The Enemy's Weapons
In John 8:44, Jesus said of Satan, there is no truth in him for he is the father of lies. In I Corinthians 11:14, Paul tells us he masquerades as an angel of light. These then are the only two weapons Satan has: deception and dishonesty. Typically, people can’t be lied to unless they have first been deceived. This is because deception is hard to see because there are elements of truth. But a lie makes no sense because there is no truth to it. Only when we have been blinded by deception are we susceptible to a lie. Some common deceptions of Satan are: You’re special; you deserve this; as long as nobody gets hurt; and no-one will know. These deceptions damage us, but there are two which people believe and are destroyed by…
1. You're a Bad Person.
“…All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
Most of us, because of sin, find it is easier to believe bad things about ourselves than any good we might hear. For Satan, who is our continuous accuser (Rev 12:10), to deceive us into believing we’re bad people is not too difficult. We kinda think it already. The other problem we have, because we know ourselves all too well, is we condemn ourselves (I John 3:20). So two loud voices from within and the slander of gossips from without, all echo the same thing - “You’re no good, you’re no good, you’re no good, baby you’re no good”. Sadly, God’s word is drowned out.
“And are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24
2. You’re Not Worthy.
“Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy…” I Timothy 1:13
Once someone thinks they’re a bad person, a feeling of unworthiness floods their mind and they start to believe they can’t do anything right. They also assume that God is no longer with them and that He won’t help them. This is what Satan wants us to believe. It is not true though. The deception is we are “bad people” and because of this we are not worthy. The truth is, we do do bad things and do not deserve anything good happening. But that is not the full truth. Jesus is full of grace and God is always loving.
“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” I Timothy 1:14
From sermon notes, May 8, 2022
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