“They thought their zeal was kindled by a holy fire until Christ told them, "You know not what manner of spirit you are." Luke 9:54-55.
Not only does he choose when he will tempt, Satan also chooses the best methods for displaying his temptations.
One strategy is to hang out false colors. He comes up to the Christian disguised as a friend, so that the gates are opened to him before his true identity is discovered. Paul says we should not be shocked to find false teachers masquerading as apostles of Christ, "...Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light". 2 Corinthians 11:13-14. Of all his plots, this is perhaps the most dangerous to the saints; when he appears in the mantle of a prophet and silver-plates his corroded tongue with fair-sounding language. In this manner he corrupts some in their judgment by interpreting gospel truth in such a way that God appears to condone questionable behavior. These Christians get caught up in the world's morality under the guise of Christian liberty.
Not everyone will swallow such heresy, so Satan tempts them with other wares, though still in the disguise of a saint himself. He desecrates Scripture by magnifying faith to the exclusion of every other grace. Or he labors to undermine repentance and overpraise good works. He pulls back in seeming horror at the corruption of church administrations, and thus draws unstable souls from the body of believers. Under the pretense of zeal, he kindles wrath in the Christian's heart and makes his spirit boil over into desires for revenge in situations where God would have him forgive. Luke records such an occasion where the disciples wanted "fire to come down from heaven." They thought their zeal was kindled by a holy fire until Christ told them, "You know not what manner of spirit you are of "Luke 9:54-55. How we need to study the Scriptures, our hearts, and Satan's wiles, which we may not bid this enemy welcome and all the while think it is Christ who is our guest!
We cannot out smart Satan, but we can escape his traps by keeping our lives closely connected to God. When God is our friend and His ways are our ways, the traps of the enemy are seen more clearly and can thus be avoided. To accomplish this we must be strongly dedicated to God, regularly in His Word and obedient to what he is teaching us.
Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S. Bell http://www.moodypublishers.com/
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