The Roaring Lion
I try to keep up with the news while I’m here at school, and it was with sadness and disgust I read the story of David Ludwig and the double murder of the parents of his girlfriend Kara Borden. Then this story hit a little closer to home, when I found out that I had met David 3 years ago. Since then a particular verse from the Bible has taken on a whole new meaning. I Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (ESV). Why this verse basically whacked me upside the head this week, is because of the story of what happened to someone else who knows this verse, David Ludwig, now under arrest for a double murder committed last week. How do I know he knows this verse? Read on…
I know he knows this verse, because of where I met him. Yes, I’ve met an alleged double murderer. We met at a Bible quiz between about 5 churches in our area. The Bible quiz was over the book of I Peter. In order to effectively compete in this competition, you basically had to have the entire book memorized, and be able to quote word-perfect any verse in it. He and I were on two of the top 5 teams that year, so I that’s how I know he had that verse memorized.
So how does a bible quizzer become a murderer? It’s really not as difficult as you might think. To quote our former school president, “Anyone is capable of committing any sin, given the proper provocation.” “Who me,” you ask? “I’ll never murder anyone!” I didn’t say you would, I just said we were capable of it. I pray that no one that’s reading this will do such a thing, but it’s not impossible.
Although David professed to be saved, he was devoured by Satan. So what’s the lesson for us? How can we keep from being devoured – chewed up and spit out – like David was? Ironically enough, or maybe not so, it comes from I Peter 5:8-9, some of the very verses David memorized for that quiz. If you know Jesus Christ, these verses give four things you should do in order to avoid being devoured.
- “Be sober-minded” – Be serious minded. Have the right attitude toward sin. Sin is not a joke. Sin is not something to play around with. Sin is serious business, and God hates it. That should be our attitude too.
- “Be watchful” – Be alert. Don’t let down your guard just because you’re in an insulated Christian environment. Satan knows where your weak points are, and he knows how to attack them in order to get you to fall. Don’t let him!
- “Resist him” – Don’t let him have an avenue into your life. Don’t just keep away from sin, keep away from temptation. Don’t even give Satan a chance to destroy your life. Use the “Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” That’s the only weapon we have – learn how to use it!
- “Firm in your faith” – Know God’s Word. This goes along with the previous point. Be steadfast, or firm, or sure in your faith – know what God’s Word says. This is the only way we are going to have consistent victory over Satan.
But you know what, if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior, if there has never been a point in time when you acknowledged your sin before Him, and trusted Him to be your Savior, then you don’t have to worry about being devoured by Satan.
“I don’t?!” you ask.
Nope, because Satan already has you right where he wants, you – on the way to hell. Why does Satan want you to go to hell? Because he knows that’s where he’s going to be for all eternity, and he wants to bring as many as he can with him. Satan hates your guts. He doesn’t want you to be in heaven forever, enjoying the presence of God. He wants you miserable, like he is. And there’s nothing we have to do in order to be condemned to hell, other than to be born on this earth. That’s our natural destination from birth.
But even if hell weren’t our natural destination we’d all be condemned there anyway because we have all sinned. Romans 3:10 says, “None is righteous, no, not one.” and Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned.”
So is there anyway we can change our destination? I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to go to hell, a place the Bible describes as a place of eternal fire and darkness and torment (Luke 16). Thankfully, God has provided a way for us to go to heaven. That way is through His Son, Jesus Christ. Nothing good that we do can get us to heaven, for the Bible says that our good deeds are no better than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Only through Jesus Christ can we get to heaven. He Himself says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
But what has Jesus done that allows me to go to heaven? He paid the penalty for your sin through one of the most gruesome forms of death known to mankind, Roman crucifixion. He was nailed to a cross, and there died in order save us. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “The wages [or payment] of sin is death.” Someone had to die for our sin, so Christ sacrificed Himself for us, that we might escape that penalty.
But the good news, as you may know, it that Christ didn’t stay dead. After being a tomb for 3 days, he arose from the dead, and was seen by over 500 witnesses. The most extreme situations in a court of law require only 7 witnesses in order for something to be certified, yet there were over 70 times that many witnesses of Christ’s resurrection. His resurrection – His coming back to life – defeated death, and because of that He can give us eternal life. And that life is with Him forever in heaven.
That’s how you can know for sure that you are on your way to heaven and not hell. If there has never been a specific time in your life when you have trusted Christ to save you from your sin, and have entered into a personal relationship with Him, you can pray right now and place your trust in Him. If you would like more information on how you can know for sure that you are on your way to heaven, leave a comment, and be sure to fill in your email address (only I will see it, so don’t worry about spam bots harvesting it).
Don’t let Satan devour you.
