If there was no literal devil, then there was no need for Christ to appear? True or false? I’m referring to I John 3:8.<\/p>\n\t
“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil<\/em>” (I John 3:7-8).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The work of the Devil is sin and Jesus came to destroy sin. That is what John also said a few verses earlier, “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin<\/em>” (I John 3:5). Jesus came to take away Satan’s full power over the world. “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it<\/em>” (Colossians 2:15). Through sin comes death, so we also learn: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage<\/em>” (Hebrews 2:14-15).<\/p>\n
It is hard to discuss what might have been when there is no doubt as to what is. I don’t know if sin would have entered the world through some other means if Satan wasn’t there. The real point is that Satan has been around since the beginning. I assume you are referring to this verse as evidence the Satan must really exist, yet the Bible never refers to Satan as an illusion. I would think Jesus’ temptations and his resulting conversations with Satan would prove that point (Matthew 4).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: If there was no literal devil, then there was no need for Christ to appear? True or false? I’m referring to I John 3:8. Answer: “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1060,73,235],"class_list":["post-18525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-i-john","tag-jesus","tag-satan"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16381,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/once-you-are-saved-can-you-live-a-sin-free-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":18525,"position":0},"title":"Once you are saved, can you live a sin-free life?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you believe that once you're truly saved that you can live a \"sin-free\" life? Answer: John stated, \"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50238,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-someone-have-to-repent-of-all-their-sins-before-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":18525,"position":1},"title":"Does someone have to repent of all their sins before baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does someone have to repent of all their sins before baptism or can they repent of the ones they struggle with most? Answer: If you were poisoned and you were going to die and someone offered you the cure to save your life would you take it? There is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52556,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-sin-still-our-fault\/","url_meta":{"origin":18525,"position":2},"title":"Why is sin still our fault?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have something to ask that's been a big question for me. I don't understand things the way I ought to. All have sinned. Can you help me reconcile the fact that it's impossible to never sin, but sin is still our fault? I know factually that God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46977,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-keep-finding-sins-in-my-life-do-i-need-to-get-baptized-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":18525,"position":3},"title":"I keep finding sins in my life. Do I need to get baptized again?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother Hamilton, This has been bothering me for a while, so I am going to explain my situation. I was baptized as an infant and grew up knowing all about Jesus and what is expected of a Christian. However, as a young adult, after studying the Bible, I realized\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29760,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-there-is-no-one-who-does-not-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":18525,"position":4},"title":"What does it mean “there is no one who does not sin”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please explain to me what II Chronicles 6:36 means as per the issue of sin: \"for there is no one who does not sin...\" What is the meaning of holiness? What happens to a Christian who sins but has yet to acknowledge, let alone repent or confess it? Answer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36527,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-to-kick-people-out-of-the-church-for-openly-sinning-even-though-all-people-are-sinners\/","url_meta":{"origin":18525,"position":5},"title":"Is it right to kick people out of the church for openly sinning, even though all people are sinners?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it right to kick people out of the church for openly sinning, even though all people are sinners? I know one should not be unequally yoked with non-believers but does this apply to personal life or the church as well? Do you think churches should enforce the sins\u00a0they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18525\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}