Can Believers Be Taken Captive By Satan?

In this regular feature, Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here is this week’s question:Dear Dave and T.A.: In view of your call to biblical discernment regarding what’s being taught by leaders of the Emerging Church Movement and other heresies coming into the evangelical church, would you explain how 2 Timothy:2:24-26 [24] And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, [25] In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; [26] And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
See All... applies?Are those verses indicating that those who are taken captive by Satan are believers?

Tom:

I guess the question here is Dave, when we address things like we have been and have been for many years, issues that come into the church, we quote individuals, and so on—in this particular case, are these verses saying that the person is a believer, yet he’s taken captive by Satan, maybe through some of his devices?We know that Satan goes around as a roaring lion devouring those that he could and that his ministers are ministers of light, so is this dealing with a believer who has bought into the lies of Satan or a non-believer?

Dave:

I think it could apply to both.“…taken captive by him at his will,” doesn’t mean that they’ve lost their salvation.You can be taken captive by wicked thoughts or by error, but you can’t be taken captive by him at his will unless you are willing.You have to be willing too.Satan doesn’t have the power just to take captive anybody he wants saved or unsaved.“In meekness instructing (some wonderful verses) those that oppose themselves;…”Really?The Emerging church—emergent church leaders—they are really opposing themselves.Really destroying their own faith and well, you couldn’t say it better, but now this has some Calvinistic overtones.And the Calvinists love this.“…If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;…”Well, you see it’s a two-way street.In John’s gospel chapter 6:44 it says no man can come unto me except the Father draw him.Well you seen then it’s up to God.If anybody’s going to be saved, He has to do it.[There’s] nothing that we can do.No, but it says you have to eat His flesh, drink His blood (John 6:53). “I am the bread of life came down from heaven…that if a man would eat thereof he would never die (John 6:51).Well eating takes some chewing, takes some willingness, takes some digesting….

Tom:

Now you are speaking metaphorically here, for some—there may be some Catholics listening to this and they take that literally.

Dave:

You cannot say that you are literally eating the body and drinking the blood of Jesus.You could say it was literal if this one wafer of all the wafers in the world—this IS the body of Jesus, the blood of Jesus.Jesus didn’t have any blood anymore in his body, first of all.And this Jesus, entire whole body, soul and spirit, personality, deity, everything, but to say that millions and millions—each person holding one of these wafers manufactured somewhere can say oh, this is Jesus—I am now eating Jesus—that is not literal.Because Jesus is not millions of Jesus’.Jesus is only one; you can’t that that’s literal.But what Jesus is saying—He’s the bread of life.Now do they believe?Do they want to take that literally?Is Jesus a loaf of bread that came down from heaven?No!Is He the water of life?Are we going to take that literally?Jesus says in John:7:37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
See All..., “if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink…and out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” [Are] you going to take that literally?Do you have rivers of living water flowing out?No this is all to be taken—it’s illustrative of a spiritual truth.So Jesus is saying you’re going to have to eat this, my Father will have to draw you, and you can’t just force yourself on me.But he’ll have to draw you.And here it is saying the same thing.If peradventure he will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.Well, he’s going to have to grant them.They’re going to repent.Who are you going to repent to?God!He’s going to have to accept this repentance.

Tom:

And it has to be repentance from the heart.It can’t just be that oh my conditions coerce me to do this or to do that.

Dave:

Absolutely!So you know, it gets back to everything we’ve been talking about Tom. Emerging church?Well what does this mean?I think God has something to do with this.I think it involves some basic repentance.But they don’t talk about that.So, I don’t think you could say these people lost their salvation.This would apply to people who are not saved.You’ve been taken captive by Satan.You’re opposing your own good yourself and here is the message—the truth.Tom the gospel is the power of God unto salvation and you cannot change the gospel and this is what we are concerned about in the EmergentChurch.They are changing the gospel itself.And that will not save anyone.They are going to take a multitude to hell.