Practically, every misdeed carried out by man is attributed to the devil. Seldom do human beings accept responsibility, when things they are involved in go wrong. In such cases, it becomes convenient to heap the blame at the doorstep of others, especially Satan, since he is supposed to be the invisible source of everything evil. Indeed, it is the occasional great and courageous that readily and openly admits to personal weaknesses and fallibility, when their undertakings go awry.
Interestingly, whenever human beings succeed in any endavour, they are quick to beat their chest in proud acknowledgement of their intellectual superiority and capability, as opposed to the creatures considered inferior and of lower capabilities. The fact that man has been endowed with the ability to decide is not in any doubt. So then, if man, as the driver, cannot accept responsibility for his wrongdoings, who should be blamed? Is it the devil he refuses to acknowledge, when things are running smoothly? Or his Creator, Who has endowed him with the tremendous abilities with which he has been achieving great and noble things through the ages? Is the devil really responsible for all the evil acts of man? Just where should the line be drawn between self-will and the devil’s influence? CHRIS IREKAMBA reports.
‘Satan Cannot Force Man To Do Evil’
(Rev. Francis Ejiroghene Waive, General Overseer, Fresh Anointing Missionary Ministries Inc./Senior Pastor, Church of the Anointing Host, Warri Delta State)
IT is important to understand that God made man a free moral agent. Otherwise, Adam and Eve could have been restrained from independent thoughts and actions. The choice is always that of man’s. ‘Choose you this day whom you will serve’ is the admonition of the scriptures. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Certainly, many of the things that we ascribe to the devil are completely the choice of man, especially when it comes to issues of morality and kindness. Man’s inhumanity to man and many acts of immorality that we ascribe to the devil, to a great extent are self-willed. In discussing the origin of sin, the Bible says; ‘let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempt He any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. Do not err my beloved brethren. Every good and perfect gift comes from above and proceeds from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning.” Thus, the popular phrase; ‘the devil made me do it’ is fallacious.
Even for those acts of nature that the insurance companies refer to as ‘acts of God,” modern science has proven that man’s action contributes to climate change and the many effects on our world. But does this extricate God from responsibility in every occurrence on planet earth? Certainly not! The Bible teaches that God is sovereign, infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing and all-present. His acts are indescribable and unsearchable. And he is a God of purpose and love, having the best interest of His children at heart. God is totally good. And the devil? He is the author of evil. He comes to kill, steal and destroy. Satan delights in making man miserable, lost and banished. Satan is totally bad. He is a deceiver, a liar and is wicked. However, Satan cannot force man to do evil. The Bible says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Meaning, I can prevent the birds from nesting on my head, even if I can’t stop them from flying over me. Hence, He says in another scripture ‘Know you not, that to whom you yield yourself servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey: whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness’?
Thus, in every evil done, we can trace the source. Even those who yield to Satan and become his instruments can be delivered, and the victims set free by the power of God. Playing the blame game is never a solution. We certainly cannot understand it all on this side of eternity, but we can trust God, Who holds all eternity.
‘God Cannot Be Associated With Evil’
(His Eminence Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche, Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN)
GOD cannot be held responsible, as He created man a good person, a holy person. God is the Creator of Holy Order. He is righteous and cannot be associated with evil. There are two things that happen: one, God left man with free conscience, which can either be influenced by the demon or by the Spirit of God. Man has a choice to allow the Spirit of God or the spirit of the devil to influence him. Those that allow the Spirit of God to influence them are the positive ones. They are the virtuous ones, who do the right things, while those that allow the devil to control them are those that do evil.
For instance, in the Garden of Eden, Eve allowed the devil to deceive her and through that act, the husband was also deceived. And that is the problem we are suffering now. So, that is what the devil can do to man.
Man can be free from the devil by believing in Jesus Christ. If you believe in Jesus Christ and you are close to God, you will be able to overcome the devil. Sometimes, man acts out of his own free will. Sometimes, the devil may not be held responsible, but when God influences the will of man, he can never do evil. When marriages crash it is the act of the devil, just as is careless driving causes accident.
For instance, during the last general election in Nigeria, it was the Spirit of God that possessed former President Goodluck Jonathan to concede defeat, because if not, you and I would not be here today. If PDP had won the election under Jonathan, we would not be here today, as everybody would have run away. But God wanted peace, hence He allowed Jonathan to say, ‘I concede defeat.’ God cannot be blamed for any evil. He is not the Author of confusion or evil. God is always the Author of righteousness. When He created the world, the Bible says, “Everything which He created was good.” Anything adulterated is by the devil; God is always on the right path.
‘Human Beings Can Represent The Devil And Cause You To Do Evil’
(Alhaji Fasasi Gbagba, President, Jamaat-ul Islamiyya of Nigeria and Overseas)
When a man does something evil, our belief is that that act is caused by the devil, because God will not lead you to do evil. God has warned us not to misbehave or do evil. He will not instigate you to do something bad. Naturally, when someone acts in a wrong way, God is not to be blamed for the action. Sometimes man is influenced to do evil by his fellowmen. For instance, the dishonest student that tells his parents that the school fees is N2, 000 instead of N1, 500 is being instigated by his friends, because they have been extorting money from their own parents through that method and want to corrupt the good ones among them. So, human beings can lead you to do something evil, as God will never direct you to cheat others. Everything that is not good is caused by the devil. Human beings can represent the devil.
A thief can influence another good fellow to steal, but God will never direct you to steal. The Qur’an, just like the Bible, tells us not to steal; yet people are stealing. We are also enjoined not to kill our fellowmen; that it is against the law of God, but people are doing so. This is not caused by God but by the devil. The devil would say, “Do it nothing is going to happen,” but if you obey, you are dancing to the tune of the devil.
The Qur’an says if you do it, you are going against the wish of Almighty Allah, and that is why any true Muslim should always pray this prayer, “Please Allah prevent me from committing this evil or sin.” And the moment you said that prayer with good intention, Allah would strengthen your mind and you won’t commit that evil act. Even when somebody is promising you heaven and earth, if you are a true Muslim, you would not listen to that man or woman’s voice, that the devil is trying to use.
Allah is not asking us to do anything that is capable of injuring our fellowmen. Rather, they are being directed by their own will, especially if the devil’s will overpowers theirs. If you obey the devil, then he has captured your will power. That is why people are killing fellow human beings and looting the treasury. So, when your mind tells you to do something evil and your mind is telling you that that thing is wrong, at that moment you are expected to pray to Allah to prevent you from committing that sin and such prayers have always been answered by Almighty Allah. But if you are the type that believes that you can get away with anything, something is going to happen if you do it. So, once the will of Allah is not with you, you can commit any offence because you refused Allah to direct your conscience.
On the issue of identifying the hands of God in man’s actions, I would use a student to paint a picture of who is good or evil. When an honest student receives a bill of N1, 500 from his school, he would deliver it like that to his parents without altering it. But the evil one would change his to read N2, 000 instead of N1, 500. They are in the same school and are friends. One is following a bad gang to cheat his parents, while the other is being guided by the will of Allah. One is being guided by the will of Satan, while the other is being guided by the will of Allah. So, the difference is clear. Anything that you do, which is not in conformity with Allah’s will is the devil’s direction and not Allah’s. Once you don’t do the right thing, you have completely deviated from the principles of Allah, and the Qur’an says, “By their fruits you shall know them.” So, you would always know those that are pretending by their action.
‘Only Christ Can Help You Overcome Evil’
(Moji Solanke, the Media Representative of Christian Science Church in Nigeria)
GOD is good. The Bible tells us He is of purer eyes than to behold evil (Habakkuk 1:13). God’s acts or works is good (Genesis 1:31), and stands forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14). Man has the spiritual capacity to distinguish good from bad. Christ enables anyone actively listening to God’s voice, to hear and understand. It is man’s duty to obey. Whatever is not of God, is a temptation – coming first to thought – the carnal mind – to act contrary to God’s law. Of itself, evil is powerless, because, like Jesus, man has God-given authority to identify devilish suggestions, and refuse to cooperate with them. In truth, God is all-acting, and governs His child. Resisting wrong acts with the help of Christ the Mediator, overcomes evil. Any supposed pleasure in sin is neither lasting nor real.
God alone truly governs man, but anyone that chooses to believe in the superiority and power of evil – the opposite of the Infinite God – submits to what the Bible calls the carnal or mortal mind, which is enmity against God (Romans 8:7). Instead of blaming the devil for bad acts, Christians should endeavour, through Christianisation of daily life – constant spiritual watchfulness and unceasing prayer, to follow the example of Christ Jesus as closely as we are able, assured God works with us, as we work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12,13).
We must know the truth about man, because the truth sets free (John 8:32). Is man entirely spiritual, subject only to God? Or is he entirely material, subject only to evil? Or is he a combination of both, sometimes godly and other times devilish? ‘God made man upright but they have sought out many inventions’ says Ecclesiastes 7:29. These Scriptural verses imply that spiritual man is forever free from the devil or evil. Our freedom depends on which definition of man we accept as truth.
‘We Are Responsible For Our Actions And Inactions’
(Pastor Isaac Adeyemi, Senior Pastor, Embrace International Assembly, Ikorodu, Lagos)
GOD is the Creator of the universe and mankind as a whole. Everything He created is good. He created man for His own good purpose: to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue and to have dominion. God works in man to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Phil.2: 13).
Thus, we can say that there is nothing that happens to anyone without the knowledge of God. He is a loving Father, Who is good to all mankind. However, He is sovereign, which means He is unquestionable in His ways. He says: “I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things” (Isa.45: 7) NKJV.
The devil is man’s chief enemy and evil personified, meaning he is evil in all ramifications and the Bible says ‘he is a roaring lion, seeking whom to devour.’ This means that the devil is constantly seeking to rope unsuspecting individuals into doing evil. That being said, it is, however, pertinent to say that every human being has a role to play in whatever becomes of him, because the Scripture says, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;”(Deut.30: 19) NKJV.
God has given us all the will power. Therefore, we are not completely helpless, as some people believe. We are responsible for our actions and inactions. The devil is in the business of tempting, however, individuals have the will power to either resist or fall into temptation. The Bible says, “For we do not have a High Priest, who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”(Heb.4:15-16)NKJV. It is not what we can achieve on our own, but we have sufficient grace from God to help us in our weaknesses. It, therefore, behoves on us to either access God’s grace or resist the devil, so that he can flee; or to fall into his temptation and suffer the consequences of our actions.
‘God Permitted The Devil To Test Job’
(Bishop Moses Adedipe, General Superintendent, The Universal Christian Missions International, Inc., Lagos)
FROM biblical account, we are aware that our first parents were created and put in a choice environment and they were INNOCENT. Their innocence does not preclude the fact that they were capable of doing evil, but there was just no need to do it. They lived in that state for a while until an external force came and enticed them to use some of their innate power, which is the power to choose, to do something, contrary to the environment which was in the form of eating a particular fruit tree they had been warned not to eat. So, they exercised their will of choice and did what was not lawful at that time. Once the act was completed, man’s will to not always want to use his will contrary to the environment or perceived instructed good, was compromised and he became a creature that now freely uses his will to do what he likes.
Having gained the ascendancy over man, the external force continued to interfere with man’s will through suggestions, reorientations, perversions and negativities among others. And all man needs to do is to say yes or no. But the ability or the urge to really say no is greatly impaired because all that matters to him now is how does this benefit me? The ability of man to either do evil or good is limitless, but his inclinations are often dictated by what he now considers good or evil without regard to the Supreme rule, as defined by the Holy One. So, his judgments are even impaired!
This earth still belongs to God and the devil (adversary; enemy) is all out to discredit God to man and man to God. A quick example is that of Job in the Bible. God gave permission to the devil to test Job. People in the world would begin to see failed building projects, structural defect, when Job house collapsed. They would see the activities of terrorists and bandits, when Job’s business empire crumbled. Behind this act, however, was the denial.
Suddenly, a despotic king came from his own nation (Iraq) and colonised another country (Israel) and kept them in colonisation for 70 years, but we are told in the scripture that it was as a result of Godly punishment on the colonised nation.
Did God also send the British to colonise us for our sins? To separate the acts of devil from God’s act, one only needs to measure the acts against the revealed will of God concerning the matter. The devil is not responsible for all bad acts of man, because man has the ability to do good and bad i.e. to choose. So, man makes final decision, but remember that the decision that man takes has been greatly influenced by the weakened will for good brought by the devil.
Man will be free from the devil during the millennium reign of Christ, but that is another matter. Even after Jesus sets man free from sin in this world, the devil still comes to try and seduce man to do evil. The devil gives wealth. God gives wealth. The devil causes evil, but God brings judgment. The burning sulphur that consumed Sodom and Gomorrah with all the inhabitants was done by God not devil. See? However, we believe in the correctness of the Holy One. He never does wrong. He is the sovereign God. His acts are consistent with His revealed will. Sometimes, His genuine representatives interpret this will to us from His word.
One can decide to blame man, others may choose to blame the devil, and then some may dare to blame God! Really, the matter here is not to apportion any blame. Men may not believe, but we know that the solution is with us. There are those that will sincerely believe, and so, for the sake of the elect, keep on preaching the truth.
