“Very few people believe in the devil these days, which suits the devil very well. He is always helping to circulate the news of his own death. The essence of God is existence, and He defines Himself as: 'I am Who am.' The essence of the devil is the lie, and he defines himself as: 'I am who am not.' Satan has very little trouble with those who do not believe in him; they are already on his side.”[1]
The
Schemes of the devil
Satan uses
various "wiles" with the aim of doing one of two things:
i)
To blind the minds of
unbelievers – and keep them from the light of the gospel and so be saved.
ii)
To try and defeat, deflate,
and discourage those who have put their faith in Christ.
Can we
know anything of the devil’ schemes? Paul the Apostle tells the church in
Corinth.
…for we are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Cor.2:11
Paul here suggests that devil is predictable; once you know his schemes,
you know his schemes. He doesn’t change. He has always been the same. Speaking
of him, Jesus said:
He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his
own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:44)
What do we know of the
devil in the beginning? He makes his first appearance on the scene in the book
of Genesis.
Now the
serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman,
“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat
the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said,
‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will
not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will
be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the
tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and
ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
(Genesis 3:1-6)
In these verses we find
the devil, also known as the serpent, appearing to the woman. Here we come
across his ultimate scheme. He lies, and deceives, to undermine God’s Word.
The
serpent deceives Eve through craftiness, through smooth talk. ‘Did God really say?’ His words sound good; what he offers looks good and
then tastes good.
“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the
garden’?”
The Word of God
October 31st is Halloween, with its
celebration of all things devilish and foul. As a Christian I, of course,
choose to have nothing to do with deeds of darkness; rather I remember the date
as Reformation Day. It was on this date in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his
95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg.
Later, Luther convicted by the Word of God,
bravely stood up to the religious authority of his day. Face to face with his
detractors, Luther said:
‘Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by plain reason and
not by Popes and councils who have so often contradicted themselves, my
conscience is captive to the word of God. To go against conscience is neither
right nor safe. I cannot and I will not recant.’
Unlike Eve, Luther could not be tempted by the devilish
accusation, ‘Did God really say?’. Like the Lord Jesus himself who, when
tempted by the devil responded with Scripture, Luther stood on God’s Word.
The Devil’s Scheme – Challenge the Word of God
The devil is all about undermining God’s Word
and he has no trouble finding those willing to promote his diabolic plan.
It should not surprise us those atheists and
secularists deny the Word of God. Nor should we be shocked that progressive or
liberal Christians choose to redefine and reinterpret the clear teaching of
Scripture. Then we have those deemed by the world as intelligent, scholarly,
and authoritative. Those within our universities and Bible Colleges, who critique
and undermine the Bible.
Of such, R.C. Sproul said:
“It is fashionable in some academic circles to
exercise scholarly criticism of the Bible. In so doing, scholars place
themselves above the Bible and seek to correct it. If indeed the Bible is the
Word of God, nothing could be more arrogant. It is God who corrects us; we
don’t correct Him. We do not stand over God but under Him.”
‘Did
God really say?’ has been the tool of the devil since the beginning of
creation.
If
the enemy doesn’t succeed in having people doubt God’s Word, he will instead
use the Word of God to foster falsehood. He masterfully tickles the ears of
those who desire a god of their own making.
The
Devil’s Schemes – Tickle Your Ears
It's God's will for you to live in
prosperity instead of poverty. It's God's will for you to pay your bills and
not be in debt.
Joel Osteen
False doctrine nothing
new.
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in
latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons…
2 Timothy 4:3-4
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.
As Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, uttered these
words he did not have Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Christadelphians, and others
like these in mind, though his words clearly apply to these groups. Rather,
Paul was thinking about those inside the church who would be led astray. When
he says: ‘in latter times’ and ‘the time will come’, surely that time is now.
Perhaps there has never been a time like ours,
where so much falsehood pervades the church; where confusion and dissension
abound, where many are misled into following the doctrines of demons. Yes, the
devil is clearly at work in deceiving and deflecting people away from the
simple, yet glorious, gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s
admonishment to the believers at Ephesus, to protect themselves from the enemy,
is to wear the whole armour of God.
Stand therefore, having
fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of
righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put
on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield
of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the
evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword
of the Spirit, which is the word of God… (Ephesians 6:14-17)
In Jesus we Trust
I once heard a very sincere Christian say that he
begins each day by symbolically putting on the armour of God – it sounded good
to me. But now as I reflect upon what he said, I think why would a believer
ever take it off? Surely, if we do not wear the armour 24/7 then we leave
ourselves open to attack from the enemy.
Let me conclude by briefly commenting on the armour
Paul tells the believers at Ephesus to wear.
Belt of Truth – Jesus is way, the TRUTH and the
life. (John 14:6)
Breastplate of Righteousness – Jesus is our
RIGHTEOUSNESS (1 Corinthians 1:30)
Shoes/Gospel of Peace – Jesus is the PRINCE OF
PEACE (Isaiah 9:6)
Shield of Faith – Jesus is the PERFECTER OF OUR
FAITH (Hebrews 12:2)
Helmet of Salvation – Jesus is our SALVATION (Acts
4:12)
Word of God/Sword of the Spirit – Jesus is the WORD
of GOD (John 1:1; John 5:39,40)
In telling the church at Ephesus that, in order to
defeat the enemy, they must wear the whole armour of God, was Paul saying that
they need to ‘Put on the Lord Jesus Christ…’ (Romans 13:14)?
Friends,
let’s heed Paul’s words, stand firm and put on Jesus.
There
is nothing to fear – the victory has already been won.
[1] Fulton J.
Sheen, Life of Christ
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