The Devil’s Use of the Bible – Part Nine

The Devil and his Schemes

Introduction

Satan, being God’s arch enemy desires to do whatever he can to interfere with God’s plan & program.  The mindset of someone who is involved in a battle must include a knowledge of the enemies tactics. Therefore, it is essential that we understand how the devil functions.  Having a knowledge of one’s opponent is essential. This is true in sports, competition among businesses, nations at war, and this is also true in the spiritual realm.

How do we know for sure that the devil even exists?

If the devil doesn’t exist, Jesus was greatly mistaken, because He spent much of His ministry fighting the devil and his demons.

Satan’s Character and Strategies

  • he is the Father of lies
  • he is the enemy of truth
  • he casts doubt on God and His goodness
  • he blinds the minds of unbelievers
  • he is filled with pride
  • he attacks the Bible from every direction
  • Satan is the Father of lies

John 8:44 – “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father… Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.

Overall, nothing he says can be trusted. Even when he speaks some truth, it is done so to advance error

Satan is the enemy of truth

John 8:44 – “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him…”

Satan doesn’t have the ability to tell the truth. There is no truth present in him, as opposed to Jesus who is the Truth.

Satan casts doubt on God’s goodness

Gen. 3:1-5 – Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'” And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Satan wants us to think God is a killjoy

Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers

2 Cor. 4:3-4 – And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of the Messiah, who is the image of God.

Satan wants us to think God is a killjoy

Satan is filled with pride

Is. 14:12-15 – “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.

Pride is who and what Satan is

Satan attacks the Bible

Gen. 3:1 – Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said,…

We will see that Satan has not given up the fight, even though he has already lost the battle

 


The Devil’s Use of the Bible

Satan, being God’s arch enemy desires to do whatever he can to abuse and distort the Word of God

Part Nine

Satan seeks to twist, destroy and question the Bible

  • he challenges the authorship
  • he challenges the accuracy
  • he questions the acceptability of God’s Word
  • he denies God’s Word
  • he takes the Bible out of context
  • he distorts the Gospel
  • he tries to destroy the Bible
  • he tries to stifle the truth
  • he tries to get people to add to it
  • he steals it from human hearts
  • he attempts to identify with it
  • he will cause men to turn from it
  • Satan challenges God’s authorship

Gen. 3:1 – Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

Satan tried to get Eve to question God’s words that were given to her and to Adam

Satan challenges its accuracy

Gen. 3:1 – Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

Satan tried to get Eve to rethink what God actually said

Satan questions the acceptability of God’s Word

Gen. 3:6 – When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate…

Satan tried to get Eve to become dissatisfied with God’s restrictions. Especially when the tree was so desirable

The Devil denies God’s Word

Gen. 3:4-5 – And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Satan flat out denies what God says in His Word

Here is what God said

Gen. 2:16-17 – And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die. “

Satan takes the Bible out of context

Matt. 4:6 – and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘ He will give His angels charge concerning You’; and ‘ On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'”

Certainly, God protects us, but we shouldn’t force Him to do so by creating the circumstances

Satan distorts the Gospel

Gal. 1:6-7 – I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

The Gospel is one of the Devil’s primary targets. If he can get people to mess up here, he has a great victory.

The Devil tries to destroy the Bible

Jer. 36:27-28 – Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words which Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, “Take again another scroll and write on it all the former words that were on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned.

Down thorough history, there have been many attempts to destroy every copy of the Bible

Satan tries to stifle the truth

2 Chr. 18:12-13 – Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. So please let your word be like one of them and speak favorably.” But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.”

Acts 4:17-18 – “But in order that it may not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to any man in this name.” And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

Intimidation and fear are two ways that Satan tries to keep the Bible from being proclaimed

Satan tries to get people to add to the Bible

Gen. 3:3 – but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'”

Acts 15:1 – And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Adding to the truth always dilutes and destroys it

Satan steals Bible truths from human hearts

Matt. 13:3 – And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

Matt. 13:19 – “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

Satan knows the effectiveness of the Word of God. Therefore, he tries to remove it quickly.

The Devil tries to identify with the Bible

Acts 16:16-18 – And it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortunetelling. Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” And she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.

Even when Satan speaks the truth it is not desirable

Satan will cause people to turn from the Bible

1 Tim. 4:1 – But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

2 Tim. 4:3-4 – For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

Satan desires that all would turn away from the truth of the Bible

It’s no wonder that there is such a vicious attack upon the Bible. It’s the instrument that God uses to bring salvation into life of an individual

2 Tim. 3:15 – and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Because the Scriptures are absolutely necessary in the process of salvation, Satan will do all he can and use every means available to either prevent people from hearing the Word, or try to get them to hear a false Gospel