Five Ways Christians Glorify Satan

1. We glorify satan when we give him credit for every problem in our life.

I often hear Christians say that one of satan’s biggest deceptions is convincing people that he doesn’t exist.  This may be true, but the problem I see is that some Christians believe he exist in every area of their lives.  They often give satan credit for every problem they experience in their life.  I know that we have an adversary and I know that he can hinder us at times as he did the Apostle Paul (1 Thessalonians 2:18).  However, it is not uncommon to hear Christians “blame satan” for everything from a flat tire to their computer crashing.  Satan is given the credit for things that in any other person’s life, would simply be the result of poor choices, poor planning, or just mechanical failure.  Christians don’t realize they are giving him glorify by constantly calling his name, giving him credit.  I have been in a church where the Pastor would begin every service by “binding the devil”.  He was unwittingly giving satan glory and honor by constantly speaking of him at the start of every service.

Christians are quick to give satan credit for any problems they experience at the airline customs gate or in coordinating travel plans.  This is especially true if these Christians are on a mission trip to another country to “carry out the great commission.”  Any problem is therefore attributed to the power of satan.  Yet these things happen to tens of thousands of “normal” travelers every day.  To give satan credit for these things is to give him far too much credit.  Make sure that as you go through life, you don’t give credit and glory to satan for things he has nothing to do with.  Life is full of problems, and everybody has problems, and these problems do not come upon you because satan is targeting you.  Your car tire became flat because you ran over a nail, you got fired from your job because you broke company rules.   In all likelihood, satan doesn’t even know you exist, and even if he does, he’s not going to waste his time by attacking your car engine or slowing you down at the check-out counter.

2. We glorify satan when we talk as if God created satan.

There is no verse in the Bible where God said, “Let there be satan”.  God didn’t create the devil.  God made Lucifer, man made satan.  I know this is a shocking statement for some to hear but allow me to offer you another viewpoint.  This is so important for you to understand because this will change how you view satan and his works forever.  You will never again doubt your authority over the devil.  You will realize that he is an inferior being to every child of God and any fear you have of him will disappear as you realize greater is He who is in you, then he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

God created Lucifer as a powerful anointed angel.  The scripture gives us Lucifer’s location as the Garden of Eden:  You were in Eden, the garden of God; (Ezekiel 28:13).  Notice, he is in “Eden, the garden of God” not as satan but as Lucifer.  What is he doing in Eden?  I believe he was doing what angels were created by God to do, he was there to minister to Adam and Eve.  Hebrews 1:14 says this about angels:

“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

Lucifer was in the Garden of Eden on divine assignment, he was an angelic being who was there to minister to Adam and Eve and serve them.  It was in the Garden and not in Heaven that his transgression against God was conceived and carried out.  Most people refer to Revelation chapter 12 as a war in Heaven that took place between God’s angels and Lucifer and he was defeated and cast to the earth.  Most say this battle in Revelation 12 took place long before man was created.  This is not what is pictured there at all.  This is not a battle with Lucifer, but this is “the dragon”, he is fighting against the birth of Jesus and he is called the “accuser of our brethren”.  Most of us were taught that God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden where there was a super-natural angelic being called satan who was there to tempt them.  I don’t believe that God would place His children in such a vulnerable and dangerous situation.  Would you do that to your kids where they were so obviously out-gunned and out-matched?  I didn’t think so.  I don’t believe that God did that to Adam and Eve.

Lucifer may have been one of God’s only three Archangels (Michael and Gabriel are the others) but he still was not satisfied with his position and wanted more.  He was jealous, envious, and filled with pride; he actually wanted to take God’s place.  We must remember that God did something for man that He had never done with any other of His creation.  Man was created in the very image and likeness of God.  He was given dominion and unconditional authority over this earth (Genesis 1:26).  Adam and Eve had something that Lucifer wanted and that he thought he could use to “ascend into heaven and be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14).  Lucifer’s plan was to get Adam and Eve to willingly relinquish their authority to him, then he could become the god of this world.  When Adam and Eve yielded to Lucifer, he became satan, God didn’t make him so, God didn’t grant him authority over this world.  Remember satan told Jesus during His temptation in the wilderness that “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish (Luke 4:6).  Who “delivered” this authority to him?  Adam did.

What implication does this have to us as a New Testament believer?  It means with the victory of Jesus on the cross, that Jesus took back that authority that Adam had delivered to him.  It means that satan does not have power and authority over a believer.  He can only deceive people into believing that he still has authority.  The only power and authority he has today is because of the cooperation of a human being who will believe his lies and empower him.

3. We glorify satan when we make him a god.

Satan is a fallen angelic being.  He is not a god, he has never been a god.  He is only a god of this world to people who yield to him.  The way some Christians talk about satan, they are attributing omniscience and omnipresence to satan, which are attributes of God alone.  Satan cannot be everywhere at once, and so it is nearly certain that none of us will ever have a personal encounter with satan in our entire life.  I believe the devil would be like the evil spirit in the book of Acts, “Jesus I Know, Paul I know, but who are you?”  (Acts 19:15).

4. We glorify satan when we are quick to diagnose someone as having a demon.

I know that this point might aggravate those with a “deliverance” ministry, but to quickly blame a person’s problems on a demon is to glorify and honor satan.  I have been preaching and pastoring for over 32 years and I have seen much damage done to people who were told they had a demon.  I think that some are quick to diagnose someone as “having a demon” because they don’t want to deal with the psychological, emotional, mental, or spiritual issues that the person in question is actually dealing with.  It’s just easier to write someone off as “having a demon” than to do the hard work of loving, healing, restoring, and mending that may need to be done with someone who suffers in such ways.

5. We glorify satan when we engage in satanic accusations.

The word “satan” is a Hebrew word means “accuser.”  His accusing nature is clearly seen in nearly every passage in Scripture where satan is described.  He accuses God of withholding something good from Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), and he accuses God of showing favoritism to Job (Job 1).  In Luke 4 and Matthew 4, he accuses, challenges, and questions the mission and purpose of Jesus. The New Testament refers to him as the “accuser of the brethren” (Rev 12:10).  While God only loves, forgives, and accepts, Satan only judges, accuses, and condemns.  So when we Christians judge, accuse, and condemn others, whose example are we following?  Are we more like God or more like satan?  When we demonize our enemies, so we can condemn them, we mimic satan rather than God.  When we accuse and condemn those who we think are “sinners,” we mimic satan rather than God. By mimicking satan, we worship and glorify him.

If we were to mimic God, we would love unconditionally, forgive infinitely, and accept unreservedly.  Let us rise up and reveal to people the outrageous love and grace of God.