Satan's Tactics - Part 1

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

Satan’s Devices in Corinth and the Danger of Extremes

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. And as you're turning there, in the Christian life, not only do we face temptation to sin, even in doing the right things, Satan can lay a snare for us.

Even with good things, they can either be abused or maybe taken too far. And that's why I've titled this morning's message, We Are Not Ignorant of His Devices. Last time in chapter 1, Paul ended in verse 23.

He says, Moreover, I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. So we had talked about how Paul wanted to visit the church. But when you get together with people that you care about, you want it to be a joyous time.

You don't want to gather together with people while there's all this strife. You don't want to make a long journey and get together while there's all these problems going on. So Paul wanted to give the church some time to fix some of those issues, give it some time to settle down.

And the false teachers that were stirring people up against Paul, he wanted some of that resolved before he visited the church. And he says here in chapter 2, verse 1,. But I determined this within myself that I would not come again to you in sorrow.

So Paul wanted to give the church some time. And he says in 2 Corinthians 2, chapter 2, verses 2 through 4,. For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?

And I wrote this very thing to you, lest when I came I should have sorrow over those for whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.

So here's the thing, Paul confronted the Corinthian church. And that was the right thing to do. But Satan got involved and tried to stir people up to make out Paul like he was the bad guy. What does Satan do?

He turns everything around, he calls evil good and good evil. And that's why Paul says in verse 11,. For we are not ignorant of his devices. So what are the devices of Satan? What are the tactics? Well, Satan will use anything to corrupt and divide a church.

He'll work on one side of an issue. And if that's not working for him, he'll go and he'll work the other side of an issue. And really the message today is about not being too permissive, but not being too rigid either.

A church and individuals should not be licentious, but they shouldn't be harsh or legalistic or unforgiving. So what are these tactics of Satan? Obviously, number one, he tempts people to sin. And the more sin you have in a church, the less effective it will be, at the very least.

And that's number one. Number two, when there is sin in a church, the devil can kind of tempt you to be pragmatic. And well, if I do that, I should do this, but then this will happen. And he can tempt church leaders to turn a blind eye.

Or number three, when sin is dealt with, sometimes people can come down too hard on an issue. And there might not be much mercy or forgiveness. And that appears to be what happened here, that a man in the Corinthian church was dealt with.

He made things right, and that's good. But he wanted to come back into the fellowship, and the church wouldn't have him back. They wouldn't forgive him. So a church and individuals can be too permissive, but they can also be too rigid.

And Satan is subtle. He will do anything to get his foot in the door. But remember, you need to let him get his foot in the door. But if we are not ignorant of his devices, we'll know what to look for, what to do, and what not to do.

The Reality of Satan and the Demonic Powers Behind Him

Now turn, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 6. As you are turning there, let me clarify one thing. When we are talking about the devil, what are we talking about? It's amazing, really, sad, that when polls are taken amongst professing Christians, you would be surprised how many professing Christians claim that they don't believe in Satan.

They don't actually think Satan is a person. So let me just be perfectly clear. We literally believe Satan exists. He is a fallen angel. He is a personal being. No, he doesn't wear a red outfit and have cloven hooves for feet and a pitchfork and horns on his head.

He is a spirit. The apostle Peter says about him, Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary, the devil, walketh about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And you remember in Job chapter 1, what did the devil say to the Lord?

I have been walking to and fro, walking up and down on the earth. So this is where Satan is. He's not in hell. He's on the earth. But I want to kind of challenge you for a moment. Maybe you've never thought of this.

Might go against some preconceived notions, but there is a high likelihood that the devil has never come anywhere near you. He may not even know your name. He might not even know you exist. Remember, Satan is not omnipresent.

There's 7 billion people on this earth. He is not everywhere at once. He is not the evil equivalent of God. He is not omniscient. He doesn't know everything. He can't read your thoughts and read your mind.

You say, but pastor, the Bible tells us to resist the devil. And there's all these warnings about the devil. How can you say that he might not even know who we are? Well, maybe he does. Maybe he doesn't.

Here's the thing. It doesn't matter. Because his mission, his power, and his influence is being carried out by those under his control, primarily the demons. And there is an untold number of fallen angels.

There is an untold number of demons doing his work. So, whether it is Satan himself, whether it is a demon, or whether it's a person under the control of demons, Satan is the power behind all of it. Let's look at Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 13.

The apostle Paul says,.

The Armor of God, the Word of God, and Prayer

So, Christians, we cannot afford to be ignorant of his devices. So, how do we fight the spiritual battle? And, by the way, you're in a spiritual battle. If you don't think you're in the spiritual battle, that just means you're losing the spiritual battle.

But what do we need to fight the battle? What do we need to keep us safe? Well, Paul continues, and he tells of how we need truth. We need righteousness. The gospel of peace. Obviously, faith and salvation.

And then our offensive weapon, which is what? The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. And then, of course, prayer. So, why is it today that some Christians are losing the spiritual battle? Well, it's the same reason why the Corinthian church got into so much trouble.

Why they were losing the battle, because they abandoned truth. Just think about this. The Corinthian church was started by an apostle. They had an apostle speaking the word of God to them, and yet many of them didn't listen.

They didn't believe Paul. They weren't following Paul. They were listening to the false teachers. And this is happening today on a wide scale. Christian television, Christian bookstores are littered with false teachers.

Celebrity pastors who preach out of the imagination of their own hearts have far more influence in the church than they should. And oftentimes, they have more influence than the local church pastors that are preaching sound doctrine.

So, truth has been abandoned. It happens today. It happened back in the Corinthian church. And then there is righteousness. Honestly, I think a lot of Christians don't even want to talk about righteousness because they're afraid of being accused of self-righteousness.

And Satan is so good at just turning everything around. Think about it. A born-again believer who says, I'm a sinner. I am in need of God's grace. Without Christ and the gospel, I have no hope. That person is called self-righteous.

While the person who says, well, I think I'm going to heaven because I'm a good person, that person is considered humble.

Think about it.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, what did he say? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. And then you have the gospel of peace. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount also, what did he say?

Blessed are the peacemakers. And we know that we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. And because we have this amazing peace with God, we should be outspreading the gospel of peace.

But you know what?

A lot of Christians are afraid to do that. A lot of Christians are afraid to speak up because they're afraid of what someone might say.

You know what?

We need to not worry about what people think of us. We need to get over that. We need to start worrying about what God thinks. One final comment on Ephesians 6, and then we'll go back to 2 Corinthians.

Ephesians 6, 17 says, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. What kind of soldier would enter into a battle without his sword? What would happen to him?

Well, he'd lose.

He'd lose the battle. That's for sure. And here's the thing. Having a Bible, owning a Bible, that's not going to do any good. Holding it in your hand, you can't beat the devil over the head with a Bible.

You need to hide the word of God away in your heart. Think about when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. How did Jesus counter the devil? By quoting the word of God. By quoting scripture in context.

Because you'll remember, the devil quoted scripture, too. But the devil took it out of context. And this is what false teachers do.

They quote the Bible.

The false teachers in Corinth who are stirring people up against Paul, they quoted scripture, but they did it out of context. So go back to 2 Corinthians 2. As you're turning there, how else did Jesus counter the devil?

How did Jesus remain strong in the spirit? Well, he prayed. And then he prayed some more. Paul continues in Ephesians 6 by saying, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit. Being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

And for me, that utterance may be given to me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. And Paul certainly did that. Paul put on the whole armor of God and he boldly proclaimed the gospel.

But what's the title of the message? We are not ignorant of his devices. We're not ignorant of the devil's tactics. Even things that are good can be abused or taken too far. Scripture is good, but scripture can be twisted.

It can be taken out of context. Just practically speaking, you know, in our life, food and drink is good, but it can be misused. Physical intimacy is good. It's God's idea. He came up with it, but it can be abused.

Remorse over sin is a good thing. But when taken to the extreme where there is perpetual guilt or even an unforgiving spirit, that's not good. And that's what we're seeing here in 2 Corinthians 2. Paul says in verse 5, but if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent, not to be too severe.

This punishment, which was inflicted by the majority, is sufficient for such a man. So that on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him. Lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Moores Corner Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, moorescornerchurch .com.

We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.