You have very likely heard the phrase, “The devil made me do it.” While most of us use it in a tongue-in-cheek way, some actually try to lay all the blame for their bad actions and attitudes on Satan.
Does Satan make us sin, or do we have free will?
Why Should We Take Responsibility for Our Sins?
It is important to understand that you and I are free moral agents. That is, we are capable of making willful decisions to either do a thing or not to do it. We were not created by God to be mindless drones, simple automatons who act only as they are programmed.
Thus, we are also morally responsible for our choices, including good and evil acts, persuasion, what we prohibit, what we permit, etc. If, in fact, we were predestined to a particular course of action, we could not really be free, nor culpable for our acts.
God would be a despot, punishing beings who simply acted as He programmed them to act. Scripture is clear that this is not the case, and we are indeed free moral agents (Galatians 5:13). This means we are also, contrary to the false ideas of the Calvinist, free to obey God or rebel against him.
The Apostle John, for example, writes of “anyone who chooses to do the will of God” (John 7:17). Christ likewise refers to our free moral agency when He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple” (Mark 8:34). To want to do something is to have conceived a desire freely within our will.
He did not say, “Whoever has been programmed to be my disciple.” He refers to the ability of man to make a choice. In fact, the very reason sin exists in this world today is because our First Parents, Adam and Eve, were capable of freely choosing their course of action, and chose to sin rather than obey God (Romans 5:12).
In fact, if we were automatons and not responsible for our choices, then love ultimately means nothing, since we would not love sincerely, but simply because we were programmed to do so. It necessarily follows that any act of charity or compassion would simply be an involuntary act of instinct, much in the way animals act instinctively. The early church very clearly accepted free moral agency as well.
“We have learned from the prophets, and we hold it to be true, that punishments, chastisements, and good rewards, are rendered according to the merit of each man’s actions. Now, if this is not so, but all things happen by fate, then neither is anything at all in our own power. For it is predetermined that this man will be good, and this other man will be evil, neither is the first one meritorious nor the latter man to be blamed. And again, unless the human race has the power of avoiding evil and choosing good by free choice, they are not accountable for their actions” (Justin Martyr).
“It was God’s desire for both angels and men, who were endowed with free will...that if they chose the things acceptable to Him, He would keep them from death and from punishment. However, if they did evil, He would punish each as He sees fit” (Justin Martyr).
“Each of these two orders of creatures (men and angels) was made free to act as it pleased.... However, it is brought to perfection in men through their freedom of choice” (Tatian).
“There is, therefore, nothing to hinder you from changing your evil manner of life, because you are a free man” (Melito).
It is abundantly clear that we possess free moral agency and are capable of choosing right from wrong. But does anything ever attempt to interfere with our reasoning as to what is right or wrong, or whether to choose selfishly or not?
Do We Blame Satan for our Sins?
Have you ever been faced with a choice wherein you had two clear options-one being good and upright, and the other being selfish and sinful? I think we have all experienced this throughout our lives.
In the midst of weighing the options, a little voice pops in, encouraging you to choose what you know to be wrong, saying, “Come on, do it for yourself. Nobody is ever going to know. After all, you're only doing it just this once, and that isn't so bad, right?”
Now, sometimes that little voice is just our fallen sense of self kicking it, but at other times it can be diabolic in origin. Scripture is pretty clear on the point that the Adversary will tempt us to do the wrong thing, tempt us to sin (1 Thessalonians 3:5; 1 Timothy 6:9; Romans 7:19-21).
In fact, Satan sought to tempt even Christ, the very Son of God Himself! (Matthew 4:1-11). That said, Satan is not responsible for our sin, as even in temptation we remain free moral agents, responsible for every thought, word and deed, since God has also provided a way to weather temptation and has promised that we will never suffer any temptation so great that it overcomes us.
What Does This Mean?
This logically means we cannot blame Satan for choosing to succumb to sinful temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13). We must resist Satan and his temptations when they occur, making a firm act of the will in submission to the will of God (James 4:7; James 1:12-16; Hebrews 2:18; Ephesians 6:11; Hebrews 4:15).
We have all the tools at our disposal to remain steadfast: Scripture, pastoral counseling, prayer, the grace afforded us in the sacraments, and the fellowship of the faithful. Not to mention the most important defense we have against temptation-the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Never try to blame Satan for your sins. You and you alone are responsible for your choices. Rest assured that if you make a firm act of your will, and you resist temptation and sin with all your strength, there is no doubt that the Adversary will flee from you, recognizing in you the firm conviction of faith and commitment to holiness (James 4:7).
For further reading:
How Does Satan Distort Our Thoughts on God’s Truth?
Are We Born with or Do We Learn a Sinful Nature?
Why Do People Often Use Religion to Justify Sin?
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Gearstd
J. Davila-Ashcraft is an Anglican priest, Theologian, and Apologist, and holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies and Theology from God’s Bible College in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a recognized authority on the topic of exorcism, and in that capacity has contributed to and/or appeared on programming for The National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, and CNN. He is the host of Expedition Truth, a one-hour apologetics radio talk show.
