Satans devices

 

. Satan’s Methods

What are Satan’s methods? How does he oppose God, his plan, and his people? In 2 Corinthians 2:11, Paul said, “so that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).” If we are ignorant of Satan’s schemes, we’ll more than likely be deceived by them. John MacArthur’s comments on the importance of knowing Satan’s strategies are helpful:

Every military leader devours intelligence reports on the enemy before he enters battle. The intelligence report on Satan is in the Bible. Therefore, ignorance of the enemy will never be a valid excuse for defeat. God has given Christians a decided edge in the contest with advance information on the enemy.¹

In this study, we’ll consider many of Satan’s various methods so we can be more equipped to recognize, confront, and defeat them.

Satan Imitates God

From the beginning, this has been Satan’s chief tactic. In the heavenlies, when he became prideful, he said to himself, “I will make myself like the Most High!” (Is 14:14). Also, when he tempted Eve in the garden, he said if she ate the forbidden fruit, she would be “like God” (Gen 3:5 NIV). Therefore, Satan’s chief work is to imitate the things of God and lead people astray by them. Satan is not a creator; he is an imitator. In what ways do we see this?

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1. Satan imitates God in that he has a false trinity.

In Revelation 13, we see one of the ways Satan will deceive the world is through the Antichrist and the False Prophet. In the narrative, Satan appears as a great dragon who gives his power to a beast (the Antichrist) who will deceive the world. Revelation 13:4says, “they worshiped the dragon because he had given ruling authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast too, saying: ‘Who is like the beast?’ and ‘Who is able to make war against him?’” There will also be a second beast, the False Prophet (Rev 16:16); he exercises the authority of the first beast and deceives the world through all kinds of miracles. Revelation 13:12-14 says this about him:

He exercised all the ruling authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and those who inhabit it worship the first beast, the one whose lethal wound had been healed. He performed momentous signs, even making fire come down from heaven in front of people and, by the signs he was permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, he deceived those who live on the earth. He told those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had been wounded by the sword, but still lived.

Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet are an unholy trinity which, no doubt, are meant to imitate God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

2. Satan imitates God in that he has a rival kingdom, the world.

While the kingdom of God is God’s rule over people who submit to and glorify him, Satan’s kingdom is a system that is antagonistic to God and his people. First John 5:19 says, “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” Charles Ryrie said this about the world:

Satan’s aim is to create a system that rivals God’s kingdom but that leaves Him out. It is to promote a counterfeit order. Basically, the cosmos is evil because it is independent of God. It may contain good aspects as well as overtly evil aspects, but its inherent evil lies in its being independent of God and a rival to Him. This sharp rivalry surfaces in such verses as James 1:27, where the believer is told to keep himself unstained from the world; in 4:4, where friendship with the world is said to be hostility toward God; and in 1 John 2:16, where John declares that all that is in the world is not from the Father. ²

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What are characteristics of the world system? First John 2:16-17 says,

because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.

(1) The world system is focused on self (“the desire of the flesh, the eyes, and arrogance produced by material possessions,” v. 16). It’s all about our desires. (2) It is void of the true God and his will (“not from the Father,” v. 16b). (3) It is focused on the temporary things of this life instead of the eternal (“the world is passing away but the person who does the will of God remains forever,” v. 17). Satan is always trying to tempt people to live for self instead of God and to live for the temporary instead of the eternal. That essentially characterizes the world system which Satan rules over—selfish, anti-God, and temporary.

3. Satan imitates God in that he has a throne on the earth.

In Revelation 2:13, Christ said this to the church of Pergamum:

‘I know where you live—where Satan’s throne is. Yet you continue to cling to my name and you have not denied your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed in your city where Satan lives.

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During that time, Satan had a base of operations in Pergamum (an area in modern-day Turkey). Apparently, it was a place that was tremendously hostile to believers and used to promote Satan’s agenda. Some have speculated if Pergamum was the place of Satan’s throne in those times, maybe it is Hollywood today where ungodly movies and TV shows are made, which negatively affect the entire world. Or, maybe, it is somewhere in the Middle East, in a country where the Bible is forbidden and Christians are openly persecuted. Who knows? We can only speculate. But, just as God has a throne in heaven, Satan has one on the earth.

4. Satan imitates God in that he has legions of demonic angels who follow him.

In Ephesians 6:12, Paul said: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” Scripture teaches that demons are fallen angels. Revelation 12:4 says that at Satan’s fall a third of the angels fell with him.

How many demons are there? We don’t know. But we do know that Satan could spare up to 6,000 of them to focus on one person. In the story of the demoniac in Mark 5:9, the demons said their name was Legion. A Roman legion consisted of up to 6,000 men;³therefore, most likely fallen angels are innumerable. Satan has no shortage of minions, and all of them are seeking to destroy God’s people and God’s plans.

Paul does not teach us everything about demons, but many things can be discerned from Ephesians 6:12. What are some other characteristics we can discern?

• Demons are supernatural.

Paul says we don’t struggle “against flesh and blood.” This means that demons are supernatural and that our primary opponents are not evil people, but the power that works behind them. Wiersbe’s comments are helpful here:

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The important point is that our battle is not against human beings. It is against spiritual powers. We are wasting our time fighting people when we ought to be fighting the devil who seeks to control people and make them oppose the work of God… The advice of the King of Syria to his soldiers can be applied to our spiritual battle: “Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king” (1 Kings 22:31).⁴

• Demons are wicked.

Paul says our struggle is against “the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens” (Eph 6:12). Darkness symbolizes evil in the Bible. That is the demons’ character—there is nothing good in them. They are the spiritual forces of evil. John Stott says this about demons:

If we hope to overcome them, we shall need to bear in mind that they have no moral principles, no code of honour, no higher feelings. They recognize no Geneva Convention to restrict or partially civilize the weapons of their warfare. They are utterly unscrupulous, and ruthless in the pursuit of their malicious designs.⁵

• Demons are organized. 

The demonic categories that Paul used in Ephesians 6:12 are not explained, but they seem to represent “differing degrees of authority, such as presidents, governors, mayors, and aldermen, on the human scale.”⁶

“World rulers” in Greek is the word kosmokratoras or, with an anglicized rendering, “cosmocrats.”⁷ It can also be translated as “cosmic powers” (ESV). This probably refers to demons that are set over nations or regions. In Daniel, we see powerful demons called “princes” over Persia and Greece (Daniel 10:20). The angel who spoke with Daniel was involved in a battle with these two demons. In the same way, some demons rule like princes and generals over nations and cities—seeking to turn the people and the culture away from God.

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Rulers, powers, and spiritual forces of evil also seem to reflect varying ranks. MacArthur says this about the “spiritual forces of evil”:

The spiritual forces of wickedness are possibly those demons who are involved in the most wretched and vile immoralities—such as extremely perverse sexual practices, the occult, Satan worship, and the like.⁸

• Demons are territorial.

When Jesus was about to cast the demons out of the demoniac in Mark 5:10, they “begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of the region.” They wanted to stay in the region of the Gerasenes (Mk 5:1). As mentioned, evidently, certain demons are assigned to specific areas such as cities and countries. Again, in Daniel 10, two high ranking demons are named, the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece (v. 13, 20). These demons were in charge of leading those nations into various degrees of wickedness. Also, the fact that demons are territorial is seen in how they prefer to stay in a body, and when cast out, they forcefully try to return. In Matthew12:43-45, Christ said:

When an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it passes through waterless places looking for rest but does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ When it returns, it finds the house empty, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!

Demons are territorial. They prefer to stay in certain regions and individuals, and probably certain families and cultures as well.

It should be noted that this aspect of Satan and his demons seem to reflect the order in God’s kingdom as well. In Daniel 12:1, the archangel Michael is called the “great prince who watches” over Israel. Evidently, he has a role in ministering to and protecting Israel. He also is called the archangel in Jude 1:9, meaning that he may be the chief over all the holy angels. Also, God has assigned angels to minister to and care for each believer. In Matthew 18:10, Christ said this: “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” “Their angels” could refer to each believer having an angel assigned to him or her or angels in general. In addition, there may be angels assigned to individual churches or churches in a region. Revelation 1:20 talks about the “angels [or messengers] of the seven churches” which were seven congregations in Asia Minor.

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What are some other ways that Satan imitates God?

5. Satan imitates God in that he has false teachers, prophets, and apostles.

In Matthew 7:15-16, Christ said,

Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they?

Also, in Matthew 24:4-5, Christ said, “…Watch out that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many.” In Revelation 2:2, Christ said this to the church of Ephesus: 

I know your works as well as your labor and steadfast endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have even put to the test those who refer to themselves as apostles (but are not), and have discovered that they are false.

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Even as God has many true prophets, teachers, and apostles, Satan has many false ones of whom we must beware .

6. Satan imitates God in that he has a false church and churches.

In Revelation 3:9, Christ said this to the church of Philadelphia:

Listen! I am going to make those people from the synagogue of Satan—who say they are Jews yet are not, but are lying—Look, I will make them come and bow down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

Also, from Revelation 17, many people believe that Satan will rule over a universal church who will initially partner with the Antichrist in helping him rule the world, and then, the Antichrist will later destroy her. She is pictured as a great prostitute sitting on the beast, who represents the Antichrist. She is a prostitute because she has turned away from God and pursues false gods. In the Old Testament, Israel was often pictured as a prostitute when she worshiped other gods (Hosea 1:2). Revelation 17:3-6says,

So he carried me away in the Spirit to a wilderness, and there I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. Now the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. On her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.” I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. I was greatly astounded when I saw her.

Then, the Antichrist and his rulers will destroy the prostitute. Revelation 17:16-17 says,

The ten horns that you saw, and the beast—these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire. For God has put into their minds to carry out his purpose by making a decision to give their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled.

For a season, Satan is willing to be worshipped indirectly through the various religions of the world, but one day, that will not be so. He will want to be worshipped directly. In 2 Thessalonians 2:4, Paul said this about the Antichrist, who will be empowered by Satan: “He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God.” Satan imitates God. He has a false church and churches. Currently, most worship him indirectly, but one day, at some point during the great tribulation, he will require them to worship him directly. 

7. Satan imitates God by placing false believers within the true church.

This is described throughout the New Testament. In Matthew 13 (v. 24-30, 36-43), Christ gave the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. In the parable, God plants wheat in a field, which represents the kingdom of God, and Satan plants weeds. Initially, they are indistinguishable. But as they grow, it becomes clear that some are wheat (true believers) and some are weeds (false believers). Christ said that at the end of the age, the angels will gather the wheat into the barn, and the weeds will be burned. Likewise, in Matthew 13:47-50, Christ described God’s kingdom as fishermen throwing out a net which collects good fish and bad fish. The good fish will go into a container and the bad fish will be thrown into a furnace. Christ then explained it as angels separating the righteous and the unrighteous within his kingdom at the end of the age. God’s kingdom is the place of God’s rule. Therefore, any who profess to follow Christ are part of this kingdom, even if they are not truly saved.

Because of this reality, Scripture commonly calls people to test and prove the reality of their faith. Consider the following verses:

I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do.

Acts 26:20 (NLT)

Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless, indeed, you fail the test!

2 Corinthians 13:5

Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into sin.

2 Peter 1:10

Satan imitates God by planting many false believers within God’s church.

8. Satan imitates God by promoting false doctrines and false gospels.

In 1 Timothy 4:1, Paul said, “Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings.” The enemy has demons who promote their teachings through false teachers. How does Satan do this? (1) Sometimes, Satan adds to Scripture. For example, he adds the necessity of works to salvation. (2) Sometimes, Satan subtracts from Scripture. For example, he removes the necessity of obedience to God after being saved by faith. (3) Sometimes, Satan overemphasizes certain parts of Scripture causing the teaching to become unbalanced and harmful. For example, he overemphasizes the sovereignty of God in salvation to the point that people do not need to share the gospel or repent to be saved. Or, he overemphasizes human responsibility to the point that people don’t need God’s grace to be saved. (4) Sometimes, Satan denies the inerrancy of Scripture. He teaches that some or all of Scripture is untrustworthy. Satan imitates God by promoting false doctrines and false gospels.

Certainly, there are many other ways that Satan imitates God. He is not a creator; he is an imitator. He draws people away from the true to the false, which will never save, sanctify, or satisfy.

What are some other tactics of Satan?

Satan Tempts People

Satan tempts people. How does he do so? James 1:14-15 says: “But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.”

What can we learn about how Satan tempts people from this verse and how one can have victory over those temptations? Temptation’s steps are often summarized by four words beginning with “D”:

1. Temptation begins with “deception.”

The verbs “lured” and “enticed” are very instructive. “Lured” was used of a hunter setting a trap to catch an animal, and “enticed” was used of a fisherman baiting a hook to lure fish.⁹With fishing specifically, the fisherman hides the hook inside the bait, and the fish is drawn to the delicious looking bait, which is hiding the deadly hook. In a similar manner, Satan, like a hunter, entices and lures people through temptation to do evil.

The deceptive bait is that sin is always presented as fun, exciting, fulfilling, and as if we can’t live without it. However, the consequences, which ultimately lead to our destruction, are the hook. Eve would never have eaten from the tree if Satan tempted her by saying, “Eat this, you will constantly fight your husband. The discord in your marriage will show up in your children’s lives. Your older son will kill your younger son. Eventually, the whole world will be destroyed because of your offspring’s evilness!” No, the deception was, “Eat this and you will be like God!” Temptation starts with deception. It shows the fun of hanging out with friends or the fulfillment of some desire; it doesn’t show the continually worsening after-effects.

Therefore, in order to stop the process of temptation, we must recognize the deception—the hook which will eventually hurt us and others. We recognize deception by thoroughly knowing the truth, which is God’s Word. David said, “In my heart I store up your words, so I might not sin against you” (Ps 119:11). Like Christ being tempted in the wilderness, we must respond to every wrong thought with God’s Word and then turn away from it—shut the TV off, close the book, change the conversation, leave the situation to stay away from the potential temptation.

2. Deception aims to cultivate evil “desires.”

The word “desires” is neutral—it can refer to both good and bad desires. In this context, it refers to natural desires fulfilled in an evil way. There is nothing wrong with being hungry, but when we continually overeat, it becomes gluttony. There is nothing wrong with leisure—sleeping and watching TV—but when we do it too much, it turns into slothfulness. Sexual desire is good. It was meant for enjoyment and to produce offspring inside the marriage union of a male and female. However, when it happens outside the marriage union, it is sexual immorality. Likewise, Satan constantly tempts us to fulfill our natural desires in evil ways—dragging us away from God and his perfect will for our lives.

To stop the temptation process at this point, we must recognize ungodly desires and repent of them. If we fight temptation on the heart level, it will never become an action. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul described spiritual warfare as taking “every thought captive to make it obey Christ.” As we repent of wrong thoughts, ask for God’s grace to overcome them, and fill our minds with God’s Word, we can control our sinful desires. In Psalm 119:37, David prayed, “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.”

3. Evil desires lead to “disobedience.”

James said when desire conceives, it brings forth sin (1:15). He leaves the hunting and fishing terminology and begins to use pregnancy terminology. Sin does not only refer to a specific act, it refers first of all to an accepted and nurtured ungodly thought. Christ said that to lust after a woman is to commit adultery (Matt 5:28). It’s important to consider that James says desire leads to sin, which means desire or being tempted is not necessarily sin. When tempted both from within by our sin nature and also from without by the world and the devil, we are not sinning. In fact, since “tempted” in the original language is in the present tense, that tells us that temptation will be constant and continual. We are bombarded with temptation all the time. Temptation becomes sin when we choose to continually think on it which cultivates our sinful desires. If we see something provocative, it’s not a sin to see it; it’s a sin to continually look at it and cultivate the evil desires that arise from seeing it. If we have a wrong thought, we haven’t sinned; it’s the acceptance and cultivation of that wrong thought which is sin.

The fact that being tempted is not a sin is very important to consider because some Christians are especially sensitive to sin (which is good), but because of this, they get overly discouraged when constantly tempted with wrong thoughts or inclinations. Satan can essentially depress and immobilize them by constantly attacking. He will even tempt them to think they’re not Christians because of their struggles! Because of this reality, it is crucial to remember that it is not a sin to be tempted. This will be our battle while living in bodies affected by sin and living in a sinful world. Growing in spiritual maturity doesn’t mean that we will battle temptation less; it just means that we will become more victorious over temptation and that temptation will have less power over us.

4. Disobedience leads to “death.”

After sin is birthed and becomes fully grown, it gives birth to an even uglier child called “death” (1:15). To be “full grown” refers to going from cultivating a sinful thought, to practicing a sinful action, probably to making the sinful action a habit, and so on (v. 15). Sin always has drastic consequences, which is especially true for God’s children. Hebrews 12:7-8 says,

Endure your suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? But if you do not experience discipline, something all sons have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons.

The writer says that every child of God receives discipline, and if he doesn’t, he is illegitimate. When a child of God is in sin, God rebukes him through the Word, often by his reading the Bible or through another believer. If he doesn’t repent, God disciplines him through trials that are meant to turn him away from sin and back to God (Heb 12:5-6). If he still continues in sin, it may result in death. There are three possible types of deaths that James may be referring to (1:15).

(1) God may discipline a believer by allowing him to experience an early death. This is what happened with the Christians in 1 Corinthians 11. They were abusing the Lord’s Supper, and in 1 Corinthians 11:30-32, Paul said this to them:

That is why many of you are weak and sick, and quite a few are dead. But if we examined ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned with the world.

Part of God’s discipline for these believers who continually abused the Lord’s Supper (and one another by doing so) was an early death. Therefore, James warned these believers against continually practicing unrepentant sin, and consequently, experiencing an untimely death because of God’s discipline. Ananias and Saphira experienced early deaths as well (Acts 5:1-10), and John warned the believers in Ephesus of the same thing when he said this in 1 John 5:16-17:

If anyone sees his fellow Christian committing a sin not resulting in death, he should ask, and God will grant life to the person who commits a sin not resulting in death. There is a sin resulting in death. I do not say that he should ask about that. All unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin not resulting in death.

(2) In addition, since James is writing to some who professed Christ but weren’t truly saved (cf. James 2:17-19, faith without works is dead), he also might be saying that continually practicing unrepentant sin might prove that they are not saved—which ultimately results in eternal death. Eternal death is separation of the body and soul from God’s blessing eternally (cf. Jam 5:19-20). Since James continually used the Sermon on the Mount as a template for the book, unsurprisingly, Christ taught the same thing as well. In Matthew 7:22-23, Christ said:

On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’

These professing believers who continually practiced unrepentant sin while professing to know the Lord were ultimately separated from God eternally. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul also warned believers that the continual practice of unrepentant sin might prove false faith:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

It is not that believers are saved by their works or kept by them; it’s that a continual life of sin may prove that one had never been saved—that they never truly “knew” the Lord (Matt 7:23). Those who are born again are new creations in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), and there should be changes in their lives, including how they relate to sin. First John 1:6 says, “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.”

(3) Finally, James might also have in mind how sinful desires commonly lead to death in the sense of murder—including suicide, homicide, abortion, and war. Cain was jealous of his brother Abel—leading Cain to murder him (Gen 4). David’s lust led him to commit adultery and then murder (2 Sam 11). Judas’ betrayal of Christ led to Christ’s crucifixion, shame for Judas, and ultimately Judas committing suicide (Matt 27:3-5). In James 4:1-2, James later shares how these scattered Jewish believers were warring with one another and murdering one another because of their unfulfilled, evil desires. We must realize this when dealing with temptation. Satan desires to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)—his ultimate goal with temptation is to lead people to death and its various forms.

Because of the grave consequences of temptation, James strongly warned the believers he wrote: Temptation gives birth to sin and then sin to death—either an early death, eternal death, or murder. Therefore, to not fall to Satan’s temptations, we must consider the final outcome of temptation—death in its various forms—and abandon the course before it’s too late.

Ways to Conquer Temptation

What are some further ways to conquer temptations that Satan may bring? Here are a few:

• To conquer temptation, we must discern our special areas of vulnerability. Though we all experience common temptations, certain temptations are stronger for some people based on exposure or even genetics. For instance, if I’m put in a room with cocaine, I won’t have any temptation towards it—because I’ve never experienced it. However, for a person that has, he or she might have a major battle in that area. Satan knows our special vulnerabilities and will aim to lead us into those temptations. Therefore, we must study ourselves to help conquer temptation. 
• After knowing our special areas of vulnerability, we must devise strategies to avoid tempting situations. For a person who struggles with great insecurity, he or she needs to avoid things that feed those insecurities. Sometimes for women that means avoiding magazines that teach their bodies need to look a certain way or even avoiding people that continually feed those insecurities. For a person who struggles with lust, that means avoiding anything that might stir it up—movies, television, Internet sites, and even establishing extra boundaries in relationships. For the person struggling with depression, that might mean avoiding activities and thought processes that lead to discouragement and practicing ones that lift him up. For a person who struggles with temptation towards drunkenness, it might mean not drinking at all and not being around people enjoying that freedom. Often, because of our vulnerabilities, we need to take special precautions that others might not need. 
• In addition, we should memorize specific Scriptures that help with our special vulnerabilities. Christ used specific Scriptures which corresponded to the temptations he experienced in the wilderness (Matt 4). We should do the same.
• Finally, we should find accountability partners—people that we trust, who will ask us hard questions and lovingly hold us accountable. In 2 Timothy 2:22, Paul told Timothy, “But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” Also, Proverbs 13:20 says, “The one who associates with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” Everybody should develop these types of relationships—being around people who are serious about the Lord and serious about our faithfulness to him. We should find them and follow the Lord together—confessing sin to one another, praying for one another (Jam 5:16), and helping each other avoid and conquer temptation. If we lack these people, we miss much of God’s grace given through his body to walk victoriously over temptation.

Satan is a tempter. He tempts believers to sin. Temptation begins with a deception that is meant to secure our desires, then our sinful desires lead to disobedience, and then disobedience leads to death in its various forms.

What are some of Satan’s other schemes or ways he works in the world?

Satan Blinds and Controls Unbelievers

Satan blinds unbelievers to keep them from coming to Christ. In 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, Paul said,

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God.

Charles Ryrie provides good insight into how Satan blinds unbelievers. He says:

In relation to unbelievers Satan blinds their minds so that they will not accept the Gospel (2 Cor. 4:4). He often does this by making them think that any way to heaven is as acceptable as the only way. Again, a counterfeit. This blindness attacks the minds of people, and while unbelievers may think and reason, a power greater than Satan must remove that blindness. Human reasoning and convincing arguments have a ministry, but only the power of God can remove satanic blindness. Sometimes the devil comes and takes away the Word that people have heard in order to prevent their believing (Luke 8:12).

In promoting blindness Satan uses counterfeit religion as detailed in the preceding section. This may include everything from asceticism to license, from theism (for being a theist does not necessarily mean being saved) to occultism. In other words, Satan will use any aspect of the world system that he heads in order to keep people from thinking about or doing that which will bring them into the kingdom of God (Col. 1:13; 1 John 2:15–17).¹⁰

Also, Ephesians 2:2 calls Satan “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience.” Satan energizes unbelievers to do evil, whether that means rebelling against God, mocking his Word, or doing other evil deeds. Though unbelievers may be unaware of Satan and not even believe in him, Scripture says he in fact works through them, leading them to various types of disobedience. No doubt, he does this through his many demons.

Satan blinds unbelievers, keeping them from coming to the truth, and he also works through them—leading them to disobey God.

Satan Deceives Nations

Satan not only deceives individuals; he also deceives entire nations. In Daniel 10, we see that there are ruling demons assigned to nations. An angel ministering to Daniel mentioned both the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece—who were, no doubt, demons meant to lead those nations into immorality, the persecution of the righteous, and even war. Daniel 10:13and 20 says,

However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia was opposing me for twenty-one days. But Michael, one of the leading princes, came to help me, because I was left there with the kings of Persia… He said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming.

Furthermore, in the end times, not only will Satan deceive the nations through the Antichrist (Rev 13:3-4), but specifically various demons from the mouths of Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet who will gather the nations to war against God. Revelation 16:13-14 and 16 describes this:

Then I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful… Now the spirits gathered the kings and their armies to the place that is called Armageddon in Hebrew.

Finally, after Christ returns and reigns on the earth for 1000 years, Satan will be let loose one more time to deceive the nations. Revelation 20:7-10 says:

Now when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. They went up on the broad plain of the earth and encircled the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.

Satan is a deceiver. He not only deceives individuals but also nations. In the same way Christ desires to draw the nations to himself, Satan desires to draw them away from God and his ways. No doubt, Satan also deceives them to war against one another and destroy one another.

Satan Attacks the Mind

In considering Satan’s deception of individuals and nations, the primary way he attacks them is through influencing the minds of people. In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul said to the Corinthians, “But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” Satan was aiming to attack their minds. A good example of Satan attacking through the mind is seen in the account of Christ rebuking Satan who was working through Peter. Matthew 16:21-23 says:

From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”

What gave Satan the door into Peter’s life? It was his secular, worldly thinking. He was mindful of the things of men and not the things of God. People don’t want to sacrifice—they want prosperity, wealth, and health. Acceptance of death and sacrifice for God is not part of one’s natural nature. Therefore, many people open doors to the enemy simply because their minds are still secular—their thinking has not been transformed through God’s Word (Rom 12:2).

Why does Satan attack the mind? Proverbs 23:7 (NASB) says, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” Also, Proverbs 27:19 says, “As in water the face is reflected as a face, so a person’s heart reflects the person.” Our mind is a reflection of who we truly are. John MacArthur put it this way:

Who one is on the inside determines who one is on the outside. Thus, Satan attempts to corrupt minds so he can corrupt lives. Satan’s chief activity in the lives of Christians is to cause them to think contrary to God’s Word and thus act disobediently to God’s will. The seventeenth-century Puritan preacher Thomas Watson put it this way: “This is Satan’s master-piece …; if he can but keep them from believing the truth, he is sure to keep them from obeying it.” ¹¹

Therefore, if Satan can attack and influence our thought life, he can lead us. No doubt, he does this through the media—ungodly music, TV shows, movies, and news stations, which corrupt. He does this through the education system, which often teaches views that contradict the Bible. He does this through cultures, which often lead people in directions contrary to Scripture. Therefore, to combat Satan’s attacks on our mind, we must guard what we allow in our mind through the media—what we read, listen to, and watch—and our relationships. In addition, we must confess wrong thoughts before the Lord. In describing the Christians’ warfare, Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5:

for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.

Furthermore, Paul said this to the Philippian church:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

To think about what is worthy of respect, we must choose to not entertain what is disrespectful. To think about what is just, we must reject the unjust. To think about what is pure, we must reject the impure. From this, we can discern why so many fall prey to the enemy—they have unguarded minds. We must guard our mind against what is evil, and saturate it with what is good, which is God’s Word. This is one of our greatest defenses against the enemy. We must learn to “take every thought captive to make it obey Christ” (2 Cor 10:5).

Here are some ways Satan attacks the minds of believers, as shared by John MacArthur:

1. Materialism: I prize material and physical blessings more highly than my spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ (Job 1:1–2:13) …

2. Defeatism: Because I have failed, I am no longer useful in the King’s service (Luke 22:31–34) …

3. Negativism: My weakness prevents me from being effective for God (2 Cor. 12:7–10) …

4. Pessimism: The difficult circumstances in my life cause me to doubt that I will ever accomplish anything significant for God (1 Thess. 2:17–3:2).¹²

Satan attacks through our mind because our mind controls our feet. Therefore, we must guard against ungodly thoughts and views and saturate our mind with what is good.

Satan Attacks Through the Open Door of Sin

In Ephesians 4:26-27, Paul says, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. Do not give the devil an opportunity.” Anger and the practice of sin give the devil a foothold in our lives—an avenue to continually attack us—and that of our communities. This is especially true when it comes to the sin of unforgiveness. The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:23-35 represents this truth. In the parable, a master forgave a servant a great debt, but the servant did not forgive his fellow servant a much lesser debt. Because of this, the master handed the servant over to torturers. Matthew 18:32-35 shares the master’s judgment:

Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, ‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’ And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed. So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart.

Obviously, the master reflects God and the servants reflect believers, but who are the torturers? No doubt, they are Satan and his demons. We see this throughout Scripture. When Saul was in unrepentant sin, who did God hand him over to? A tormenting spirit (1 Sam 16:14)! In the Corinthian church, when an unrepentant man was fornicating with his stepmother, who did Paul call for the church to hand him over to? Satan (1 Cor 5:5)! They would do this by putting him out of the church.

Sin opens the door for the devil into our lives. No doubt there are many Christians who, as a result of unrepentance, have psychological or physical problems that are demonic in origin. There are Christians being tormented in their minds, bodies, emotions, work, and relationships because they have been handed over by God to the enemy until they repent.

Satan Attacks to Kill

In John 8:44, Jesus said, “You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him…” Likewise, in John 10:10, Christ said this, no doubt, in referring to Satan, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” Where there is manslaughter, suicide, genocide, abortion, and war, we can be sure Satan is involved. Satan is a murderer, and for a season, he has power over death. Hebrews 2:14 says this about why Christ had to become human and die for our sins: “…so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil).”

The fact that Satan is a murderer should also challenge us to not compromise with sin. No doubt, when Satan leads people into ungodly language, secular thinking, selfishness, or compromise, though those sins may seem harmless at the time, he ultimately wants to lead people committing those sins to their destruction. The devil is nobody to play with—he is a destroyer.

The only reason he has not killed us is because God is the ultimate sovereign. As in the story of Job, God sets boundaries on how far the enemy can go (Job 2:6). If Satan cannot kill us, he is content to attack our bodies, our sleep, our joy, our peace, our testimonies, our callings, and our relationships. Our enemy is a murderer, and our only hope is our Great Shepherd, Jesus (Heb 13:20; cf. Ps 23).

Satan Attacks in an Overwhelming Manner

In Ephesians 6:13, Paul said this in the context of our battle against Satan and his demons: “For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.” William MacDonald said this about the “evil day”:

The evil day probably refers to any time when the enemy comes against us like a flood. Satanic opposition seems to occur in waves, advancing and receding. Even after our Lord’s temptation in the wilderness, the devil left Him for a season (Luke 4:13).¹³

Job experienced the “evil day” when the devil attacked his body, his family, his finances, and his friends for a season. This happens with many believers. Satan desires to make people give up, get angry at God, and turn away from God (cf. Job 1:11). We should not be surprised when temptations and demonic trials come like an overwhelming storm. Satan comes at us like a storm to discourage us and make us want to quit. However, by finding our strength in God, we can stand, even in the evil day. Again, Ephesians 6:13 says, “For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.”

Conclusion

Satan has many methods and schemes by which he attacks people. By understanding them, we’ll be more effective at defeating them. Satan imitates God, tempts people, blinds and controls unbelievers, deceives nations, attacks the mind, attacks through the open door of sin, attacks to kill, and attacks in an overwhelming manner. Thank you, Lord, that you have defeated Satan, and we need only to walk in the victory you gained on the cross (Heb 2:14, Rev 12:11). Thank you, Lord. Amen!

Challenging God’s Word. Genesis 3gives us a detailed look into this tactic of our enemy. It led to the first human sin, and Satan still uses it because it works so well. The first recorded words of the devil, through the serpent, were these: “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1). With those words, the devil invited the woman to reconsider what she understood God to have said. By adding her human interpretation, she convinced herself that God’s Word was far too restrictive.

By suggesting that we should reexamine the clear teaching of God’s Word, Satan invites us to add our own interpretation and thereby nullify God’s stated will. Entire church denominations are falling prey to these wiles of the devil. “Did God really say that homosexuality is wrong?” he hisses, and churches crumble. “Did God really say there are only two genders?” he suggests, inviting us to put our own spin on reality, making ourselves gods in place of the Lord. Ephesians 6:11 says that we need to be clothed in the whole armor of God to withstand such wiles.

2. Challenging our identity. Luke 4:1–13gives insight into several of the devil’s wiles. Satan came against Jesus to tempt Him in the wilderness. On two different occasions, Satan began his temptations with these words: “If you are the Son of God.” Satan knew exactly who Jesus was (Mark 1:34). Jesus was there when Satan fell “like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Significantly, the devil chose a time when Jesus was physically weak and hungry to attack His identity.

Satan does the same with us. To make his wiles more effective, he hits us during a crisis or a spiritual struggle and suggests, “If you were a child of God, this wouldn’t happen. If you were actually a Christian, God would help you right now.” Again, we need the “helmet of salvation” firmly in place to withstand such attacks against our identity and God’s character (Ephesians 6:17).

3. Twisting Scripture. Another of the wiles the devil used against Jesus was to quote Scripture, but with a twist. In Luke 4:10–11, Satan quotes Psalm 91:11–12 in an effort to persuade Jesus to act in the flesh rather than follow the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16, 25). But Satan failed to complete the thought of the psalm. The next verse, Psalm 91:13, says, “You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.” Those animal references are metaphors for fierce and dangerous enemies—and the devil is likened to both a lion and a serpent in Scripture (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 20:2; 1 Peter 5:8; cf. Romans 16:20). The true meaning of the passage in Psalm 91 is that God will protect and empower His servants as they overcome the enemy, Satan. One of the wiles of the devil is to leave out key parts of Scripture in order to twist its meaning to fit his agenda.

We see these wiles of the devil in action today, as prosperity teachersand false prophets quote Scripture in selfish and misleading ways. They use enough of God’s Word to sound authoritative, but they twist it to fit their personal agendas. Cherry-picking the Bible for verses that affirm whatever we want to believe or do is a widespread problem, and most participants have no idea they have fallen victim to one of the wiles of the devil.

4. Offering a tempting alternative to obedience. Another scheme or wile of the devil used in the temptation of Jesus was to suggest another path, avoiding strict obedience to God’s will. Cunningly, Satan knew better than to suggest that Jesus forget the whole salvation plan and go back to heaven. Instead, he offered an alternative. In Luke 4:5–7, “the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.’” This temptation was aimed at the humanity of the Son of Man. Jesus now knew what it felt like to be in the flesh. He knew what spikes would feel like in His hands and feet. He knew what rejection and mockery would feel like when He was stripped naked and paraded before the crowds. Satan was offering Him a compromise. What if Jesus could “save the world” without having to suffer crucifixion? What if He could take a shortcut and possess all the world’s kingdoms now?

One of the most sinister wiles of the devil involves his ability to offer a religiously tainted compromise. He knows he can’t come at mature believers with a frontal attack on their values and convictions. So he slides in the back door, posing as a friend with a reasonable alternative: “Well, yes, technically it might be wrong for someone to move in with a boyfriend, but you can witness to him better as he watches you live out your faith.” Or this: “You don’t need to go to church to be spiritual. You connect better with God alone in the woods. Those people are all hypocrites anyway, and you are too righteous to associate with them.” We must beware of the devil’s wiles when he offers something other than total obedience to God’s will.

The New Testament writers often pointed out the wiles of the devil to those in the church who were falling for them, and we should take note. The presence of false prophets (1 Timothy 6:3–5), busybodies (1 Peter 4:15), adulterers (1 Timothy 1:9–10), and seducers (Revelation 2:20) are all part of Satan’s masterplan to undermine the church from within.

To combat the wiles of the devil, followers of Christ must stay clothed in the armor of God. We must stay immersed in His Word so that we recognize deception. And when we realize we have been caught in the wiles of the devil, we must quickly repent and seek godly accountability. Psalm 37:23–24 encourages those who desire to live godly lives: “The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.” When the Lord holds our hand, the devil’s wiles cannot harm us.

Though the Bible presents the Devil as a powerful and cunning opponent, it also tells us that Christians can have victory over this enemy. 

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them (1 John 5:18).

Our Own Choice

It must be emphasized that Satan cannot make the believer do anything! When a Christian sins, it is because they have chosen to sin. It is not the responsibility of anyone else. Satan can entice someone to sin, but he cannot force them to sin. 

In Christ

Satan cannot recapture that person who is "in Christ." Therefore, Satan is a defeated enemy, one who ultimately will be thrown into the lake of fire. However, until that time, he is still very active in our world. Consequently the believer must take the proper steps to win victory over this enemy. 

Some Victories, Some Defeats

While believers are living in this world-system, and battling the attacks of the Devil, it is possible to achieve temporary victories over this foe. These victories can only come through faith in Christ. Though victory is always possible, occasional defeat will occur, if the believer fails to do their part. Though these defeats do not affect the final outcome, they can hinder a person's Christian testimony, as well as their spiritual growth. Therefore we need to discover how victory over the Devil can be achieved. 

Steps To Take

The following are some steps that the believer should take. 

1. Understand Our Enemy

It is important that we understand our enemy. We need to know what he is able to do, his limitations, and the various ways in which he works. The Bible says. 

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:11)

This can only be found from a study of God's Word. Satan takes advantage of those who are spiritually immature and ignorant. 

2. Know His Methods

We also need to know how the Devil works - we are not to be ignorant of his methods. The Bible says. 

that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan: for we are not ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2:11).

3. Test The Spirits

Believers have a responsibility to test the spirits. 

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

This is something we must actively do, we are not to sit by passively. 

4. Be Actively Watching

The Bible tells us to be watching for these tricks of the Devil. 

Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).

We should be on guard against his attacks. 

5. Resist Him When He Comes

The Bible tells believers to resist the Devil. 

Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the Devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7) .

Resist has the idea of withstand, or to stand our ground. By standing our ground, Satan can be overcome. John wrote to believers. 

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one (1 John 2:13).

6. Realize Weak Areas

Every human being has areas in their life in which they are vulnerable. Satan knows these areas. Consequently believers should be especially alert from attacks in the areas where they are the weakest. The Bible commands us not to give any opportunity to the Devil to work. 

neither give place to the Devil (Ephesians 4:27).

7. Not In Our Strength

We learn a valuable lesson from Michael the archangel in dealing with Satan. 

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the Devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you" (Jude 9).

We should not personally defy the Devil. We need to respect his power and should neither underestimate or overestimate him. 

8. Avoid The Situation

As much as possible, believers should avoid any situation that can cause them to sin - they should separate themselves from the source of the temptation. 

abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

By separating themselves from a particular sin, both morally and geographically, a temporary victory can be won. However, all victories are only temporary because temptation will always come as long as we are in these bodies. 

9. Put On The Full Armor Of God

The believer has authority over the unseen realm by putting on the spiritual armor that God has provided. 

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm (Ephesians 6:12,13).

The armor consists of spiritual realities that believers need to appropriate every day. By daily surrendering ourselves to the Lord, and placing our faith in Him, we can take advantage of these spiritual realities because it is a spiritual battle in which we are fighting. The Bible says. 

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).

These realities are compared to the outfit a Roman soldier would wear. 

The Belt Of Truth

One of our weapons of warfare in the spiritual realm is the belt of truth. 

Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist (Ephesians 6:14).

The belt of truth refers to the truth of the Word of God as well as the truthfulness we should display in our daily lives. Since Satan is always a liar (John 8:44) we need to concern ourselves with the truth. 

The Coat Of Righteousness

We are told to put on the breastplate, or coat, of righteousness. 

and put on the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14).

This refers to doing the right thing. We can only do the right thing after we have put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This happens when a person trusts Christ as Savior. 

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).

Believers are now able to do that which is right in the sight of the Lord. 

The Sandals Of Preparation

Our feet also need to be covered by God's armor. 

As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15).

This speaks of spreading the good news about Jesus. Our job is to testify to the lost that there is forgiveness of sin in the Person of Jesus Christ. We are to be ready to go wherever He will send us. Those who do this are said to have "beautiful feet." 

And how are they to proclaim Him unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:15).

The Shield Of Faith

When the wicked one attacks, there is a shield for believers. 

With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16).

We are to place our faith in God's promises when we are attacked with fear and doubt. 

The Helmet Of Salvation

The Bible also speaks of armor that protects the head. 

Take the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17).

The head speaks of knowledge. We need to understand that we have been given assurance of salvation seeing that it is God who will carry us through. While Satan wants to keep believers ignorant of these truths, and to keep them in continual doubt and , Jesus wants to set them free. 

So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36).

The Sword Of The Spirit

Scripture now speaks of an offensive weapon in the believers armor. 

the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).

The believer needs to understand how to use the Bible effectively when the attacks of the enemy come. 

9.Maintain Constant Communication With God

We are also told to constantly be in prayer to God. 

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).

Talking to God on a constant basis can help stop the progress of the Devil. Elsewhere we are commanded to pray unceasingly. 

pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

10. Realize Whose Family You Are Part Of

The Bible speaks of two families of humanity - those who are the children of God, and those who are the children of the Devil. Those who are in the family of God have their lives molded after Him. Those who belong to the Devil act like their spiritual father. Believers ought to realize which family they are a part of and act accordingly. The Bible says. 

for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith (1 John 5:4).

11. Rest In God's Promises

Finally, we need to rest in the promises of God. Satan has been overcome and the victory is ours! 

No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Paul said. 

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).

Summary

The Bible gives us a way in which we can deal with the Devil. Though the Devil has been defeated, and eventually will be thrown into the lake of fire, he is still actively spreading evil. Christians need to understand who he is, and what he is able to do while he is still active. As long as one looks to Christ, victory can be achieved.

Our adversary goes by many names- Lucifer, the serpent, Satan, the god of this world, the king over all the children of pride, and the accuser of the brethren, for example.

He has many tactics, and he targets our relationships, ministries, finances, health, and our family with his fiery darts.

Satan slanders us and accuses us before God day and night. (Revelation 12:10) Meaning he never stops spewing lies about us, because he is the father of them. (John 8:44)

The devices of the devil are designed to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10) But we don’t have to let him have his way with us. God has given us everything we need to recognize and resist that traitor’s tactics, in His word, His Spirit, and His people.

7 Devices of the Devil 

2Corinthians 2:11 KJV ~ Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

In order to stand strong in spiritual warfare, we have to recognize the devices of the devil.

Our adversary is pretty predictable. He doesn’t really have any new tricks up his sleeve to draw us away from fellowship with Christ. That’s his goal, of course, to get us focused on ourselves, our what-ifs, worries, and woes, and forget our first Love.

As a pastor’s wife and Bible teacher, I’ve had my fair share of spiritual warfare. From those experiences, I’ve noticed that there are some devices of the devil that consistently show up.

1. Doubt
2. Discontentment
3. Discouragement
4. Distractions
5. Division
6. Depression
7. Disabilities

Satan uses each one of those tactics to bring God’s children under a cloud of confusion and crush them with circumstances that are beyond their control.

But he only succeeds if we let him. We are not powerless against the enemy!

7 Practices to put on and put the devil in his place

Each attack of the evil one has a counterattack straight from God’s word. When we recognize the devices of the devil coming against us, then we can put to practice these 7 things.

1. Put in truth to defeat doubt. John 17:17. Reading the Bible transforms our thinking and fortifies our faith.
2. Put your praises on paper to counter discontentment. Phil.4:8. When we take the time to write down what we are thankful for, what we have seen God do, instead of focusing on our grievances, we have peace and a grateful heart.
3. Put on your spiritual armor listed in Ephesians 6:10-18 to shake off discouragement. The devil wants to steal our courage, confidence, and hope. But we are emboldened and operating by faith when we get battle-ready.
4. Put your eyes on Jesus when you are distracted. Hebrews 12:2. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, then all the things that are vying for our attention and causing us anxiety melt away.
5. Put on charity to guard against division. Col. 3:12-17. Choosing to obey the word of God and forgive each other, forbear with one another, and forget the wrongs, brings unity in our relationships, homes, and churches. And we are far more effective together, than apart.
6. Put prayers up when depression threatens to drown you. 1Thessalonians 5:17, Luke 18:1-8. I’ve been in that pit, and what helps me out of it most is prayer. I pray even when I don’t feel like it, even when I don’t see immediate results, and even when it seems like I’m just talking to myself. I also reach out to my trusted prayer partners and ask them to intercede for me. Prayer is powerful!!
7. Put your hope in Jesus when disabilities drag you down. 2 Cor. 12:9-10. The definition of disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. When we’re a threat to the Adversary’s agenda, he uses infirmities to isolate us. But by placing our hope in Jesus, we can see past our current circumstances and look forward to what God is going to do in us and through us, despite our weaknesses.

We can sum these practices up in one phrase, abide in Christ. When we stay in fellowship with Jesus, we are safe from Satan’s schemes.

Recognize, remember, resist

If you were going to play the game Survivor, you would want to study the strategies of those who succeeded at outwitting, outplaying, and outlasting the other contestants. Well, Jesus is the Victor, and we have His playbook, but we have to choose to take His advice and do life His way.

Our opponent is insidious and invisible. He knows our weaknesses and carefully crafts plans to trip us up and trap us in sin. Even though he’s fierce, we don’t need to fear him, we just need to resist his attempts to beguile us.

The devil won’t outwit us when we recognize his devices, remember to put to practice basic spiritual disciplines and resist him.

Don’t let Satan get you down today. His days are numbered, and because of Jesus, you win!

James 4:7 KJV ~ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

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1. When Paul wrote his second epistle to the Corinthians, he alluded to the possibility that Satan might take advantage of them: "lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices." (2Co 2:11)
2. Informed Christians, however, need not be in a position to be caught off guard...
1. Satan's advantage is based upon one being "ignorant of his devices"
2. But if we are aware of the methods Satan uses to lead people astray, we can resist him successfully!
3. What are some of "The Devices Of Satan"? How can we defend ourselves against them?

[In study we shall attempt to answer these questions. We begin by noticing a "device" of Satan that Paul described later in this same epistle...]

1. BLIND THE MINDS OF PEOPLE
1. REGARDING THIS "DEVICE" OF SATAN...
1. There are some whom "the god of this age" has blinded - cf. 2Co 4:3-4
2. The Spirit warned this would be done through "doctrines of demons" - 1Ti 4:1-3
3. Today, many minds are blinded to the truth...
1. By the doctrine of ATHEISM - there is no God
2. By the doctrine of EVOLUTION - we are simply animals
3. By the doctrine of HUMANISM - man is the measure of all things, and in him alone is the solution to our problems
-- Those who are so blinded are hindered from receiving the truth
2. OUR BEST DEFENSE AGAINST IT...
1. Is actually a strong offense, involving a war for the "thoughts" of men - 2Co 10:3-5
2. Our greatest weapon is TRUTH, which can defeat the false arguments and free those who have been blinded into captivity - cf. Jn 8:32
1. Thus the need for discussion and debate, in order to cast down "arguments" - 2Co 10:5
2. Consider the example of Paul, who "reasoned" with others - Ac 17:2-3; 19:8-9
3. Other weapons involve CHRIST-LIKE ATTITUDES that are "mighty in God"...
1. E.g., the meekness and gentleness of Christ - 2Co 10:1-4
2. E.g., patience and humility in correcting others - 2Ti 2:24-26
-- "Speaking the truth in love" (Ep 4:15), we can be defeat this "device of Satan"!

[Another "device of Satan" is to...]

2. GET PEOPLE HOOKED ON "THE THINGS OF THE WORLD"
1. REGARDING THIS "DEVICE" OF SATAN...
1. I am referring to those things described in 1Jn 2:15-17
1. The lust of the flesh
2. The lust of the eyes
3. The pride of life
2. Satan used these tactics against EVE - cf. Gen 3:6
1. What she saw was "good for food" (the lust of the flesh)
2. It was "pleasant to the eyes" (lust of the eyes)
3. It was "desirable to make one wise" (pride of life)
3. Satan also tried these tactics in tempting Jesus - Mt 4:1-11
1. "command that these stones become bread" (lust of the flesh)
2. "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down..." (pride of life)
3. "All these things I will give you if..." (lust of the eyes)
4. Today, Satan uses these tactics with a vengeance, tempting people through...
1. Immorality (lust of the flesh)
2. Materialism (lust of the eyes)
3. Arrogance (pride of life)
2. OUR BEST DEFENSE AGAINST IT...
1. Saturate ourselves with the Word of God!
1. This is how Jesus overcame His temptations by the devil
2. Note how He answered each temptation by saying "It is written..." - Mt 4:4,7,10
2. Develop a strong love for the Father!
1. For that love is incompatible with a love for the world - cf. 1Jn 2:15
2. One cannot be a friend of the world and maintain friendship with God - Jm 4:4
-- By saturating ourselves with God's Word and being strong in our love for Him, we will effectively submit to Him and be able to resist the devil, causing him to flee! - Jm 4:7

[Yet let's not think that Satan will give up easily; there are other "devices" up his sleeve, including...]

3. PERSECUTE THOSE TRYING TO DO RIGHT
1. REGARDING THIS "DEVICE" OF SATAN...
1. Peter warned that the devil sought to devour Christians through persecutions - 1Pe 5:8-9
2. Paul worried that afflictions brought about by Satan might tempt the Thessalonians to give up - 1Th 3:1-5
3. Even today, Satan persecutes Christians!
1. Some literally, through great suffering as Christians
2. Others through social pressures that are often equally effective:
1. Peer pressure
2. Ridicule
3. Ostracism
2. OUR BEST DEFENSE AGAINST IT...
1. Encourage one another!
1. This is what Peter sought to do - cf. 1Pe 5:8-10
2. Paul sent Timothy to do the same - cf. 1Th 3:2-3
2. Adopt the proper attitude: Rejoice!
1. Knowing that trials can make us stronger - cf. Jm 1:2-4; Ro 5:3-4
2. Knowing that those who endure are blessed by God - cf. 1 Pe 4:12-14; Mt 5:10-12
3. Commit yourself to God in doing good - cf. 1Pe 4:19
1. God is a faithful Creator
2. He takes note of our suffering, and will one day repay those who trouble us (including Satan himself!), and give us rest - cf. 2Th 1:4-8; Re 20:10

[There is another "device" of Satan, that often has deadly effect...]

4. GET PEOPLE TO ENJOY EVIL COMPANY
1. REGARDING THIS "DEVICE" OF SATAN...
1. The wrong companions can defeat one's effort to do good - cf. 1Co 15:33
2. Amnon was led astray by the counsel of his "friend", Jonadab - 2Sa 13:1ff
3. Today, many Christians are hindered in their spiritual growth...
1. By the company they keep
2. By the activities in which such company engages
2. OUR BEST DEFENSE AGAINST IT...
1. Realize the danger of the wrong companions - cf. Pr 13:20
2. Heed the advice Paul made to the Corinthians:
1. "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers..." - 2Co 6:14-16
2. "Come out from among them..." - 2Co 6:17-18
3. "...perfecting holiness in the fear of God." - 2Co 7:1

[Finally, let's look at one more "device" of Satan...]

5. DISCOURAGE PEOPLE THROUGH UNCHRIST-LIKE CHRISTIANS
1. REGARDING THIS "DEVICE" OF SATAN...
1. This relates to Paul's concern in our text - cf. 2Co 2:6-11
1. A sinning brother was disciplined, and had repented
2. The need now was for the church to confirm their love and forgiveness
3. Otherwise, Satan might take advantage of this situation:
1. Defeating the church by their unwillingness to forgive
2. Overcoming the weak brother by his being swallowed up in sorrow if forgiveness was not granted by the congregation
2. Today, Satan sometimes wins many souls by this "device"
1. Christians who are unloving, unmerciful, and unforgiving, become stumblingblocks to others
2. Christians who are apathetic, sluggish, in their service and devotion to God, adversely influence new Christians
2. OUR BEST DEFENSE AGAINST IT...
1. Place our ultimate faith in the Lord, not in brethren - cf. 2Ti 4:16-18
1. This is not to suggest that brethren can't be trusted
2. But brethren are fallible, the Lord is not!
2. Remember that not all brethren set the proper example - e.g.,3Jn 9-12
1. Imitate the good examples
2. Don't let the bad ones discourage us

CONCLUSION

1. This is not an exhaustive list, rather only a sampling of "The Devices Of Satan"
1. The Scriptures certainly reveal much more about how the "Great Deceiver" works
2. There is also an interesting work of fiction that provides some interesting insights; it is called "The Screwtape Letters", by C. S. Lewis
2. I trust this study has been sufficient to show, however...
1. That our adversary is indeed strong
2. That ignorance of his devices make us susceptible
3. That if we are not diligent, he can indeed take advantage of us!

Remember, therefore, these important words of the apostle Paul...

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Ep 6:10-13)

 Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, warns them of the need of watchfulness, lest an unforgiving spirit creep in toward one in their midst who had committed a grievous sin, yet evidently had repented, and he adds this significant sentence: “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us:  for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Cor. 2:10-11).

    The fact that we have a very subtle, cunning foe, continually watching to trap or trip us, seems veiled to many.  Ignorance of life in the natural has been the cause of the ruin of many a precious young life.  “Forewarned is forearmed.”  And spiritually, thousands of precious young lives for God are being led astray through the wiles of the devil.  Their ignorance of his devices gives the enemy a tremendous advantage, of which he is not slow to avail himself.

    Paul said he was not ignorant of Satan’s devices or maneuvers – his stratagem.  Would to God that we could all say this with Paul.  Yet we are in a day when many Christians seem to resent any attempt toward enlightenment.  No wonder, then, that we see the work of the enemy triumphing in so many directions.

    Has Satan any particular method of working?  Are there any fundamental principles which he follows?  We believe there are.

    Turning back to his first appearance on this earth, we find him in the Garden of Eden working to destroy two things in our first parents.  He struck at their faith and their love, or in other words at their trust and obedience, for trust is faith in action, and obedience is love in action.

    James says that faith without works (or actions) is dead (Jas. 2:26).  John tells us “This is love, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3).  The devil would destroy faith and love in the hearts of God’s children.

    He first works to undermine our faith in the Word of God.  “Yea, hath God said?” is still his maneuver (Gen. 3:1).  He wants to make us believe that God doesn’t mean what He says – that we can set aside His will for us and live.  He says, “Ye shall not surely die” (3:4).  No wonder he is called a liar, and the father of lies (John 8:44).

    Can we not see him working along the same line today?  Is he not instilling, as deadly poison, the same thought in the minds of God’s children today?  Was there ever a day when Christians felt they could live to suit themselves and still live eternally in Christ, as they do today?  God’s Word is set aside.  There is no thought of conforming the life to its teachings.

    Yet these same folk tell us they are all ready for the coming of Christ, and expect to be caught away, to sit on His throne with Him.  The works of the flesh are manifest in strifes, jealousies, hatred, variance, as well as some of the grosser sins of the flesh.  There is no confession, no repentance, no turning away, no putting on the life of Christ, which is the life of love, spoken on in First Corinthians 13.  There is no humility of spirit, but pride and unteachableness – the self-life rampant.  There is no walk of faith, trusting Him to be made unto us all that we so need.

    They are filling up the picture of Revelation 3:17 (wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked) yet wholly unconscious of that spiritual destitution and nakedness.  Surely, the devil and all his imps are having a great laugh at our blindness and presumption, in view of the actual conditions.

    Having accomplished his purpose of shattering the faith of our first parents, he easily leads them on to disobedience, for if God’s Word is not true that sin brings death, then why not enjoy ourselves and do the things which please the flesh?  And they took, and ate, and humanity has been taking and eating ever since, blinded by the wiles of the devil, forgetting that “he that sows to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption” (Gal. 6:8).  He makes them think they can sow to the flesh and reap life eternal.  Satan is still the deceiver, and still true to his calling.

    What shall we do, in face of all this?  Thank God, there is a way out if we are willing to take it.  Through Christ, the faith and love lost in the Garden of Eden can be restored.  He is the way, the truth, the life, and we can come back to the Father, through Him.

12)

 INTRODUCTION:

1. Job 1:6; 1 Pet. 5:8 - Satan is real, his objective clear.
2. 2 Cor. 2:11 - Christ hasn't left us w/o intelligence of our enemy!
3. Paul said that we as Christians are not to be ignorant of the devil's devices, yet we see many Christians falling into all kinds of traps set by the devil for the destruction of our souls!

 I. LIES - John 8:44.

1. He lies about God - Gen. 3:1-5.
2. He lies about man - Job 1:9-11.
3. He lies about Christianity - Acts 28:22.

 II. THE FLESH - Romans 8:5-8.

1. "Missing out on life!"
2. Missing out on destruction, despair, & corruption! - 1 Jn. :15-17; Gal. 6:7-8
3. Crucify the flesh, bear fruit of the Spirit! - Gal. 5:16-17,2-24
4. Abstain from fleshly lusts that war against soul! - 1 Pet. 2:11

 III. DOUBT - James 1:5-8.

1. The lie of trusting in yourself (man's wisdom, feelings, emotions, philosophies, etc.). - Col. 2:8.
2. He causes you to doubt the Bible & absolute truth! (Jn. 14:6)

 IV. SUFFERING - 1 Peter 5:9.

1. Discouragement, despair, hopelessness, helplessness......
2. Physical suffering - cf. Job 2:3-10.
3. Persecution for your faith - 1 Pet. 1:6-7.
4. Cast all your anxieties upon Christ! - 1 Pet. 5:6-7

 V. FALSE TEACHING - 2 John 9-11.

1. Misdirected / self-deceived / false humility - 1 Tim. 4:1-3; Col. 2:20-23.
2. The trouble with false teaching:
3. Gal. 1:6-9: Out of God's grace, anathema.
4. 2 Cor. 11:13-15 - Deceptive, destroyed.

 VI. CONFUSION - James 3:13-16.

1. Starts w/ jealousy & faction -- Every vile deed.
2. Leads to distrust, evil surmising, malicious gossip ending in unbelief, bitterness, railings, slander, hatred, division.

• cf. 1 Cor. 11:19-21 - Renders worship impossible
• cf. 1 Cor. 14:33 - Makes edification impossible. Satan loves it!!

 VII. DISCORD AMONG BRETHREN - Genesis 13:8.

1. Popular opinion, parties, positioning, posturing, sophistry, emotional appeals, envy & strife (Gal. 5:19-21).
2. Destroy unity, destroy the church! (Amos 3:3)

 VIII. FALSE SECURITY - 2 Corinthians 10:12.

1. Self-deceived, untaught, unstable, shallow emotionalism.
2. In a "name" - Rev. 3:1.
3. In advantages - Rev. 3:17.
4. In works that were w/o authority - Matt. 7:21-23.
5. About sin - 1 Jn. 1:8-10.

 CONCLUSION:

1. Make no mistake about it, the devil has a plan for you!
2. Will you be ignorant of his devices?! (2 Corinthians 2:11)

DECEPTION 1: FALSE DOCTRINE

Where do we find godly doctrine or teaching? Jesus said, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Truth is revealed in the Bible, but we must also practice the truth. Jesus said in the previous verse, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed" (v. 31).

Sadly, the majority will not practice the truth. The Apostle Paul prophesied that some "religious" people would seek teachers to preach what they want to hear, rather than the truth of the Bible. The Apostle Paul exhorted the young evangelist Timothy: "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:2–4).

Are you willing to be guided and corrected by the Bible? Or will you be turned aside to fables? One of the major errors of professing Christianity is the practice, by some, of pagan traditions. For more on this vital topic, read Douglas S. Winnail's article "The Pagan Revival" on page 22 of this issue.

Many do not realize that Easter eggs are a pagan symbol of fertility. Decorated trees, holly wreaths, and mistletoe were pagan traditions. December 25 was celebrated as the birth of Mithras, the sun god; it was not the date of Jesus' birth. Should Christians observe Valentine's Day? In 496ad, Pope Gelasius I established the Feast of St. Valentine on February 14. Previously, since the days of ancient Rome, young lovers had often observed the Lupercalia—the feast of Lupercus, a fertility god—on February 15. Even in ancient Greece, mid-February was associated with love and fertility; the Greek month of Gamelion, ending in mid-February, was associated with the marriage of the gods Zeus and Hera.

The historian Will Durant gave this analysis: "Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it. The Greek mind, dying, came to a transmigrated life in the theology and liturgy of the church; the Greek language, having reigned for centuries over philosophy, became the vehicle of Christian literature and ritual; the Greek mysteries passed down into the impressive mystery of the Mass. Other pagan cultures contributed to the syncretist result.… Christianity was the last creation of the ancient pagan world" (The Story of Civilization, pp. 595, 599).

Are you practicing pagan traditions in the name of Christianity? Remember Jesus' warning to the Pharisees and scribes concerning certain religious customs. He warned them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition" (Mark 7:9).

The book of Revelation warns us about one of the most pervasive deceptions. The Apostle John saw in vision the famous four horsemen of the Apocalypse. He wrote: "And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer" (Revelation 6:2). As we have pointed out in previous articles, the true Revelator is Jesus Christ. He reveals the meaning of this white horse and its rider. Jesus described that the white horse symbolizes false religion—including those who falsely claim to come in Christ's name: "And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ," and will deceive many'" (Matthew 24:4–5).

Yes, Jesus predicted that many would use His name and "deceive many." In verse 24, Jesus states that "false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." Will you be deceived?

The Devil, Satan, has deceived the whole world. Those whom he deceives he holds captive. You can read about that in 2 Timothy 2:26. We must all be on guard against the devil's deceptions; like the Apostle Paul, we must not be unaware of his schemes.

DECEPTION 2: LUST

Human nature is filled with vanity, jealousy, greed, and lust. Satan can take advantage of that tendency and weakness in all of us. He sends temptation through the media—movies, television, magazines and the Internet—and through carnal and covetous individuals.

The Apostle Paul warned married couples not to deprive one another from sexual relations. Otherwise, Satan could take advantage of our carnal nature. "Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control" (1 Corinthians 7:5).

In our modern age, sexual temptations are all around us. So, the Apostle Paul advised those who might lack self-control, "Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband" (1 Corinthians 7:2).

We need to understand that lust, greed and covetousness are sin. The tenth commandment states: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's" (Exodus 20:17).

Instead of coveting, be thankful for all the blessings God has given you. After all, God promises to provide all your godly needs. That promise is in Philippians 4:19. We need to understand that covetousness is a form of idolatry. We can desire a person, position or possession so strongly that it becomes an idol to us. Remember this admonition: "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5).

We need to pray, as Jesus taught us, "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" (Matthew 6:13).

DECEPTION 3: PRIDE, VANITY AND ARROGANCE

Selfishness and egotism are part and parcel of human nature. We like to feel important. That desire can lead to deception. The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy concerning the ordination of a bishop, or an overseer. He wrote that such a candidate should be "not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil" (1 Timothy 3:6–7).

Do you let pride and vanity guide your thinking and behavior? If so, you can be deceived. You can be snared by the devil. How do you counteract self-centeredness and vanity? The Apostle James wrote: "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:10).

Remember the biblical examples of those who cultivated pride, and did not give glory to God? King Herod allowed himself to be worshipped as a god! He cultivated vanity and arrogance. And what happened to him? "So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, 'The voice of a god and not of a man!' Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of God grew and multiplied" (Acts 12:21–24).

Another king, who had to learn lessons the hard way, was King Nebuchadnezzar. When he neglected to take the prophet Daniel's advice to repent, God took Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom away from him. And King Nebuchadnezzar lived like an animal for seven years, until he learned his lesson. You can read about that in Daniel 4.

We need to be on guard against pride. When God blesses you, give Him the glory. As Paul wrote, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31).

DECEPTION 4: LYING

There is a classic example of lying in the New Testament. Members of the early Christian Church donated property and funds to help fellow Christians. However, one individual named Ananias, committed fraud. He claimed to have given all of the proceeds to the Church, but held back some of the funds. He lied to the Apostle Peter. We read: "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.' Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things" (Acts 5:1–5).

Sapphira came to Peter later. She lied, and she experienced the same judgment as her husband. She died on the spot! We need to understand. Satan is the father of lies, as it states in John 8:44. So, examine yourself. Monitor your communications. Do you shade the truth? Or, do you simply lie? Do not let Satan take advantage of you, as he did with Ananias and Sapphira. Remember the ninth commandment states: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16). And we must also realize that we can live a lie. Too many professing Christians are doing just that! As Scripture warns us, "He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4).

Ask God to help you speak the truth and live the truth!

DECEPTION 5: FALSE DREAMS, VISIONS AND "MIRACLES"

How many times have individuals told me about dreams or visions that were obviously Satan-inspired? Some thought they had seen Jesus. He supposedly appeared to them wearing the long hair with which He is commonly pictured in our society. But the Jesus of the Bible did not have long hair. Paul wrote: "Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" (1 Corinthians 11:14, KJV). Jesus escaped out of crowds on several occasions because He looked like the average Jew of His day. Do not be deceived by dreams, visions, or appealing messages. The Apostle John wrote: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

The occult appeals to many people. Some try to contact their deceased relatives through mediums. Children read Harry Potter books and become fascinated with the occult. Satanic video games are popular. You need to educate your children on the dangers of the occult, satanic activities and other demonic influences. God Almighty condemns witchcraft and sorcery. He tells us, "For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord" (Deuteronomy 18:12). Be sure to read Deuteronomy 18:9–14 and Galatians 5:20 in this regard.

Satan will use dreams, visions and "miracles" to deceive people. The book of Revelation describes the great false prophet who will soon rise on the world scene. Be sure to read this in your own Bible. "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb [a counterfeit of Christ] and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived" (Revelation 13:11–14).

Do not be deceived! False religious leaders will perform great signs and miracles. Be sure that you test all such leaders with the Bible, the word of God. That is why we say in Tomorrow's World magazine, and on the Tomorrow's World telecast, "Don't believe us; believe your Bible!" As Scripture says, "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).

We can all look forward to the day when Satan the Devil will be cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. You can read about that in Revelation 20. In the meantime, we must remain watchful and on guard.

DECEPTION 6: BITTERNESS

If we are not careful to watch our feelings, we can become bitter. Perhaps someone offends us. Then the hurt feeling turns into a grudge. Then we start thinking about revenge. If such feelings are nursed and encouraged, they can turn into hate. Then, that hate can turn into bitterness. Christians need to identify and overcome any feelings of hate and bitterness. Notice this instruction: "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled" (Hebrews 12:14–15).

Such bitterness can even lead to the unpardonable sin. How can we counteract those feelings? Simply by following Jesus Christ's instructions! He taught us: "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:44–45).

Even professing Christians sometimes fall into the trap of plotting revenge for some offense or injustice. God warns us against that attitude: "Do not say, 'I will recompense evil'; wait for the Lord, and He will save you" (Proverbs 20:22). Our Lord and Savior set the example, that "when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1 Peter 2:23).

Pray for God's intervention—that He will execute His righteous judgment. He will execute vengeance, if it is divinely warranted. Christians should not take vengeance into their own hands and succumb to Satan's attitude of hate. Scripture warns us: "For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,' says the Lord. And again, 'The Lord will judge His people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:30–31).

Christians need to pray for their enemies. Bless those who curse you. That is the Christian way! That is how we can overcome Satan's infectious attitude of hate and bitterness.

DECEPTION 7: LACK OF FAITH

When Satan attacked him, the patriarch Job remained faithful to God—and learned vital spiritual lessons. At one point, Job said: "For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me" (Job 3:25). In our modern language, we might call Job's experience a "self-fulfilling prophecy."

As Christians, we must face our fears with faith, and must pray for God's protection and intervention. When we study the Bible, and we believe God's promises, He gives us faith. Scripture reminds us, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).

Lack of faith opens us to Satanic deceptions. The book of Hebrews recounts the faithlessness of those ancient Israelites who lacked faith and trust in God. We need to learn from their hardness of heart, and avoid it in our own lives. "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called 'Today,' lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:12–13).

Those who lack faith in Christ, and who persist in trusting Satan, will ultimately be destroyed. "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerors, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8). Thankfully, there is also good news for those who have faith and avoid Satan's deceptions. "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son" (v. 7).

God wants you to be His faithful and trusting son or daughter, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. He will give you His faith, if you turn to Him with your whole heart. In the meantime, arm yourself with spiritual knowledge. Avoid self-deception. Avoid the world's deceptions. And avoid Satan's deceptions. As the Apostle Paul reminded us, Christians are not ignorant of Satan's devices. As regular readers of this magazine know, Bible prophecy foretells of a great future false religious system, inspired by Satan, that will influence billions of people all over the earth. By staying close to the true God, you can avoid Satanic deception. Do not let yourself be deceived!

are living today in a lost world. Satan the devil hates us and wants to destroy us. We must be aware of our enemy’s weapons and tactics, because our “spiritual life,” depends on it.

We must follow Apostle Paul’s example and not be ignorant of Satan’s devices: 2 Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

One of Satan’s devices, or designs, is to cheat you and I the believers out of our true forgiveness. The devil will try to divide the church any way he can. This means we must understand the devil’s tricks and traps and examine how he uses his key weapons in individually targeted ways to attack each of us.

Weapons of Satan:
1. PRIDE
One of Satan’s strongest weapons is pride. Pride is always a danger, when things are going well, such as in times of peace and prosperity (Read Deut. 8:11-17).

Example: Lucifer himself, the one who became Satan. From the time of his creation, he had always lived under God’s perfect rule. Eventually his HEART was lifted up with pride, and he rebelled (Please Read Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:14-17; 1 Timothy 3:6. He uses that same device on us now.

PRIDE IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE GODLY LOVE THAT APOSTLE PAUL DESCRIBED IN 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-8. 

Pride does “parade itself” and is “puffed up.” When we think more highly of ourselves than others, it is easy to become impatient, unkind, rude and self-seeking.

We can fall into the trap of being proud of doing good things, as demonstrated by the Pharisee in Jesus Christ’s parable of the Pharisee and the publican. He gave the parable as a warning to those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. Read Luke 18:9 The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

The self-righteous Pharisee prayed “thus with himself, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess” (verses 11-12) Jesus emphasized that “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled” and extolled the humble, repentant tax collector (verses 13-14).

Paul warns that in these perilous last days men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.

2. ENVY: Another powerful device of Satan. Distorted envy, selfish sense of fairness. This goes back to Cain’s envy of Abel, when Abel was blessed for his offering. Cain thought it wasn’t fair. God knew the attitude of both Cain and Abel, so in His eyes in my opinion it was totally fair.

What does envy produce? James 3:16
For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

3. Lust for forbidden pleasures. We know that, because of Satan’s influence, people don’t like to be told what to do. The “forbidden pleasures” grab people’s attention and focus. Satan makes these seem somehow more enticing and pleasurable than the true pleasures God wants us to have.

4. Itching Ears For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and turned aside to fables.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4.

5. The four Ds
a. Disappointment: Anytime we look to people as our standard, we can be disappointed. But if we trust and have faith in God, we won’t be put to shame.
b. Discouragement: When we dwell on disappointment, it often leads to discouragement. God has given us the Holy Bible, His plan and His promise to encourage us.
c. Doubt: Discouragement left unchecked leads to doubt.
d. Division: Doubts and worries can lead to division of our loyalties. These can lead to divisions between people and distancing from God.

We must be aware of these and other weapons in Satan’s arsenal. We must combat them. YOU AND I MUST PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD. DON’T TRY TO FACE SATAN WITHOUT GOD’S ARMOR!.

He is the serpent, the Great Dragon, Beelzebul, the ruler of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the evil one, and the adversary. He is Satan. And—if you are a follower of Jesus Christ—he hates your guts with a passion. Like a roaring lion he is prowling about seeking to destroy you. How can you stand firm and resist the devil so that he will flee from you? First, do not be naive; you must consider his ways.

1. He may slander God to you in order to cast doubt on God’s goodness and shipwreck your faith (Gen 3:4-5).
2. He may tempt you to deceive others in order to create, or maintain, the impression of being more spiritual (Acts 5:3; Jn 8:44).
3. He may corrupt your mind and steer you away from the simplicity of Christ and His gospel (2 Cor 11:3).
4. He may hinder [cut in on, as in a race] your gospel witness and steal it from unsuspecting hearts (1 Thess 2:18; Matt 13:19).
5. He may wrestle against you, fighting against your progress in Christ (Eph 6:12).
6. He may tempt you to commit sexual immorality against your spouse as a result of neglecting the intimacy of the marriage bed (1 Cor 7:5).
7. He may harass you with some form of fleshly affliction (2 Cor 12:7).
8. He may blind the spiritual eyes of your unsaved family, friends, and neighbors so that they may not see the glory of Jesus in the gospel (2 Cor 4:4).
9. He may keep your unsaved acquaintances in bondage to sins that hinder them from coming to God (Gal 4:8).
10. He may smite you with physical disease (Luke 13:16; Job 2:7).
11. He may murder you (Ps 106:37; Jn 8:44).
12. He may sow tares [counterfeit Christians, sons of the evil one] within your assembly of believers in order to deceive and create disunity (Mt 13:38-39; 2 Cor 11:13-15).
13. He may lead you toward theological compromise by causing you to be friendly to false doctrine and its teachers (1 Tim 4:1-3).
14. He may persecute you for your godliness (Rev 2:10).
15. He may tempt you to do evil (Matt 4:1; 1 Thess 3:5).
16. He is—at this moment—prowling about seeking to capture and destroy you, chiefly through pride (1 Pet 5:6-8).
17. He will most assuredly slander you before God in heaven (Rev 12:10).
18. He may ask God for permission to sift you out for concentrated attack and temptation (Luke 22:31).
19. He may use the power of suggestion to move you away from the will of God (Matt 16:21-23).
20. He may try to cripple your effectiveness through confusion, discouragement, and despair (2 Cor 4:8-9).

How can you stand firm and resist the devil so that he will flee? The Bible exhorts believers to war against the enemy of faith by not remaining ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor 2:11); by submitting to God (Jas 4:7), being sober and alert and resistant to him (Eph 4:27; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8), and by not speaking lightly of him (Jude 8; 2 Pet 2:10).

5 Defensive Pieces of Armor and 2 Offensive Weapons: We must put on the armor of God, which includes the defensive weapons of truth, righteousness, gospel proclamation, faith, and salvation. We must also employ the offensive weapons of the sword of Scripture and prayer (Eph 6:11-18). These are the only means by which we may firmly stand against the devil. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Eph 6:12).

The phrase “steal, kill, and destroy” comes from John 10, where Jesus gives a couple of his “I am” statements: “I am the gate” (i.e., the way to salvation; John 10:9) and “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). He contrasts himself with the “thief” who wants to steal the sheep, and the “hired hand” who runs away at the first sign of a wolf. It is in this context that Jesus explains, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

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“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

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It’s natural to read that verse and assume that Jesus is talking about the Devil (“enemy, slanderer”), or Satan(“adversary”). After all, stealing, killing, and destroying are precisely what this angel-turned enemy of God is up to throughout the Bible, as we will see. However, as Craig Keener helpfully points out, the context of John 10:10 suggests that Jesus is talking more specifically about false spiritual teachers. Religious teachers opposing Jesus are the antagonists of John 9, as well as the group he is addressing in John 10 (verse 1). John 10 has strong similarities with Ezekiel 34, where God calls himself Israel’s shepherd and warns them against false religious teachers.

This strongly suggests that there will be the following hallmarks of false spiritual teaching: It will seek to steal, kill, and destroy, following the pattern set forth by the Devil.

The Devil Comes to Steal, Kill, and Destroy

The obvious way in Scripture that the Devil tries to steal is stealing people away from God. By planting mistrust about God, the serpent was able to steal Eve’s trust away from God. The result of Eve and Adam’s sin was humanity’s defection from living under God’s authority to being resentful residents of “the dominion of darkness” (Col. 1:13). Like a kidnapper luring a child away from his parents, the Devil “leads the whole world astray” (Rev. 12:9).

So as not to lose the people he has stolen, he attempts to snatch away the Word of God from the person who hears it, like a bird eating up seed before it’s able to sprout (Matt. 13:19). And when somebody switches allegiance, Satan attempts to “snatch them out of my hand,” although thankfully Jesus says this doesn’t won’t happen for the people who “listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

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“He attempts to snatch away the Word of God from the person who hears it.”

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In the same way, false spiritual teaching can steal people away from God. Even within the church, teachers can emerge who “distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:30). The apostle Paul explained this as why the elders he appointed in the city of Ephesus must shepherd the church well, protecting it from the wolves (Acts 20:28-29).

Another less obvious way that Satan and false spiritual teachers steal is through stealing God’s truth and perverting it (Acts 13:10; Jude 1:4). Our enemy is no creator; he’s a plagiarizer. Satan famously quoted from Psalm 91 to Jesus in such a way that, if Jesus had followed his twisted interpretation, would have thwarted Jesus’ mission. In the book of Revelation, one of the dragon’s puppets, the beast of the sea, poses as a false messiah. “It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon” (Rev. 13:11).

The Devil Comes to Steal, Kill,and Destroy

The Devil and his demons are obsessed with death. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” His lies cause death and destruction: “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

This drive to kill shows up in demon possession, which can compel people to hurt themselves. One example would be the boy whose demonic possession caused him to fall into the fire or water (Matt. 17:15). Another example:

“Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones….The demons begged Jesus, ‘Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.’ He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.” (Mark 5:5)

The Devil is described as being behind some of the sicknesses Jesus healed (Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38), the unspeakable tragedies that befell Job (Job 1-2), and the killings of persecuted Christians (Rev. 13:11-17). He is even described as “hold[ing] the power of death” (Heb. 2:14).

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“Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.”

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False spiritual teaching also has a track record of death, going back millennia. One way the god Molech was worshiped was through child sacrifice (Lev. 20:1-5). King Manasseh of the Southern Kingdom of Judah “bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them,” “practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists,” and he also famously sacrificed his own son in fire (2 Kings 21:1-6). Romans 1 describes how a society that rejects God for idol worship spirals into depravity and derangement: “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice” (Rom. 1:29).

This is a pattern we see in destructive ideas in general: Behind manmade atrocities, you’ll often be able to detect a lie made in hell. Psychiatrist Victor Frankl, himself a Holocaust survivor, reflected,

The gas chambers of Auschwitz were the ultimate consequence of the theory that man is nothing but the product of heredity and environment—or, as the Nazi liked to say, of “Blood and Soil.” I am absolutely convinced that the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Maidanek were ultimately prepared not in some Ministry or other in Berlin, but rather at the desks and in the lecture halls of nihilistic scientists and philosophers.[2]

Something very sinister lurks behind societal beliefs which dehumanize groups of people and disparage life-giving gifts such as marriage and childbirth. The same can be said for the self-hating whispers many people regularly tell themselves.

The Devil Comes to Steal, Kill, and Destroy

When given opportunity, the Devil destroys everything he touches. Consider Job, who loses his children, his health, and his property. This compulsion to destroy comes into full focus in the Gospels, where the Devil tries at every turn to destroy Jesus. Revelation 12 gives heaven’s view of the Christmas story, where a dragon “stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born” (Rev. 12:4). One way this plays out on earth is through a jealous king who hears a newborn king has been born: “Herod…gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under” (Matt. 2:16).

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“A dragon ‘stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.'”

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Attempts to destroy Jesus continue throughout the Gospels, as Pharisees (Matt. 12:14), chief priests (Matt. 27:20), Herodians (Mark 3:6), and teachers of the law (Luke 19:47) plot to try to kill him. Satan also tries more subtle ways to take him down, even acting through his disciples. Satan enters Judas Iscariot who then takes action to turn Jesus over to the authorities (Luke 22:3). Even Peter is a pawn for a moment, as he tries to reassure Jesus that Jesus would not need to go to the cross (Matt. 16:23), to which Jesus responds, “Get behind me, Satan.”

Unsurprisingly, Satan tries to destroy the church Jesus created. After the male child escaped the dragon’s wrath, the dragon was enraged and “went off to wage war against the rest of [the woman’s] offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus” (Rev. 12:17). Sometimes Satan was able to block the spread of the gospel in particular places (1 Thess. 2:18).

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“The dragon was enraged and ‘went off to wage war against…those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.'”

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False spiritual teaching is also predictably destructive. A metaphor Paul uses for false teaching is gangrene, which causes the death and decomposition of a region of the body when blood circulation is cut off from it. It’s a good metaphor for false spiritual teaching because it is destructive—and it spreads (2 Tim. 2:17-18). The apostle Peter describes those who misuse Scripture, particularly the writings of Paul: “ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).

Making What Steals, Kills, and Destroys into a Virtue

As we have seen, the Devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. These are also the kinds of results we find coming from false spiritual teaching, which the Devil and demons inspire (i.e., what Paul calls “things taught by demons” in 1 Timothy 4:1).

If I were a demon living elsewhere in the world, modern Western culture would seem to me to have arrived at an enviable milestone. Whereas previous cultural moments have prevailed in tempting people to do bad things, we in the West have progressed to where we are officially calling obviously wonderful things evil and obviously evil things wonderful. People have always veered toward seeing evil as good in the moment, but our culture has progressed to the point of enshrining a “transvaluation of all values” (the subtitle to Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Will to Power) as the new moral orthodoxy we must abide by.

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“People have always veered toward seeing evil as good in the moment, but our culture has progressed to the point of enshrining a ‘transvaluation of all values.'”

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Now, hang on. Doesn’t that sound a bit dramatic? I don’t think it is. Here are some very real examples of a trickle-down transvaluation from Western elites into popular culture:

• Objective truth – a fantasy created by powerful people to maintain power
• Biblical morality – a set of outdated, repressive, and destructive instructions
• Monogamous marriage – an institution which domesticates women as property
• Chastity – an unrealistic, harmful, and bland restriction of sexuality which benefits domineering, heterosexual men
• Christian evangelism/missions – a form of spiritual imperialism
• Sanctity of human life – a way for religious people to colonize women’s bodies

Objective truth, biblical morality, monogamous marriage—each one of these help people flourish in countless ways. Yet each one of them, in modern Western culture, are being labeled as poison.

This is because the Devil is a taker, not a maker. He takes what is good and mislabels it. He makes us cynical toward the things which help us and save us.

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“The Devil is a taker, not a maker.”

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When Paul and Barnabas were telling people about Jesus on the island of Paphos, a sorcerer named Elymas kept trying to dissuade people from listening to them. Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaimed to him, “Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:10). That is the Devil’s modus operandi. And no, he will never stop, until Jesus returns and finally destroys the destroyer for good (Rev. 20:10).

Both the Devil and false spiritual teachers masquerade as messengers of light (2 Cor. 11:13-15). They plagiarize and mesmerize and tyrannize. They steal, kill, and destroy.

This is why we must make the following truth a core conviction:

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above.” (James 1:16-17a)

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[1] Vicor E. Frankl, From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy, translated from the German by Richard and Clara Winston (New York: Vintage Books, 1986), xxix.

Understanding Our Enemy, and His Effect on Our Lives 

Now what is the context of this promise? Well, it's the Book of Romans, in which he's unfolding Gospel doctrine, 11 chapters of magnificent explanation of the doctrine of salvation, ending in a tremendous doxology in Romans 11, and then five wonderful chapters of practical everyday life application of that Gospel doctrine. And now we've come pretty much to the end of that. And in Romans 16, we have many saints greeting one another, he's sending greetings from some and asking that he be remembered to them. And then after that, he warns the church about those who cause divisions and put obstacles in their way that are contrary to the doctrine that he's laid out. "Watch out for those false teachers, they're coming. Protect yourself." And then at the end of that, he says, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."

So within the context of the coming, the impending attack of false teachers on the church at Rome is this promise. But I believe the promise goes far beyond just that local church and their struggle against false teaching. I think it's a timeless, eternal, transferable principle and concept that we should meditate much on today. And so this whole sermon is just a meditation on what it's going to be like when God at last destroys Satan.

What Does the Scripture Teach Us About Satan

But we have to begin by trying to understand who Satan is. What does the Scripture teach us about him? Well, first of all, Satan is the enemy of God, and therefore, he is the enemy of God's people. He is a spiritual being created good, an angel, I believe, created good originally. But he fell into rebellion because of pride in his own beauty and power. He led a vast rebellion of angels who fell with him, he was defeated and thrown to the earth, as you heard about in Revelation 12. He was given a finite amount of time and a finite amount of power to wield on the earth. He tempted Adam and Eve to join in his rebellion, and all of us joined that rebellion in Adam. We joined Satan in his rebellion against almighty God, the human race fell at that point in Adam. In so doing, Satan led the world into its present state of general rebellion against God.

Now what effect does the Scripture say Satan has in this world? Well, he is the tempter. He tempts people to do evil. Says in Matthew 4:1, "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." It also says in the Lord's prayer, a little more careful translation of the Lord's Prayer would give us this: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." Not just generally from evil, but from the evil one who's plotting to lead us into temptation. He is called "the god of this age" or "the god of this world" in 2 Corinthians 4:4. He puts stumbling blocks in our paths, Matthew 16:23. Picture this: You're walking along the road of salvation, just making your way through your life following Christ. Suddenly, something happens, you stumble and fall in some way into sin. You're hurt, you're wounded, you feel guilty, you feel dirty, what happened? You stumbled over a stumbling stone. Satan put it there. He puts stumbling blocks in our ways.

And then he accuses us of our sins. The ultimate hypocrisy. He lures us into sin and then turns around and accuses us of the very things he was luring us to do. But it says in Zechariah 3:1, "Then I saw Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at His right hand to accuse Him." As a matter of fact, the Hebrew word "Satan" literally means "accuser." The verb form is "to accuse." He's the one who accuses us. And so also in Revelation 12:10, it calls him "the accuser of our brothers." It says, "The accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down." Day and night, he accuses you to the Father. He directly opposes the advance of the Gospel. He fights against it every moment. He does that by blinding eyes, again, 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God." So he blinds unbelievers in seeing the glory of Christ.

He also snatches seeds that are sown. The parable of the seed and the sower, that which is sown along the path, the birds come and eat it up. Jesus interprets that saying the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. They don't give it another thought, not even thinking about it, because the devil has taken it away. He also hinders the evangelists that are bringing the message. He strategically hinders them, he makes their lives difficult and harasses them. In 1 Thessalonians 2:18, the apostle Paul says, "We wanted to come to you, certainly, I, Paul, did again and again, but Satan stopped us." So again, there's a strategic blocking there by the power of the devil.

Satan causes material ruin and financial calamity. He also kills people. We get this out of the book of Job. By the power of Satan, Job lost his oxen and servants to a raiding party of evil men, his sheep and servants to lightning, his camels and servants to another raiding party of evil men, and finally, his own children who are eating together to a natural disaster. All of this ascribed to the work of Satan. He causes physical pain and suffering through disease and illness. Again from Job, Job 2:7, it says, "So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his foot to the top of his head." The apostle Paul said he had a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment him. So he causes physical pain.

He tests us and sifts us like wheat, with intelligence, malevolent intelligence. As Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail." Oh, never forget this: Jesus' prayer is more mighty than Satan's sifting. And he will sift us and he will test us, but Jesus has prayed for us that our faith will not fail. Will Jesus get what He asked for? Yes, He will. Our faith will not fail, but yet there is Satan sifting us and testing us. And what followed for Simon Peter that night was the most wretched and miserable night of his entire life. He began at a spirit-empowered, strong servant of Christ, saying, "I can do anything, I'm ready to go and die." He ends up a craven coward saying to a little servant girl, "I never heard of Jesus," calling down curses on himself. That's what the devil can do to any of us in one night. He can enter people and take them over. As soon as Judas took the bread, John 13, Satan entered into him. "What you're about to do, do quickly," Jesus said. Isn't it wonderful that Jesus can give Satan orders? I love that.

Satan is a liar, and therefore he leads people to lie. He is a murderer, and therefore leads people to murder. We get both of that out of John 8:44, Jesus speaking of the Devil says, "Hewas a murderer from the beginning not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Now if he's the father of all lies, therefore he's the father of all false religions, he's the father of all cults, the father of all con games and deceptions. He's the father of all government cover-ups and corruption. He's the father of every deception. He's also the father of all murders. He's behind all gang-related violence, all the school shootings and post office shootings, every murder connected with drugs or domestic violence. Satan is the father of murder. And since Jesus linked murder to anger in the Sermon of the Mount, Satan is also the father of all sinful anger. He stimulates anger in relationships. He foments dissensions and factions and envy to divide people. He's just ultimately the father of all broken human relationships. Wherever there's brokenness in human relationships, Satan's work is there.

I do not discount the role of our own sinful nature and our own flesh, but he is the schoolmaster of that sinful nature. He's been training it all these many years. He makes schemes and plots against God's people. Ephesians 6, "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." He masquerades as an angel of light, 2 Corinthians 11:14. He doesn't come and say, "Here I am, I'm a wicked, evil being and I'm here to destroy your life." He doesn't say that; instead, he entices you and appeals to something that you think might be beautiful or attractive. He sows false seeds among the true ones, false teachers and false brothers among those that are true, Matthew 13, the parable of the wheat and the tares. Jesus interpreted it this way: "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the one who sows them is the devil." Thus all non-elect, all the non-elect, the unbelievers and the rebels who never will come to Christ, ever, they are, Christ calls them, "sons of the evil one," "sons of the Devil."

And Jesus said it directly to the Jews that were opposing Him, "You belong to your father, the Devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire." Satan has an organized kingdom on earth. Matthew 12:26. It says, "If Satan drives out Satan, how then can his kingdom stand, since he is divided against himself?" He is, in Ephesians 2, the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Ephesians 6, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." So there's an intelligent arrangement of evil against us. He is "like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour," 1 Peter 5:8. Lions are cunning, powerful, vicious beasts of prey, have been known to weigh as much as 700 pounds and be 11 feet in length. Their roar can be heard five miles away. It is better to have a lion coming after you than Satan. He is able to do counterfeit miracles to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. He will do so through the anti-Christ at the end of time 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10.

He has a throne in a dwelling place on earth, for it says in Revelation 2, "I know where you live, where Satan has his throne," he said that to the people of Pergamum. He is called "a great dragon…who leads the whole world astray," Revelation 12. He is filled with rage because he knows his time is short, more on that later, thank God. He's filled with rage because he knows his time is short, and sinners who never come to Christ follow his rebellion to his destruction, because the King will say to those on his left, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels."

Satan’s Effect on the Lives of Christians

Now what effect does Satan have on the lives of Christians? Well, the first thing to know is that Satan's effect on our lives is limited by the sovereign power of God. He's on a leash, praise God, and he can't just have full at us because if he would, then what happened to Simon Peter that night would happen to us immediately, and that would be it. Satan's effects on believers are limited by God's sovereign protection. Job 1:10, Satan complaining to God saying, "Have you not put a hedge around him in his household and all his possessions?" Do you sense the satanic frustration there? "I just can't get at him! Love to, but I can't, because You have protected him." And thus, every temptation and test that comes our way must first pass God's filter. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man, but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, but with the temptation, will provide the way of escape so that you can stand up under it." Every temptation is filtered.

However, Satan's effects on us are immense and pervasive, even still. Jesus was extremely concerned about leaving His small band of followers in the world where Satan still was, and so in His high priestly prayer, in John 17, He says this: "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name. While I was with them, I kept them safe and protected them by that name You gave Me. Father, protect them that they may be one and none of them may be lost." Do you see the passion of Jesus and His concern for leaving us here where Satan is? We are hurt daily by the Devil's wicked attack on us. Every temptation you felt since the moment you gave your life to Christ can be traced to Satan's attack on the people of God. He is your enemy, the Devil, prowling to seek your very life. Pain, suffering, anguish, death, financial ruin, fear, anxiety, regrets, depression, unbelief, and guilt: They are his truck and trade, that's what he does. These are Satan's weapons to make you and me miserable.

And meanwhile, we're surrounded by a malevolent world system intelligently put together to drag us away from Christ every moment. We're surrounded by Vanity Fair with all of its evil allurements, with its lust and sparkly materials and enticements. That world is Satan's special creation, a filthy, lurking, enemy of your soul. It gives you not a moment's peace, and it pulls on you constantly, to abandon the Savior that you profess to love.

Now, let me ask you a question. What do you think just one day would be like, totally free from his influence? What would it feel like? What would it feel like in your stomach, what would it feel like in your mind? What would your thoughts be like? What would your prayers be like? What would your evangelism be like? Just one day free from this influence, completely free. You know what's incredible, God has promised us not just one day, he has promised us eternity like that, free forever, from all of the things I've been talking about. And you're probably saying, "I thought this was going to be encouraging sermon. This has been rather dreary up to this point." Well we're about to turn, because this is the one that the Lord has come to destroy. Satan's total defeat is promised in the text.

II. Satan’s Total Defeat Promised 

Satan will be Crushed 

Look at it again, look at verse 20, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." Satan will be crushed. Now, this word is a powerful word, both in the New Testament and in the Old Testament. The Greek translation of the Old Testament. It's a powerful word. The demoniac of the Gadarenes ripped to shreds the chains with which he was bound, broke them and shattered them. That's what God's going to do to Satan. It's what Samson did to the lion that attacked him in Judges 14:6, "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson in power, so that he tore the lion apart as one would tear apart a young goat."That's what God is going to do to Satan. It's what the voice of the Lord does to oaks in Psalm 29, "The voice of the Lord is over the waters: The God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders, over the mighty waters, the voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is Majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the Cedars. The Lord breaks in pieces the Cedars of Lebanon." Well, let's get past the Cedars of Lebanon and go right to Satan. What did he say? The Lord will break him in pieces and there'll be nothing left of his kingdom. Satan, his person, his kingdom will be totally and completely shattered. That's what's promised here.

The God of Peace Will Do the Crushing 

And it says, the God of peace will be the one to do the crushing. He will crush Satan. All glory, honor and power will go to God for that crushing. We will know it was not by our strength that the crushing happened, it was God who crushed him. Satan may be the most powerful created being God ever made, possibly. No clear text on that in Scripture. But the evidence seems to point in that direction. There was a spiritual being, so powerful that the Archangel Michael had to have the help of the archangel Gabriel or vice versa, to just get past this evil being, and they struggled for 21 days until they could finally get an answer to Daniel in his prayer time.

How would you like to face that evil being alone, unaided? You would lose. So we have a sense of the magnitude of Satan's power, but Satan cannot compare with the Creator of the ends of the Earth. He cannot compare with the Lord God who rules over all things. They are not equal in opposites. God is the creator and ruler of the universe and he can pull the plug on Satan anytime he wants. Now you may wonder why he hasn't done it yet, he has his own purposes, but some day he will do it, the God of peace will do this crushing. Now why is it say, The God of peace, what does that mean, the God of peace? Well, first and foremost, peace simply characterizes God, it is his nature, he is a peace-filled being, he is at peace within himself. There has never been the slightest shadow or shade of disagreement between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and there never will be. God is completely one and at peace within himself.

Like a placid tranquil lake that for a 1000 years has been untroubled by a single pebble or by a single breeze, without a single ripple, that is the nature of the tranquility, the peace of the heart of God, He is characterized by peace. He's not troubled by the upcoming crushing that's going to happen and he's not troubled by anything that Satan is doing. He's not threatened in any way by it. He is the God of peace. But secondly perhaps, Paul calls him the God of peace in this context, because there's an immense contrast between Satan and God, on this point. They're very different in this regard.

Satan is constantly churning and angry and frustrated. God never is. So also, all of Satan's demons who Jesus say, roam the earth, restlessly seeking rest and they never find it. So, also, are all the wicked who follow his evil ways. Isaiah says, "The wicked are like the tossing sea which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. 'There is no peace,' says my God, 'for the wicked.'"

In the immediate context of Romans 16, the false teachers who are going to come and cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the way of teaching that I've given you, they are not at peace either. But the God of peace is at peace. But most of all, I think that Paul calls him the God of peace to speak of the peace that he will give his children when he does the crushing. What's it going to feel like to be that at peace? I don't think any of us has ever felt it. I think we can scarcely imagine it. What a rich peace it will be to sit and watch a perfect sunset over perfect mountains. Perfectly at peace with God, and with every single human being, redeemed person on Earth and in heaven, what will that even feel like?

What a rich peace it will be to see Christ walking toward you in a fragrant orchard, smiling and greeting you, knowing that, unlike Adam, cowering in the Garden of Eden, you have nothing to hide. You don't need to run, you're glad to see him. What a rich peace it will be to have a conscience that is at rest in a world free from all evil people, in a new creation, free from all curse. And what a rich peace it will be constantly to approach the throne of grace with confidence, and know that he has welcomed you, as an adopted son, and daughter. That's the peace that will happen after the crushing. The God of peace is going to produce that in your heart and soul and in the world around you, if you're a Christian.

Mystery: The Crushing Will Be Under Our Feet 

Now, the mystery of this text is that the crushing will somehow be done under our feet. Now how does that work? How will the God of peace, crush Satan under our feet? Well, it may be that God will empower us in some military way, in some final way to crush Satan at the great time of the Second Coming. And so in Revelation 19, when Christ returns, and he's dressed in white, and his robe is dipped in blood, and he is the Word of God, and there's written on his thigh King of Kings and Lord of Lords, when he comes back, it says in Revelation 19, following him, are the armies of heaven dressed in white riding on white horses and they have come to conquer and they're not going to lose. And we'll be involved, and we get to be part of that final crushing by the power of God. Perhaps it's in a judgment role. It says in 1 Corinthians 6:3, "Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life."

Most probably it would be that God will in some mysterious sense, make Satan lie down and we get to put our feet on his neck. As happened in Joshua 10, when Joshua was conquering the promised land and five kings came out to fight against the people of God and their hearts were afraid. But, Joshua said, don't be afraid, God is basically being really efficient here. We'll just take care of them all at once, get them all together and we'll do them all at once. And they won by the power of God and the five kings were there. And Joshua made them lay down on the ground. And he invited the men of Israel to come and put their feet on the necks of the enemies of the people of God. Thus will God do to all of your enemies. But what happened in the physical realm, by the physical sword and the conquest of the promised land in the Old Testament is nothing compared to what will happen in the ultimate and eternal spiritual conquest, when the God of peace will crush Satan under our feet.

Satan boasted to Christ, that the kingdoms of the world had been given to him and he can give them to anyone he wants. Remember that? Corinthians does call him "the god of this age." He is, in some sense, the king of this world. Well, guess what, the kingdom is going to be taken away from him, and you know who it's going to be given to, it's going to be given to the people of God. For the meek will inherit the earth. We get it. Oh, he's roaming to and fro, he's the god of the age and all that, but someday we get what used to be his. The powerful mighty warrior has been bound by the power of a greater one and he is being plundered, and all of that stuff is going to be given to the people of God, to us. It says in Daniel 7:18, "The saints of the Most High will receive the Kingdom and will possess it forever." Yes, forever and ever. And Satan will be nowhere to be found. He'll be gone forever. More on that in a moment. But he'll be gone forever.

Now, what does the text say, about the time frame? The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Soon. I know what you're thinking, you're thinking, not soon enough, let it be today. Amen, come Lord Jesus, let it be today, if he so chooses. But it does say soon, the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Now, you may be troubled by that word. You may think, "Ah, here at last, there's an error in the Bible. It's been 2000 years since Paul wrote this." Well, you know very well that the whole Bible ends in the word soon. Almost the last concept, Revelation 22:12, "Behold said The Lord I am coming soon." Jesus is coming soon. Well soon has been 2000 years, right? And we're waiting for it. But remember with the Lord, a day is like a 1000 years and a 1000 years is like a day. It's coming soon, friends, this crushing, very soon.

III. Satan Already and Not Yet Crushed 

Now, there's an idea in theology, especially eschatology, the study of end times, the idea is that of the already and not yet. Those things that are already ours in Christ and those things that are not yet ours but they are coming.

There's a sense in which we can already experience the end time things and a sense in which some of those are yet to come. Already and not yet. And so therefore, I think that Satan is already crushed and not yet crushed. I believe that Jesus crushed Satan, at the cross. This is the very thing that God predicted would happen in Genesis 3:15, the first inkling of the Gospel in which God spoke to Satan, that serpent in the Garden of Eden, and he said that the seed of woman will crush your head and you will bruise his heel. This I think is a prediction of the crucifixion of Christ in which Christ would destroy the evil one. And so it says in Hebrews 2:14, that Christ became a man, and died on the cross, "so that by his death, he might destroy him who holds the power of death. And by his death, he might free those who all their lives, were held in slavery captivity to their fear of death." Christ did that at the cross. Or again, it says in Colossians 2:15, "And having disarmed the powers and authorities," that's Satan's realm, "He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." So the cross of Jesus Christ is the crushing of Satan. And it happened 2000 years ago.

Well, Satan's crushing, has been extended for 2000 years by the advance of the Gospel through evangelism and missions. God was not content with a quick kill, in this matter. He wanted a 2000-year kill at least and so Satan has been being crushed now for 2000 years. How? By the advance of the Gospel, by the simple sound of the tramp of human feet over the roads of history. The advance of the Gospel over every hill, over every raging mountain stream, beyond every turbulent sea, through every satanic obstacle that he's thrown up for 2000 years, he has not been able to stop it. "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." And so Christ has, through us, built his church. Isaiah prophesied this trampling of the evil satanic city. In Isaiah 26:5-7, it says there, "He humbles those who dwell on high, He lays the lofty city low. He levels it to the ground and casts it to the dust. Feet trample it down. The feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor. The path of the righteous is level. O, upright one, you make the path of the righteous smooth." Yes Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you. Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts." Isaiah 26.

Now, what is the sound of the feet tramping the evil satanic city? It's the advance of the Gospel. And so it says in Romans 10:15, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." It's the last time the word feet was mentioned in the Bible. So I thought I'd go back to that one, Romans 10:15, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. When the Apostle Paul's feet, carried him across the Dardanelles, over to Philippi, and he led Lydia to Christ and began the evangelization of Europe, Satan was crushed a little bit more. When the feet of Roman Christians carried them courageously into the Coliseum that their blood would be shed by lions and gladiators for the entertainment of pagan people, and unflinching-ly they went to their death singing praise songs to Jesus, Satan was crushed a little bit more.

When the missionary Raymond Lull in the 13th century, drew up his courage, and got on a boat and went to the Saracens, the Muslims to lead them to Christ, and they eventually martyred him, but he led numbers of them to Christ, Satan's kingdom was crushed a little bit more. In 1521 when Martin Luther's feet carried him to the Diet of Worms to defend the rediscovered Gospel of Jesus Christ. And he said, "I'll go, even if there are more devils than tiles of roofs, opposed against me." Satan's kingdom is crushed a little bit more. Every time that George Whitfield went up the stairs to a platform to preach the Gospel of the new birth during the Great Awakening, Satan's kingdom was crushed a little bit more. Whenever Hudson Taylor went to a new village in the inland regions of China to preach the Gospel to those that had never heard the name of Christ in the inner regions of China and vast numbers were brought to Christ, the God of peace has crushed Satan a little bit more under his feet.

And when you go across the street, or across the office and share the Gospel with somebody, bring them to faith in Christ, the God of peace has just crushed Satan a little bit more. Like I said, "God has not been pleased to kill, to kill Satan's kingdom quickly. He wanted a 2000-year kill at least. And every time we advance the Gospel by sharing the Gospel. Reach out, every time you get on a plane and go on a short-term mission trip or as a career missionary, anything you do to advance the Gospel of Christ, the God of peace is crushing Satan under your feet. But you know, I'm not satisfied with that. I want the final crushing don't you? I want the absolute total complete thing. I want to go to whatever the Greek word means and have that happen to Satan. That's the full crushing, that's the not yet thing. This has been going on, that's the full crushing. That's just a foretaste of the crushing. I want the whole crushing.

And the whole crushing happens when Jesus sends Satan to hell. Now don't imagine for a moment that Satan will like it. God is not stupid. What is the Lake of Fire for? It's a punishment for Satan. He doesn't miss his mark and create something that Satan actually likes. It's a destructive place and that's why he's filled with rage, because he knows he's going to hell and there is no Gospel for him. There's no possibility of redemption for him, or any of his demons, and therefore the demons are trembling in fear in front of Jesus. They're not fighting as equals and they know it, they are afraid of it. And do you see the devastation that he can actually bring human beings with him into the Lake of Fire?

Any of you who are listening to me today, if you have not trusted in Christ, that is your future. But unlike the devil, you can repent, there is a Gospel for you. You don't need to walk out of this place and continue the road to hell, you can actually turn and repent and believe today. The blood of Christ sufficient for all of your sins if you just simply trust in him. His fate doesn't need to be your fate, but it is his fate. Listen to what it says, Revelation 20:10, "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented, day and night for ever and ever."

IV. What Life Will Be Like After Satan is Crushed

Alright, after that, what? What will it be like when he's finally there and we're still here in the new heaven and the new earth? It's called in 2 Peter, "The home of righteousness." And we will be perfectly righteous, not by our own works, but by the blood of Christ, and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, we will be perfectly righteous and therefore, fit for that beautiful place.

We will be transformed, we will be in resurrection bodies. What will life be like apart from Satan? Well, there'll be no temptation at all. Imagine not a single pull in the slightest way, away from Christ. Nothing, no temptation. There will be no accusation of past sins, no feelings of guilt. It's been swallowed up by the ocean of grace that flowed from the cross of Christ. There'll be no guilt, no recriminations, no sense of, "If only I had done this." Or, or, "If only I hadn't done that." None of that. We'll be free from that. There'll be no evil world system and no wicked people. You'll be able to walk through the city and not be afraid of anything. There'll be no laws, because, "The laws" it says in Timothy, "are made for the wicked, the adulterers and perjurers, and slave traders and all those wicked people." We're not under the law, and so therefore we won't need any law. We'll be at a higher level. We will love God completely, and love our neighbor as ourselves completely. And so there's not going to be any, no trespassing signs, friend. When you see a beautiful meadow, just go there and walk through it. Private Property, No Trespassing. Will shoot on sight, and all that kind of stuff. Gone for good.  No death, no mourning, no crying, no pain, no danger of future fear or trouble, nothing, no curse on the Earth.

And so, as I began with a bit of imaginative prose I'm going to end that way. Imagine a single day in the new heaven and the new earth, what will it be like? You walk through the New Jerusalem. Your perfect eyesight sees the vivid colors of the city wall, sparkling in the supernatural light of the glory of God. You stand at a street corner without any fear whatsoever of being mugged or attacked in any way. As a matter of fact, those fears and anxieties are totally foreign to your peace filled mind. Every sight you see points you to Christ. Every thought that fills your mind, heightens your love for God. Your resurrection body, far from pulling you away from God as your flesh used to do, now with constant energy and power draws you close to God at every moment. You stoop and drink water from the River of Life flowing clear as crystal through the center of the city. Now, this is going to be a busy day as steward of your inheritance, you're very own possession, some eternal real estate, more spectacular than any mansion this present age ever dreamed about.

You walk through the magnificent gates of the city of God each one of them, it says made of a single iridescent Pearl and you go through to the green grass of the new Earth. You climb energetically to the top of a well-situated hill and your ears are filled with the songs of birds, and the sounds of animals perfectly at peace with each other. The leaves on every tree, glow with the light of God and are lifted and caressed by a soothing gentle breeze. You sit on the hill and look out over the valley. The River of Life which originated at the throne of God flows serenely at the bottom of the valley. No insects annoy you, no ants swarm around you, no mosquitoes whine in your ears. You feel completely at peace with no sense of time-pressure anxiety. It's not like the end of a long weekend and you soon have to be back at a job you hate. Nothing like that crowds your mind. You see some of the brothers and sisters in Christ walking up the hill towards you and your heart leaps for joy. There's no diminishment of the experience by having them there.

You have no fear whatsoever that they're going to attack you, or insult you or diminish your peace in any way. Rather, you're delighted in them, they're gloriously radiant with the light and the glory of Christ, just as you are. You greet them by name for they're familiar to you, and they sit and join your peaceful gazing out over the fruitful valley. You sit and talk about the power and love of God and all his saving works of grace. It's as though joy compels you to speak out your worship. Every word you say, enhances the joy of your companions and so also their words do the same to your heart. The aroma of the fruit trees and flowers fills you, as you breathe deeply. You share some of the fruit with them and they with you and one single joyful idea fills your mind. Maybe not these words, but this concept. When we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, We've no less days to sing God's praise, than when we first begun.

You are at last kings and queens on the earth ruling under Christ for eternity. This is your Father's world and he's been pleased to give it to you. Satan. Oh yeah, him. He's the farthest thing from your mind, he's gone. He was the loser of the past age and he's gone now, he's been crushed forever. Death, mourning, crying, pain, gone forever. So also the curse on the land and the fruit of your hands. Everything you put your hand to will prosper under the power of God.

That sounds good, doesn't it? Until then, what? Well, the verse doesn't end with, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." There's more in the verse, do you see it? What does it say? It says, "The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." We're going to need it friends, because you're going to walk from this sanctuary and go out to whatever will happen out there and Satan is going to be involved in it. He's going to try to tempt you and hurt you in some way. You need grace, future grace and it will be there for you. It will be there as much as you need to get you to this place. Are you ready? Have you come in here today in a graceless state, you've not trusted in Christ? Don't walk out that way. Trust in him, believe in him for the salvation of your soul. If you came in here knowing Christ, but your knees are weak and your arms are weak, then let the distant triumph song steal in your ear and give you strength and bravery to fight. Stand firm against the devil and his schemes. He's a loser. Why would you want to join him in his losing? Say no to the sins of the flesh, and advance the Gospel. Rescue more people from the dominion of darkness and bring them into the kingdom of the Son that God loves.

Exposing the Enemy 

Whether you realize it or not, Satan knows your strengths and weaknesses. He is watching for opportunities to catch you off guard so he can slip in and cause trouble for you. When that happens, he hopes you will be like many Christians and put the blame elsewhere.

As a subtle manipulator of circumstances, the devil tries to hide his activities by making you blame events, people, or even God for the destructive things he does. Make no mistake about it: your parents, your spouse, your children, your pastor, your employer, God – none of these are the real enemy.

Who is the enemy? Ephesians 6:12 says, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” The devil is the real enemy!

“Like” a Roaring Lion

1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV) advises us to: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” Notice that this verse does not say the devil is a roaring lion. It says he is like a roaring lion. He wants to make you believe he has more power than he really does, and he manages to fool the majority of people. The truth is, the devil’s only weapon is that of deception. He has no legal authority over believers.

When Jesus died and rose again, He not only saved you from an eternity in hell, He also redeemed you from Satan’s power and dominion over you on the earth. 1 John 3:8 tells us, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 

Not only that, but it is recorded in Colossians 2:15 that Jesus “disarmed principalities and powers,” and “He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them…” The devil is already defeated, and his power has been dismantled by the finished work of Christ on the cross.

You Have Authority

Jesus said, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). That is a great deal of authority!

How is it, then, that the devil is able to keep causing believers so much trouble? It is because many do not exercise the authority God has given them. They are not walking in the understanding that, even though Jesus won the victory, they need to enforce that victory in their daily lives.

Think of it this way: it is illegal for someone to break into your house, but don’t you still lock your doors to discourage thieves and to protect your property? In the same way, when it comes to Satan trying to gain entrance into your life, you need to exercise your blood-bought right to close the door in his face. By resisting the devil and standing firm in the faith, you are actively enforcing Jesus’ victory.

God has given you all the authority you need to be able to stand against the devil and his works. He has also provided you with armor and spiritual weapons for your warfare against Satan. In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul describes these items and defines how to use them. He writes, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-11, 13).

Paul made it clear that, while God has provided the armor, it is the believer’s responsibility to put it on and stand against the enemy. We must take our position of authority and use what God has given us.

In the Name of Jesus

The name of Jesus is powerful. Philippians 2:9-10 says, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth…” When you use Jesus’ name, Satan’s strongholds cannot stand (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).

Think of using the name of Jesus the same way you would use a key to unlock a lock. It doesn’t matter if the key belongs to you or not, if you have it in your hand you can open the lock. It is the same with the name of Jesus. Jesus won the victory. Power over the devil is rightfully His, but He has given you the authority to use His name. You have His key in your hand.

Begin today to take authority over the devil and his works in the name of Jesus. When you command him to leave, he must obey just as if Jesus were commanding him (see Mark 16:17). You can say, “Sickness, go in the name of Jesus” or “Depression, you must leave in Jesus’ name” or “Devil, in the name of Jesus, get out of here!” He has to leave because of the authority that is in Jesus’ name.

Keep the Devil Out

Ephesians 4:27 tells us not to give any place to the devil. Whether you have been a believer for twenty days or twenty years, keep building your relationship with God through daily Bible reading, meditating on the Word, and praying. Be involved in a good, Bible-believing church, and develop the practices of fasting, worshiping, and giving. When it comes to keeping the devil out, there is no substitute for godly living.

You do not want to be one who unintentionally gives the devil access by entertaining sin, by being disobedient, or by rebelling against God. Make sure you are quick to forgive others as Christ has forgiven you because having an unwillingness to forgive others can give the devil a foothold in your life (Mark 11:25).

James 4:7 instructs us to, “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Because Jesus resisted the devil by submitting to God, He could say, “…he (the devil) has nothing in Me” (John 14:30). He left no room for the devil to take advantage of Him. Likewise, when you submit to God and resist the devil in the authority Christ has given you, the devil must leave.
Finally…

The victory Christ won, He won for you. After He rose from the grave, victorious over death, sin, and the devil, He proclaimed, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). When you received Christ as the Lord of your life, Colossians 1:13 says you were delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into God’s kingdom.

You can take a bold stand against the devil and his works because of your position in Christ and because you have been given authority over Satan in the name of Jesus. As Proverbs 28:1 says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” 

Submit to God, boldly exercise the authority He has given you, and stand firm because, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

One of Satan’s cunning schemes is to try and convince people that he does not really exist. A spokesman writing in one religious magazine says, “If when I die, I am met by someone with horns and tail, calling himself the Devil, I hope that I shall not be frightened—but reassured—knowing that I am having my leg pulled, and that there is humor also in the hereafter.” In other words, the writer of those words hopes that the idea of “the devil” is just a joke. Satan is often made out to be a joke, but in reality, he should be feared.

The devil is a person just as real as God. He is not as powerful as God, but he is just as real. D. L. Moody used to say that there were two reasons why he believed the devil exists as a real being: (1) The Bible says so. (2) I’ve done business with him.

When Jesus spoke of the devil, He used personal pronouns. Jesus said to Peter, “Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31). Later, the Apostle Peter said, “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). According to the Bible, the devil is a created, personal, spirit being. And just because we cannot see him does not mean that he is not real.

The air about us is filled with strange voices and musical sounds even though we cannot see or hear them. If we had the proper electronic devices, such as those used in a radio or a television set, we could hear the sounds and see the pictures without any difficulty. When I was very young, I used to think there was a man inside the radio, or that the noise came out of the receptacle in the wall and up through the wire. Later, I learned that the radio has an electronic gadget which collects noises that are transmitted from various stations throughout the countryside. The noises are real even though we cannot hear them. And just so, Satan is a real person even though we cannot see him.

The Bible indicates that Satan was one of the most magnificent creatures ever created; he was the climax of God’s creative wisdom; he was not always the vicious character we know him to be today; he was once a beautiful angel. The Scriptures say (of Lucifer), “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” (Ezekiel 28:15). Those who believe the message of the Bible believe that there is a real, created, personal devil who is the enemy of God and the enemy of God’s people. We don’t understand all there is to know about the devil, but the Bible says he has his own synagogue (Revelation 2:9), his own gospel (Galatians 1:6-9), his own ministers (2 Corinthians 11:14-15), his own doctrines (1 Timothy 4:1), and his own communion service (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).

2. The Devices of the Devil

Satan will do all he can to bring defeat into our lives. He is constantly battling for the soul of the sinner and for the life of the saint. The devil’s work is to deceive human beings, and he has many subtle devices and many cunning ways by which he does the job. We do well to take seriously the advice of the Apostle Paul when he says in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that we are not to be ignorant of his devices. Some of Satan’s devices are listed in the paragraphs that follow:

a) Satan lies and blinds to the truth.

Jesus says that the devil “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 used the device of lying with our first parents (Adam and Eve), and he has been using it effectively ever since. God told Eve, “But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). But in the very next chapter, we read: “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.” Satan said the exact opposite of what God had said. God said, “If you eat, you will die.” Satan said, “You will not die.”

God’s truth is revealed in the Bible. Whenever a person tries to question or to argue away any of the teachings of the Bible, you can be sure that it is the old serpent, the devil, trying to deceive that individual.

Often Satan tries to accomplish his goal by taking a passage out of its context. One of the most beautiful promises in the New Testament is found in verse 19 of Philippians 4: “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” But that is not an across-the-board promise. The promise is given in the context of those who are generous financial givers. Those who gave out of their poverty to help with the Lord’s work, were given that special promise.

Sometimes Satan quotes from the Bible (he uses Bible verses), but he distorts the truth to try and make the Bible say something altogether different from its plain statements. For example, one church leader was commenting on the teaching about the “Feeding of the 5,000” in Matthew 14. He concluded that Jesus did not perform a miracle and create food on that occasion, but that the five-thousand-plus people simply shared their lunches with each other. He viewed the passage as a beautiful example of how things can work out well if each person is willing to contribute a little bit.

The point is that the devil is a liar—and any attempt to play down (or to twist) the Scriptures is definitely motivated by the devil in his attempt to try and dishonor the plan of God.

b) Satan puts evil suggestions into our minds.

Satan is always on the alert. He is looking for weak places in our defense system; he is eager to take advantage of any opening we might give him through a lack of watchfulness.

The Bible speaks of the betrayal of Jesus (just before His crucifixion), and says, “The devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him . . . ” (John 13:2). And at another place, the Scripture says, “Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?” (Acts 5:3). These passages answer some unique questions: Who was it that prompted Judas to betray Jesus? And who motivated Ananias to lie about the donated money? The Bible says it was the devil.

If we would only recognize that the evil temptations which we get from time to time are promoted by a real personal devil who is trying to bring defeat to our souls, we would do more to resist his onslaughts! It is the devil who entices us to do wrong. It is the devil who inflames the passions, and stirs the appetites, and awakens old habits. We don’t have to give in to him. We are given the power of choice. But Satan is one who sneaks into the hearts of people and tries to lead all of us astray. The wicked thoughts we contend with from time to time are energized by the devil and empowered by all the forces of evil. The ultimate aim of the devil is to mar us and scar us; to disfigure the image of God in us; to saturate our minds with filth and dirt and moral rot; to wrap us in darkness and lock us forever in the place where there is only weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The devil aims to slay everything that is noble and decent and good in our lives. He has energized every rotten deed that has ever been committed by every person that has ever walked on the face of the earth. The devil puts evil suggestions into our minds.

c) Satan promotes an unforgiving spirit among brethren.

The devil has never had a good word to say about God’s people. He dislikes us because we love the Lord, and so he tries his best to get us to ruin our testimony by showing enmity toward our fellow-Christians. The Bible says, “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not . . . this wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish” (James 3:14-15). The Bible says that a bitter and unforgiving spirit among fellow-Christians is demonic; it is of the devil; it is inspired by Satan.

Satan delights in hearing us say unkind and critical (and often untrue) things about our brothers and sisters in Christ. Sharpness and contention among Christians does not promote the cause of Christ. Such conduct helps instead to extend the devil’s kingdom. We need to take seriously the admonition of Ephesians 4:32, where we read, “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

The word “kindness” speaks of a generous and thoughtful attitude toward others. The word “tenderhearted” means heartfelt compassion, a sense of sympathy that feels for the needs and the circumstances of others. We should be careful not to quickly clobber others with words of negative criticism. Satan, by way of contrast, stirs up bitterness and envy, and does everything he can to break down a spirit of harmony among God’s people. The devil sows tares of conflict and discontent among believers in order to dampen their testimony.

d) Satan tempts believers to commit sexual immorality.

First Corinthians 7:5 says that married couples should not withhold their bodies from each other (except by consent), so that “Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.”

Satan is the one who tempts to sexual immorality. All those men who are running off with other women, and people who are living together without the commitment of marriage, are following the promptings of the devil. The temptation to longingly lust after a person of the opposite sex is a device promoted by Satan. The conduct evidenced by those miserable lust-buzzards who eye every woman they meet and gush over silly females walking down the street, is initiated by the devil in order to break down the sanctity of our homes and to saturate our communities with fornication and incest and prostitution and adultery and all the other ugly sins related to sexual immorality.

We are living in the midst of a tremendous moral revolution. Most of our society is pleasure oriented. The mood is permissive and immodest and daring. There is an attitude of irreverence toward God and sacred things. Many consider sexual purity a concept that no longer has validity. Our age is reeking with sexual immorality, and Satan will do his best to get us to become careless about maintaining high moral standards.

e) Satan incites persecution against Christians.

The devil does his best to discourage disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ by bringing various kinds of persecution to bear upon them. Revelation 2:10 says, “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer; behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison.”

For most of us, persecution comes in the form of social pressure. People where you work want you to engage in activities which you believe are wrong—and if you refuse to join them—they make derogatory remarks, or at least laugh at you behind your back. That is a form of persecution, and even though it is a milder form of persecution than the martyrdom of earlier centuries, it is still persecution, and it is the devil who incites it all.

When we think about the devices of the devil, we must remember that the devil is a liar; he puts evil suggestions into our minds; he develops a bitter and unforgiving spirit among brethren and sisters; he tempts believers to sexual immorality; and he incites persecution against Christians in order to discourage them.

3. Our Opposition To the Devil

Each of us is confronted daily with the snares, the tactics, the tricks, and the devices of the devil. Satan is not in Hell now; he is not locked up in the bottomless pit (as he will be someday). He is the “god of this age,” walking up and down in this world, seeking to drag men and women away from Christ. He has each of our names on his list, and he is doing his level best to drag each one of us down to defeat and destruction. It seems that Satan is working overtime in these days because he knows that his time is limited, and he is aware that shortly he will be cast into the Lake of Fire where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever. See Revelation 20:10. But until that time—how can we overcome his onslaughts? What is our resource against the strategies of the devil? A two-fold answer is given in James 4:7.

a) We are to submit ourselves to God.

We cannot resist the devil in our own human power. We must be a committed child of God, and have the Lord Jesus Christ dwelling within. The message to Christian believers in 1 John 4:4 is this: “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” (Do you remember the great passage in Galatians 2:20? The Apostle Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me.”) Jesus Christ, who dwells within the body of the believing Christian, is greater than the devil, who is the god of this world!

The devil is a supernatural being, and it takes a supernatural power to respond to his devices. Jesus Christ is that power. In order to overcome the devices of the devil, we must surrender our lives to God and receive Jesus into our hearts by faith. When a person takes that step, he becomes a new creature with new desires and with new powers to overcome temptation.

b) We are to resist the devil.

We can resist the devil in the same way that Jesus resisted him when He was tempted in the wilderness. Jesus resisted the devil by appealing to the Scriptures. When the devil commanded Him to turn stones into bread, Jesus said, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone.” When the devil told Him to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple, Jesus said, “It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” When Satan offered Him all the kingdoms of the world, Jesus said, “It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

Jesus resisted the devil by appealing to the Scriptures. He could have summoned ten thousand angels; He could have displayed His own supernatural powers, but instead, Jesus used the same weapon that is available to every one of us—the Word of God. All of us must make new commitments to spend more time with the Bible; to memorize portions of Scripture; to study the Word of God—so that we will have a Scriptural dart to throw at the devil every time he comes our way with a temptation.

c) We are to put on the whole armor of God.

One who takes Christ as his Savior and starts to live and work for Him will soon discover that there is an enemy seeking to destroy his faith and testimony. All of us find that living the Christian life involves an ongoing warfare. But God has provided spiritual armor to protect us, and he has placed in our hands a sword—the Word of God—to help us conquer and overcome evil. We read about the armor in Ephesians 6:10-18.

The armor includes a belt of truth (it always pays to be truthful), a breastplate of righteousness (the ability to do the right thing), and a shield of faith (the willingness to trust and believe that what God says is true). In addition, He gives the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

In the Christian life we battle against powerful evil forces headed by Satan. To withstand his attacks, we must depend on God’s strength and use every piece of armor which is provided. All believers are special objects of Satan’s attacks because they are no longer on Satan’s side. We need supernatural power to defeat Satan, and God has provided that power by the Holy Spirit who lives within us, and by the provision of armor which surrounds us. May God help every believer to be alert to these truths.

The occasion of these words was as follows: In the church of Corinth there was an unhappy person, who had committed such incest, as was not so much as named among the Gentiles, in taking his father's wife; but either on account of his wealth, power, or some such reasons, like many notorious offenders now-adays, he had not been exposed to the censures of the church. St. Paul, therefore, in his first epistle, severely chides them for this neglect of discipline, and commands them, “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when they were gathered together, to deliver such a one, whoever he was, to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, that his Spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord;” that is, they should solemnly excommunicate him; which was then commonly attended with some bodily disease. The Corinthians, being obedient to the Apostle, as dear children, no sooner received this reproof, but they submitted to it, and cast the offending party out of the church. But whilst they were endeavoring to amend one fault, they unhappily ran into another; and as they formerly had been too mild and remiss, so now they behaved towards him with too much severity and resentment. The Apostle, therefore, in this chapter, reproves this, and tells them, that “sufficient to the offender's shame, was the punishment which had been inflicted of many;” that he had now suffered enough; and that, therefore, lest he should be tempted to say with Cain, “My punishment is greater than I can bear;” or to use the Apostle's own words, “Lest he should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow;” they ought, now he had given proof of his repentance, to forgive him, to confirm their love towards him, and to restore him in the spirit of meekness; “Lest Satan,” (to whose buffetings he was now given, by tempting him to despair) “should get an advantage over us;” and so, by representing you as merciless and cruel, cause that holy name to be blasphemed, by which you are called; “for we are not ignorant of his devices;” we know very well how many subtle ways he has to draw aside and beguile unguarded unthinking men.

Thus then, stand the words in relation to the context; but as Satan has many devices, and as his quiver is full of other poisonous darts, besides those which he shoots at us to drive us to despair, I shall, in the following discourse,

First, Briefly observe who we are to understand by Satan. And,

Secondly, Point out to you, what are the chief devices he generally makes use of to draw off converts from Christ, and also prescribe some remedies against them.

First, Who are we to understand by Satan?

The word Satan, in its original signification, meant an adversary; and in its general acceptation, is made use of, to point out to us the chief of the devils, who, for striving to be as God, was cast down from heaven, and is now permitted, “with the rest of his spiritual wickednesses in high places, to walk up and down, seeking whom he may devour.” We hear of him immediately after the creation, when in the shape of a serpent, he lay in wait to deceive our first parents. He is called Satan, in the book of Job, where we are told, that “when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan also came amongst them.” As the scripture also speaketh in the book of Chronicles: “and Satan moved David to number the people.” In the New Testament he goes under different denominations; sometimes he is called the evil One, because he is evil in himself, and tempts us to evil. Sometimes, “the Prince of the power of the air;” and, “the Spirit that now ruleth in the children of disobedience;” because he resides chiefly in the air, and through the whole world; and all that are not born of God, are said to lie in him.

He is an enemy to God and goodness; he is a hater of all truth. Why else did he slander God in paradise? Why did he tell Eve, “You shall not surely die?” And why did he promise to give all the kingdoms of the world, and the glories of them, to Jesus Christ, if he would fall down and worship him?

He is full of malice, envy, and revenge: for what other motives could induce him to molest innocent man in paradise? And why is he still so restless in his attempts to destroy us, who have done him no wrong?

He is a being of great power, as appears in his being able to act on the imagination of our blessed Lord, so as to represent to him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glories of them, in a moment of time. As also in carrying his sacred body through the air up to a pinnacle of the temple; and his driving a herd of swine so furiously into the deep. Nay, so great is his might, that, I doubt not, was God to let him use his full strength, but he could turn the earth upside down, or pull the sun from its orb.

But what he is most remarkable for is, his subtlety: for not having power given him from above, to take us by force, he is obliged to wait for opportunities to betray us, and to catch us by guile. He, therefore, made use of the serpent, which was subtle above all the beasts of the field, in order to tempt our first parents; and accordingly he is said, in the New Testament, “To lie in wait to deceive;” and, in the words of the text, the Apostle says, “We are not ignorant of his devices:” thereby implying, that we are more in danger of being seduced by his policy, than over-borne by his power.

From this short description of Satan, we may easily judge whose children they are, who love to make a lie, who speak evil of, and slander their neighbor, and whose hearts are full of pride, subtlety, malice, envy, revenge, and all uncharitableness. Surely they have Satan for their father: for the tempers of Satan they know, and the works of Satan they do. But were they to see either themselves, or Satan as he is, they could not but be terrified at their own likeness, and abhor themselves in dust and ashes.

But, the justice of God in suffering us to be tempted, is vindicated from the following considerations: that we are here in a state of disorder; That he has promised not to suffer us to be tempted above what we are able to bear; and not only so, but to him that overcometh he will give a crown of life.

The holy angels themselves, it should seem, were once put to a trial whether they would be faithful or not. The first Adam was tempted, even in paradise. And Jesus Christ, that second Adam, though he was a son, yet was carried, as our representative, by the Holy Spirit, into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil. And there is not one single saint in paradise, amongst the goodly fellowship of the prophets, the glorious company of the apostles, the noble army of martyrs, and the spirits of just men made perfect, who, when on earth, was not assaulted by the fiery darts of that wicked one, the devil.

What then has been the common lot of all God's children, and of the angels, nay, of the eternal Son of God himself, we must not think to be exempted from. No, it is sufficient if we are made perfect through temptations, as they were. And, therefore, since we cannot but be tempted, unless we could unmake human nature, instead of repining at our condition, we should rather be inquiring, at what time of our lives Satan most violently assaults us? And what those devices are, which he commonly makes use of, in order to “get an advantage over us?”

As to the first question, what time of life? I answer, we must expect to be tempted by him, in some degree or other, all our lives long. For this life being a continual warfare, we must never expect to have rest from our spiritual adversary the devil, or to say, our combat with him is finished, `till, with our blessed master, we bow down our heads, and give up the ghost.

But since the time of our conversion, or first entering upon the spiritual life, is the most critical time at which he, for the most part, violently besets us, as well knowing, if he can prevent our setting out, he can lead us captive at his will; and since the wise son of Sirach particularly warns us, when we are going to serve the Lord, to prepare our souls for temptation, I shall, in answer to the other question, pass on to the

Second general thing proposed; and point out those devices, which Satan generally makes use of at our first conversion, in order to get an advantage over us.

But let me observe to you, that whatsoever shall be delivered in the following discourse is only designed for such as have actually entered upon the divine life; and not for carnal almost Christians, who have the form of godliness, but never yet felt the power of it in their hearts. This being premised, The

First device I shall mention, which Satan makes use of, is to drive us to despair.

When God the Father awakens a sinner by the terrors of the law, and by his Holy Spirit convinceth him of sin, in order to lead him to Christ, and show him the necessity of a Redeemer; then Satan generally strikes in, and aggravates those convictions to such a degree, as to make the sinner doubt of finding mercy thro' the Mediator.

Thus, in all his temptations of the Holy Jesus, he chiefly aimed to make him question, whether he was the Son of God? “If thou be the Son of God,” do so and so. With many such desponding thoughts, no doubt, he filled the heart of the great St. Paul, when he continued three days, neither eating bread nor drinking water; and therefore he speaks by experience, when he says, in the words of the text, “We are not ignorant of his devices,” that he would endeavor to drive the incestuous person to despair.

But let not any of you be influenced by him, to despair of finding mercy. For it is not the greatness or number of our crimes, but impenitence and unbelief, that will prove our ruin. No, were our sins more in number than the hairs of our head, or of a deeper die than the brightest scarlet; yet the merits of the death of Jesus Chris are infinitely greater, and faith in his blood shall make them white as snow.

Answer always, therefore, his despairing suggestions, as your Blessed Lord did, with an “It is written.” Tell him, you know that your Redeemer liveth, ever to make intercession for you; that the Lord hath received from him double for all your crimes: And tho' you have sinned much, that is no reason why you should despair, but only why you should love much, having so much forgiven. A

Second device that Satan generally makes use of, to get an advantage over young converts, is to tempt them to presume, or to think more highly of themselves than they ought to think.

When a person ha for some little time tasted the good word of life, and felt the powers of the world to come, he is commonly (as indeed well he may) most highly transported with that sudden change he finds in himself. But then, Satan will not be wanting, at such a time, to puff him up with a high conceit of his own attainments as if he was some great person; and will tempt him to set at nought his brethren, as though he was holier than they.

Take heed therefore, and let us beware of this device of our spiritual adversary; for as before honor is humility, so a haughty spirit generally goes before a fall; and God is obliged, when under such circumstances, to send us some humbling visitation, or permit us to fall, as he did Peter into some grievous sin, that we may learn not to be too high minded.

To check therefore all suggestions to spiritual pride, let us consider, that we did not apprehend Christ, but were apprehended of him. That we have nothing but what we have received. That the free grace of God has alone made the difference between us and others; and, was God to leave us to the deceitfulness of our own hearts but one moment, we should become weak and wicked, like other men. We should farther consider, that being proud of grace, is the most ready way to lose it. “For God resisteth the proud, and giveth more grace only to the humble.” And were we endowed with the perfections of the seraphim; yet if we were proud of those perfections, they would but render us more accomplished devils. Above all, we should pray earnestly to Almighty God, that we may learn of Jesus Christ, to be lowly in heart. That his grace, through the subtlety and deceivableness of Satan, may not be our poison. But that we may always think soberly of ourselves, as we ought to think. A

Third device I shall mention, which Satan generally makes use of, “to get an advantage over us,” is to tempt us to uneasiness, and to have hard thoughts of God, when we are dead and barren in prayer.

Though this is a term not understood by the natural man, yet, whosoever there are amongst you, who have passed through the pangs of the new birth, they know full well what I mean, when I talk of deadness and dryness in prayer. And, I doubt not, but many of you, amongst whom I am not preaching the kingdom of God, are at this very time laboring under it.

For, when persons are first awakened to the divine life, because grace is weak and nature strong, God is often pleased to vouchsafe them some extraordinary illuminations of his Holy Spirit; but when they are grown to be more perfect men in Christ, then he frequently seems to leave them to themselves; and not only so, but permits a horrible deadness and dread to overwhelm them; at which times Satan will not be wanting to vex and tempt them to impatience, to the great discomfort of their souls.

But be not afraid; for this is no more than your blessed Redeemer, that spotless Lamb of God, has undergone before you: witness his bitter agony in the garden, when his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. When he sweat great drops of blood, falling on the ground; when the sense of the Divinity was drawn from him; and Satan, in all probability, was permitted to set all his terrors in array before him.

Rejoice, therefore, my brethren, when you fall into the like circumstances; as knowing, that you are therein partakers of the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Consider, that it is necessary such inward trials should come, to wean us from the immoderate love of sensible devotion, and teach us to follow Christ, not merely for his loaves, but out of a principle of love and obedience. In patience, therefore, possess your souls, and be not terrified by Satan's suggestions. Still persevere in seeking Jesus in the use of means, though it be sorrowing; and though through barrenness of soul, you may go mourning all the day long. Consider that the spouse is with you, though behind the curtain; as he was with Mary, at the sepulcher, though she knew it not. That he was withdrawn but for a little while, to make his next visit more welcome. That though he may now seem to frown and look back on you, as he did on the Syrophonecian woman; yet if you, like her, or blind Bartimeus, cry out so much the more earnestly, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on us;” he will be made known unto you again, either in the temple, by breaking of bread, or some other way.

But amongst all the devices that Satan makes use of, “to get an advantage over us,” there is none in which he is more successful, or by which he grieves the children of God worse, than a

Fourth device I am going to mention, his troubling you with blasphemous, profane, unbelieving thoughts; and sometimes to such a degree, that they are as tormenting as the rack.

Some indeed are apt to impute all such evil thoughts to a disorder of body. But those who know any thing of the spiritual life, can inform you, with greater certainty, that for the generality, they proceed from that wicked one, the devil; who, no doubt, has power given him from above, as well now as formerly, to disorder the body, as he did Job's, that he may, with the more secrecy and success, work upon, ruffle and torment the soul.

You that have felt his fiery darts, can subscribe to the truth of this, and by fatal experience can tell, how often he has bid you, “curse God and die,” and darted into your thoughts a thousand blasphemous suggestions, even in your most secret and solemn retirements; the bar looking back on which makes your very hearts to tremble.

I appeal to your own consciences. Have not some of you, when you have been lifting up holy hands in prayer, been pestered with such a crowd of the most horrid insinuations, that you have been often tempted to rise off from your knees, and been made to believe your prayers were an abomination to the Lord? Nay, when, with the rest of your Christian brethren, you have crowded round the holy table, and taken the sacred symbols of Christ's most blessed body and blood into your hands, instead of remembering the death of your Savior, have you not employed in driving out evil thoughts, as Abraham was in driving away the birds, that came to devour his sacrifice; and thereby have been terrified, lest you have eat and drank your own damnation?

But marvel not, as though some strange thing happened unto you; for this has been the common lot of all God's children. We read, even in Job's time, “That when the sons of God came to appear before their Maker,” (at public worship) “Satan also came amongst them,” to disturb their devotions.

And think not that God is angry with you for these distracting, though ever so blasphemous thoughts: No, he knows it is not you, but Satan working in you; and therefore, notwithstanding he may be displeased with, and certainly will punish him; yet he will both pity and reward you. And though it be difficult to make persons in your circumstances to believe so; yet I doubt not but you are more acceptable to God, when performing your holy duties in the midst of such involuntary distractions, than when you are wrapped up by devotion, as it were, into the third heavens; for you are then suffering, as well as doing the will of God at the same time; and, like Nehemiah's servants at the building of the temple, are holding a trowel in one hand, and a sword in the other. Be not driven from the use of any ordinance whatever, on account of those abominable suggestions; for then you let Satan get his desired advantage over you; it being his chief design, by these thoughts, to make you fall out with the means of grace; and to tempt you to believe, you do not please God, for no other reason, than because you do not please yourselves. Rather persevere in the use of the holy communion especially, and all other means whatever; and when these temptations have wrought that resignation in you, for which they were permitted, God will visit you with fresh tokens of his love, as he met Abraham, when he returned from the slaughter of the five kings; and will send an angel from heaven, as he did to his Son, on purpose to strengthen you.

Hitherto we have only observed such devices as Satan makes use of immediately by himself; but there is a

Fifth I shall mention, which is not the least, tempting us by our carnal friends and relatives.

This is one of the most common, as well as most artful devices he makes use of, to draw young converts from God; for when he cannot prevail over them by himself, he will try what he can do by the influence and mediation of others.

Thus he tempted Eve, that she might tempt Adam. Thus he stirred up Job's wife, to bid him “Curse God and die.” And thus he made use of Peter's tongue, to persuade our blessed Lord “to spare himself,” and thereby decline those sufferings, by which alone we could be preserved from suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. And thus, in these last days, he often stirs up our most powerful friends and dearest intimates, to dissuade us from going in that narrow way, which alone leadeth unto life eternal.

But our blessed Lord has furnished us with a sufficient answer to all such suggestions. “Get you behind me, my adversaries;” for otherwise they will be an offense unto you; and the only reason why they give such advice is, because they “favor not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.”

Whoever, therefore, among you are resolved to serve the Lord, prepare your souls for many such temptations as these; for it is necessary that such offenses should come, to try your sincerity, to teach us to cease from man, and to see if we will forsake all to follow Christ.

Indeed our modernisers of Christianity would persuade us, that the gospel was calculated only for about two hundred years; and that now there is no need of hating father and mother, or of being persecuted for the sake of Christ and his gospel.

But such persons err, not knowing the scriptures, and the power of godliness in their hearts; for whosoever receives the love of God in the truth of it, will find, that Christ came to send not peace, but a sword upon earth, as much now as ever. That the father-in-law shall be against the daughter-in-law, in these latter, as well as in the primitive times; and that if we will live godly in Christ Jesus, we must, as then, so now, from carnal friends and relations, suffer persecution. But the devil hath a

Sixth device, which is as dangerous as any of the former, by not tempting us at all, or rather, by withdrawing himself for a while, in order to come upon us at an hour when we think not of it.

Thus it is said, that he left Jesus Christ only for a season; and our blessed Lord has bid us to watch and pray always, that we enter not into temptation; thereby implying, that Satan, whether we think of it or not, is always seeking how he may devour us.

If we would therefore behave like good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we must be always upon our guard, and never pretend to lay down our spiritual weapons of prayer and watching, till our warfare is accomplished by death; for if we do, our spiritual Amalek will quickly prevail against us. What if he has left us? It is only for a season; yet a little while, and, like a roaring lion, with double fury, he will break out upon us again. So great a coward as the devil is, he seldom leaves us at the first onset. As he followed our blessed Lord with one temptation after another, so will he treat his servants. And the reason why he does not renew his attacks, is sometimes, because God knows we are yet weak and unable to bear them, sometimes, because our grand adversary thinks to beset us at a more convenient season.

Watch carefully over thy heart, O Christian; and whenever thou perceivest thyself to be falling into a spiritual slumber, say to it, as Christ to his disciples, “Arise,” (my soul) “why sleepest thou?” Awake, awake; put on strength, watch and pray, or otherwise the Philistines will be upon thee, and lead thee whither thou wouldst not. Alas! Is this life a time to lie down and slumber in? Arise, and call upon thy God; thy spiritual enemy is not dead, but lurketh in some secret place, seeking a convenient opportunity how he may betray thee. If thou ceasest to strive with him, thou ceasest to be a friend of God; thou ceasest to go in that narrow way which leadeth unto life.

Thus have I endeavored to point out to you some of those devices, that Satan generally makes use of “to get an advantage over us;” many others there are, no doubt, which he often uses.

But these, on account of my youth and want of experience, I cannot yet apprise you of; they who have been listed for many years in their master's service, and fought under his banner against our spiritual Amalek, are able to discover more of his artifices; and, being tempted in all things, like unto their brethren, can, in all things, advise and succor those that are tempted.

In the mean while, let me exhort my young fellow-soldiers, who, like myself, are but just entering the field, and for whose sake this was written, not to be discouraged at the fiery trial wherewith they must be tried, if they would be found faithful servants of Jesus Christ. You see, my dearly beloved brethren, by what has been delivered, that our way through the wilderness of this world to the heavenly Canaan, is beset with thorns, and that there are sons of Anak to be grappled with, ere you can possess the promised land. But let not these, like so many false spies, discourage you from going up to fight the Lord's battles, but say with Caleb and Joshua, “Nay, but we will go up, for we are able to conquer them.” Jesus Christ, that great captain of our salvation, has in our stead, and as our representative, baffled the grand enemy of mankind, and we have nothing to do, but manfully to fight under his banner, and to go on from conquering to conquer. Our glory does not consist in being exempted from, but in enduring temptations. “Blessed is the man,” (says the apostle) “that endureth temptation;” and again, “Brethren, count it all joy, when you fall into divers temptations.” And in that perfect form our blessed Lord has prescribed to us, we are taught to pray, not so much to be delivered from all temptation, as “from the evil” of it. Whilst we are on this side eternity, it must needs be that temptations come; and, no doubt, “Satan has desired to have all of us, to sift us as wheat.” But wherefore should we fear? For he that is for us, is by far more powerful, than all that are against us. Jesus Christ, our great High-priest, is exalted to the right hand of God, and there sitteth to make intercession for us, that our faith fail not.

Since then Christ is praying, whom should we fear? And since he has promised to make us more than conquerors, of whom should we be afraid? No, though an host of devils are set in array against us, let us not be afraid; though there should rise up the hottest persecution against us, yet let us put our trust in God. What though Satan, and the rest of his apostate spirits, are powerful, when compared with us; yet, if put in competition with the Almighty, they are as weak as the meanest worms. God has them all reserved in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day. So far as he permits them, they shall go, but no farther; and where he pleases, there shall their proud malicious designs be stayed. We read in the gospel, that though a legion of them possessed one man, yet they could not destroy him; nor could they so much as enter into a swine, without first having leave given them from above. It is true, we often find they foil us, when we are assaulted by them; but let us be strong, and very courageous; for, though they bruise our heels, we shall, at length, bruise their heads. Yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come; and then we shall see all our spiritual enemies put under our feet. What if they do come out against us, like so many great Goliaths; yet, if we can go forth, as the stripling David, in the name and strength of the Lord of hosts, we may say, O Satan, where is thy power? O fallen spirits, where is your victory?

Once more therefore, and to conclude; let us be strong, and very courageous, and let us put on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the fiery darts of the wicked one. Let us renounce ourselves, and the world, and then we shall take away the armor in which he trusteth, and he will find nothing in us for his temptations to work upon. We shall then prevent his malicious designs; and being willing to suffer ourselves, shall need less sufferings to be sent us form above. Let us have our loins girt about with truth; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation; “praying always with all manner of supplication.” Above all things, “Let us take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God,” and “the shield of faith,” looking always to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now sat down at the right hand of God.

To which happy place, may God of his infinite mercy translate us all, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, three persons and one eternal God, be all honor and glory, now and for evermore. Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.”

The doctrine of our regeneration, or new birth in Christ Jesus, though one of the most fundamental doctrines of our holy religion; though so plainly and often pressed on us in sacred writ, “that he who runs may read;” nay though it is the very hinge on which the salvation of each of us turns, and a point too in which all sincere Christians, of every denomination, agree; yet it is so seldom considered, and so little experimentally understood by the generality of professors, that were we to judge of the truth of it, by the experience of most who call themselves Christians, we should be apt to imagine they had “not so much as heard” whether there be any such thing as regeneration or not. It is true, men for the most part are orthodox in the common articles of their creed; they believe “there is but one God, and one Mediator between God and men, even the man Christ Jesus;” and that there is no other name given under heaven, whereby they can be saved, besides his: But then tell them, they must be regenerated, they must be born again, they must be renewed in the very spirit, in the inmost faculties of their minds, ere they can truly call Christ, “Lord, Lord,” or have an evidence that they have any share in the merits of his precious blood; and they are ready to cry out with Nicodemus, “How can these things be?” Or with the Athenians, on another occasion, “What wilt this bumbler say? He seemeth to be a setter-forth of strange doctrines;” because we preach unto them Christ, and the new-birth.

That I may therefore contribute my mite towards curing the fatal mistake of such persons, who would thus put asunder what God has inseparably joined together, and vainly think they are justified by Christ, or have their sins forgiven, and his perfect obedience imputed to them, when they are not sanctified, have not their natures changed, and made holy, I shall beg leave to enlarge on the words of the text in the following manner:

First, I shall endeavor to explain what is meant by being in Christ: “If any man be in Christ.”

Secondly, What we are to understand by being a new creature: “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.”

Thirdly, I shall produce some arguments to make good the apostle's assertion. And

Fourthly, I shall draw some inferences from what may be delivered, and then conclude with a word or two of exhortation.

First, I am to endeavor to explain what is meant by this expression in the text, “If any man be in Christ.”

Now a person may be said to be in Christ two ways.

First, Only by an outward profession. And in this sense, every one that is called a Christian, or baptized into Christ's church, may be said to be in Christ. But that this is not the sole meaning of the apostle's phrase before us, is evident, because then, every one that names the name of Christ, or is baptized into his visible church, would be a new creature. Which is notoriously false, it being too plain, beyond all contradiction, that comparatively but few of those that are “born of water,” are “born of the Spirit” likewise; to use another spiritual way of speaking, many are baptized with water, which were never baptized with the Holy Ghost.

To be in Christ therefore, in the full import of the word, must certainly mean something more than a bare outward profession, or being called after his name. For, as this same apostle tells us, “All are not Israelites that are of Israel,” so when applied to Christianity, all are not real Christians that are nominally such. Nay, this is so far from being the case, that our blessed Lord himself informs us, that many who have prophesied or preached in his name, and in his name cast out devils, and done many wonderful works, shall notwithstanding be dismissed at the last day, with “depart from me, I know you not, ye workers of iniquity.”

It remains therefore, that this expression, “if any man be in Christ,” must be understood in a

Second and closer signification, to be in him so as to partake of the benefits of his sufferings. To be in him not only by an outward profession, but by an inward change and purity of heart, and cohabitation of his Holy Spirit. To be in him, so as to be mystically united to him by a true and lively faith, and thereby to receive spiritual virtue from him, as the members of the natural body do from the head, or the branches from the vine. To be in him in such a manner as the apostle, speaking of himself, acquaints us he knew a person was “a new man in Christ,” a true Christian; or, as he himself desires to be in Christ, when he wishes, in his epistle to the Philippians, that he might be found in him.

This is undoubtedly the proper meaning of the apostle's expression in the words of the text; so that what he says in his epistle to the Romans about circumcision, may very well be applied to the present subject; that he is not a real Christian who is only one outwardly; nor is that true baptism, which is only outward in the flesh. But he is a true Christian, who is one inwardly, whose baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not merely in the water, whose praise is not of man but of God. Or, as he speaketh in another place, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing,” (of itself) “but a new creature.” Which amounts to what he here declares in the verse now under consideration, that if any man be truly and properly in Christ, he is a new creature. Which brings me to show,

Secondly, What we are to understand by being a new creature.

And here it is evident at the first view, that this expression is not to be so explained as though there was a physical change required to be made in us; or as though we were to be reduced to our primitive nothings, and then created and formed again. For, supposing we were, as Nicodemus ignorantly imagined, to enter a “second time into our mother's womb, and be born,” alas! what would it contribute towards rendering us spiritually new creatures? Since “that which was born of the flesh would be flesh still;” we should be the same carnal persons as ever, being derived from carnal parents, and consequently receiving the seeds of all manner of sin and corruption from them. No, it only means, that we must be so altered as to the qualities and tempers of our minds, that we must entirely forget what manner of persons we once were. As it may be said of a piece of gold, that was once in the ore, after it has been cleansed, purified and polished, that it is a new piece of gold; as it may be said of a bright glass that has been covered over with filth, when it is wiped, and so become transparent and clear, that it is a new glass: Or, as it might be said of Naaman, when he recovered of his leprosy, and his flesh returned unto him like the flesh of a young child, that he was a new man; so our souls, though still the same as to offense, yet are so purged, purified and cleansed from their natural dross, filth and leprosy, by the blessed influences of the Holy Spirit, that they may be properly said to be made anew.

How this glorious change is wrought in the soul, cannot easily be explained: For no one knows the ways of the Spirit save the Spirit of God himself. Not that this ought to be any argument against this doctrine; for, as our blessed Lord observed to Nicodemus, when he was discoursing on this very subject, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth;” and if we are told of natural things, and we understand them not, how much less ought we to wonder, if we cannot immediately account for the invisible workings of the Holy Spirit? The truth of the matter is this: the doctrine of our regeneration, or new birth in Christ Jesus, is hard to be understood by the natural man. But that there is really such a thing, and that each of us must be spiritually born again, I shall endeavor to show under my

Third general head, in which I was to produce some arguments to make good the apostle's assertion.

And here one would think it sufficient to affirm,

First, That God himself, in his holy word, hath told us so. Many texts might be produced out of the Old Testament to prove this point, and indeed, one would wonder how Nicodemus, who was a teacher in Israel, and who was therefore to instruct the people n the spiritual meaning of the law, should be so ignorant of this grand article, as we find he really was, by his asking our blessed Lord, when he was pressing on him this topic, How can these things be? Surely, he could not forget how often the Psalmist had begged of God, to make him “a new heart,” and “to renew a right spirit within him;” as likewise, how frequently the prophets had warned the people to make them “new hearts,” and new minds, and so turn unto the Lord their God. But not to mention these and such like texts out of the Old Testament, this doctrine is so often and plainly repeated in the New, that, as I observed before, he who runs may read. For what says the great Prophet and Instructor of the world himself: “Except a man,” (every one that is naturally the offspring of Adam) “be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” And lest we should be apt to slight this assertion, and Nicodemus-like, reject the doctrine, because we cannot immediately explain “How this thing can be;” our blessed Master therefore affirms it, as it were, by an oath, “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” or, as it may be read, I the Amen; I who am truth itself, say unto you, that it is the unalterable appointment of my heavenly Father, that “unless a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Agreeable to this, are those many passages we meet with in the epistles, where we are commanded to be “renewed in the Spirit,” or, which was before explained, in the inmost faculties of our minds; to “put off the Old Man, which is corrupt; and to put on the New Man, which is created after God, in righteousness and true holiness;” that “old things must pass away, and that all things must become new;” that we are to be “saved by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Or, methinks, was there no other passage to be produced besides the words of the text, it would be full enough, since the apostle therein positively affirms, that “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.”