful thoughts into our heads?
-Confused
1 comment:
Dear Confused,
(cool name, does it say that on your license?)
Thanks for your thoughtful question. Without knowing what book and authors that you're talking about, its a bit harder for me to respond specifically to their comments (to be fair to them...you could be reading them wrong). But to be fair to you, you could be reading them right. So, I'll attempt to respond based on the assumption that you are reading them correctly. The only way to answer a question like this is by looking at what the bible says about these things. We can only go as far as the bible goes on these sorts of things. Another way of saying this is that we don't want to speculate. My guess is that the book that you read, did a lot of speculating.
So, sin?, demons?, bigfoot?, j/k about bigfoot, but what does the bible say about it and where does our responsibility end and begin? Well, this won't be exhaustive, but hopefully its a start.
Temptation:
James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil,15 and he himself tempts no one.
James 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires.
James 1:15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.
1Cor. 10:12 So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall.
1Cor. 10:13 No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others.9 And God is faithful: He10 will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear,11 but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Now clearly, these verses teach us that God does not tempt us, and in fact, He is our only way out of temptation. But there is no mention here of demons.
Sin:
Rom. 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Rom. 3:24 But they are justified29 freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Rom. 7:18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.24
Rom. 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want!
Rom. 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me. ¶
Rom. 7:21 So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me.
Rom. 7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being.
Rom. 7:23 But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members.
Rom. 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Rom. 7:25 Thanks be25 to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then,26 I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but27 with my flesh I serve28 the law of sin.
Rom. 8:1 ¶ There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.1
Rom. 8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit2 in Christ Jesus has set you3 free from the law of sin and death.
Rom. 8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because4 it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
Rom. 8:4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ¶
Rom. 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by5 the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.
Rom. 8:6 For the outlook6 of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace,
Rom. 8:7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.
Rom. 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom. 8:9 You, however, are not in7 the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him.
Rom. 8:10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but8 the Spirit is your life9 because of righteousness.
Rom. 8:11 Moreover if the Spirit of the one10 who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ11 from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you.12
Demons:
Luke 8:27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs.
Luke 8:28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!”
Luke 8:29 For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
Luke 8:30 ¶ Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” ¶ “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him.
Luke 8:31 And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
Mark 5:2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him.
Mark 5:3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain.
Mark 5:4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.
Mark 5:5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
Mark 5:6 ¶ When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.
Mark 5:7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!”
Mark 5:8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”
James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
To quote a real smart guy named Herman Bavinck, "Sin is knowingly breaking God's command and flows from a heart that rebels against God."
We are all guilty of breaking this command, of course this guilt also extends to our thoughts. When we are born, we are born as sinners who naturally do evil. So, we are responsible for ALL things that we think and do. When I say responsible, I mean, accountable. If that weren't so, then why would Jesus have said the following...
Matt. 5:27 ¶ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
Matt. 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
To "look at a woman lustfully", you must "think" lustfully. So yes, even our thoughts are sinful and we are accountable for them as well. Demons are not responsible for our sinful thoughts, our sinful nature is. Now, outside of that, is speculation. Could demons tug on those sinful desires?? Possibly, but again, speculation. The fact of the matter is, we are responsible for all sinful actions and thoughts. The wages/punishment for this, is death. But God, out of His love for us, sent Jesus to satisfy that punishment on our behalf. So, the sin has been punished, we no longer should live in fear of death and punishment if we are followers of Jesus. But we must have faith in His death and resurrection and that His blood really does cover our sins. That is what it means to have Saving Faith. We BELIEVE God and what He's taught us through Jesus, We RECEIVE the promise of salvation/forgiveness/eternal life, and we FOLLOW Jesus as our Lord by turning away from our old way of life to follow Him as a New Creation.
Notice in the verses above that the demons know who's in control. They have no power over Jesus, in fact they beg Him not to cast them into the abyss. So, Jesus says that He had to die for our sins and that we are guilty of sinning and need forgiveness. He never attributes any of this guilt to demons. Therefore, we shouldn't either.
So, in conclusion, YES, we are responsible for sinful thoughts and actions. But if we follow Jesus, then we can be saved from the punishment of those sinful thoughts and actions. Demons do not put the thoughts in your head, your sinful nature does. Jesus took the punishment for our sins, and He has complete control over the spiritual realm. He protects us from it as well. They can't hurt you, and they have no power over those who are in Christ because Nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ. We're justified in Christ...treated JUST as if I'd Never Sinned. Jesus is the real deal man.
Rom. 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
Rom. 8:39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I hope that this is helpful, there are many more verses that deal with this sort of thing, but I'll leave it here for now. Write back if you've got more questions.
Peace out,
Derrick
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