Bible Studies

The Heart Of The Rebel

by Doug Laird 
11/18/24
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The first recorded rebellion did not take place on planet Earth. It took place in Heaven, before the creation of Man. Its leader, was the one we now call Satan. He had been created (1) in the form of a beautiful cherub (winged angelic being) who served in the very throne room of God in Heaven.

That was, until unrighteousness was found in him (2). This unrighteousness was the result of Satan making negative use of his God-given free will. It manifested itself in a desire to be prosperous, while being independent of God.

God does not desire to be worshiped or served by creatures who have no choice. Like Man, who would later be created, members of the angelic realm were given free will, with which they could choose for or against God and the things of God, and reap either the blessings or the consequences of those decisions.

Many of God’s angels chose to follow Satan, splitting the angelic realm into two categories. The angels who chose for God would henceforth be referred to as elect angels, and those who chose to follow Satan would henceforth be referred to as fallen angels.

Be it in the heart of an angelic being, or in the heart of a human being, rebellion begins with the immediate desire to get out from under an existing authority, with the long term objective of “improving” one’s position and/or the freedom to do his or her own thing.

The deceived woman, later named Eve, thought that the eating of the forbidden fruit would make she and Adam wise (3). She thought that with this new found wisdom, she and Adam’s situation could be improved.

Freedom can become a blessing or a curse. Absolute freedom promotes anarchy. Freedom without restraint places one on the road of destruction.

The “mind of the rebel” is outlined in Isa. 14: 13, 14. It reflects the thinking of Satan, and the thinking of everyone who entertains a rebellious heart. “For as he thinks within himself, so he is (Prov. 23: 7a NASB2020).”

Fallen Man does not like being told what they are or what they are not to do.

If we were honest, we would concede that at various times, we have all listened to the rebellious voice of the inherently hostile, fallen nature within (4) us. In doing so, we have entertained ungodly thoughts and actions.

Let’s take a look at Satan’s declaration of independence. “… I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly In the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High (Isa. 14: 13, 14 NASB2020).”

In other words, he desired to be independent of God and to establish a kingdom with his followers in which he (Satan) would have unopposed authority and control, and would be worshipped as God is worshipped in His.

God will not share His sovereignty with anyone. The worship of any being, real or imagined (5) outside of the Triune Godhead amounts to idolatry.

During our time here on Earth, God allows us to use the free-will that He has given us to make choices, but these choices have both eternal blessings and consequences.

One of these choices is who or what will rule over us and has the last word in our day to day, hour by hour, minute by minute, decision making process.

The throne of our lives is NOT a two-seater. There is only room for one Master at a time (6).

By the choices we make, God, ourselves, someone else, or some thing else, to be the one who sits on the throne (place of ruling authority) of our lives.

All Christians have no problem accepting Jesus as their Savior, but making Him Lord over EVERY area of their lives here on Earth, can be challenging.

There is no place for independence or rebellion in the lives of an advancing disciple. Independence is in view when doing “my own thing” would cause us to violate the mandates, prohibitions, or limitations imposed by Scripture.

Independence can involve things that human viewpoint would consider good. But if it takes a born-again believer away from the individual plan that God has in mind, then it is not good for him or her.

The devil is a master in the art of spiritual warfare. He knows exactly when to send a distraction into the lives of a born-again believer for maximum effect.

These distractions can come in the form of adversity or Earthy prosperity (7). It matters not (to the devil) if its via adversity or prosperity, as long as the distraction takes the believer away from the individual plan that God has in mind.

Sad to say, but spiritually immature Christians go through all of life without ever identifying the individual plan that God has in mind for them. Some aren’t even aware that such a plan exists.

Spiritual maturity is measured by the amount of accurate Bible doctrine that one has circulating in his or her edified soul structure, coupled with his or her willingness to apply it (8).

Rebellion is in view whenever we reject divine or divinely-delegated authority by what we think, say, or do. A rebellious heart says “No” to the daily opportunity to take in Bible Doctrine and or “No” to the application of what doctrine he or she does have.

The heart of a rebel is comfortable with not having to deal with the inevitable challenges that Biblical discipleship is certain to bring. In this the devil is well pleased.

(1) Ezek. 28: 14 (2) Ezek. 28: 15 (3) Rom. 7: 23 (4) Gen.3: 6 (5) Psalms 96: 4, 5 (6) Matt. 6: 24 (7) Luke 4: 6 (8) James 1: 22