In this essay, my goal is to show the reader how sin and Satan can be exchanged and cause the holy Scripture I will use for this experiment to express more strongly how Satan influences our lives on Earth. The apostle Paul seems to use sin in his explanations of sin in Romans 7:7-25 and Romans 8:1-17, in such a way as to make 'sin' appear to be a living thing that causes us to sin even more.
In the holy Scriptures above, I will replace 'sin' with 'Satan' and 'sinful' with 'Satanic' wherever I feel it applies best. Some instances of 'sin' will remain as it is and other instances of 'sin' I will replace with Satan. Satan is known as the great deceiver and is responsible for the Satanic nature of humanity. Here is a quote from our Lord Christ Jesus that will support my rather shocking use of 'Satanic' in place of 'sinful'. In John 12:31 it reads as follows: "The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out." The previous quotation was taken from the New Living Translation.
Our Lord God would rather that we never sin. In fact, one sin can lead us to death if we never ask our Lord God to forgive us of our sins and accept our Lord Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If you are not a disciple of our Lord Christ Jesus then you are a disciple of Satan instead. Here is a quote from the holy Scripture that proves my assertion. Our Lord Christ Jesus stated the following in Matthew 12:30 which reads: "Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me"(NLT). Does this holy Scripture not say it all? There is no middle ground according to the words of our Lord Christ Jesus. You are either with him or you are against him and with Satan.
Paul suggests that sin lives within us and makes us sin. Implying that sin is a living force within us. And, not something wrong that we do. Although, you will see sin used in both ways as you read what Paul wrote in Romans 7:7-25 and Romans 8:1-17. I find this a bit odd. It is as if Paul is trying to avoid saying the reality that Satan does influence our lives much like the cartoon character which shows an angel on his one shoulder and a devil on his other shoulder and both are trying to influence the decision the cartoon character is trying to make. Even though this is only a cartoon it actually demonstrates there is a good versus evil struggle going on in our lives as we try to make the best decision only to have Satan or his demons try to influence us in a direction that Satan wants us to go. Which always leads to making a bad mistake or worse. At the same time, we have The Holy Spirit trying to influence us to do the right thing. If we follow the guidance of The Holy Spirit our lives will improve. Those who are not Christian are very likely to follow Satan's advice more often than not since they will not have The Holy Spirit living within them as a Christian will. The Holy Spirit will still try to guide them in the right direction; however, The Holy Spirit's influence in their lives is not as strong since they are followers of Satan. Usually without realizing it. Still, our Lord God died for everyone's sins and anyone can turn to him anytime they want to and then receive the full strength of The Holy Spirit's guidance in their lives.
I suggest you get out your copy of the holy Scriptures and read the verses I have selected in my experiment and perhaps read some of what I write and then read some of what your copy of the holy Scriptures may read like without the changes I have made. And, without further ado, my essay begins just below. I do hope you enjoy my experiment.
Romans 7:7-25
"Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, 'You must not covet.' But Satan used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, Satan would not have that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law's commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Satan took advantage of those commands and deceived me; he used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.
But how can that be? Did the law, which is good cause my death? Or course not! Satan used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible Satan really is. He uses God's good commands for his own evil purposes.
So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is Satan living in me that does it.
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my Satanic nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is Satan living in me that does it.
I have discovered this principle of life-that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to Satan that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by Satan and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my Satanic nature I am a slave to Satan."
Romans Chapter 8:1-17:
"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our Satanic nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to Satan's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our Satanic nature but instead follow the Spirit.
Those who are dominated by the Satanic nature think about Satanic things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your Satanic nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the Satanic nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. That's why those who are still under the control of their Satanic nature can never please God.
But you are not controlled by your Satanic nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your Satanic nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your Satanic nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, 'Abba, Father.' For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering."
Typed by Wayne Hill.
Inspired by The Holy Spirit.
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