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Answer
What if Satan or one of his demons offered you a deal? He will give you anything your heart desires—wealth, power, beauty, great skill, etc.—in this life. In exchange, he owns your soul for all eternity.
The concept of striking a deal with the devil became well-known through the classic tale of Faust, a scholar who entered into a pact with a demon named Mephistopheles. Numerous similar stories revolve around this theme. In some versions of the tales, the individual outwits the devil in some manner, breaking free from the agreement and reclaiming their soul. In other renditions, the devil prevails through deceit or betrayal.
Nevertheless, the notion of surrendering one’s soul in a pact with the devil is more of a cultural and literary motif than a biblical one. The Bible does not document any instances of a human negotiating with Satan or demons.
However, the Bible does portray the devil as a negotiator. Yet, he is depicted as attempting to strike deals with God Himself rather than with ordinary individuals. For example, in the book of Job, Satan suggests a wager to God. Satan argues that if God permits him to inflict severe suffering on Job, Job would undoubtedly renounce God (Job 1:9-11). God allows this to unfold, resulting in unexpected outcomes.
Much later in history, the devil tries to bargain with Jesus at the conclusion of His forty-day fast in the wilderness. After displaying to Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” «and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. », (Matthew 4:9), Satan offers Jesus all of them if He bows down and worships him. Jesus dismisses Satan with a rebuke from God’s Word (verse 10).
The Bible does not endorse the idea that individuals can enter into a pact with the devil.Making a deal with the devil is a risky endeavor, but some individuals have tried to strike such a bargain unilaterally by pledging themselves to Satan in the hopes of receiving special favors in return. This act can be seen as a form of idolatry and genuine witchcraft as outlined in the Bible. When a pagan worshiper offered a sacrifice to their gods, they anticipated receiving something in exchange – such as fruitful crops or victory in battle. “For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.” (see 2 Chronicles 28:23). Similarly, when a sorcerer or witch practiced their craft, they sought to acquire special knowledge or power.
From the Bible’s perspective, entering into a pact with the devil would be illogical for several reasons:
Firstly, the Bible portrays Satan as a deceiver and a liar. His primary weapon is deception. From Eve’s conversation with the serpent (Genesis 3) to Jesus’ denunciation of the Pharisees as offspring of “the father of lies” – “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44), the devil is consistently depicted distorting truth to corrupt and harm humanity. Therefore, anyone seeking to strike a deal with such a deceitful being would be acting foolishly.
Secondly, while Satan may possess some power as the “prince of the power of the air” – “wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2),In (Ephesians 2:2), although the devil may seek to manipulate the circumstances of a person’s life, the Bible never portrays that power as absolute—only God has absolute power. Additionally, the Bible consistently depicts the devil’s power as leading to pain, destruction, corruption, and death despite any temporary success. The pleasures of sin are temporary, as stated, “choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;” (Hebrews 11:25, KJV), and any supposed pact with Satan would ultimately result in misery.
Moreover, Satan does not have ownership over human souls. All souls are the possession of the God who created them, as affirmed, “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4). Hell does not belong to Satan; despite numerous jokes and stories suggesting otherwise, Satan will not rule as the master of hell, reveling in his dominion over human souls. Instead, he will be consigned to the lake of fire as a prisoner himself, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10).
Contrary to the implications of the legend of Faust, the reality, according to God’s Word, is far graver. Every human soul is inherently destined for hell. No bargain with the devil is necessary to seal this fate. Due to our sin and rebellion against God, we are “by nature deserving of wrath,” as described, “among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:3). We stand “condemned already” «He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. », (John 3:18). Without a change of course, our souls will end up in hell without ever having to trade them away to Satan.
We don’t need a deal with the devil—we’re already on his side—we need a deal with God Himself. We need Him to save our souls, to change our destination. The problem is that we have nothing to offer Him in trade. He needs nothing from us (Romans 11:33-36), and all our attempts to appease His wrath through religious observance are futile «To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. », (Isaiah 1:11). But the good news—the gospel—is that God loves us and has offered us a unilateral “bargain” of His own. He will save our souls, giving us everything our hearts truly desire for eternity, in exchange for nothing but our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. In a great exchange, Jesus has appeased God’s wrath for us, taking our sin and its penalty upon Himself (1 John 4:10;1 Peter 2:24). In Christ, God will make us alive when we were dead. He will fill our futile lives on this side of eternity with meaningful work and joyful anticipation. See Ephesians 2:1–10 to read more about this pact that God offers.
