Loved by God, Hated by Satan

Satan hates you. Satan deceives men into believing that the commandments of God are meant to limit their freedom and to keep them from enjoying all the pleasures of life. This is a lie from “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Truly God “richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).

God’s commandments define how all things must be enjoyed, e.g. sexual fulfillment is to be between a man and woman within the covenant relationship of marriage (Matthew 19:4-6). When we seek to satisfy our desires outside of God’s design for their fulfillment, it is sin. We determine for ourselves what is right and wrong instead of following what God has defined as “good and evil.” This was satan’s first lie to man. He promised that disobedience to God would cause, “your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).

Satan caused man to sin because he hates God. Before man was created, satan had already sinned because of pride, and fallen from heaven “I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). Satan then saw God create man and woman “in His image” (Genesis 1:26). Satan wanted man to sin, to destroy our relationship with God. Satan wanted to inflict punishment on man and pain on God.

God responded very differently to the sin of satan and the sin of man. 2 Peter 2:4 states, “God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.” There is no redemption for fallen angels, but He redeemed man - “For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham” (Hebrews 2:16).

Romans 5:6-10 tells us “while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.” Satan hates man because of the extreme measures that God and Jesus took to save us from an eternity in hell.

His hate is expressed by tricking us into sinning, so we deserve hell. Next, he stands before God continually pointing out our sinfulness (Revelation 12:10) to cause God’s righteousness to judge us. Finally he blinds men to the truth of the Gospel which describes how our sins can be forgiven and our relationship with God can be restored.

“If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world [satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

Satan wants to drag as many people to hell as possible out of his hatred for us and God. Pray that God will open the eyes and ears of unbelievers to receive the truth of the Gospel and receive forgiveness for sin and eternity with their God and Savior.