Introduction: Imagine a sports game in which you could not
determine who were the teams or the players on the field.
Much of the misunderstanding about God comes from this basic
ignorance. If there is no God, then evil can rise no higher
than humans who do evil. If there is a God, and God’s team
alone is on the field, then evil comes from God. God is at
least in part evil. But if there are two teams on the field,
and one is God and His team, and the other is a rival to
God, then we can begin to sort out who is responsible for
good, and who is responsible for evil. We can make rational
decisions on whose team we support. The Bible cures our
ignorance regarding these players. Let’s plunge into our
study of the Bible and sort this out!
I. The Field
A. Read Matthew 13:24-27. What is the central question
for this parable? (How are weeds in our field?)
1. What is the basis for wondering about this? I
find weeds all the time in things that I grow.
(The owner planted only good seed. It had no
weeds.)
2. This is a parable. What life issue does this
parable reflect? (How do we have evil in this
world? How do we have evil in the church? God
created only perfect things.)
B. Read Matthew 13:28. What critical bit of
information is missing for those asking the central
question? (They do not know there is more than one
player on the field. It is not simply the master of
the house that is planting, but another person, an
enemy, is planting in the field.)
1. The workers want to fix the problem right
away. Is that the right attitude?
C. Read Matthew 13:29. Should the problem be fixed
right away? (No.)
1. Why not? (Immediately fixing the problem will
cause harm to the good plants.)
2. Why do you think this is true?
D. Whether or not you live in the United States, you
have likely heard of the fast and furious work of
President Trump to root out what he sees as
corruption and waste. I’ve recently become a
member of two powerful governing boards for my
church. My natural inclination is to jump right in
and fix things. But some with more experience
caution me against that. How would you apply the
caution of Matthew 13:29 to reformation work? Let’s
confine our discussion to the church, and stay out
of politics. (With regard to the church,
discouraging the good seed is a problem.)
E. Read Matthew 13:30. Tell me what you think about
the master’s solution? Is it as effective as
pulling out the weeds right away?
1. Does it carry the danger that because of the
delay good seed might be corrupted by bad
seed?
a. Since the master is concerned about
harming the good seed with quick action,
is danger to the good seed unavoidable?
2. What does this parable teach us about evil in
the church?
a. Is it teaching us that we should always
leave the weeds unmolested?
F. Read Revelation 2:18-20. What does this suggest
about tolerating members who teach in favor of
sexual immorality? (Jesus starts out saying that
this is a parable of the kingdom of heaven. He may
simply be explaining why He does not immediately
uproot the evil. However, the cautionary tale is
there for all to see and learn.)
1. What does this parable teach us about the
number of players on the world stage?
II. Temptations
A. Read Matthew 4:1. How many players do we see in
this story? (We have Jesus and the devil.)
1. Does this suggest they are opponents? (Yes, if
the devil is present to tempt Jesus to sin.)
2. This text also mentions the Holy Spirit. Whose
side is the Holy Spirit on? If you
automatically answered, “Jesus,” why would He
aid the devil in tempting Jesus? (On the
surface this is very curious. My conclusion is
that the Holy Spirit believes that the devil
is not yet prepared for the conflict. Rushing
onto the battlefield will give Jesus an
advantage.)
B. Read Matthew 4:2-3. Does this suggest that rushing
to give Jesus an advantage is obviously wrong?
Jesus is weak and hungry!
1. Put yourself in the devil’s place. This is an
incredibly important confrontation. Would you
carefully prepare? Would you come with your
strongest temptation? (The devil bases his
temptation on what has just happened to Jesus.
If a preacher makes what happened to him the
previous day a central part of the sermon, I
know it was not carefully planned. That seems
to be the case here.)
C. Read Matthew 4:4. Based on the answer Jesus gives,
are these two opposed to each other? (Jesus quotes
the Bible (Deuteronomy 8:3) to reject the devil’s
proposal.)
D. Read Matthew 4:5-7. The devil uses a phrase in the
first two temptations, “if you are the Son of God.”
What does that tell us about the nature of the
conflict? (Satan disputes whether Jesus is God.)
1. How does Jesus respond? (Once again, Jesus
cites the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:16) to reject
the devil’s temptation. This tells us, once
again, that the devil is the opposition.)
E. Read Matthew 4:8-9. Is there now any doubt that
Jesus and the devil are in conflict? (When Satan
asked Jesus to worship him, this showed them to be
rivals.)
F. Read Matthew 4:10. Is this the question for all
humans: who do you worship? (Yes. This shows that
Jesus and Satan (the devil) are competitors. They
are in conflict over who is to be worshiped. We
worship either God or Satan.)
1. Read Romans 10:9. What is the key to
salvation?
III. How Evil Began
A. We have learned so far that two teams are on the
playing field. Jesus’ team supports God and the
Bible, and Satan’s team seeks to claim the worship
due to God by methods that conflict with the Bible.
Read Ezekiel 28:12-15. Could these statements refer
to a human being? (The being described here was
both in heaven and in Eden. The answer must be,
“No.”)
B. Read Ezekiel 28:17 and Isaiah 14:12-14. Do these
texts seem to describe the same being?
1. Notice the reference to being thrown down from
heaven. Read Luke 10:18, Isaiah 14:12, and
Revelation 12:8-9. Who was thrown down from
heaven to earth? (Satan. If you compare all of
these texts, it is clear that the being
described in them is Satan.)
C. Two weeks ago we studied the origin of evil on
earth. I said that we would not be looking at how
evil arose in the universe. We now turn to that
topic. What do Isaiah 14:13-14 and Ezekiel 28:17
tell us about how evil arose out of perfection? (It
was pride based on his beauty and splendor. But
note that it was more than that. Satan wanted to be
“like the Most High.” He wanted to rule.)
D. Read 1 Timothy 3:6. What did pride of position
cause to happen in Satan? (He became conceited.)
E. Let’s return to Matthew 4:8-9. Is this a temptation
for Jesus, or does this reflect the basic character
flaw of Satan?
F. When I was growing up in the church, there were a
number of things that could get you tossed out. One
of them was smoking. Has anyone been tossed out of
your church because of pride, conceit, or a desire
to rule?
1. If not, why not? (First, recall the parable of
the weeds that we just studied. Second, these
attitudes are almost universal among those who
are admired in and outside the church.)
G. Recall the introduction in which I asked about who
is on the playing field and how many teams are
present? How would you answer that question now?
(We clearly have the teams for Jesus and Satan. But
we also have those on Team Jesus who act like they
are on the other side.)
H. Friend, is the cosmic conflict going on in your
life? I know that pride, conceit, and a desire for
authority are challenges in my life. Why not pray
with me right now that the Holy Spirit will channel
your talents for good and not for self-glory?
IV. Next week: Rules of Engagement.
Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. All scripture references
are to the New International Version (NIV), copr. 1973,
1978, 1984 International Bible Society, unless otherwise
noted. Quotations from the NIV are used by permission of
Zondervan Bible Publishers. Suggested answers are found
within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by
e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking
on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray that the Holy
Spirit will guide your mind as you study.
