The Show 'Lucifer' Makes the Devil 'Charming'
Lucifer premiered last night on Fox. As you might expect, the devil is the lead character. He decides to take a vacation, so he abdicates his throne in hell and flees to Los Angeles. There he opens a nightclub and ends up fighting crime alongside a police detective.
It is appropriate that Lucifer's nightclub is named "Lux," which is Latin for "light," since "Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14). Not surprisingly, Lucifer is highly deceptive.
Early in last night's episode, the devil tells a woman who fears she has sold her soul to Satan, "The devil isn't that interested in your soul." Then he claims that "God has nothing to do with your mess."
I was especially troubled by the show's depiction of Satan as compassionate toward hurting people. Lucifer tells one troubled woman, "Pull yourself together. That's it. That's all I'm asking. You're wasting your talent and your life."
He encourages a female LAPD officer who is struggling for recognition, "Ignore them. Trust yourself." He becomes so empathetic that a demon tells him, "Humans are rubbing off on you. Stop caring. You're the devil."
It's no surprise that one reviewer likens Lucifer to "your charming high school friend." If all I knew of Satan was his portrayal in Lucifer, I would think that he wants the best for me.
The truth is, Lucifer wants the worst for me—and for you.
Satan is our arch enemy. His very name means "accuser." Here's what Scripture says about him:
- He is "a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).
- He is a "murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44).
- He "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
Satan is the greatest enemy you face. He is "the god of this world" who has "blinded the minds of unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 4:4; see John 12:31; 1 John 5:19). Every problem crippling humanity can be traced back to him, from our fallen world with its diseases and disasters (Genesis 3:17-18; Romans 8:22; 1 John 5:19) to the temptations you face today.
Satan is worse than Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Osama bin Laden, or the leaders of ISIS, combined. In fact, he inspires every atrocity you will read about today. Would you watch a TV show that makes Hitler a "charming high school friend"?
The Bible instructs us to "submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Note the order: Submit to God, and you can resist the devil. You will face no temptation today you cannot defeat in God's strength (1 Corinthians 10:13). But you must turn to the Lord before you can have his power. Self-sufficiency is spiritual suicide.
Here's the good news: If Christ is your Lord, you're on the winning side. Jesus came "to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). One day our enemy will be "thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur" where he will be "tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).
What does it say about our culture that Fox thinks Lucifer will be a successful show? What does your answer say about the urgency of trusting and sharing Jesus today?
Publication date: January 26, 2016
For more from the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, please visit www.denisonforum.org.
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