Compounded Chaos – A Device of Satan

2 Corinthians 2:11

INTRODUCTION: A device is that which is devised. It can be good or bad, righteous or ungodly, holy or unholy. In the context of Satan’s devices, it involves plans, schemes, or contraptions created in his laboratory for the purpose of getting advantage on believers. In the immediate context of the passage, it was specifically unforgiveness toward a repentant brother (2 Corinthians 2:10). In reality, Satan has a whole host of devices, of which God does not want His saints to be ignorant. It should, however, be understood that the passage’s expression of our lack of ignorance toward Satan’s devices assumes a Bible reading, Bible practicing Christian life.

I. THE ABSENCE OF TROUBLE (Genesis 2:8-25)

A. God’s Design

1. God designed for man to have abundant life with joy, happiness, and peace.
2. He planted man in a world with perfect circumstances. Note: Even after man’s circumstances changed, God still allowed for man to maintain the abundant life God desired, but the attaining of this life became more complicated due to the newfound circumstances that sought to hinder such life.
3. In order to understand God’s design, consider the situation in the Garden of Eden.
a. Adam and Eve had no need of anything.
1.) Clothing
2.) Food
3.) Housing
b. Adam and Eve were exposed to unending beauty.
c. Adam and Eve were faced by no difficult circumstances.
d. Adam and Eve had unhindered fellowship with God.

B. Man’s Responsibility

1. All man had to do for these conditions to continue was to obey God’s commands.
2. Had he done so, he would have avoided the introduction of any troubles or chaos of any sort.

II. THE CREATION OF TROUBLE (Genesis 3:1-5)

A. Satan’s Design

1. Satan detests times, situations, and lives void of conflict.
2. There was no problem in the Garden, so the Devil had to create one.
3. In his perfect world, the Devil merely has to plant doubt or questions in the mind of man and allow man to come to his own conclusions.
4. In the Garden, the Devil
a. Asked Eve of God’s commandment (Genesis 3:1)
b. Contradicted God’s commandment (Genesis 3:4)
c. Planted a problem in the mind of Eve (Genesis 3:5)
1.) Her eyes were closed.
2.) She did not know good and evil.

B. Man’s Responsibility

1. None of Satan’s proposed problems were problems, but even if they were, there was nothing for Eve to do outside of trusting God.
2. Both Adam and Eve had a responsibility to ignore or outright reject Satan’s suggestion that a problem existed. Note: In today’s world, problems often do exist, but one must question the following:
a. Are the problems as big as the Devil paints them in your mind?
b. Does dwelling on the problems solve or minimize them?
c. Is there anything you can or should do to solve the problem?

III. THE SOLUTION FOR TROUBLE

A. Satan’s Design

1. Once Satan creates conflict, he swiftly offers a solution.
2. What he does not disclose is that the solution is only a compounding of the chaos he initially created.

B. Man’s Responsibility

1. It is not right to blame God or man for problems created by Satan.
2. Likewise, it is not right to disobey God as a solution to problems created by the Devil.

C. Scenarios Presented

1. The Devil works in men’s hearts to reject the gospel and then encourages Christians to stop witnessing because nobody repents and trusts Christ.
2. The Devil puts it in the hearts of churchgoers to live double lives and then puts it in the hearts of men to stop going to church because of the hypocrites who attend.
3. The Devil puts a desire in man’s heart to do wrong and then puts it in the hearts of others to gossip about the initial wrong.
4. The Devil puts it in a man’s heart to be a bad husband and then puts it in the wife’s heart to get a divorce.
5. The Devil puts it in the heart of an individual to spread lies about you and then puts it in your heart to get bitter or seek revenge.
6. The Devil puts it in the heart of a coworker to cut corners and the worker still gets praise. The Devil then puts it in your heart to slack on the job because you deserve the praise given to another.

CONCLUSION: Are you aware when the Devil uses this device in your life? Do you disobey God’s commands for your life in an effort to solve a problem created by the Devil himself?