When he tempts us, he will try to take advantage of our weaknesses.

He has observed which sins we struggle against. He knows this not because he is all-knowing, but because he has spent a lot of time studying us. The devil knows our pet sins and where we are most vulnerable. You also talk about the devil tempting us in our areas of weakness. At the same time, he is only a fallen angel and no match for God. He is a fallen angel and as such has powers that are far superior to our own as human beings. This would indicate that Satan can “get into our mind” and affect us in ways that we do not understand. With Judas it does not appear as though Satan actually possessed him but rather that the devil exerted a destructive influence on his heart and mind. It adds, “As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him” ( John 13:27). Luke 22:3 states that “Satan entered Judas” and that “the devil prompted him to betray Jesus” ( John 13:2). 2 Corinthians 4:4 mentions that he is able to blind the minds of unbelievers. Scripture warns us to avoid sinful thoughts, words, actions, and emotions so that we do not give the devil a foothold ( Ephesians 4:27). However, it is clear from Scripture that he is able to tempt us, which includes entering our minds and affecting our thought processes.

It is true that Satan does not have the ability to read our thoughts the way God does. All we can do is look at what Scripture reveals to us. There is so much we don’t know about the spirit world of angels and demons and how it all works. A proper understanding of the law and the gospel is important for a correct understanding of hell and heaven. If a person understands the depths of his sinfulness and the punishment he deserves, he will more readily grasp the depths of God’s love in offering his Son for our salvation. Make sure also to remember God’s salvation, his plan of deliverance through faith in his Son, Jesus, whom he offered up as a sacrifice of atonement for our sins-and not only for ours but for the sins of the whole world (Romans 3:21-28, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, 1 John 2:2). You might want to review what God says in Romans 1:18,19 and Romans 3:9-20. Unless people understand the law, which reveals the depths of human sinfulness and God’s righteous wrath over sin, they will have difficulty grasping a place of eternal punishment. It is described as a place of torment that will never end, prepared for the devil and his angels. To explain the doctrine of hell you need to point people to the passages in the Bible that speak about hell. We can no more argue biblically against the eternity of hell than the eternity of heaven.

After Jesus pronounces judgment on the sheep and goats (believers and unbelievers), he announces that the unbelievers “will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:46). If we inquire how long this “weeping and gnashing of teeth” continues, he tells us in Matthew 25. It is also Jesus who coins the most common description of hell: the place where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. It is Jesus who vividly portrays the conscious, eternal suffering of the damned as he tells us about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19f). He tells us that the broad and busy superhighway is the one leading to hell not heaven (Matt. Yet Jesus talks about hell more forcefully, frequently, and fully than anyone. His tears for the unbelievers in Jerusalem were genuine (Luke 19:41). Yes, Scripture is clear that Jesus is Savior of all and that he also desires the salvation of those who do not acknowledge him. Our task, however, is not to make God sound palatable to cultural sensibilities. Many Christians feel that God’s reputation as a gracious God is forfeited if we don’t modify the historic confession that hell is conscious, eternal suffering for everyone who dies in unbelief. 5:18).īut while your friend is correctly sharing some scriptural truths, he is, perhaps unknowingly, omitting others. We not only agree that Jesus died for the world’s sins (1 John 2:2), we even proclaim that God declared the entire world not guilty in Jesus (Rom. When he says God is love, and that God loves all and desires all people be saved, he is correctly summarizing 1 John 4:16, John 3:16 and 1 Tim. Before proving scripturally that hell is forever, it’s wise to make sure your friend knows where you agree with him.

Lucifer spear girl