The Faces of Satan

Satan wears many faces throughout the Bible. Those faces, much like human faces, do not reveal his true intentions. He uses his faces to misrepresent the truth to turn as many he can away from God.

The Faces of Satan As we discussed, Satan does not want us to know the truth. He’ll put a pretty face on something ugly to deceive us into disobeying God. The devil will work on us to make us think a lie is the truth. DECEPTION

2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Genesis 3:1-2 “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’? 2 And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden’”

Genesis 3:3-5

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” “For the wages of sin is death” James 1:14; Romans 6:23

The Faces of Satan There are few tools the devil has in his arsenal more powerful than discouragement. Discouragement comes from repeated disappointment. Great works and spiritual growth have been derailed due to the face of discouragement. DISCOURAGEMENT

2 Timothy 4:9-10; “Be diligent to come to me quickly; 10 for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me.” “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. 15 You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. 16 At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me.”

“I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich)… Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Job 2:7-9 “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!’”

The Faces of Satan If Satan can put a pretty face on the sinful things of this world, he certainly will do it. When things are good, sometimes it is easy for us to feel closer to the world than God. The face of delight can also lead to spiritual death. Delight

Luke 8:11-13 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 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. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.”

Luke 8:14-15 “Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”

Hebrews 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”

The Faces of Satan Even more disheartening than discouragement is despair. Despair is a face of Satan that can cause us to fall so far that we may not get back up. Only through Christ can we get the strength to get past despair. Despair

2 Corinthians 11:23-25 “Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep”

2 Corinthians 11:26-28 “in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.”

The Faces of Satan DECEPTION Delight DISCOURAGEMENT Despair