WHERE DOES EVIL ACTUALLY COME FROM?
Now, having looked briefly at the word “Satan”. We can consider exactly where the evil actually comes from.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Genesis 8:21 For the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.
Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Note that the New Testament and the Old Testament are in exact agreement about the “evil heart” and the consequences of what we do!
Jesus confirms the source of evil:
Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Now the questions these verses raise are:
1. If there is nothing worse than the human heart, and if all evil proceeds from the human heart, could there possibly be some being supposedly worse called “Satan”?
It is clear that the answer to the first question is that the evil comes out of the heart, there being no mention of a “Satan” as an personal identity or “satan” as an adversary.
2. Do we “say” things in our hearts, or do we blame “Satan” for thoughts and words that originate evil, as churches infer?
Let us consider together a few verses concerning the second question taking notice of the phrase “said in his heart”. In them there again is no mention of a “Satan” or “satan”.
Genesis 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Genesis 27:41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
Psalm 10:6-13 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

Psalm 14:11 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Obadiah 3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Luke 12:45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken.
Now, there are hundreds of verses in the Bible referring to the human heart that do not bear any reference to “Satan”. [There are some 46 New Testament verses referring to “the devil” which we will come back to later]. So when religious persons blame “Satan” for evil in people, they are passing on religious tradition and are generating untruths. It is simply passing blame for the actions of their unregenerate and wicked hearts onto another supposed entity.
This is the vogue today, even in our law courts, where blame is passed on to someone or to something else. This is denying responsibility and accountability. It is the false, “the devil made me do it”, trip we often hear about. It is somewhat like people who are dying through having smoked tobacco for years, blaming the tobacco growers or tobacco manufacturers for their condition, as we find them now doing.
Yes, it is always our just God who is sovereign, not “Satan”.
John 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
Prov. 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Why?
Prov. 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
Honesty demands that we should admit our part in yielding to temptation.
James 1:13-16 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Let us no longer err about this in blaming “Satan”, as the churches do!
NONE OTHER GODS.
The churches effectively have two gods before them, despite what the Bible presents:
Deuteronomy 5:7 Thou shalt have NONE OTHER gods before me.
God emphatically denies the two-god concept. Please note the capitalized words in the next verses.
Psalm 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name ALONE is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
Isaiah 37:16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou ALONE, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.
Isaiah 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth BY MYSELF.

! Cor. 8:4-6 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that THERE IS NONE OTHER GOD BUT ONE. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but ONE GOD, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
Ephesians 4:6 ONE GOD and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
James 2:19 Thou believest that there is ONE GOD; thou doest well:
So if we have any concept at all in our minds about there being two Gods [or more] we are not doing well!
Quoting Charles Spurgeon, “There are certain doctrines called Calvanistic, which I think commend themselves to the minds of all thoughtful persons for this reason mainly – they ascribe to God everything”.

Man’s Sinful Condition
Man is sinful. He does not become a sinner by sinning. He sins because he is a sinner. He is depraved, which means that sin has corrupted all that he is: mind, soul, spirit, emotions, and body. Man is so engulfed in sin, so thoroughly touched by it, that there is nothing in him that merits or enables salvation. He, therefore, is born into a state of condemnation: “…and [we] were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph. 2:3). This is not to say that we are as evil as we can be, rather, that all of what we are is affected by sin.

The heart is often referred to in scripture as the deepest part of man and the center of his spiritual nature (Esther 7:5; 1 Cor. 7:37; Rom. 6:17; Deut. 29:4). From the heart man understands (Prov. 8:5), reflects (Luke 2:19), feels joy (Isa. 65:14), and experiences pain (Prov. 25:20). Because of his depravity (sinful condition), man’s heart is not only impure but desperately sick: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9). Also, it is out of the heart that we speak “…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34), and what is in the heart of the person is what comes out of him: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man” (Mark 7:21-23). It follows then that man’s understanding, reflection, feelings, and experiences are all stained by sin.

The unregenerate person is a slave of sin: “For when you were slaves of sin you were free in regard to righteousness” (Rom. 6:20). That means that doing good is not a concern or need of the unbeliever–and naturally so for a person with a sinful nature. The unregenerate is inherently against God: “by abolishing in His flesh the enmity…thus establishing peace” (Eph. 2:15). Enmity is hatred, bitterness, and malice toward an enemy. That was our relationship to God prior to salvation; there was enmity between us.

So, the Bible reveals the true nature of man. It is evil (Mark 7:21-23), sick (Jer. 17:9), a slave of sin (Rom. 6:20), at enmity with God (Eph. 2:15), and, of course, naturally belongs in hell (Eph. 2:3). It then follows that out of his utterly sinful condition, only sinful desires and effects will follow.

The question must then be asked, “How can a sinful person ever desire God?”

The Result of Man’s Sinful Condition
Because of man’s sinfulness, he is unable to understand God, seek God, or do any thing good: “…both Jews and Greeks are all under sin as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one’” (Rom. 3:9-12).

Because of his sinfulness, he loves darkness rather than light; he loves evil rather than good: “And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

Because of his depravity, he is incapable of accepting the things of God or understanding them: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor. 2:14). The natural man is the unregenerate man. The natural man cannot understand the things of God. Notice it does not say, “has trouble understanding,” or “can if he’s sincere,” or “will be able to if he chooses God.” It says he cannot understand. Salvation is one of those “things of God,” and so is the understanding of being lost, of being a sinner, of needing repentance, etc. All of these are out of reach of the natural man. He cannot understand them.

So, in light of these scriptures, how can an unbeliever come to an understanding that he needs salvation if the Bible teaches that he cannot understand his need (1 Cor. 2:14), that his nature is evil (Mark 7:21-23) and that he does not seek God (Rom. 3:11)? It would seem that man’s sinful condition does not permit him to desire, understand, or want God.

Man is the evil one. It is time to quit blaming things on a scapegoat god and return to YHWH and know that with out Him, WE ARE THE ENEMY!