Have you heard someone argue that since Jesus commands us to “love our enemies” (Mat 5:44), we should love Satan, who is also our enemy? I have, from within Berean. To answer this dilemma, let’s go to the Bible as good Bereans.
First, we do not have a single verse that says, “thou shalt or thou shalt not” concerning loving Satan or that God loves or hates the devil. Those Bible verses do not exist. Therefore, we need to decide whether Matthew 5:44 implies that loving our enemies includes loving the devil.
Verse 44 is grounded in a context. Matthew 5:43 reads, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” Verse 43 precedes verse 44 and sets the context for the enemy of verse 44. Neighbors are humans. Matthew 5:44–45, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” The sun rises, and the rain falls on humans. Demons are not physical bodies impacted by the sun rising and the rain falling.
Moreover, it seems inconceivable to pray for the devil and his demons. Remember, Jesus coupled love with prayer in verse 44. When we pray for our enemies, we are praying for repentance and salvation. Satan cannot repent. The biblical principle of loving and praying for our enemies applies to people—those capable of repentance, reconciliation, and salvific transformation.
Fallen angels are beyond redemption. Christ did not die for them. Salvation is not available for the angels or demons. Scripture leaves no room for that debate. In the context of salvation, the writer of Hebrews plainly states, “it is clear that he does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring” (Heb 2:16). The lake of fire was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt 25:41). Peter describes angels as on the outside longing to get a glimpse of what redemption looks like (1Pe 1:12). But they are sovereignly excluded from salvation.
Some will argue, “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16). See, God loves the world, and since Satan is part of the world, God must love him. But the rest of the verse clarifies that “God so loved the world that He [God] gave His only Son…” God’s love is grounded in redemption. But Satan is excluded from redemption; so, this verse does not apply to him.
The New Testament repeatedly calls Satan “the evil one.” He is so evil that he is the evil one! He is the embodiment of evil, and the Bible has much to say about hating evil. Amos 5:15 instructs us to “Hate evil [and to] love good.” When it comes to Satan, one can’t separate his evil actions from his person such that one could hate the evil, but love the being. He was not made in the image of God. Only humans are made in the image of God. Christ did not die for him. Christ crushed his head, and his destiny is eternally sealed.
James 4:7 tells the believer to “Resist the devil”—that is, stand firm against him. Peter also tells the believer to resist the devil (1Pe 5:8–9). Nothing in the Bible even remotely suggests Christians are to love the one they are actively standing firm against. We are just told to oppose him.
In Matthew 13:19, Christ tells us that the “evil one” snatches away the word of God from the heart of the one who does not believe (see also 2Co 4:4). What a confusing message we communicate when we say, “Love the one who is actively opposing humans coming to saving faith in Christ.”
Christ has clearly commanded us to love and pray for our enemies. But this does not include the Adversary of God. Although he is a created being, he does not bear God’s image, will never be your neighbor, and cannot be saved from his eternal destiny in the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). Stand firm against him (Eph 6:11) while continuing to love those he seeks to deceive.
