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Just as Satan successfully tempted Adam and Eve to
sin, he still tempts each of us today. His lies don't change. Satan still
tells us, "You can't trust God. He isn't concerned about your
happiness. There is no danger in disobeying His laws. He knows that you
can be equal to Him. You know what is best for you."
Satan's lie that God cannot be fully trusted can be
countered only by the gospel with its doctrine of the incarnation. Man
cannot answer the devil's lie with an appeal to nature or human
experience. These can present mixed messages, sometimes giving the
impression that God is good and at other times implying just the
opposite. The natural world is merciless, offering horrible spectacles of
terror and suffering. Catastrophes such as storms, floods, and
earthquakes claim thousands of innocent lives, and scores of terrible
diseases spread death and despair. The natural man is easily convinced
that any evidences of God's love, goodness, and mercy are only a cruel
joke in light of the real world--the world ruled by the law of fang and
claw.
Each of us has had his own experience of the
ruthless realities of a fallen world. Disease and accidents have
unexpectedly crippled and killed family members or friends. Many of us
have been hardened and disillusioned by betrayal at the hands of people
we trusted. To harden ourselves against the pain of further
disappointment and betrayal, we have become like actors in an
old-fashioned melodrama. We conceal our true faces behind masks, driven
by fear to play a role rather than to allow others to see us as we really
are.
God understood the effects of our fears on our
darkened minds. He knew that we were not capable of resisting Satan's
lies--that our personal experiences of life in a fallen world would cause
us to have insurmountable doubts about His goodness and love. Only a
supreme act of grace could overcome the deep impression made by natural
evil and satanic lies. This is one of the reasons God became a man.
By entering the world, God allowed us to see a
reality far above that of our fallen world. In the person of Jesus
Christ, the holy light of God's love shone brilliantly in the midst of
our world's darkness, dispelling Satan's power to deceive us (John
1:9,10; Heb. 2:14,15).
God knows the earthly sorrows of His creatures. He
has embraced us in our sin and weakness--personally sharing our
experience of fear, alienation, and death. The apostle Paul wrote:
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).
When we believe what God says in His Word about
Christ, we will be delivered from doubt about His goodness. We will also
be freed from the fear that He in His holiness will condemn us. Instead
of trying to flee from Him into philosophies that deny His existence, we
can approach Him. We can be realistic about our sinfulness and yet be
confident in His forgiving grace.
On the basis of the salvation God has provided for
us, the Scriptures lay out practical guidelines by which we can defeat
Satan.
Have Confidence in God. The first decision we must
make to be freed from Satan's power is to choose to trust God. We must
acknowledge our helplessness, sinfulness, and lost condition. Then we
must accept the free gift of salvation He has offered us in Christ and
stand before God clothed in His Son's righteousness (Phil. 3:1-9; Titus
3:5).
Submit to God and Resist Satan. Although Christ has
given us authority over Satan (1 John 4:4), we can exercise it only as we
submit ourselves to God and resist the enemy (Eph. 6:11; James 4:7; 1
Pet. 5:8,9).
Be Aware of Satan's Strategies. Satan can take
advantage of us if we are "ignorant of his devices" (2 Cor.
2:11). For example, by harboring anger, we "give place to the
devil" (Eph. 4:27); by depriving our marriage partner of sexual
intimacy, we give Satan an opportunity to tempt us (1 Cor. 7:5); by placing
an unqualified man in a position of leadership in the church, we take the
chance of making him vulnerable to pride and to "fall into the same
condemnation as the devil" and "the snare of the devil" (1
Tim. 3:6,7). And there are countless other devices.
Put on the Armor of God. Using the metaphor of a
well-equipped Roman soldier, Paul told how we can be prepared for
spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:11-18).
The belt of truth. Since Satan depends on deceit to
maintain his power, our first line of defense is always to be truthful.
We must never distort or misrepresent the truth, regardless of any
advantage we might gain by doing so.
The breastplate of righteousness. Any sin in our
life leaves us open to Satan's attack. Even though we are given the
righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21), we must still continually put on
the protection of holy living.
The shoes of the gospel of peace. With our feet
firmly planted on the truth that we are at peace with God and that He is
on our side, we can stand firmly against Satan's attacks.
The shield of faith. In order to quench the
"fiery darts" of Satan's temptations, we must trust and believe
what God has said about every area of our life.
The helmet of salvation. This is the confidence that
there is coming in the future a great victory celebration. It's also
referred to as the "hope of salvation" (1 Thess. 5:8). This
helmet protects us against Satan's two-edged sword of discouragement and
doubt.
The sword of the Spirit. Since the Word of God is
the basis of our faith, we need to learn how to wield it with authority.
Scripture is our best offensive weapon against the
devil (Matt. 4:1-11).
After he described the various elements of the
armor, Paul said that we are to be in constant prayer. Prayer expresses
our dependence on God. We can fight against Satan only "in the
[strength of the] Lord and in the power of His might" (Eph. 6:10).
In the power of Christ with the armor of the Spirit we will be victors.
Curtis
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