The following article was written by a man named Ralph - a former Marine, Deputy Sheriff and Navy Corpsman who turned his life around after he found his way to Christ. Ralph's website, Behind the Badge of a Deputy Sheriff, contains Christian testimonies, guidance, and sage advice for anyone who wants to stop being victimized by fear. Below is Ralph's advice to Satanists and other lost souls who are tired of living their lives in bondage.

Over the course of my life, I have had some dealings with Satanists and I know how hard it is to turn your life around. If you are among those who have seen the light of Jesus and are trying to escape the bondage of Satan, be warned that you will most likely come up against some hard opposition! If you plan on following Jesus, many people - especially other Satanists - will probably hate you:

Mark 10:29-30 "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel [30] will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields - and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. [NIV]

I cannot stress enough the part about persecutions - the persecutions that come from people who don't know Jesus Christ as their Savior and who resent the fact that we name Him as our Lord and Savior:

John 15:18-21 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. [19] If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. [20] Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. [21] They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. [NIV]

2 Cor. 2:15-16 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. [16] To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? [NIV]

The point is that, when a person comes to know Jesus, their old friends don't like it because they feel convicted. It makes them mad and they hate it and they naturally want the person to reject Christ. This is very common because we are the "smell of death" - spiritual death - and "unsaved" people hate that smell....

In the case of Satanism, the smell of death is even stronger because there is demonic activity involved. Your former friends are worshipping demons, whether they want to admit it, or not! Those demons don't like anyone coming to Christ because He is the "smell of death" to them, and they know their time is short. Not to mention that, when they look at the "new you" they see the reflection of Christ, whom they hate. Why do they hate Him? Because they are afraid of Him! He overcame death and the grave by His willingness to die on the cross on our behalf! He is Satan's Number One enemy - and Satan knows how THE BOOK ends: It ends with him and his followers being tossed into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10-15).

Since you now belong to Christ, be aware that your old friends and their demons intend to do everything in their power to try to come between you and Him. Consequently, you have to be very careful because several things are likely to happen. You might:

• give in and reject Christ and go back to Satanism (very bad idea!);
  
  
• witness to your old friends so that they can come to know Christ, like you did (very difficult because they don't want to know Him since they are under the influence of demons);
  
  
• separate yourself from your old friends entirely (which can be very difficult).

I'm not suggesting that you have to drop your old friends altogether; but, if you don't quit "hanging" with them, chances are that you WILL fall back into your old ways! Here's what God says:

2 Cor. 6:14-18 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? [15] What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? [16] What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." [17] "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." [18] "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." [NIV]

As a believer in Jesus, you now worship the Living God. You really have nothing in common with your "old friends" who worship demons. There will come a time when you will have to let them know, in no uncertain terms, that Jesus Christ is first in your life - and if they don't like it, then they are not respecting YOUR GOD-GIVEN RIGHT to make your own decisions about whom you choose to worship.

God tells us the above for a very good reason: Chances are, if you continue to allow your former friends to influence you, you will be drawn away from Him before you can draw your friends to Him! That's just the way it goes. If they are going to come to Him, it will be because they see Him in you; not because you continue to be the person they loved before you "got saved".

Jesus understands this and He told us to make sure we are willing to follow Him, no matter what. In fact, He told us that we should be careful about our decision to follow Him because it would mean hardships:

Luke 14:25-33 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: [26] "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. [27] And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. [28] "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? [29] For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, [30] saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' [31] "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? [32] If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. [33] In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. [NIV]

Notice at the beginning of this passage Jesus says that if we don't hate our father, mother, wife, children we can't follow Him. While this might sound bad, it isn't; He isn't advocating hating anyone! What this passage means is, if we are not willing to choose Jesus over everyone and everything in this world, including those we love here on earth, then we can't truly follow Him. We can't allow anyone else (including parents and friends) to insist we ignore Christ or be "lukewarm" toward Him. We are either willing to follow Him completely, or not at all. There is no in between. The Bible tells us that we can't "serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13).

This passage goes hand in hand with the other one I quoted earlier, where Jesus promised us persecutions for accepting Him. In that passage, notice that He promises anyone who loses friends, family, homes, etc., for His sake - that person will get a hundred times as many in this life, and even more in eternity. What does that mean? It means that if you lose your present friends because you became a believer, you will eventually gain many more REAL friends.

As a former Satanist who has chosen Christ, chances are, you will often hear (from your "old" friends) that "Jesus doesn't really love you". This is a lie from Satan who is desperate for you to believe that! Every time someone tries to tell you Jesus doesn't really love you (or something similar), simply remember that Jesus loves you so much that He gave His life for you! He was our final sin Sacrifice! Not only does He love you; He loves your Satanic friends too! He is our Creator and He doesn't want any of us to perish in hell - which IS where all unbelievers will end up once they die:

Romans 6:21-23 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! [22] But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. [23] For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [NIV]

If you are seriously considering giving up your Satanic lifestyle, don't be afraid! Remember, Satan and his demons are nothing more than CREATED beings who have no authority over you! If you need help finding your way out of Satanism, don't hesitate to contact me or the people at The Refiner's Fire!

God bless, Ralph