Christian Warfare 4

As mentioned in an earlier article, an important aspect of warfare is knowledge of the enemy. How the enemy operates, the timing, place and method of attack are all very helpful in defeating rather than being defeated in battle. So what do we know about our spiritual enemy? He is very deceptive in attack. In Genesis 3:1 he is described as “subtle.” Ephesians 6:11 speaks of his “wiles.” In 2 Corinthians 11:14 Paul speaks of Satan as “transformed into an angel of light” and his followers appearing as workers of righteousness (verse 15). He no doubt delights in the image many have of him as a little red man with horns and a long pointed tail standing with pitchfork in hand. In reality he is most dangerous because of the disguise he wears appears harmless. Satan is the master at twisting truth, making it appear false, judgmental, harsh, unloving, cruel, mean, ugly, etc. The purpose is to create doubt. Once this is established, he often uses step two: lies. Satan is the father of lies according to Jesus in John 8:44. It was two lies of Satan which helped Eve defy God and eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:4,5). These lies told Eve continue to influence people today.

They are told in a variety of ways but come down to this; God does not really mean He will punish you, and what He is really doing is just trying to keep you from realizing your full potential for knowledge and enjoyment. He has many other lies in his arsenal, but these two have been, and continue to be, very effective. He is very good at  deception. He is also a murder. It was his influence which led to Cain killing Abel (Genesis 4:1ff). Cain worshiped God but it was not accepted (Genesis 4:5). God warned Cain of sin’s influence, telling him to rule over it rather than submitting to its desire (Genesis 4:6-8). But Cain yielded to sin's influence and killed his brother while they talked in the field (Genesis 4:9). How much more deceptive could Satan be than in leading Cain to kill his brother over God’s response to their individual worship? Abel was not responsible for the rejection of Cain’s worship, Cain was. The problem of Cain’s worship is addressed by the Hebrew writer in 11:4: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”  Cain’s offering was not by faith, not according to God’s instructions (Romans 10:17), thus it was rejected. Yet Cain was led to believe his problem with God was not himself but his brother Abel. So he killed his brother. Consider all the bloodshed over the centuries in the name of Christianity and you will see who is really behind it, Satan.

—Denny