The Devil Devours

-1 Pet 5:8-9

-What does the devil want to accomplish with his marketing efforts and temptation?  -  to separate us

  from God. 

-He does this by devouring us.

-What is meant by “devour”?

-devour – (American Heritage Dict) – 1.  to eat up greedily  2.  to destroy, consume, waste  3.  to take

          in eagerly  4.  to prey upon voraciously (with an insatiable appetite)

-This fits well with the portrayal of Satan as a lion seeking its prey.

-devour – (Vines) – the word used here in 1 Pet 5:8 is from two Greek words meaning “down” and

                                “to drink” – hence to drink down

            -Matt 23:24 – translated “swallow”

            -1 Cor 15:52-54 – “swallowed”

            -2 Cor 2:7 – “swallowed up” – The idea here is of being completely overcome.

-The devil is out there attempting to swallow as many as he can in sin.

-The use of the word devour indicates an image of completeness and totality.

            -Satan want to effect us completely/totally.

-He wants our complete and total separation from God.

-Examples of Others Being Swallowed by Satan

-Gen 6:5-9

            -Here is a description of the people that had been swallowed by the devil.

            -But Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord – Why?

                        -vs 9 – because he walked with God

            -Satan had not been able to devour Noah.

-Gen 18:20-32

            -The Lord said He would spare Sodom and Gomorrah is He found 10 who were righteous.

            -Gen 19:15,24-25

            -The cities were destroyed because they had been swallowed / devoured by Satan.

-Matt 12:30-32

            -Is there a sin for which we cannot be forgiven?  This passage seems to indicate so but my

              answer to the question is a firm “no”.

            -Now is there a sin for which a person will not be forgiven of?  Yes.  There are many sins for

              which many people will not receive forgiveness. 

                        -There is a big difference between cannot and will not.

                        -1 John 1:7-9 tells us that we can be cleansed from all unrighteousness.

            -What must a person do to receive forgiveness?  They must repent.  (Acts 17:30, Luke 13:3, etc)

                        -Those who sinned against the Holy Spirit could be forgiven if they repented.  However, they

                    had sunk to such a depth of sinfulness that they had no desire to repent and therefore would

                    not be forgiven.  They were devoured by Satan.

-Heb 6:4-6 – This passages talks of those who turn away from the faith to such a point that it is

                                 impossible to renew them again.  They are devoured by sin.

            -2 Pet 2:20-22

-What does this mean for us?

-We may take the attitude of “That will never happen to me” or “I’ll never sink to that level”.  But,

  as soon as we grow comfortable and complacent and let our guard down, we are in very dangerous

  territory.

-And what about those around us including our families, neighbors and friends?

            -2 Tim 4:2

-We must continue to resist the devil – 1 Pet 5:9, Jas 4:7

-1 Cor 15:58

-2 Pet 3:17