Satan's Brain

What's in Satan's brain? What does he know? When did he know what he knows? The Bible pictures Satan as a brilliant creation of God, the numero uno angel until he fell, screaming his five infamous "I Will's," all the while shaking his rebellious fist in God's face (Isaiah 14: 12-14).

He's a being with a superior intellect, no doubt about it. Even a very high-ranking, unfallen angel would have a time dealing with him, wrote Jude. Brilliant enough to disguise himself as an angel of light and powerful enough to blind the minds of men makes him a person to be reckoned with (II Cor. 4:4).

Just what does this brilliant person know? He knows what most reject. A look at Luke 8:11 takes us inside the brain of Satan. Jesus, the Master Teacher, is at it again. Telling interesting stories that get down deep inside and won't leave us alone.

He's telling a about a farmer throwing seeds all over the place; it's planting time. Some of the seeds fall on a well-beaten path, get stomped by passers-by, and eaten by hungry birds. Other seeds fall in other places and the sermon comes to an end. (If only all sermons today were that short and that interesting, but such a blessing is usually not to be.)

The disciples don't understand all this seed talk; they ask Jesus to explain, which He does, and in the explanation, He gives us insight into the mind of Satan.

"The seed is the Word of God," Jesus says (Luke 8:11). The seed that falls on the path and is eaten by the birds is of special interest because that part of the story speaks of "how the devil comes and takes away the Word from their hearts" (vs. 12). It's in this part of the story that Jesus reveals to us Satan's brain.

Of all the activities in which Satan could be involved, Jesus points to this one – taking away the Word of God from the members of the human race.

He takes away the Word because he knows something. Satan knows that if they believe the gospel, they will be saved. As Jesus explains, "the devil comes and takes away the Word from their hearts so that they may not believe and be saved." There it is: believing Jesus who guarantees everlasting life is what saves, not believing plus . . .

Satan knows what the majority rejects – that Jesus guarantees everlasting life to all who simply "believe" Him for it. That's what produces his feverish and fiendish activity in which he spares no horses and leaves no stone unturned to take the gospel away.

How can he do this? He can do it by confusing the issue; he's the author of confusion. He confuses the issue by implanting the idea, "That's too easy!" By promoting the idea that believing in Jesus alone doesn't save anyone, that one must believe and work, doing good or by believing and then not sinning, or by believing and then turning away from sin. He does it by generating the idea that it's not faith alone in Christ alone, it's working that does it.

One thing we could say about this satanic and chaotic work: he's done a thorough job of kicking up sand around the issue of faith alone in Christ alone, such a thorough job that at least 70% of regular church attendees think good works get one in. That's an over-the-top majority; a landslide any politician would be proud of. No wonder Jesus said what He said in Matthew 7:14!

Paul shows these bits of chaotic confusion to be absurd in Galatians 2:16; 3:8; Romans 4:4-5; Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:4-5, 8-9 et al. And John wrote an entire book showing the good works idea and the believe-in-Jesus-and-good-works idea (both works systems) to be absurd.

What did Satan know and when did he know it? He knew that salvation is by faith alone as early as what's recorded in the book of Genesis (3:15 and 15:6). He was smart enough to know that neither Abraham nor David were justified by works alone or by faith plus works, but by faith alone (Romans 4).

The other side of the chaotic coin is that the human race has ears itching to be massaged with a "You-can-do-it gospel." We love it when people tell us that we have the salvific power within to summon at our command. That idea puts us in control, makes us the captains of our destiny. The devil snatches the free grace gospel away, and we love to hear something else, whatever flatters us most. And then we read Galatians 1:6-9 and we realize anew just how serious all this is.

Dr. Mike Halsey, Pastor
County Line Church