Our #1 enemy is Satan. The
more we can know about Satan, the better prepared we will be to defend
ourselves.Satan’s main
objective is to cause each of us to lose our soul in the burning fires of
Hell. We must constantly watch out
for Satan. He is very dangerous! Satan
is real. Satan can appear in many
different forms. Satan is a master
of disguise. He and his ministers
can appear to us so innocently.
Satan knows all of our weaknesses and how to tempt and deceive us. In
Genesis 2:16-17, God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil or they would die. But
in Genesis 3:4, Satan told Eve, "You shall not surely die." Satan
only added the word "not" to what God said and changed it into a
lie.
Satan is working all the time to destroy the faith of Christians. Paul
says, "Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of
his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11). Satan’s
main weapon is deceit. He is
described as the "serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who
deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). Satan
uses many techniques to deceive us to sin. "For
Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers
of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
One of the ways Satan deceives people is by using false teachers who
pretend to be servants of Christ, but are actually servants of Satan. Satan
does not appear in a red suit carrying a pitchfork, but many times he is a
well-dressed smooth talking denominational preacher carrying a Bible.
For, "false prophets will rise and show great signs
and wonders to deceive, if possible even the elect" (Matthew
24:24). There
is much false teaching in religion today. Paul says, "That we should
no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of
doctrine, by the trickery of men, in cunning craftiness of deceitful
plotting" (Ephesians 4:14). Satan
uses all kinds of trickery and deceptions by perverting God’s word to make
others believe that man made doctrines are the divine truth.
Satan’s main resource is a lie. Jesus
says concerning Satan, "When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own
resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44). The
children of the Devil refuse to accept the truth. In
the Parable of the Sower Jesus says, "Those by the wayside are the ones
who hear; then the Devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts,
lest they should believe and be saved" (Luke 8:12). How
do we protect ourselves from the devices of Satan? We
must "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist
him, steadfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:8-9). The
Devil never rests. He is always looking for ways to entice people to sin. Satan
is dangerous to our spiritual welfare. He
wants us to be lost. He wants our
company in Hell where he will be.
Satan can be defeated, if we stand fast in the faith. "Resist
the devil and he will flee from you. Draw
near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:7-8). When
we repent of sin and do God’s will, then the Devil will flee from us for the
time being.But he will be back. If
we draw near to God, God will help us. We
must be on guard "so that Satan does not tempt you" (1 Corinthians
7:5), "lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin"
(Hebrews 3:13). "So that they
may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the
snare of the Devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will" (2
Timothy 2:25-26). When one departs
from God, he becomes a captive of the Devil. Satan tempts people to sin by
deceiving their thoughts; but they sin of their own free will. People
can be forgiven of their sins by repenting and obeying God’s will; thereby,
escaping the snare of Satan.
There is a spiritual battle that has been going on with Satan since the
creation. Paul told Timothy to
"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life" (1 Timothy
6:12) and that "You must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3).In
our spiritual battle with Satan we must be prepared for the fight and to
protect ourselves by taking "up the whole armor of God, that you may be
able to withstand in the evil day" (Ephesians 6:13). Notice
we must have on “the whole armor of God”, we cannot be partially prepared.
We must "stand" and have
girded our "waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of
righteousness" (Ephesians 6:14). We
are to be truthful in all we say and do, and we are to live a righteous and
devout life.
We are to shod our "feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace" (Ephesians 6:15). The
Christian is always ready and eager to go and spread the gospel to others. We
must take up "the shield of faith which is able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked one" (Ephesians 6:16). If
we are weak in the faith, we will be vulnerable to Satan.We overcome temptation and persecution by our faith in God.Our faith in God is strengthened by the study of His word (Romans
10:17).
We must "take the helmet of salvation" (Ephesians 6:17). The
assurance of our great salvation keeps us going when we are tempted and tried.
In our fight with Satan we must
use "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians
6:17) as a powerful defensive and offensive weapon. "For
the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged
sword" (Hebrews 4:12).We
must regularly study God’s word.
In our battle we must be "praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18). We
must be steadfast in our prayers to God with our thanksgiving, confession of
sins, and pleas for help. And as a
soldier of Christ we are to be "watchful to this end with all
perseverance" (Ephesians 6:18). We
are to be spiritually alert as we watch out for our enemy, Satan. We
must persevere all the days of our life. If
we put on the whole armor of God and remain faithful, Satan cannot defeat the
faithful Christian.
God’s word says, "many false
prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). These
false prophets are servants of Satan.There
were many false prophets in the first century just as there are many today. Jesus
says, "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many"
(Matthew 24:11)…"They are blind leaders of the blind. And
if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch" (Matthew
15:14). Jesus warns us to
"Beware of false teachers who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15).A ravening wolf is going to kill and destroy.The purpose of a false prophet is to deceive, just as they are doing
today.Anything that is more than,
less than, or different from what God says in the Bible is false doctrine of
Satan, which is designed to cause people to be eternally lost (Revelation
22:18-19).
Satan will get what is due him. Revelation
20:10 says, "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire
and brimstone….and they shall be tormented day and night forever and
ever." But also notice verse
15, "And anyone not found in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of
fire." We must always be
prepared to fight Satan.
To
protect our souls we must study God’s word and faithfully follow what it
says in doing only what God says, all of what God says, in the way God says,
and for the reason God says.
Questions Lesson #9
Satan Our #1 Enemy
(Click on the button of the answer
of your choice)
1) (Revelation 12:9) Satan deceives
Just a few people.
The whole world.
No one.
2)
(2 Corinthians 2:11) Satan does not want to take
advantage of us.
3) (2 Corinthians 11:14-15) Satan has ministers here on
the earth who
Appear as ministers of righteousness.
Are easily detected by all people.
Would never deceive us.
4)
(Revelation 12:9) Satan goes about to deceive the
whole world.
5) (Ephesians 4:14) People can be tossed to and fro
By the truth of God's word.
By every wind of doctrine and trickery of men.
If they study their Bible too much.
6)
(John 8:44) Satan does not lie.
7) (1 Peter 5:8-9) Satan goes about
And will not hurt anyone.
Trying to help people.
Seeking whom he may devour.
8)
(James 4:7-8) If we will resist the Devil he will
flee from us.
9) (Hebrews 3:13) What will harden us?
Doing God's will.
The deceitfulness of sin.
Studying our Bible.
10)
(2 Timothy 2:25-26) Satan wants to snare or trap us.
11) (Ephesians 6:13) In our fight against Satan
We must not be too concerned about it.
We must put on the whole spiritual armor of God.
Satan will not attack us if we are spiritually weak.
12)
(1 John 4:1) There are no false prophets in the
world.
13) (Matthew 15:14) If the blind lead the blind
They will help each other.
But the blind cannot lead the blind.
Both will fall into the ditch.
14)
(Matthew 7:15) False teachers will not try to disguise
themselves.