Does loving God mean OPPOSING the satan or being thankful for death and destruction?

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In 2009 the Barna group published a survey in which forty percent (40%), or four out of ten, “self-proclaimed Christians” strongly agreed that the satan “is not a living being but (rather he is just) a symbol of evil.” Of course, that is completely unscriptural and wrong.

That was 10 years ago. Imagine what the results of that same survey would be today…

Others acknowledge the devil’s existence but they have no desire to stand against the enemy of their souls. I touched upon this issue in this article also.

Some who choose to not stand against evil are very sincere people that are just following what they have been taught from the pulpit.

Some people even thank God for the hell that the devil is wreaking in their lives.

What is love
So let’s begin answering our question above, “Does loving God mean OPPOSING the satan, or thanking him for the death and destruction that he causes?”.

Matthew 22:36-39
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
“This is the great and foremost commandment.
“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

The “New Testament” / Renewed Covenant translates various Greek words into the same English word “love”.

In Matthew 22: 36-39 the Greek word that is translated into the English word “love” is the word “agape”. In most cases, the King James Version translates the Greek word agape into the English word “Charity”. Charity is really a pretty good translation. Agape refers to selfless giving.

Matthew 22:36-39 tells us to give selflessly to God and others.

So what happens when a person or group fails to love and instead, they place their own desires above others?

Consequences
From the very moment a person or group chooses to place their own desires above another’s, that person or group has dictated that someone is going to leave the situation with an offense against them.

Here is an example. Several years ago a very nice family attended our congregation. They were a rather large family by today’s standards. The mom and dad were in their early forties and they had something like seven children. I think that four of them were girls. The children ranged from approximately 2 – 12. All of these numbers are close but approximate. It has been a while now.

The family had left the Seventh Day Adventist church. Seventh-Day Adventists are pacifists; therefore, so was this family. Everyone in the family was very nice. The father was a logger.

One day I was giving a teaching and they were present. I don’t remember what the teaching was about but I remember saying to the man something like “so if someone were to break into your house at night and attack your daughters wouldn’t you try to stop him?”

The answer astounded me. You guessed it. Without hesitating his response was “NO”. He said that he would not fight to defend his family because we are to love and turn the other cheek.

I am not going to address “Turning the other cheek” in this article but quickly: That saying is not to be taken at face value. It had cultural significance. It would be like someone today saying something like “he jumped from the frying pan into the fire”. If someone from a non-English culture were to read that 2,000 years from now they would have absolutely no idea what it meant. It is the same way with “turn the other cheek”. We are from a different culture and we speak a different language with different metaphors.

Does love mean non-opposition?

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like, unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:36-39

One of the fallacies associated with this issue is that “Christians” are called to “love” everyone and therefore, they must never oppose anyone. Or maybe they can oppose them, but just not physically. Are you confused yet? I am.

Embracing this nonsensical ideology has numerous detrimental results; one of which is it prevents people from fulfilling their God-given destiny in Yeshua.

More specifically, the reasoning goes like this: If Yahweh is the God of love, and we are commanded to love as He loves, then we should not fight against people. This thought is extended out to apply to any and every situation, person, or group of people.

As a result, innocent victims are tossed about in the sea of life like a bobber in a gale. Because of this, they are incapable of fulfilling the destiny and calling that God has waiting for them.

Regarding the family referenced above; how do you think a young child would handle being abused by someone who broke into their house while their father stood by and watched because God told him to love the person who was abusing you?

It may, just might, set the victim back a bit don’t ya’ think?

Loving others the right way
The instant a person or group chooses to place their own desires above the wants or needs of another, that person or group has set something into motion that only they can change.

Again, in reference to the story above, once someone decides to break into a house at night, and they do so, someone is going to suffer an offense and the only person who can rectify the situation is the initial offender; the intruder.

So at that point, the questions are 1)who is going to be offended, 2)who is going to be the recipient of “love” and 3)who is going to be the recipient of “justice”.

Along with stealing, in this case, the offender is doing the devil’s bidding by unleashing death and destruction. If the offender is left to their own desires and devices then whoever owns the property they steal or destruct are victims as well as whoever they choose to abuse while they are there.

On the other hand, if the perpetrator were to be stopped then the devil / demons that are motivating him would be opposed and the perpetrator would likely consider that to be an offense.

In this and every area of life the Word of God should be our plumbline.

What would “love” look like in this case?
Amos 5:15 and Romans 12:9 tell us to hate and abhor evil.

Also, the Scriptures are very clear that if a thief breaks into a house at night then they can be stopped. Mt. 24:43, Ex. 22:2

Along with that, 1 Timothy 5:8 says that “if any provide not (safety) for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

The Bible clearly expresses that, in this case, love clearly looks like a father hating evil and doing his best to protect his family. On the other hand, love is definitely NOT a father willingly looking on while his family is abused.

I hope that, in this story, you can see that love sometimes needs to go on the offensive.

Sometimes loves goes on the offensive
As another example: The Bible calls us to exhort one another unto Godliness. Exhorting means to lovingly provide correction to someone who is outside the will of God. Is that offensive? It can be if the recipient doesn’t receive it properly.

So let’s say that someone offers loving correction to another but the receiving party is still offended, doesn’t receive it well, and then becomes belligerent. Does that mean that the person offering correction was in error? Absolutely not; even if someone becomes offended in the process.

Similar to the story about the family above; let’s say a few able-bodied thirty-something men are riding in a vehicle together and they see a woman being attacked by a single male of slight stature. Would it be “love” for the three men in the vehicle to “turn the other cheek”? Of course not.

The Bible instructs us to do what we can to preserve life. See Ex.23:4-5, Dt. 22:1-4 & 23-39, Dt. 31:6, Lk. 10:19, Jn. 17:15, Eph. 6:18

In this case, the law of preserving life would dictate that action should be taken to help the woman in distress.

So how does Yahweh God love?
God loves in many ways. For Adam and Eve, it was placing them in an environment in which all of their needs were met and telling them to take dominion.

For Yeshua it involved making a cat of nine tails and using it to clear the moneychangers from the temple: Not just once; but at least twice.

For Noah it was showing him how to build an ark and giving him time to build it before the floods came, removing the rest of the population. For Israel it was inflicting plagues upon Egypt until Egypt encouraged Israel to leave their country, thus freeing them from bondage.

For you and I, love looked liked God sacrificing His own Son in a brutal, violent death, for us, in our stead.

“Does loving God mean OPPOSING the satan or being thankful for the death and destruction that he causes?”

Love vs. Hate
In this article, I have explained a little about how Yahweh God loves wholly and completely and some ways in which we can love others.

Just as Yahweh God loves wholly and completely, the devil hates wholly and completely.

As I explain in this article, the word “satan” means “adversary” or “accuser”. The devil roams the earth murdering, stealing and destroying. The devil is the father of death and lies.

Just as God’s love takes many forms so does the satan’s hate. For one it may appear as a disease, for another, it may materialize as a traffic crash.

It is wholly and completely wrong to be thankful that the devil has set his sites upon you and is now raining in one catastrophe after another with the goal of your demise.

In the same way, it is erroneous to be thankful for ANY activity that sets itself against the plans and purposes of Yahweh God and you are part of God’s plan.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of shalom, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

To be thankful for the devil’s murderous hate is to be double-minded, half baked, a divided house.

2 Corinthians 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God….

Jude 1:3
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Ephesians 6:10-12
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Conclusion
As you can see, love does not always appear as a hug and a kiss. It often does but it might also look like a Dad going off to work every day or a Mom standing at the sink washing dishes day in and day out.

Love takes many forms and sometimes it might even mean defending others who need assistance.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13

Blessings in Yeshua, 
Parson Rayphe
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