# Does Satan have his part in ALL our sins?



## InSlaveryToChrist (Oct 8, 2010)

*Does Satan have his part in ALL our temptations?*

I have a little confusion regarding the role of Satan in people's temptations. *Is it ALWAYS our flesh alone which tempts us to sin, or does Satan play a certain role in our temptations?* Also, *Was Eve, when she first sinned, tempted by her flesh AND Satan, or only by Satan?*

Your help is greatly appreciated!


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## InSlaveryToChrist (Oct 8, 2010)

Help, anyone?


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## baron (Oct 8, 2010)

If you mean that Satan plays an individual role in our life to cause us to sin, I would say no due to Satan being a created being, is not omnipresent. 
I think there are only 6 people who were tempted by Satan and Adam was not one of them. They are Eve, Job, Jesus Christ, Judas, Peter, and Ananias.

I think Satan influnces the world and what we see and hear. Which leads us to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's lifestyle. 1John 2:15-17. So in a indirect way he influnces us to sin.

I also hear to many christians using the old Flip Wilson line "the devil made me do it." He gets way to much credit.

Hopefully some one more intelligent can answer you post.


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## Andres (Oct 8, 2010)

the other problem with giving satan too much credit is that it takes too much credit from us. What I mean is that mankind must be accountable for his sin. If we could blame satan, then God couldn't hold us accountable.


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## Herald (Oct 8, 2010)

Satan is at work in this world (1 Peter 5:8), scripture is clear on that. However, human sin proceeds from within man. "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust" (James 1:14). I heard a preacher once say, "If Satan were removed from this world today, along with all his minions, man would still sin. Why? Because man is a sinner." That preacher was absolutely correct.


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## steadfast7 (Oct 9, 2010)

We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners - Charles Spurgeon.

I think sin is so embedded in our nature we would not be able to distinguish it from the likes of devil. However, our Lord did have us pray "deliver us from the evil one" and prayed for us in the same way. He never prayed for us to be delivered from ourselves, did he?


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## InSlaveryToChrist (Oct 9, 2010)

baron said:


> I think there are only 6 people who were tempted by Satan and Adam was not one of them. They are Eve, Job, Jesus Christ, Judas, Peter, and Ananias.



Oh, I meant Eve, when I wrote Adam! My mistake.

---------- Post added at 03:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:32 AM ----------

*I think you are all misunderstanding my point here. My intent is not to credit our sin to Satan. Rather, what I'm trying to see is whether Satan works as a stumbling-block in ALL our sins, deceiving us with his lies.*


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## Andres (Oct 9, 2010)

Samuel, we can read the normal black font just as well. Just fyi.


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## pepper (Nov 5, 2010)

We are tempted by Satan, the world, and our sin nature. That was a basic teaching of the Puritans and the Reformers. Satan is out there seeking those whom he might eat up. To say that we are only tempted by our nature is not true. To say that Satan is the only one that tempts us is not true. To say the world system is the only tempter is not true. All three are our enemies. Satan uses the world and our sin nature to draw us away from God. Yet we are still responsible before God. Remember, the Puritan teaching is that we are guilty because of Adam's sin, even if we did no sinful act of our own, yet we add to Adam's gift of a sin nature with our own acts of sin against God.


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## pepper (Nov 5, 2010)

Martin Luther in Table Talk: "It is almost incredible how God enables us, weak flesh and blood, to enter combat with the devil, and to beat and overcome so powerful a spirit as he, and with no other weapon except His Word, which by faith we take hold on. This must needs grieve and vex that great and powerful enemy." Satan is a tempter.


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## nasa30 (Nov 5, 2010)

Also remember that Satan is an angel, a created being. He cannot be everywhere at once so he cannot actively participate in all of our sin. We are not to give an opportunity to fall into sin. Satan only suggested the sin to Eve. Eve, thought that being better than the state in which she was created was a better idea than obedience to God. She chose to have it on her terms and not Gods.


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## dudley (Nov 6, 2010)

I have compiled some notes on sin and evil from my readings on line from the Berean and other sources. I think the following compilation may give some insight to what I have come to believe about sin and the influence of Satan and whether or not he has a part to play in our decision to do evil if we choose to sin.

The reason for the state of sin and evil in the world is the lack of the love of beauty and the love of righteousness. It is simply a lack of the love of God. The love of God is a choice that is open to all Christians. If one does not choose to love, the only alternative is selfishness—self-concern. A selfish person will abuse. That is the worldly system. Worldliness is nothing more than self-centeredness. An individual chooses to be self-centered or show outgoing love—to be worldly or godly.

Paul imagines sin as beguiling, enticing and deceitful. We can almost visualize it as Satan himself, and it is certainly satanic in origin. He sees two authorities—the divine nature and the sinful nature—that are passionately opposed to each other, and man is forced to choose between them.

Romans 7:11 King James Version
7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

There is an article by Mr. Herbert Armstrong, which appeared in the August 28, 1978 issue of The Good News Magazine was entitled "What You May Not Know."

It covers some principles that we need from time to time to review, or in some cases, cover for the very first time. The article was about Satan and his deceptions. Humanly, we have a tendency to go to extremes about him. Either we blame him for everything ;Flip Wilson and "The devil made me do it", thus absolving ourselves, or the other extreme is to ignore him, and thus become easy prey for him.

It does seem the more educated a person becomes, the less attention one gives to Satan. It also seems the less educated, the more superstitious, and the more Satan is blamed for everything.

The answer is somewhere in between, with Satan, assuredly, being the unseen influence responsible for a major portion of man's troubles, not because he made us do things, but because we are ignorant of or careless in regard to him and we thus do his bidding.

Just as we are connected to Christ’s righteousness by Justification in our faith in Christ alone we can be connected to Satan’s influence and evil by rejecting and denying the Son of Man and the Gospel and choosing instead to do what is evil in the eyes of God.

We are sinners by our nature and only saved by our faith in Jesus Christ alone and by the grace of the Father thus doing all that we do in His name for the Glory and Honor of the Father in heaven. 

We also know from scripture which is our final authority that sin places us in bondage to evil and the ruler of all evil who is Satan

John 8:34 says, "Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin."

We also know from scripture that Christ cast out demons in His Fathers name and we can choose to do the same if we are connected to Christ by our faith in Him alone.

In Luke 10:17-18 , Jesus is speaking to the seventy-two He had sent out. Now they returned with a great deal of joy saying to Him: "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."

Finally I believe that Satan will tempt us by trying to mask the lie as a truth and the truth as a lie. It is often hard to discern the difference.

However I have compiled a list below of the seven deadly sins and their opposing virtues. Whenever I am called upon to reflect on a moral decision I can review the seven deadly sins and their opposing virtues and trey to discern thee truth and the lie. 

1-Lust is best described as depraved thought, unwholesome morality, desire for excitement, or need to be accepted or recognized by others.
The opposite virtue is Temperance - Moderation of passion; - patience, characterized by dignity and propriety.

2-Gluttony as being associated with an overindulgence of food and drink, though in the past was marked by a refusal to share resources and unreasonable or unnecessary consumption.
The opposite virtue is Wisdom - Liberality - Generosity. Willingness to give. A nobility of thought or actions.

3-Greed particularly applies to the acquisition of wealth. Avarice is a blanket term including disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason, especially for personal gain.
The opposite virtue is Mercy - Compassionate treatment of the unfortunate and helpless

4-Sloth now is defined as being simply a sin of laziness, of an unwillingness to act, and of an unwillingness to care. Sloth also was described as being the 'failure to love God with all one's heart, all one's mind and all one's soul'.
The opposite virtue is Justice - strict performance of moral obligations; practical conformity to human or divine law; integrity in the dealings of men with each other; equality.

5-Wrath - A modern definition is anger towards others for no good reason, such as their race or religion, leading to discrimination. Sins born of Wrath are some of the most serious, including murder, assault, discrimination, and genocide.
The opposite virtue is Love - Affection, kindness, friendship, good will; charity, compassion, and sympathy without prejudice and for its own sake.

6-Envy - those who commit the sin of Envy desire something that someone else has.
The opposite virtue is Chastity- or Strength - Courage and boldness. Embracing of moral wholesomeness and achieving purity of thought..

7-Pride - It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive to others, failing to give credit due to others, or excessive love of self over love of God
The opposite virtue is Truth, or Humility - not unfairly glorifying one's own self.

Finally if we say to ourselves the Lords Prayer when proceeding to make any important moral decisions it tells us and reminds us how to pray and protect ourselves from evil if we are a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Our Father, who art in heaven, 
hallowed be thy name; 
thy kingdom come, 
thy will be done 
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, 
and forgive us our debts 
as we forgive our debtors; 
and lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil:
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.
Amen.


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## Peairtach (Nov 6, 2010)

> There is an article by Mr. Herbert Armstrong, which appeared in the August 28, 1978 issue of The Good News Magazine was entitled "What You May Not Know."



Herbert Armstrong and his "Plain Truth" magazine were right-off on some things although some are not aware of that/were not aware of that.

Armstrongism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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It's unlikely that the Devil himself would have a direct involvement in each one of our sins, as he is a fallen finite creature. He would have to use his minions, the demons/devils.

The Bible doesn't seem to indicate that the Devil or his angelic minions are _always_ directly involved in our sin.


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## Wayne (Nov 30, 2010)

The following from Robert Traill, _Works_, vol. 1, pg. 178:



> If temptation from Satan came to a sinless man, the tempter might be easily known : but when it comes to a sinner, who hath an active principle of corruption in him, that prompts him to the same sin that the tempter tempts unto, it becomes very hard to a man to say, "This motion is of the devil;" and "This is of my own corrupt heart." and here seldom doth the devil get his due. Some blame the devil more than he deserves, and excuse themselves more than they should; and some excuse the devil, and blame themselves more than they ought. What shall we do here? How shall we know when temptation riseth from corruption within, or from the devil without? There is no very great need to know it exactly; as in some cases it is very hard to know it. Temptation is so natural to us, that if the devil be the first mover, it seizeth so quickly on our corrupt heart, that we may justly take the blame to ourselves. The workings of the Spirit of God on the new creature, and of the spirit of Satan on the old man, are great mysteries. It is far wiser to set about resisting of our spiritual enemies, than to perplex ourselves with questions about their order.


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