God Vs. Satan! Who Will Win? (Hint: God)

Have you ever encountered Christians who have a dualistic mindset? This idea shaped a recent Bible study I had and I found it rather irksome. This Bible study was on the topic of defining and recognizing evil. Naturally, I spoke of sin being evil. Evil is the breaking of God's Law and like a good presbyterian, I proceeded to quote the Westminster Catechism. However, this was the not the answer that the leader was looking for. I found this incredibly odd, but I kept listening to see where the discussion would lead.

To my surprise, (I guess it's rather naive of me), the leader was looking for demonic or evil presence. She spoke of being non-christian as being under Satan's control and that he is the source of evil. Somehow the human heart never came up... This was getting weirder and weirder for me. Not that demons are new, I certainly know about them. They are the reason I believe in ghosts. My theory is that ghosts are demons and non-christians have simply mislabeled them. However, I digress.

My point is, that I found it odd that she would choose to discuss demonic presence over the actual evil that proceeds from our hearts and that we struggle with on a daily basis. Now my curiosity was peeked so I listened as she related an experience she had where she believes she experienced the presence of "true evil." I don't doubt that she had this experience. However, the discussion continued with her bringing up a book called "The Day the Devil Came Calling." Apparently it's about a young girl who was saved from a wiccan coven and was possessed by a number of demons. This girl came to accept to Christ and yet was somehow still possessed. The book attempts to explain this with layers of someone surrendering to Christ and others still under the demonic sway.

Now this, this was something I couldn't stand by and listen to. Immediately I posed the question, "So is a collection of demons more powerful than the Holy Spirit?" She thought for a moment and hesitantly said "technically, no". That's where it should have ended. That is the end of the story. However, she chose to go on and attempt to defend what she was saying. Frankly, I don't understand how she could believe that this girl had genuinely chosen Christ and still was under the control of demonic forces. Demons cannot stand before the power of the Holy Spirit working in someone's heart. One cannot serve two masters. Christ himself said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. One person suggested that God had given the devil permission for a special act such as in Job 1. I was happy to hear this sound biblical answer. Not to say that it is true, but it at least has some biblical basis. Another option I suggested was a ploy by the demons to pretend the girl had accepted Christ. I believe this is the actual event (if the book is even true) because a scenario where she genuinely accepted Christ and was still possessed is an impossibility. The bottomline was that in that situation, Dualism was bleeding from every sentence. I was dumbfounded at the prevailing denial of total depravity that is manifesting itself in this believe that Satan is the source of evil and not the human heart. This was fascinating for me to think over and I hope you will mull it over too. Remember that Satan is not as powerful as many give him credit for. Remember that man's heart is desperately wicked above all things. Remember to check everything against Scripture!

God Bless,

Matt

P.S. A few days ago, at a gas station, I saw a girl who looked EXACTLY like Nicki Minaj. Same pink hair, same hairstyle, and same ethnicity. Just weird.