If the Devil can't steal your life, he'll steal your rewards

The devil is an ardent theist. The devil believes in God. The devil believes the Bible. The devil even believes in Jesus. These facts should absolutely terrify a whole lot of people. Many of us say "I believe in God", or "I believe in Jesus", and to that, James says "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!" (James 2:19).

As humans, we are blessed in that while we rebelled, as the demons did, Jesus loves us enough to give us the opportunity to repent and be saved. And yes, that salvation is based on faith. But faith is more than just the intellectual assent that Jesus exists.

When Jesus was on earth, He didn't encounter many atheists. In fact, atheism is so historically rare, the Bible only gives it a passing glance. So historically rare is it that Isaac Newton once quipped "Atheism is so senseless and odious to mankind that it never had many professors." Instead, what Jesus encountered was several groups of very ardent Theists.

These Theists, more often than not, were His fellow Jews. And not just Jews, high ranking Jews. Elders. Chief priests, even. But these were the men who put Him on the cross. These men literally worked for the Jewish equivalent of the Church, and yet they were so evil, Jesus went so far as to say "you are of your father the Devil" (John 8:48, emphasis mine).

The devil is known for his lies. He has been inventing false religions for thousands of years, and glorifying all sorts of sins before us so that the world we live in today is far from a paradise. But the most famous lie Satan ever told? "Did God really say...?"

That it's ok to doubt God's word is literally the first lie Satan ever told mankind, and unfortunately it's also the most effective, because it's the most effective lie that Satan tells Christians. Because we believe in Jesus, we feel secure. God won't really judge me for this sin. God doesn't really hate this doctrine. God didn't really do this thing. Did God really say...?

Pull out your Bible, you have what God said. But did God really say it? If it's in the Bible, yes He did. Satan has no excuse for asking you if God really said it, and worst of all, you have no excuse for believing him.

There are a great many effects, both worldly and eternal, when a Christian doesn't follow the Bible. But speaking entirely of the individual, what are those effects? For the false believer, the obvious answer is eternal condemnation. "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" - Matthew 7:21-23.

But what if your faith is real? Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15: "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."

Unfortunately for us, no Christian is infallible, neither are we sinless. Satan trips us up too. And there is forgiveness for that (1 John 2:1). But there is still the ultimate judgment. Our works will be tested, and it turns out, it is quite literally possible to be "barely saved". And so if Satan cannot steal your salvation, he can still try to steal your rewards. Don't let him. Don't think that faith is license for sin, justification for false doctrine, or a shield against incorrect beliefs.