CAPTURED BY SATAN

Victor M. Eskew

 

            The title of this verse comes from II Timothy 2:24.  Paul wrote:  “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”  There are many thoughts that penetrate into this writer’s mind as he contemplates being captured by Satan.

            First, the devil is the most vicious and evil warden to control a cell house.  Jesus described him during His earthly ministry.  “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do:  he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own:  for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).  The descriptions found in this one verse are enough for an entire sermon.  Jesus calls him “the devil.”  The word means “slanderer” or “false accuser.”  Jesus also describes him as a murdered.  The Lord said, “there is no truth in him.”  He is a liar.  He speaks lies.  And, he is the father of all lies.  Could anyone exist who is more evil?

            The Bible describes him in many ways:  adversary (I Pet. 5:8); impersonator, that is, he claims to be an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14); Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24, 27); dragon (Rev. 12:7); evil one (John 17:15); god of this world (II Cor. 4:4); oppressor (Acts 10:38); prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2); serpent (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9); tempter (Matt. 4:4); thief (Matt. 24:43; John 10:10); evil one (Matt. 6:13); and wicked one (Eph. 6:16).  Evil prison wardens have earned several nicknames through the years.  Satan’s titles, however, bring him to the top of the list of evil tyrants.  He is the most wicked of the wicked.  He is evil through and through.

            Second, his means of taking men captive are slick.  John describes his threefold means of attack in I John 2:16.  “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  Satan tempts our lusts.  The words “lusts” seem to be a strong word.  It simply means our desires.  “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed” (James 1:14).  Satan puts things in front of us for which we have a deep longing.  They look good.  They sound pleasing.  They look like they are fun.  We believe that they will complete us.  We think they will bring us fulfillment and satisfaction.  Therefore, we partake of them.  “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that is 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. 3:6).  Every human being has difficulty resisting the things that he truly desires.  Satan knows this.  Therefore, he tempts and tempts, and tempts again.

            Third, being in the clutches of Satan is an interesting study.  One, Satan convinces us that we are doing nothing wrong.  He fills our minds with justifications and rationalizations and “reasons” why we should engage in our iniquity.  “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this man Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him” (Exo. 32:1).  Two, while we are in our sins, we do not feel as though we are in captivity.  In fact, we feel like we are free.  We are free to do as we please.  We are free to live our lives free from the shackles of God and His Word.  No one has control over us.  We get to do as we please.  “And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?  I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go” (Exo. 5:2).  Three, we do not feel trapped by Satan until we desire to be free from him.  It is then that we feel the tightness of his grip on us.  Our minds long to be free, but we continue in our sins.  When we see our true condition, we have gone down the road of iniquity a lot farther than we desired to go.  We feel the hurt and the devastation of Satan’s burdens, but we have great difficulty leaving his prison.  “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood.  And they said, What is that to us?  See thou to that.  And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself” (Matt. 27:3-5).  Judas felt Satan’s chains upon him.  They led him to put a noose upon his neck and commit suicide.

            Yes, Satan is the cruelest prison warden who has ever lived.  He longs to capture all men.  He takes pleasure in bringing all of his prisoners to destruction.  He yearns for them to ultimately be punished with him in the lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. 20:10, 15).  Let’s go back now to Paul’s words of II Timothy 2:24.  He notes that there is a way for Satan’s captives to “recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.”  There is hope for all prisoner of the evil one.

            Release is found through Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He paid a very hefty price so that all men can be released from Satan’s bondage.  Pal told the saints in Corinth:  “For ye are bought with a price…” (I Cor. 6:20).  The price was Jesus’ precious blood.  “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Pet. 1:18-19).  This blood can be applied to the lives of men by means of a simple formula:  trust and obey.  If we will believe in Him as the Son of God (John 8:24), repent of our sins (Luke 13:3), confess His sweet name (Rom. 10:9-10), and come in contact with His saving blood in the waters of baptism (Rom. 6:3-5), we can leave the prison of Satan and enter into the blessed fold of Jesus Christ.  Jesus pleads for all men to come.  “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:  and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).

            Will you come?  Why do you wait, dear brother?  Why keep Jesus waiting?  Bring Christ your broken life.  Tho’ your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.  Yes, there’s power in the blood.  Let Him have His way with thee.  Please, dear reader, come to Jesus.  Jesus paid it all.  Trust and obey.  What will your answer be?