Satan Methods and Power

Review Satan, the adversary  A fallen spiritual being (most likely a cherub)  Pride (in beauty, authority, power) was the initial sin that caused him to be cast out of heaven  He is not divine or eternal  He is evil because he chose not to be good

Introduction Almost everyone has heard the excuse, “the devil made me do it”  Can the devil “make” someone do something?  What is the devil trying to achieve?  How does he try to reach his goal?  What methods are available to him?

Goal People often picture Satan as a ruler in hell and his goal is to add subjects to his realm  Rev 20:10 The devil will be tormented in hell, just like all others who end up there He is not a ruler there, he will have no power there If he is not looking for subjects in hell, what is he seeking?  Some think it is “misery loves company”, but is that reasonable?  What other goal might he have? Keep the question in mind while we look at Satan's power and methods

Methods Gen 3:1-6  Uses lies and deception But he did not force Eve or Adam to sin  Used Eve's own desires against her Temptation  James 1:13-15 Desires By themselves are natural Many can be fulfilled in lawful ways But a desire for something unlawful or unlawfully fulfilled, is where temptation starts When given into it is sin And sin results in death (spiritual separation from God)

Methods So Satan acts by offering us what we want but know we shouldn't have  He tempts us, but the temptation is really our own  He might lie or deceive us into believing that what we desire is not really wrong Job 1 and 2  More direct action against someone requires special permission from God Presumably Satan had tried before to put temptation in Job's way without success  Job 1:10 – complains about a hedge around Job, which implies he had attempted to get through the hedge

Methods Matt 4:2-4  Jesus was hungry  Satan tempted Him to meet His desire for food ( a natural, lawful desire) by commanding the stones to change to bread Jesus had that power (John 2:1-11, water to wine) Why wasn't it lawful here?  Jesus used His power to confirm His teaching and His authority The devil already knew who Jesus was, so the use of power would simply be pride or self-will (things that had tempted Satan)

Methods Matt 4:5-7  On a corner of the temple, Satan tempts Jesus by offering a way to show everyone who He was Lots of people would see Him jump They would see the angels catch Him and set Him down unharmed  Satan even throws in a scripture to “prove” his theory Jesus knows that is not the plan for how people would come to know Him and believe in Him  A desire to be seen (pride) and accepted would be the temptation (maybe like Satan's pride in his own beauty and splendor)

Methods Matt 4:8-10  Satan offered a way to achieve Jesus' ends (to be king of kings) by different means The desire would be self-preservation  Jesus wouldn't need to suffer and die and would still have pwer over the kingdoms The means to that end were clearly unlawful

Methods Satan's methods haven't changed  He offers us what our physical bodies desire  He appeals to our pride or self-will or vanity  He tells us it is okay by misusing scripture  He tells us the “ends justify the means”  He tells us that life or freedom from suffering are better than any alternative  1 Jn 2:15-17

Power As we have already noted, Satan's power does have limitations  He acts through lies, deceit and temptation He even deceives nations (Rev 20:7-8)  Though God can, and has at times, taken that ability away from him (Rev 20:1-3)  Deceiving nations would not be much more than an extension of all other deceit  Those actions lead people to commit sin Satan did not make them sin, they chose to sin He does not even have the ability to tempt beyond our ability to escape (1 Cor 10:13)

Goal If all Satan is doing is getting people to sin, then why is he doing that?  Zech 3:1-4 Satan accuses people of sin He does so before God  1 Pet 5:8 Seeking destruction of Christians  Rev 12:4-5 Sought to destroy Christ from birth until ascension  Rev 12:13 Sought to destroy the church  Rev 12:17 Seeks to destroy Christians

Goal In summary, he is, and has been, seeking to disrupt the plan of God  1 Cor 2:6-8 If he had understood the plan of God, he would not have let Christ be crucified Yet he must know he can't defeat God, so why continue to seek to disrupt the plan of God?  Spite? Misery loves company?  Vengeance? Hurt God by hurting His people  Or maybe just self-preservation... As long as he keeps people sinning, God may continue to wait for them to repent (2 Pet 3:9)

Conclusion Satan, the tempter and accuser, seeks to destroy Christians  What the motive behind that goal is, we don't know for sure  But we do know the methods, he uses Lies and deceit and our own desires To lead us to sin Which leaves us spiritually dead 1 Cor 15:56  Dying in sin is when death stings 1 Cor 15:57  But God has given us the way out of Satan's trap