Transcribed from Words of Life Radio Program)

The first home established, as recorded for us in the Bible, Genesis three presents a vivid picture of Satan crusading against a home created by God.  His efforts were a threat to the home and defiant of God.

Bible students are aware of how God and the creation by taking man and putting him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it, man’s responsibility was to obey God and take care of his garden. God, however, allowed man’s love, loyalty and obedience to be tested.  In the Garden of Eden we are introduced to Satan, the one who came in the guise of the serpent. He had a purpose for approaching Eve. His intent was to destroy every enjoyment, not only for the first home, but for all mankind. His intent, yet today, is to attack the Christian home.  He tempts the followers of God to disobey God. He will try and create doubt concerning the Bible or God’s Word.

Share with us as we read of the first account of Satan attacking the first home established by God. We shall be reading from Genesis the third chapter verses one through six.

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?  And the woman said unto the serpent, of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.”

Eve chose to listen to Satan, my friends. She chose to trust in Satan rather than to trust in God and obey him.  She served herself rather than serve God. Eve yielded to lust when she coveted what God reserved for himself.

On that day Adam and Eve, the father and mother of all mankind chose to eat the forbidden fruit. They sinned and consequently died spiritually. From that moment on all of Adam’s descendants inherited his sinful and disobedient nature. So death passed upon all men, said the apostle Paul.

My friend, Satan is still crusading against the homes God creates or the Christian homes. His efforts are a threat to the Christian home, to the Church of our Lord and to our nation.  His goals remain the same as they were in the garden. He would have us to listen to him and trust in him, rather than to trust in God and obey God.  He is still very deceitful as he was with Eve.

He eventually wants to destroy the Christian home by causing Christians to doubt the truth of God or the Bible.  God allows Satan to test our love and loyalty and obedience.

My friends, how is it with you today?  Do you feel that certainly Satan is attacking your Christian home? We are going to look at other homes in the Bible that were surely attacked by Satan. We are not going to spend a lot of time on any given home that we would call to your attention, but as Bible students you will remember reading something of these Bible characters of whom we call to your attention had their home attacked by Satan.

May we call your attention to a home that was attacked by Satan, the home of Abraham? Abraham was not a perfect man. He was attacked by Satan. We read of times when Abraham was weak in the faith, but, my friends, the overall picture and record for Abraham is that he resisted Satan and he came out as a victorious person.

Job, his home was attacked by Satan. Oh, Job had all kinds of affliction. But Job remained faithful. He was perplexed but he trusted in God.

And we call your attention to Jacob’s home. He was attacked by Satan. After much conflict, after some defeat by Satan, my friends, he still had victory. He resisted the devil.

Hear these precious words.

Then Jacob said unto his household and to all that were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. We are going to bethel and worship the true God who has been with me.”

Look at David’s home for just a moment. David’s home was almost wrecked by Satan.  Oh, yes, we can see David’s faith, my friends, growing weak, but also we see David not only shattered and torn in a moment, but, my friends, in that moment of weakness David realized the power and the influence of Satan and he repented and he was restored and he is acknowledged by God as a man after God’s own heart.

You see, there is no home in the Old Testament, New Testament times or in the 21st century that is not attacked by Satan. No home has escaped the attacks of Satan, my friends.  Christian homes must be strengthened and prepared for the attacks of the devil.

How does Satan enter the Christian home of today?  Well, it seems that he makes a supreme effort to master, sometimes, just one person in the home as he did in the case with Adam and Eve. If he can influence just one person then that one person can influence other members of the Christian home. When he finds a greatest weakness it seems that he concentrates his efforts there. It may be that he knows of a secret desire that someone has expressed. Oh, my friends, Satan knows what we say. He doesn’t necessarily know our every thought like God does, but he can know what the Christian stands for and what the Christian says by what he professes, by what he says. And, my friends, this may be the opportunity for him to test the Christian’s loyalty, his love for God. He may at the same time offer the forbidden fruit and want the Christian to partake.

Satan often attacks the Christian home by tempting us, exposing to us all of the sin around us.  We have Christian homes today that have often been attacked by Satan with an invitation, with a great temptation to become an idol worshipper.  Christian homes are sometimes affected by the sin of adultery, the sin of homosexuality. Sometimes the Christians in the home have been so caught up with the world around them that they have become involved with pride and the love for money and gambling and … or liquor and, oh, all such things, my friends.

Satan will often attack members of the home to look around at that forbidden fruit in a spiritual sense. And with his persuasion they are convinced that they need to partake.

Not too long ago the Words of Life speaker received a letter from someone outside of the United States. We are convinced this man is a Christian man. Perhaps he is listening to us even at this hour.  And he shared with us his regrets because he has worked so hard. He has neglected his family. He has neglected his wife, trying to make more money.

Oh, my friends, he asked us to warn the listening audience for Words of Life how sinful that can be.  Oh, my friends, how we need to realize what Paul told Timothy is so true. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

This dear man who wrote this letter asked that he be represented, not with a name, but with a word of warning. We must not neglect our Christian homes. We must not allow Christian homes to be attacked by Satan and at the same time through us, through any one of the Christian homes allow companionship to be starving, allow leadership, counseling, discipline being neglected. Oh, we must not allow Satan to attack us where we would transfer our love for each other, our love for God for the love of money.  And we trust that we have represented this listener, but we also trust that we as fellow Christians must be very careful, because Satan will give us that forbidden fruit and make us think it is wonderful in the spiritual sense the love of money is so good. Satan makes it so very attractive. And God help us to realize that is something God said we must not do.

Popularity, young people, oh yes, many times will forgo their conviction, will forgo their principles that they have learned in a Christian home to become popular. You see, this is a delight to the eyes and yet we have from the book of Ecclesiastes a rich teaching.

Remember also thy creator and the days of thy youth before the evil days come and the years draw nigh where thou shalt say, “I have no pleasure in them.”

Homes are often wrecked because of popularity.  Christian living, my friends, is sometimes forgotten. Christian values are learned, but they have been forgotten. And sometimes they are sold for impurity. Sometimes they are traded for sexual sin and bring disgrace to the church, bringing disgrace to the Christian home, bringing dishonor to our God.  We abuse the bodies, sometimes the use of sex. All of these, my friends, are, if you will, of the forbidden fruit that God said you must not partake of.

Abstain from every form of evil, says the Word of God.  Satan gently pries lose our moral restraints. He knows how to make Christians compromise. Oh, his attack is, my friends, to deal very gently in such a subtle way with our Christian homes. He will make us ask questions. Is God really right? Is this really what God wants me to do? Or is he trying to deny me something that I could enjoy?

That sounds a whole lot like Eve, doesn’t it, in the Garden of Eden. Oh, he will appeal to the desire of the flesh.  He wants us to have the attitude that we are free people and we can do as we please.

Satan says in a very subtle way, “Well, look at this. Look at this particular thing that you think you need. It is so pretty. Why it even can make you wise. If you would just identify yourself with this particular group of people, you can learn to live. Or you can get ahead of life if you will just apply yourself and work at it and forget about staying at home so much with the family and get out and do your thing and you can have a new lease on life. Live with satisfaction and joy.”

But, oh my friends, it is high time that Christians stop listening to Satan and recognize his subtle attacks and listen to the Word of God. Hear these precious words.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

May God help us to take heed, my friends, to what he says.

And then hear these precious words from James. Oh, yes, Bible students have read from this particular reference also. My friends, it gives us warning. James says in no uncertain terms what we are to do.

Be subject, therefore, unto God, but resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.

The warning, the promise. Fellow Christians, perhaps your home is under the attack of Satan. We have mentioned just a few things of the world in which we live today. We have mentioned the forbidden fruit that Satan says you may have. And you disregard God. You cannot trust God.  He is saying such subtle things as these, my friends. Do we speak to someone today who is sad, who is bewildered, who is searching? Maybe you just do not have access right now to the throne of God and calling him Father. You have never obeyed the gospel and you are not really a child of God, but you are one who is searching and God loves you. He loves the whole world. But, my friends, to appreciate the victory in Jesus, we must be in Christ.  To appreciate the victory of the overcoming power that God gives, we must be in Christ, be one of his in the Holy Spirit then enables us to be an over comer because greater is he who is in us than he that is in the world.

Would you give your life to Jesus? My friends, the invitation of the gospel is just simply repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  And when that happens, my friends, we are baptized into Christ. And though Satan may attack the home, though Satan may attack the individual, by the grace of God you can be a more than a conqueror. You can have Jesus Christ as Savior, Jesus Christ as one who is with you and promised never to leave you.

We invite you to give your life to Jesus. Find even today a Christian friend who would assist you in obeying the gospel. And remember. Even as you have reached the point of decision and you have Jesus as your Savior, you then have someone who is with you, my friend. So when the satanic attacks are on the home in which you live, or when Satan attacks you as an individual, you can have victory because victory is found in Christ.