WHY GOD DOESN’T DESTROY THE DEVIL.
By L. A. S.
This is a question that is frequently raised by objectors to the Bible doctrine concerning the existence of Satan, and by some others who cannot reconcile the existence of this great adversary of God and man with the existence of a God who is all-good, all-wise, and all-powerful. In the answer to this question lie some truths worth considering. It is proper to ask, in the first place, Why should God destroy the devil? That is to say, Why should God now destroy the devil, or why should God have destroyed him at any time in the past? For that God will finally destroy him there is no question if we believe the plain statements of Scripture. The very fact that God was all-wise and all-powerful, made it unnecessary for Him to destroy the devil to save mankind. To have done this would have been, apparently, a confession on the part of the Creator that He could not carry out His purposes without first getting the devil out of His way. But the fundamental truth to be borne in mind in considering this question is that the government of God is a free government,—so perfectly free that the consent of all those under it is necessary to all that is done. When Lucifer rebelled in heaven, God did not have the consent of the host of heaven to his destruction. It was necessary for them first to become acquainted with the nature and consequences of sin, before they could intelligently approve of the disposition God would make of the sinner. And this knowledge they did not fully possess until they beheld the Son of God hanging on the cross of Calvary. Then, when the Almighty pronounced sentence that Satan and all who ranged under his banner should be utterly consumed by fire, there was throughout heaven a universal response of “amen.” But the purpose of God in the creation of the earth had not at that time been fully realized. It remained that some must enter into the rest promised to His people, those first called having failed to enter in because of unbelief. Another day had been limited, or set, within which the people of the earth might hear His voice and heed the gospel invitation. So the gospel message is sounding to-day, and the great controversy between good and evil is not yet finished. But God is all-wise and all-powerful, and hence the destruction of the devil is not necessary to man’s salvation. The devil is permitted to tempt man, but he cannot decree the ruin of a single individual. Each man determines his destiny by his own choice. There are two ways of dealing with the problem of the devil’s menace to human welfare. One would be to destroy the devil, and thus take him away from man. But another and equally effective way is to take man away from the devil, and just this is done by the work of grace in the heart. Instead of destroying the devil, the Lord destroys the works and the power of the devil, and thus delivers man from the devil just as effectually as would be done by destroying the evil one himself. This the Lord does for every one who comes to Him in faith, and He will do it at any time. When the soul has been freed from the bondage of sin, it is freed from the power of the devil, and the language of the individual is that of Col. 1:12: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” The Christian has been crucified with Christ, and God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Eph. 2:6. There is no devil in the heavenly places, and he who sits there has consequently nothing to fear from his power. Why should God destroy the devil for the benefit of humanity when it is the privilege of every person to sit with Christ in the heavenly places, where the devil cannot come? Why should God destroy the devil to save man from his power when “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Thus there is no necessity for the devil’s destruction so far as the righteous are concerned, or to open the way for any wicked person to become righteous; and on the other hand, why should God destroy the devil for the sake of those who find the devil good company? The Lord usually lets an individual have what he desires. He allows people to choose their own society. The devil is finally to be destroyed, but not until every being who will live in the eternal kingdom has considered and approved the sentence. The Almighty will not execute His choice until it has been indicated as the choice of every righteous being. He has appointed a day of judgment in which He “will judge the world in righteousness.” This day of judgment is not for God’s benefit, but for the benefit of the people of His kingdom. God might execute judgment upon the wicked without any open investigation of their deeds, since He knows from the beginning all that the investigation will reveal; but He will not proceed without the approval of His people. His government is a “government of the people, by the people;” and not merely so in theory, but perfectly so in fact. It is this in order that there may not be in it the least interference with individual freedom. Thus the eternal purposes of God are conserved to-day, and have been through past ages, by allowing the devil to exist and exert his power against righteousness and truth; and it would be not only unnecessary, but would defeat these purposes, were the Almighty to perform the work of destruction before the appointed time. L. A. S.