From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part seven of a series. Read part six.

Satan can, by God's sovereign permission, attack the believer. But he cannot take away your salvation.

In previous articles, we have discussed Satan's origin as Lucifer, his essential nature as the adversary of God and the saints, and the father of lies, his role as the destroyer, and his relationship to this present world. Today we begin the study of a fifth category of Biblical data revealed through Satan's names - his relationship to believers in Christ.

Some Christians, when they fall prey to the temptations of Satan, are grieved about it in such a way that they doubt that they were saved at all, or even wonder if Satan has robbed them of eternal life. But the Bible gives the believer in Christ iron-clad assurance that although Satan wages war against you in time, he cannot have you for eternity.

The Triune God's Unbreakable Guarantee

In John chapter ten, Jesus speaks of the absolute security of the true believer against any possibility that Satan could rob you of your salvation:

"The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [the Good Shepherd] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." (John 10:27-30)

This passage, and Romans 8:31-39, form an absolute, immutable assurance of the eternal security of the true believer in Christ. Satan the accuser cannot bring any genuine accusation against God's elect (Romans 8:33), much less rob you of your salvation in Christ. The Father and the Son have a "double grip" on the believer in Christ that cannot be broken by anyone, not even Satan. The great thief of the universe cannot steal from God the Father those who are His most prized possession, purchased at the price of the blood of His own Son.

Furthermore, the third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, has an unbreakable hold upon you as well. He is the seal or the guarantee of our redemption as God's purchased possession:

"In Him [the Son] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His [the Father's] grace...in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:7, 13-14)

Our salvation rests not upon our works, nor upon our feelings - much less upon our own resistance of Satan's power. God Himself has sealed our salvation with an oath concerning His Son, our Savior:

"And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: 'The Lord has sworn and will not relent, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek" '), by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost [literally, 'save completely and utterly'] those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:20-25)

Our ability to wage war against the enemy of our souls in this life rests in the immutable fact of God's salvation. The guarantee that we have in writing in His Word of truth is the arsenal of our warfare:

"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." (Ephesians 6:14-17)

"What then shall we say to these things? If (better translated, since) God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).

Next: Can Satan Possess the Believer?

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