SATAN'S ASSAULT ON THE INDIVIDUAL (Part One)

By Bob Myhan

he Scripture says, "be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Satan, in his efforts to devour, attacks on four separate fronts: individual, family, civil government, and church. In this issue, we begin a study of the individual front, and Satan’s assault thereupon.

n order to understand Satan's assault on the individual front, it is necessary to understand this "front" as well as we can. Of all God's physical creatures, the human individual, in the infant stage, is the most helpless, and is helpless for the longest period of time. As a consequence, you and I were born into the world with physical needs that we could not meet [hunger we could not satisfy, and pain we could not relieve, for example]. This is in all probability why Adam was created as an adult, rather than as an infant. But man is more than just a physical being with physical needs. He is also a spiritual being with spiritual needs. And he is even more helpless, spiritually, than he is, physically. The Bible says, "Oh Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jer. 10:23). Without God's help, man could not know if he had any spiritual needs, much less what they were or how to supply them.

he devil's primary assault is not against the body, although he often afflicts the body as a part of his overall attack plan. He is far more interested in our spirits, for only the spirit is capable of a right relationship with God. While sin may be committed with the body, it begins in the heart (Matt. 12:35; 15:16-20). Thus, if Satan wants to entice us to sin, he must first enter our hearts. But we can resist his efforts, and are told to do so: "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). So, if we have a better understanding of what the heart is, we can better understand how Satan will attack, and be better prepared to resist him. Forewarned is forearmed!

hen we speak of the heart, in relation to sin, we do not mean the physical heart but the spiritual heart. By analyzing the functions of the spiritual heart, we can better understand its nature. First, it can be said with certainty that the heart is intellectual, because of its intellectual operations. Men “think” in their hearts (Matt. 9:4), “reason” in their hearts (Mark 2:8) and “understand” with their hearts (Matt. 13:15). Thus the intellect, or mind, is at least a part of the spiritual heart.

e can say, with equal certainty, that the heart is emotional. Moses wrote, "You shall not hate your brother in your heart" (Lev. 19:17). Hate is an emotion. Peter wrote, "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart" (1 Peter 1:22). Love is emotion. So, man's heart is the seat of his emotions, as well as his intellect.

he Bible also teaches that the heart is ethical in nature, or that it functions in the realm of "right or good conduct." For example, the heart either does or does not condemn us, based on whether we believe we are obeying God's commandments or not (1 John 3:20-22). When the Bible mentions the heart in its ethical capacity, it speaks of the conscience (Rom. 2:14,15; John 8:1-9).

he Scriptures also describe the heart as being volitional in nature ["of or relating to free exercise of the will,"]. The Scriptures speak of the intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12), purposing in the heart (2 Cor. 9:7) and obeying from the heart (Rom. 6:17), all of which are functions of the will. Therefore the will is a part of the heart wherein sin is conceived.

hus, in order to influence us to sin, Satan must invade our thoughts, and try to make us think and act in ways that would not be pleasing to God. This invasion of the spiritual heart is temptation to sin, and your only defense is to think on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report (Phil. 4:8), and to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment" (Mark 12:30). This means we must learn, love, approve and will to do the will of God, if we are to resist the devil. [To be continued] &

TRANSLATIONS #2

By William Sexton

ith but a little consideration, I believe we can agree that translating is a difficult process. It requires capable persons first -- who have the ability and knowledge of both the original and the present language into which the translation is being made; secondly, it requires persons who are careful and will respectfully translate the original in every detail, leaving out nothing, adding nothing! Beloved, in our day there is a danger -- I affirm -- to the average Christian or religiously interested person, relative to translations.

irst, there are so many so-called translations being presented in the advertisement world. Many of them make claims that are not accurate and offer a young interested generation something that is not delivered.

econdly, many new translations, so-called, are not in fact TRANSLATIONS at all. Rather, they are works of persons who do not actually believe in God or the inspiration that is claimed by the writers of the Old and New Testament, in the originals. Too, there are people who have a denominational bias and their false concepts come through.

lso, inasmuch as there are may so-called "Translations" with various renderings of passages, people become confused as to what the meaning is and decide that, perhaps, it is not really important to be careful, anyway, in their use/misuse of the scriptures.

eloved, I challenge you to be careful in your selection of a "Translation." Furthermore, I challenge my brethren who are quick to make claims that we have better and more accurate information than was available to the translators in 1611 and 1901 -- when the King James and the American Standard translations were made. Offer that specific information and allow it to be examined and critically dealt with before you cast doubt in minds concerning the King James and American Standard translations. Do you KNOW for sure of that which you speak? Have you considered the consequences of such information being accepted and dealt with by the person who knows little of the Bible? Did people have a reliable translation before these NEW ones came along?

 ask each to look at two areas in the new translations: 1) relative to the Nature of Jesus Christ, His Deity, the fact that He was born of a virgin, etc., because there are many in our day who reject the Deity of Jesus and the Divine inspiration of the Bible which the original very definitely teaches literally and emphatically, and 2) relative to denominational errors which are held very prominently by some larger denominations today -- such as being saved by faith only and Premillennialism, or the thousand-year earthly reign by Christ.

lso, there are false concepts held and advocated relative to the nature of man: that he is born a sinner, etc. Such is false and will injure one spiritually, if they study and are convinced that such is true. So, beloved, be extra carefully when you purchase a book that has "Holy Bible" on it. Consider the translations. &