Devil’s Advocate
“What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you. Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.” -Job 13:2-4
One of the interesting things about the book of Job is how it illustrates so well the way that knowledge and understanding can be misapplied and misused.
In Job’s instance, he was being barraged with “good advice” and other counsel by his friends, and for the most part it was solid and godly wisdom, except for one small fact: it was the completely wrong place and time to share it.
It’s very much possible to be saying words that are 100% correct and still be 100% wrong. If the godly knowledge is not applied to the situation with wisdom, it can be easily misused.
To illustrate this point, let me play devil’s advocate in two situations in the Bible, using Scriptural references in an attempt to show just how easy it is to twist words around that ought not to be twisted.
Eve and the serpent
Recall when the serpent first tempted Eve in the garden of Eden. He was trying to convince her to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Hypothetically, if Eve had had the entire canon of Scripture at her disposal back in the garden of Eden, perhaps the dialogue would have played out something like this:
Serpent: Has God really said that you shouldn’t eat of this tree?
Eve: Yes, He said that in the day that we eat it, we shall surely die.
S: You shall surely not die, but in the day that you eat of the fruit, you’ll be like gods, knowing good from evil.
E: But I ought to obey the commands of Him who created me.
S: But God is the one who also created this fruit, and it will be pleasant to eat, and it will taste good. For it is written, “at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).
E: I suppose it is good for food, just like any of the other trees…
S: This food is a good thing, and God desires that you have good things. “[T]he LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).
E: Now you’ve got me thinking…
S: Yes, dwell on this thought. Focus on eating this fruit in your mind. It is a good thing that you are pondering. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
E: The more I think about it, the more it seems to make perfect sense to eat of this fruit! I simply can’t see why God would ever want me to do otherwise.
S: Yes, of course He wants you to eat of this fruit. You are pure, and your thoughts and desires are good. There’s nothing wrong with it: you have good intentions. “For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure” (Romans 14:20).
E: Agreed. I’ll go ahead and try it.
And so you can see how when we have our minds set on sin, when we are out to convince ourselves that what we’re doing is right, we’ll have no problem rationalizing it until it appears correct. Yet just as in Eve’s case, it was dead wrong! May we never use this line of thinking to justify our sins.
Paul’s thorn in the flesh
Does God always answer prayer exactly how we expect? No, not always in the way that we want, but in the way that God has planned for us. Yet the devil likes to cast doubt on our petitions.
Paul: “[T]here was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me” (2 Corinthians 12:7-8).
Satan: Paul, you’ve prayed about this physical pain three times now, and you still have no relief. What are you doing wrong?
P: I’ve always had a conscience that is void of offense toward both man and God.
S: Surely you must’ve done something wrong to deserve this, seeing as how God has allowed this pain to come into your life, and hasn’t even answered your prayers for healing either. Paul, you must be a nobody. God must’ve forsaken you for the multitude of your sins. For you yourself have said in 1 Timothy 1:15 that you are a chief sinner. Didn’t God say that the curse causeless shall not come? “As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come” (Proverbs 26:2).
P: I’ll continue to pray until I get an answer from God.
S: Paul, you are falling headlong into sin, and you don’t even know it. Why else would God refuse to heal you? You have a promise found in the word of God to rest upon, and it will never fail. God has said, “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:21-22). You can have whatsoever you ask: the only thing keeping you from being healed is your sin.
P: You may be right, but I’ve searched my conscience, and I can’t see the reason as to what could be hindering my prayers.
S: Search again, even deeper: surely you are in sin. It is written, “Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12).
P: I still can’t find anything to warrant this.
S: Remember when you were standing by and approved the death of Stephen? That was horrible, Paul. God is really giving you payback for that. Again, it is written, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). You are better off named Saul, and not Paul: for just as king Saul of old, God has forsaken you, and will not answer you by dreams, nor prophets.
It is easy to see how we can succumb to this sort of questionable and doubtful thinking. And yet all along, it was in God’s will for Paul to have his sickness remain in his body. For through it, he would learn a valuable lesson:
“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” -2 Corinthians 12:8-10
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