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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The first instance of "the devil made me do it" used as an excuse was in the Garden of Eden. Eve says, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate" (Genesis 3:13). Her excuse did not get her off the hook (...
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James Kraft
First John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God, doeth not commit sin, because His seed, (the Holy Spirit) remaineth in Him, and He, (the Holy Spirit) can not sin, because He is born of God. But we still do. First John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, an the truth is not in us. We are born sinners, and we will be sinners till the day we die. When we receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) and eternal life, all our sin debt has been paid in full and we can no longer be condemned. John 3:18 Christ is our righteousness. But we still live in the flesh and we all still sin. Romans 7 tells us how Paul said he still had sin in the flesh. So not all sin is from Satan's influence but by our own doing. So even though our sin debt has been paid in full, we still reap what we sow. If we sow to the flesh we will reap from the flesh if we sow to the Spirit we will reap from the Spirit.
Jack Gutknecht
Wiersbe says, "A popular television comedian always got laughs when he said, 'The devil made me do it!'" Who was that comedian? Flip Wilson. (In the 1970s) We know man is responsible for his own sin. He deserves to experience the full weight of his sin. We can't be disclaiming responsibility for our own sin! We are all sinners (Ro 3:10, 23). -- 3:10 -- "As it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one;'" --3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We are not sinners, because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. —R.C. Sproul. I.e., we sin because we are born this way. We are born with a sin nature. Part of that sin nature persuades us to “pass the buck." It makes us look better. It's a pride thing. I should know--that was my hang-up until I became a Christian. Now I don't shirk my responsibility so often. I own up to it. Jesus Christ be praised! I'm not blaming the devil!
Andrew Osakue
Humans have a free will which makes us different from other creatures. The excercizing of that free will is entirely ours. Satan can not force you to do evil or disobey God. In a like manner, God can not force you to obey Him either. Therefore the decision is entirely yours. James 1:4 says we sin when we are drawn away by our desires. Blaming the devil for our sin is an escapist act which began with time. Using the example of Adam blaming his wife Eve and Eve herself blaming the serpent "Devil" Gen 3 : 12-13. The issue is choice. And the choice is ours to exercise. Blaming the devil for our sin is escapist. Duet 30:19- "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live." Obeying God or the devil is a matter of choice which consequences we must bear. Blaming the devil or indeed any other person will never make us escape the resultant consequence.
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