One the arguments against the Bible and Christianity, is what we are told about Satan. There are hundreds of millions of people who make Satan to be the religious equivalent of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny. On either side of those people are two camps – There are millions of people who know that there is a very real Devil, because they have had direct and undeniable contact with him. And on the other side there are people, like most of us, who know that Satan exists because the Bible tells them so. Christians are believers, and we believe many things which may be difficult to prove through natural means. I believe that Satan has wisely chosen not to reveal himself to most people, because he does not want to draw attention to himself. The more ignorant people are of his existence and his methods, the more likely it is that he will be able to dupe them in other ways. One of my old, and simple theology books from Bible school, put it this way: For many people, the word Devil is spelled with a small “d,” and God is spelled with two “o”s. To many people Satan is either a myth and a superstition used to scare bad children into good behavior, or he is nothing but an abstraction, a negative force – the opposite of good.
Just as the Bible doesn’t attempt to prove the existence of God, it doesn’t try to prove that there is a Devil. In both cases, the Word of God simply declares them, or states some of their activities. And this is what we see here in Romans 15 – “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”
This scripture affords us a little refresher course on Satan.
Zechariah 3 – “And (the spirit) shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?”
Luke 4 – “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
John 3 – “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him.”
I Peter 5 – “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith.”
The Bible is not coy or shy when it comes to describing or warning us about Satan. It tells us that he was one of the Lord’s highest angels at one point, but that he chose to rebel. His name was properly changed from Lucifer, which means “light-bearer” to Satan – “the accuser.” The Bible teaches us that it is the desire of Satan to take the throne of God as his own. That he harbors this thought proves his suicidal pride, because he should know as well as any other being, that his coup-d’etat can never be successful. For over 6,000 years he has been beaten and bruised, defeated and rousted, and yet he will not give up. Just like fallen humanity, which has taken up many of Satan’s characteristics, it is impossible for the spiritually dead to show spiritual life – such as to repent. Only by the grace of God, and the miracle of regeneration can the unbeliever believe – can the wicked humble themselves before the Most Holy.
We are first introduced to Satan in Genesis 3, and there we are given some very important information. It is not shared as a theological lecture, but as historical facts – as the testimony of an eye witness. Satan occupied the serpent, and came to Adam’s wife with the intent of confusing her and enticing her to disobey the Lord’s command. As you know this was successful, and then Eve gave some of the forbidden fruit to her husband. They immediately became sinners, and they knew that they were exposed before the eyes of the Almighty. We take up the account in verse 11 with the words of the Lord – “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Part of what the Creator said to the serpent applies to serpents and snakes today, but part of what he said applies to the Devil who had occupied the serpent. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The “seed of the woman” is a reference to the only man, beside Adam, who never had a human father. Jesus Christ is the seed of the woman – a true man, but without the sinful nature of Adam. He came into this world several thousand years after Genesis 3 – with the purpose of defeating Satan and providing salvation for His elect. Satan attacked the Messiah with every weapon in his spiritual arsenal, but he could not bring Him down. He was at the focal point of Jesus’ execution on the cross, and he thought that it was his great victory. But Satan was duped, and the Lord used that attack to his own glory. In a sense, Satan bruised the heal of the Son of the woman, but as he did so, the Saviour bruised the head of the Devil. There is a huge difference between a head wound and a heel wound. Satan was given a spiritual concussion and is doomed. Christ died from his wound, yes, but then He arose from the grave in a miraculous victory.
We could spend more time on the creation, history and end of Satan, but we must move on.
It isn’t until we come to the close of four gospels that the Lord’s statement becomes self-evident. Satan’s attack upon the Saviour was incessant and sometimes brutal. If he could kill the Anointed of the Lord before He could provide the means for saving the Lord’s chosen, then the promise of God would be destroyed, and His throne would be exposed. I would guess that Satan became so excited after the arrest of Christ at Gethsemane, and when his stirring up of the priests insured that they would condemn Him, that he failed to realize he was forcing the fulfilment of several specific prophesies about the death of the Messiah. Crucifixion met the criteria of several prophesies. That the Romans, and not the Jews, were directly involved satisfied some of Daniel’s words. Then there was the gambling for his clothes, and so on. In a sense you could say that Satan walked right into a spiritual trap (I say it with all reverence). He helped to accomplish his own defeat, even though its ultimate end is yet to come. The Devil was dealt a blow to the head, from which he has yet to recover. The death of Christ on the cross, followed by His resurrection and glorification means the demise of Satan. The great victory belongs to Jehovah – the Great Victor is the Lord.
Now, let me point back to our verse in Romans 16 and ask you for the name of that Great Victor? Isn’t it interesting that out of the dozens of available titles, the Lord uses this one? It’s not the “God of Vengeance” who has or shall bruise Satan? It’s not a “God of War” or the “Lord of Hosts.” It’s not even Jehovah, or the Almighty. The Lord is here described as “the God of Peace.” Isn’t this strange terminology under the circumstances?
Of course, there are different ways that Satan can destroy a church, and ours is no exception – Apathy, the toleration of sin, lethargy, the neglect of our mandate for evangelism and missions. Among the many others, one of Satan’s tools is disunity. And that seems to be in Paul’s mind here. And, if you think about it, wasn’t this a part of Satan’s attack upon Adam and Eve? Eve was deceived into her disobedience, but I think that Adam knew exactly what he was doing when he picked up the fruit that she held and took a bite. He was making a choice between his wife and his God. Satan created an atmosphere for disagreement, and Adam chose to sin in order to maintain peace with his spouse. As we said this morning, it would have been better if he had better prepared her for the Satanic attack. “Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” Unfortunately, in this regard he was as naive as Eve was.
Now, Satan wanted to destroy the church in Rome, so he was in the process of sowing dissension and division. If you will remember he was later quite successful in doing exactly that in the Corinthian church. But Paul felt confident that these good people would remain obedient to the Word of the Lord. Their obedience had been well documented and well-known throughout Christianity. It is wonderful to be inexperienced in the areas of sin, but expert in wisdom and the things of the Spirit. “I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.” And as this condition continues, “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” The Lord has a special care and protection for the weak and untaught, when they have a true hunger and thirst for truth and righteousness.
Paul is not talking about the final destruction of the Devil here; we aren’t sure when that will take place. We only know that it will come after the thousand year reign of Christ on earth, which will take place after the seven years of tribulation. Paul is not talking about Revelation 20:10 – “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” He is talking about another good solid slap on head there in Rome and in the church of that city. He could be talking about the same thing here in Post Falls.
One thing to keep in mind is that neither you nor I as individuals, nor even all of us as a church – None of us are up to the struggle with Satan, the god of this world. There is victory over him only as we yield to our Almighty God, and when we stand back to let Him work. “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” When we deal realistically with our sins, and when we submit ourselves to the leadership of the Lord, Satan will be bruised once again.
Lord, may it be so, again, and again, and again!