God, the Devil, and the Church: Does Satan Ever Win a Battle?

[John Bauer]

Free will allows everyone to choose their own paths, and of course some go left when they should have turned right.

Choosing your own path is sin (idolatry), which is fitting for a will that is enslaved to sin (i.e., not free).

 

[Carbon]

I don't go along with the premise that Satan wins battles by overpowering God.
Satan wins battles every time it is in accordance to God's will. Satan got his way (won the battle) with Job as it was God's purpose to do so. Now, Satan may win battles but never the war. Satan pummeled Job but when it was all finished, God purpose was achieved and the war won.

Yes, though Satan may think there is a chance he can win (because he’s delusional) he can’t!

 

[Carbon]

I have no real opinion ot if Satan wins a battle... but

It is obvious with the decline of everything these days from gays in the pulpit, to transgender kids that God is obviously letting him have his way
because if there ever was a time for world destruction... Sodom and Gomorrah style... it is now.

So maybe small battles yes, but certainly not in the long run.

My mind still goes back to this brief example....

I don’t believe He’s letting Satan have his way, though like @Arial said he may seem like it. This sin and filth is the result of a fallen world, and the enemy really doing his best to power it up and keep it going. He hates humans, we were made in God’s image.
Believers see these things as filthy, sinful, totally horrible and evil. The lost see it as alright and pretty much normal. It is also very disturbing and scary what is happening to our children. I can’t help but think we all to some degree are desensitized. Maybe to some degree it’s a form of protection. I just cannot imagine if my eyes were open to the total evil of it I don’t know if I could bear it.

 

[Carbon]

The only thing I would suggest when considering whether Satan wins any battles or if things like the above are his winning a battle, is to search for the answer to the questions: Is God Sovereign over all that he created? Does any being exist that God did not create? Can Satan do anything that God does not allow him to do? Does Jesus tell us plainly that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church?

Amen sister!

 

[Carbon]

Satan wins lots of battles within peoples minds and hearts.

Sure he does

Free will allows everyone to choose their own paths, and of course some go left when they should have turned right.

Yes, people are not forced to choose.