Are you Controlled by the Evil One?

So I’ve been preaching through the book of 1^st John and this Sunday is my last message.  There’s just one particular verse I thought I would blog about today.

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in control of the evil one.  1^st John 5:19

The apostle John is speaking to those who believe in and follow Jesus as the ones who are from God, and the “whole world” refers to those who don’t follow Jesus. Now if you are someone who does not follow Jesus or consider themselves to be a Christian, and I were to say to you that the devil is controlling you, I bet you might be offended.  For starters you may not even believe in the devil.  Your line of thinking would probably go something like this; “Stupid fundamentalist Christian!  Who does he think he is telling me I’m controlled by the devil?  Only I control myself!”  I guess I wouldn’t blame you for responding in that way.  And for what it’s worth, in terms of what it actually means I’m really not all that fundamental at all.  I’ve known plenty of fundamentals over the years, and they’re really not all that fun; just mental (sorry I couldn’t resist). 

But here’s the deal.  I actually do think anyone who doesn’t put their faith in God through the person and work of Jesus Christ is actually being controlled by the devil.  They just don’t know it.  They are controlled in one of two ways.

1. The Rebel Way

This says I’ll do what I want when I want.  It’s very much a “self-discovery, blaze my own trail” kind of mentality.  This would be the younger son in the parable of the prodigal son. No one is going to tell you what is right and what is wrong, you’re going figure that stuff out for yourself.  And as long as you’re not hurting anyone else then you’re just fine.  Let me ask all of you a question having to do with someone recently in the news.  Do you think Philip Seymour Hoffman was hurting just himself and no one else with his drug addiction?  I’d say he was hurting his kids, he was hurting his family, and he was hurting those who loved him.  He was harming a lot more than just himself.  Do you think maybe he was controlled just a little by his drug addiction?  “Under the control of the evil one?”  And you know it’s not so much the addiction that the devil uses to control us; that’s just the end result.  It’s more the “I’m going to live free, and do my own thing, and no one can tell me what’s right and wrong” attitude that Satan uses to control us with.  It’s so sad to think that the very things people do in the name of being morally free, are the things that in the end lead to being a slave to addiction.

2. The Goody-Goody Way

This way is sort of the opposite of the Rebel way.  It represents the older brother in the parable of the Good Samaritan.  And guess what?  He was just as lost as the younger brother if not more.  The goody-goody way says I’m going to do what’s right.  I’m going follow the rules.  I’m going to pay my taxes, and give to charity, and I’ll try to be a family man.  All stuff that sounds good and innocent enough.  So what’s the problem?  Well the problem is in the motivation.  They’re doing it to try and earn something from God.  They’re trying to buy off God.  They figure, hey I’m better than the next guy, so I must be alright with the big guy upstairs. Satan loves this attitude, because the people with this attitude are buying in to a lie, and he’s controlling these people with a false belief system.  He’s got them thinking everything is going to be okay if they just work at following the rules. 

In the end neither of these ways work. The only true life choice is to follow Jesus.  To realize that you can’t blaze your own trail and define your own morality, and you also can’t earn your way to God by following a bunch of rules; but to know that God loves you and desires a relationship with you, and you follow Him because of his demonstrated love through Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is the only true way, and through Him is eternal life.  Only when you choose to follow Him do you find true freedom.  Jesus is the truth that sets us free.  What does He set us free to do?  To live for Him, and to love God and love others as He has called us to.  Not because we are trying to earn anything from Him, but simply as the only logical response to the love He has shown for us.  It’ kind of funny how it works. By following and obeying someone and His call on your life, you actually find more freedom.  It’s funny, but with Jesus this principle works.  I just wish Philip Seymour Hoffman would have figured this out before he started experimenting with drugs.