Spirit and Truth Ministries
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SATAN ALSO IS A FISHER OF MEN
Don Hawley
March 4, 2000
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Christ presented himself as a “fisher of men,” and asked his followers to join him in that endeavor. The Master Fisherman fishes, of course, for the souls of men. Since Satan is the great counterfeiter, we would expect that he too is a fisher for men’s souls. And he is.
The devil’s bait has to do with his temptations. Many of these lures are beautifully crafted, but there is always a hook. It’s important to remember that temptation itself is not sin. As long as this world lasts, Satan has the privilege of dangling the bait in front of us. We decide whether or not to bite. If we do, then we have entered into sin.
I never could see the sense of sitting under a hot sun wondering what was happening to my bait under that dirty water. The only time I ever enjoyed fishing was in the South Pacific. There the water was so clear that even at a depth of 25 feet or more one could not only see the bait, but all the fish in the neighborhood. There was some excitement in watching a fish come up to the bait, look it over, and then decide whether or not to bite.
If fish were smart enough not to hang around the bait they wouldn’t get hooked. But the bait is tempting. Well, I can’t see much in an angleworm, but some of the brightly colored lures adorned with feathers are fetching. If the potential victim keeps toying with the bait long enough, inevitably the devil will get to set the hook. Then the fish is in big trouble.
If we keep biting again and again on the same bait, we end up with a “bad habit.” And the longer we practice that habit, the stronger and more ingrained it becomes. The wise thing, if we have taken the bait, is to disengage.
If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. 1 John 1:9.
Now all of this has been quite simple and straightforward, but there is one aspect I want to address specifically. Although I’m no fisherman, I’ve read how those employing rod and reel “play” the fish. I believe the devil plays with his human victims in the same manner.
Once Satan has hooked us into a bad habit, it’s never his intention to let us go. Occasionally, however, he overplays his hand. That is, he leads us into behavior so reprehensible that we are startled into reality, and we hurry to the Master Fisherman to have the hook removed. But the evil one is more apt to carefully “play” us.
Once the hook is firmly set, the devil begins to reel us in. That continues until he senses he’s gone far enough for the moment; he doesn’t want the line to break. So he releases the pressure, and let us “run” for a time. That feels good. With the pressure off, we head away from the source of our problem. The danger is that we may actually think we’ve escaped our habit, and indulge in overconfidence. That’s when Satan knows it’s time to reel us in once more. We’re discouraged to find that we haven’t shaken the habit at all.
If the devil can keep playing us in this fashion, we get weaker and more discouraged until finally we just give up. The world is full of people who no longer bother to battle the habits that beset them.
I long for the day when Satan can no longer dangle the bait, and I believe that day is not far off. We need to persevere in the struggle. (Salvation is a gift, but growth in Christ is a battle.) At the end there will be only two catches. Every “fish” will be either in the devil’s boat or in Christ’s. One catch is destined for eternal life, the other for eternal loss. Fortunately, we are allowed to choose our eternal destiny.
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