Don't Be An Instrument Of The Devil!

    It is obvious to any Bible student that the devil used the serpent as an instrument to tempt Eve. Paul said, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtility, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (2 Cor. 11:3). Moses said, "Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." (Gen. 3:1-6). The serpent was a subtle and wise beast (Gen. 3:1; Mt. 10:16), but he allowed the Devil to use him and thus he ended up with a curse from God. Moses said, "And the Lord said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon they belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Gen. 3:14,15). There is no question but what the Devil was behind the serpent, because John said, "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." (1 Jn. 3:8). Apparently the serpent was an upright creature, able to talk to Eve, and had a diet much better than dust, before God placed a curse upon him. He was wise, but not wise enough; because he allowed the devil to use him as an instrument to get Eve to sin. The serpent still suffers as a result of his being an instrument of Satan. He still crawls upon his belly and eats dust.

    Even though men are wise, as the serpent was wise, frequently they become instruments of the devil to tempt someone. Eve was not only deceived by the serpent, but allowed the devil to use her as an instrument to destroy her husband (Gen. 3:6). Many women since that time have been used by the devil to destroy their husbands. Frequently they are unaware of the fact that the devil is using them. The devil used Jezebel to destroy her husband. "But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up." (1 Kings 21:25). Since that time there have been many Jezebels whom the devil has used as his instruments to destroy people. Not only have wives been used, but mothers as well. Ahaziah is an example of a young man whom the devil was able to destroy by using his mother as an instrument. "He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly." (2 Chron. 22:3). All wives and mothers need to realize that the devil is waiting for an opportunity to use them as an instrument to destroy the souls of their husbands and children. The devil was able to use Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, as an instrument to appeal to the lustful eyes of king David and thus destroy a man after Gods own heart. (2 Sam. 11; 1 Sam. 13:14). No doubt the devil looked for the most attractive woman he could find which he could use to set a trap for king David. Many times since that day the devil has used the same old trick to destroy many good men. Women need to be on guard, because if you will consent, the devil will use you as an instrument to tempt men to their downfall. Women ought never allow the devil to use them as an instrument by getting them to dress or undress in such a way as to entice men to look upon them and commit adultery with them in their heart. (Mt. 5:28).

    Peter became an instrument of the devil, without his being aware of it; until the Lord pointed it out to him. "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." (Mt. 16:21-23). Peter, no doubt, had the best of intentions. The devil was using Peter and this was the farthest thing from Peter's mind. Jesus recognized what was happening and fought off the devil as He always did. We ought to familiarize ourselves with the following passage of scripture: "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices." (2 Cor. 2:11). We may have the best of intentions while all the time the devil is using us as an instrument to destroy the people we love the most: our wives, husbands, and children. If the devil could use Peter to attempt to destroy the Son of God, without Peter being aware of it; then certainly he can use us to attempt to destroy those we love the most, without our being aware of it. This was not the only time Satan used Peter to influence others for bad. Jesus informed Peter that Satan desired to have him that the might sift him as wheat (Lk. 22:31). The devil was able to get Peter to withdraw from the Gentiles when certain Jews came down from Jerusalem. The devil was able to use Peter to get others to turn aside with him, even Barnabas (Gal. 2:11-13). Paul recognized what was going on and rebuked Peter for becoming an instrument of the devil (Gal. 2:14-16).

    It should be obvious to all that the devil uses all he can to teach error in order that he might destroy as many as he can. "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." (2 Cor. 11:13-15). One such false teach was used as an instrument of the devil to seek to turn away Sergius Paulus from the faith (Acts 13:7,8). Paul said to the sorcerer, Elymas: "O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:9,10). Simon the sorcerer was being used as an instrument of the devil to bewitch the people of Samaria, until Philip came down to Samaria and the people could see the difference between the genuine and the fake; even Simon was amazed at the genuine miracles performed by Philip (Acts 8:5-13). Later there were the false brethren who came from Judaea to Antioch (Acts 15). No doubt many of them thought they taught the truth but were mere instruments of the devil, which the devil used in his effort to destroy the church.

    We should not be ignorant of Satan's devices (2 Cor. 2:11). We need to be on constant guard and always watch and be sure that we do not allow the devil to use us as a tool or instrument to destroy others as well as ourselves.