Witnessing to the Lost

The Witnessing Method’s of Jesus Christ

Introduction

            Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt 4:19). Any conversation surrounding methods of witnessing must center on the precepts Jesus introduces to His disciples in this personal invitation, “come and follow Me” and in the promise, “I will make you fishers of men.” To witness for Christ one must submit to the leading and teaching of Christ on the subject. To follow Christ means to put away selfish ambitions and/or personal agendas and give Him our complete and undivided attention. To witness to or disciple others one must first be discipled (I will make you). In each case one must decide for Christ and submit to His teaching in order to effectively witness to men.

            This paper will focus on the methods Jesus used while witnessing to others. In particular we will examine and compare the different ways Jesus presented the gift of eternal life to every dynamic of mankind during His time of ministry. As we study three of the Master’s individual witnesses of many we will discover stumbling blocks like riches, Law, racial bias, jealousy, error, and a host of other deceptions employed by Satan against men that Jesus confronted (Matt. 12:29) and without compromise, rendered in order to provide His lost sheep with a clear understanding of how to receive eternal life.

            It is my prayer that after careful discernment of the facts presented in this paper that the reader will see how powerful and successful Jesus was in witnessing to others. The success I testify to will not be affirmed by worldly standards but by spiritual kingdom standards only!

Nicodemus (Jewish Pharisee)

(John 3:1-17)

            Nicodemus, our first case study, was a Jewish Pharisee who served the Sanhedrin as an instructor (rabbi) of Leviticul Law and the Law of Moses (John 3:1) As a Pharisee, Nicodemus believed in a resurrection (Acts 23:8), but had no concept of how it worked or how to teach it. Knowing Jesus was a gifted teacher with blessed insight, Nicodemus made a decision to visit Him and discuss this issue rabbi to rabbi. Jesus was a marked man at the time; Sadducees and a majority of Pharisees of the Sanhedrin were plotting His death. Nicodemus therefore approached Christ in the cover of darkness with the hope his visit would go undetected (John 3:2).

As witnesses for Christ we must be vigilant and expectant that people will approach us when we least expect it. God does send people our way and rather than seeing this moment as an interruption, we must embrace it as an opportunity to bring the truth of Christ to their life.[1]

            Rather than getting into a debate about whom He was (God), Jesus confronted Nicodemus with the truth about what he came to find out, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus responds with a question that confirms he only understands this comment from a natural perspective and not a spiritual one, “Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”(vs. 4) Jesus confirms this point further with His comment, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit” (vs.6). He continues by telling Nicodemus not to marvel that He says ‘You must be born again.’ Nicodemus however continues to respond with a natural mans misunderstanding (1 Cor. 2:14), “How can these things be?” (vs.9) Jesus then responds by telling Nicodemus the only way he is going to understand the concept of “new birth” is to surrender man’s perspective (Law) and call out for spiritual insight (grace) which was right before him, the only begotten Son of God who would soon be lifted up (Num. 21:9), ‘that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ (vs. 11-17).

Reflection

            Although Nicodemus came to see Jesus, it was Jesus who truly met Nicodemus. Christ knew Nicodemus did not grasp who He truly was, but rather than addressing this issue first, Jesus met Nicodemus in his inquiry, (eternal life). Christ shows us here the importance of engaging a person with what they are struggling with, joining with them in their dilemma before sharing advice or giving any spiritual enlightenment. How can we assist someone with truth before we even know what their position or belief is on matters pertaining to God? Meeting a person with an invested interest in their position is the first step to effective witnessing. It is a prerequisite actually, “Love the Lord with all of your heart…” (Luke 10:27) and, “love your neighbor...” (Mark 12:31), that Jesus issues. Jesus is showing us His true love for Nicodemus even though he doesn’t acknowledge Jesus as God.

            After listening to Nicodemus present his suppositions on which He was perceived to be, Jesus confronts Nicodemus with spiritual truth concerning the kingdom of God and what a person had to do to see it. After presenting this spiritual precept, Christ shares Scripture from Numbers to help Nicodemus begin to see the correlation between the bronze serpent and Himself raised up to save men from certain death.

            Witnessing without Scripture to confirm spiritual truth is simply bad practice. Even if a person does not grasp immediately what they hear or see in the Scriptures does not mean they won’t at a later time. In this example, we do not see Nicodemus receiving a revelation from Christ in this witness. But later we find Nicodemus attending the sacrificial body of Christ (John 19:39); a spectacular conformation that the seeds planted from Numbers 21:9 in the heart of Nicodemus the night he visited Christ rooted down deep and saved his life!

The Rich Young Ruler

Mark 10:17-27

            As Jesus set out on a journey a young rich ruler ran up to Him to inquire of the good teacher what he needed to do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17). Jesus immediately confronted him on his perspective on the definition of good using the Ten Commandments to make his point that no one except God was good enough to keep them without fault. Countering, the young man stated he had obeyed these commands since his youth (v. 20). Jesus then flushed out one Command he had forgotten to consider. To help him see his error Christ challenged the young ruler to sell his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor and then come and follow Him (v. 21). The result was the young man walking away saddened; realizing his material possessions were more important to hang on to than receiving eternal life.

Reflection

            The first thing we can glean from this encounter is that Jesus put himself in a position to witness to this young ruler simply by moving out to do so. Remember, Jesus states the Words He spoke and the steps He took were guided by His Father (John 12:49-50). As witnesses, we must listen and move out as the Holy Spirit directs and speak as the Holy Spirit gives us utterance. It is from our obedience to the commission that manifests witness opportunities. Evangelism was never intended to be carried on inside a church building. Evangelism must be done out where sinners are.[2]

Next, Scripture confirms one of man’s critical deceptions, his position before God. It is easy for man to compare his goodness to others and actually see himself as good when using this horizontal standard of comparison. Only when the standard is vertical (God/man) do we begin to see our shortcomings and realize we are not good enough to receive eternal life alone. Jesus said we must be perfect (Matt. 5:48). Who can justify themselves in God’s sight if we are commanded to be perfect?[3] The best way to examine ourselves in comparison to God is alongside the Ten Commandments. The young ruler addressed Jesus as, “good teacher” (v. 17). Jesus conveniently used this adjective to walk the young man through the Ten Commandments. Once the man was focused on the Commandments (God) Jesus could confront his stumbling block (idolatry). It was from this point of focus that Jesus was able to help the young man to see his love for material riches was his god rather than the true God he thought he was obeying by adhering to the other Commandments. Jesus was able to further prove His point by challenging the young man to give up his riches. Immediately the man realized two things. One, eternal life was not inherited or earned; and two, under the circumstances presented and based on the options given, he was not going to receive it; he was truly grieved and walked away in this position.

In this witness Jesus shows us how to revert common conversation and casual comments to spiritual truths. We can all as witnesses, learn to move from natural conversation to spiritual matters; and as Jesus illustrates here, the transition can be smooth and inviting.

Another point to be made here is that even though we may not stumble in every Commandment equally, we do fall short of God’s glory! The rich young ruler was so focused on obeying a portion of the Commandments that he was oblivious to others he failed in; particularly, the first one, “no other God’s before Me.” Getting the lost to focus on the Commandments will bring to light the sinful condition that needs attention. Even though it can be a painful discovery, as we witness in the rulers emotional response, it does convict the lost in a way we as witnesses cannot in and of ourselves accomplish.

Why is this important? Christ knew the young man’s fatal position and without human limitations was able to bring him to and understanding of his sinful consequences. Since we are human the only chance we have to witness effectively like Christ did here is to trust in the Commandments to do their job (Gal. 3:24).

Lastly, Jesus instructed the man to come and follow Him. In other words Jesus was telling the rich ruler he needed to put his trust and faith in Him to receive eternal life and not in his own ability to inherit eternal life through the Law. The fact that the young man knew keeping the Law was not all there was to attaining eternal life he wasn’t prepared at the moment to let go of his wealth and submit to Jesus. He was still lost for saving faith involves recognizing that Jesus is the answer to one’s sin problem.[4]

How do we know this witness was successful? Many judge success by an affirmative decision for Christ and would probably suggest this was a failed witness. But the true disciple, one who has been discipled, knows that success is determined by the fact that truth was delivered, not compromised, but planted in the depths of conviction. Perhaps the rich man will not receive Christ, but he did receive the truth and simply because of that his chance to receive eternal life was deposited.

The Woman at the Well

John 4:1-42

Scripture records that Jesus was traveling through Samaria, a place Jews avoided, teaching His disciples witnessing for the kingdom had no boundaries; walls of bias, jealousy, hatred, and tradition had no hold on the fishers of men!

Jesus was at the well when the Samaritan woman approached it to fulfill her daily task of filling the water pot. As witnesses, we must be aware of where people visit frequently with the kingdom agenda to share Christ. Often these are places we wouldn’t normally attend, but as we will soon discover, this witness was anything but normal. The fact that Jesus, a Jew, was talking to a Gentile woman at a well in Samaria, encroached upon every customary rule and cultural boundary as it applied to relationships at the time (John 4:9).

Jesus engages the woman with small talk, “could I have a drink?” (v.7) She converses back and soon we discover Jesus switching the conversation from well water to “living water” (v.10). Again, Jesus illustrates for us the art of taking natural conversation and transitioning it to spiritual conversations and matters.

Once engaged in matters of the Spirit Jesus confronts the woman’s sinful condition with the commandment of adultery (v.18). Convicted, the woman labels Him a prophet to which Jesus corrects her by announcing He is the Messiah she knows will come one day (vv. 25-26). It is at this point the woman leaves her task and goes home to announce Christ to her people.

Reflection

            Led by the Spirit we will be able to step out of our comfort zone and witness for Christ in places the flesh would never go. Samaria, Samaritans, and strongholds such that they represent exist everywhere we live. We describe them as the wrong side of the tracks, the strip joint, the local bar, the slums, the ghetto; we address them as gangs, prostitutes, drunks, drug dealers, etc…, and we keep our distance which is accepted by the world as socially excepted behavior. The commission, however, is to go out into the entire world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). This is not an easy task but the fact that it has been commanded by Christ tells us that by the will of God it can be done; Christ shows us how, in fact He labels this kind of work as spiritual food for the body (John 4: 32-34).

            Jesus, as this narration has highlighted previously meets this woman where she was in her daily life. In moments, using Scripture laced in love and knowledge Jesus was able to bring the Samaritan woman to the well of living water. The woman was so convicted that she left her daily task to evangelize for Christ to her whole village!

Comparison Between the Witnesses of Christ

Comparing each of these witnesses gives us a fuller understanding of how and what is required in the kingdom assignment to reach others for Christ.

Nicodemus was a Jewish leader who was well studied in the Law. One who is set in their ways, anchored in a position of tradition, is often one of the hardest of lost sheep to reach. We can all fall into this trap if we are deceived in the notion we know all there is to know about God’s ultimate plan of salvation. Approaching Scripture with reverence and respect soon disappears from the one who thinks they have spiritually arrived and the renewing of the mind (God’s work in us) ceases to manifest in spiritual maturity. Jesus was hard on Nicodemus in this matter pointing out that a teacher of the Law should know these things (John 3:10-12). A teacher of the history of Israel should be able to see the correlation of the bronze serpent, representing death lifted up and Christ representing the sinful Jew lifted up for redemption and life!

The rich Jewish ruler was different is this aspect. Although he grew up in the custom of Jewish Law he was not a professing teacher but rather a devoted Jew and ancestor of Abraham. Jesus’ witness to him was over the Commandments he was so careful to obey while hypocritically ignoring honoring God as the only God! Being rich was not his sin, loving and serving his riches however, was the issue. We all have our little gods flushed out when we are confronted about them and more to the point are painfully convicted when asked to let them go! Being rich in Jesus’ day was looked upon as one being favorable in the sight of God but the young ruler and Jesus’ disciples soon found out this was not the case (Mark 10:23-27). The lesson we must take from this witness is we are not good enough to enter heaven; we can only get there by receiving the good works of Christ. The rich young man thought perhaps he cornered the market on good. We are not saved just because our parents are saved. The young ruler thought he was perhaps protected as an ancestor of Abraham. The witnesses between these two Jewish men were handled as they approached Christ with their hopes of working out eternal life on their merit; an attitude of tell me what to do and I’ll do it. What is equally important to focus on as a witness however, is the fact that they approached Jesus with a life changing concern. As a witness, you want to visit with persons when their anticipation and anxiety levels are at their highest. This is a moment when they are open and ready to advance their lives and their futures.[5]

The last witness discussed is different in that Jesus sought after the woman. In fact, He went through Samaria, a place shunned by Jews, to witness just to her. Although she was a Gentile Jesus was still able to flush out her sinful condition with the use of the Law. She knew the Law and she knew she was guilty. What she did not know was that she could be forgiven and even though guilty as charged, through forgiveness she could receive living water.

In all three witnesses Jesus showed us the importance of joining the lost sheep where they are in their walk of life. He showed us we do not have to condemn a sinner in fact He proved to us the Law itself was the tool to employ to do this work. He was able to witness to these three in a very personal and loving way. He never gave credit to Himself but always gave glory to God and used God’s glory to show each witness their shortcoming.

In each witness Jesus divided the Word of truth without compromise. He let the Word have its effect by staying out of the way with personal suggestions or affectionate misleading. For example, He could have called the ruler back and explained to him a way to love God and his material riches together. He could have found ways to appease each of the people He witnessed to; many do with the temptation to be popular. False teachers do this to be misleading every day. But Jesus let the Word linger and cut like a two-edged sword; knowing the conviction of the Holy Spirit in the Word was the saving grace that would bring the lost sinner to salvation (Romans 1:16).

Conclusion

Each witness in this writers mind was successful. Each person was given the truth, incorruptible seed that produces fruit. Each person was tilled and cultivated with the Law and exposed to the presence of loving grace. We as witnesses can and must learn from these examples. Focusing any successful witness on the merit of always being right alone must be abandoned. The mentality that says, “I don’t think I’m always right, but I do always think I’m right”[6] must be closely examined. We must understand that our opinion is irrelevant; that being right or wrong on any spiritual issue is not a concern when the truth of God’s Word is before us. We must be willing and submit to the Spirit’s call and leading once and forevermore; only then, will we like Christ, be about the assignments the Lord has already prepared for us in advance (Eph. 2:10).     

           

  

Bibliography

Callahan, Kennon. Visiting in an Age of Mission  Jossey Bass Publishers, 1997

Comfort, Ray. The Way of the Master Bridge-Logos, 2006

Copan, Paul. True For You but Not For Me. Bethany House, 1995

Hixson, J.B. Getting the Gospel Wrong. Xulon Press, 2008

Osborn, T.L. Soul Winning. Osborn Publication, 1967

Sanders, Oswald. Spiritual Leadership The Moody Bible Institute, 1994

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[1] Sanders, Oswald. Spiritual Leadership. The Moody Bible Institute, 1994, 81

[2] Osborn, T.L. Soul Winning. Osborn Publication, 1967, 55

[3] Comfort, Ray. The Way of the Master Bridge-Logos, 2006, 83

[4] Hixson, J.B. Getting the Gospel Wrong. Xulon Press, 2008, 91

[5] Callahan, Kennon. Visiting in an Age of Mission  Jossey Bass Publishers, 1997, 59

[6] Copan, Paul. True For You but Not For Me. Bethany House, 1995, 125

Spiritual War (Part 4 of 4)

Spiritual War against the Church Today

 

I graduated from college with a BA in Business Management. Studying business I learned to focus on core values, short and long term goals, plurality of leadership, customer equity, and making money on the margin. I was good at developing a business strategy where we could operate without overhead and serve the demand of the public better than our nearest competitors. I studied geography, demographics, and long established competitors in the areas where I thought we could be productive, competitive, and develop a strong customer base. I studied habits of the people within the scope of the area; where they shopped, when they shopped, where they went to church, when they went to work, what roads were used in transit, all to get a better idea of who to target, how to advertise and when to advertise. This and many other dynamics of good business ethics I practiced all in the hopes of being successful for myself, co-workers and their families and of course our boss, the public.

When God called me into ministry, I brought all these talents to the office only to find out the knowledge I’d accumulated and business practices I’d exercised in the world were as Paul described, filthy rags compared to what I was now discovering in Christ Jesus and Him crucified. The world’s standard of success, measured by volume, cash flow, and profits was exchanged for the standard of Holiness, measured by submission, humility, and willing service to others through Christ. I discovered that to be the leader one had to be the servant of all. Rather than using polls to find out what people wanted to keep them happy, content, and loyal, a good business tool, I found what they needed in God’s Word to bring them deliverance, safety, and eternal life. It did not take long to see that giving people what they needed instead of what they wanted made a difference in the volume of parishioners attending. While I was struggling to find a compromise, God showed me through Scripture the call to Christianity is a call to martyrdom not a call to success and luxury as the world portrays. All of heaven rejoices when even one is saved (Luke 15:7)! Just try to humanly measure success by that standard!

Somewhere along the line, evangelicals bought the lie that the Great Commission is a marketing mandate. It was shocking to hear a leading pastor of mega church comment, “If you want to advertise your church to the unchurched, you must learn to think and speak like they do.” Speaking and thinking like I did in the business world was not communicating the Gospel. However, given my understanding of worldly success with this practice, I was not surprised to discover it was implemented in church strategies after studying spiritual warfare. This is exactly how Satan operates. He will do everything in his power to keep the Gospel from being preached! Every tactic Satan is using against the church is an attempt to nullify the Word. He takes Scripture out of context, uses a portion of Scripture to prove a major doctrine rather than using the full counsel of the Word. He even uses Scripture against Scripture in an effort to plant a lie in the pastor’s mind that the Word contradicts itself. 

The war goes on but God has His army positioned where they need to be. Stay vigilant, study the Word, contend for the faith, and stand firm in the full armor of God.

Put on the Armor of God

Under God’s Protective Armor (Part 3)

Satan blinds the mind of an unbeliever (2 Cor. 4:3, 4). But even as we become a born-again Christian Satan still looks for an opportune time to tempt us (Luke 4:13). We as Christians need to be fully aware of the spiritual principalities and powers of this dark realm that wait for opportune times to advance their cause but not as those who live in fear but rather as those who are vigilant, living under the protection of truth and righteousness. The devil can be resisted since God has provided all the necessary resources for battle. Putting on the armor is putting on the light of Christ (Rom 13:12-14). In essence we put on the robe of Christ which replaces our flesh. The Gospel of John reminds us the prince of this world has no hold on Christ (John 14:30), so when we put on Christ, we are protected and Satan cannot touch us (1 John 5:18). O’Brien comments that Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:16 speaks, ‘that you may be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit’, indicates believers do not empower themselves but rather are empowered with strength from an external source, the Lord Jesus. He is the person with whom believers have been brought into union with (cf. 2:21; 4:1, 17; 5:8; 6:1, 21). The fact also remains that Christ has been raised up and positioned at the right hand of God where He rules over every power and authority (Col. 2:10). As believers we have been marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). This is our true position in Christ, this is our protection; this is our seal!

The Belt, Breastplate, and Shoes

Only after being enveloped by Christ in reception are we then commanded to put on the full armor of God to be able to stand firm. It is because of God’s victory in His Son that believers are in the battle at all.

Receiving Christ unites us with the truth, as Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). With the belt of truth we can discern Satan’s deceptions by comparing his invoking thoughts with the Word of God. Jesus prayed for his disciples safety from the evil one (John 17:15) by being sanctified in the truth; Thy Word is truth (John 17:17).

Receiving Christ covers us with His righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). As Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10) it is important we have the breastplate of righteousness to combat his lies and continual accusations. We cannot forget that although we have received Christ, sinning is still going to occur. We still have physical fleshy bodies and therefore sins in the flesh will happen. Although the new Spirit within us does not want to sin, the existing nature of our flesh does. God tells us if we sin we have an advocate with the Father, Christ Jesus (1 John 2:1). Learning to confess our sins when we are immediately convicted of them restores our righteousness with God.

Receiving Christ unites you with His peace for He is the Prince of Peace: this establishes your new position in Christ (Rom. 5:1). Paul also informs us that we need to press on “being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3). After we have been clothed in Christ we are then commanded to put on the ‘full’ armor of God.

The Shield, Helmet, and Sword

Faith is established by God and His Word. Faith within the believer increases as knowledge about God increases. Faith comes by hearing the message (Rom 10:17). We deflect the lies and accusations of Satan with the shield of faith. To take up the shield is to trust in the promises of God alone for protection.

Satan will constantly try to deceive you by placing evil thoughts in your mind. He will challenge your faith by trying to get you to question your position in Christ. In 1 John we have complete confirmation as believers in Jesus that we have eternal life (1 John 5:13). As the serpent attacked Eve in the garden, filling her mind with doubt by questioning her about what she knew to be true, he continues to try on believers today. The helmet of salvation protects us from these attacks on the mind. The Holy Word reminds us we have been saved by the good works of Christ and that we are now united with Him and “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16).

The Word of God is our only offense against Satan’s attacks. Jesus illustrates this by addressing Satan with the Word of God and only God’s Word during His time of temptation. Jesus spoke out loud the Word of God as He was being attacked. It is imperative that the Sword of the Spirit is spoken out loud trusting that as we have hidden God’s Words in our heart through diligent study and intense meditation, the Holy Spirit will bring them to our mind and out of our mouth as we are confronted by temptations, lies and accusations from the evil forces in the spiritual realm! Again, we are not called on as believers to defeat Satan and his many evil forces, he has already been defeated; we are only commanded, so God can protect us, to put on His Armor and leave it on so when the day of evil comes, we may be able to stand! These last three pieces of armor are available but it is incumbent on our part to seize them. God has provided us with His Word but He cannot study for us. He will join us in His Word but until we join Him there our spiritual growth will suffer. We have the gift of unity in Christ who has made us one. We need to exercise this gift of unity by praying and interceding for each other. We are called upon to pray in the Spirit for the brethren. The reader can be sure the discipline of prayer as requested by the Apostle has the power to move and protect God’s children.

Praying in the Spirit

Our prayers need to be Spirit-led because in all truth we often lack knowledge in what to pray for. Praying to God gives us an opportunity to line up with His works. God knows what is going on and if we want to be effective in the battle, we need to ask the Spirit to bring us into the presence of God’s movement; into His ministry. In Ephesians 1:18,19, we find Paul praying that the eyes of the believers heart may be enlightened in order that they might know the hope in which they were called, the spiritual power, authority, and protection which was their inheritance in Christ. Like Paul we need to be supportive of one another in our prayers, spiritually led before God so as to be certain our petitions and intercessions for others are received by the request of the Spirit. A major target for prayer from this perspective on intercession for others is against what Jesus called the “strongman” (Matt. 12:29). Rescuing people from the bonds of spiritual blindness cannot be achieved until we bind the strongman. Satan is powerless, but if a brother has any unforgiveness, resentment, or unrepentance of any kind in their heart Satan has access to them. As they belong to God, it is our duty to pray in the Spirit with certainty that what is bound on earth is already bound in heaven and whatever is loosed on earth has already been loosed in heaven (Matt 18:18). Our prayers may often go unanswered and denied because we ask amiss but the prayers of the Spirit are always answered with great authority from the kingdom!

Blessings,

Pastor, Jim Bringman

Greetings, brethren

The Battleground of Spiritual Warfare

The struggle takes place in within the hearts and lives of believers. Another fundamental truth in spiritual warfare is how we, the believer, allow the devil access into our lives. “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph. 4:26-27). According to this Scripture, anger is an emotion that if not spiritually controlled, can turn into a sinful action, leaving one in a state of sinfulness, where if left un-repented of, gives the devil open access into the sinners life. God told Cain, “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it" (Gen. 4:7). Again we can see how vulnerable we are to the works of the devil. God provides protection and a way for us to escape reminding us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). We as believers have the choice, and in order to stay under God’s protection we must choose to repent when we sin and discover the devil has a hold on us! We must remember the works of the devil have been destroyed and in this truth we can know for certain that he has no power over us other than what we give him. However, we give him power often without knowledge of it and while enabling the devil may not affect our salvation, it certainly destroys our witness to others as well as the joy we can have in Christ while here on earth.

 The Wiles of the Devil (Deception, Temptation, and Accusation)

We are vulnerable to Satan because he is formidable and without the protection of God we are helpless to the prince of this world! Another major foundational truth about spiritual warfare comes to us from Paul’s teachings in Ephesians. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:10-12). Our battle is not with what or who we can see but with who and what we cannot see. Without spiritual discernment, God’s armor, we can and will be deceived.

Deception is an evil scheme, a purely evil practice. To deceive someone, is to get a person to believe something that is not true. Once in a state of deception it is easy to create a wall of lies, strongholds, that will eventually lead the deceived into temptation, action, and death (James 1:14, 15). We discover Satan’s strategy of deception in Genesis. First of all he appears as something he is not, a serpent, and in this lowly state of appearance he begins a dialogue with Eve. He starts by injecting doubt into the certain truth Eve has received from God (“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’” (Gen 3:1)). This subtle tactic is very effective on the Christian who is not confident in the Word of God; questioning God’s truth plants seeds of doubt in the believer’s mind; leaving them with the thought that perhaps God’s Word cannot be trusted. If this method of deception gains a foothold, if Satan can actually control the way you think about the certainty of God’s truth, he can and will destroy you! Hosea proclaimed in his warning to the Hebrews, “My people are destroyed by lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Paul warned believers countless times not to be ignorant concerning the Word of God.

It is while in a state of deception that Satan then entices us with temptation(s). Once the devil had Eve questioning God’s truth, injecting thoughts of doubt into her mind about what God said, he then contradicted God’s warning of death to the disobedient, “You will surely not die” (Gen 3:4) he claimed,  therefore presenting the fruit as both harmless and desirable. Once the fear of death for eating from the forbidden tree was eliminated, Eve was comfortable with eating its fruit and sharing it with Adam. The lie was easy to proclaim to Eve in her state of deception and without the strength and protection of God’s Word to sustain her she was tempted and easily provoked to act on that temptation. This disobedience brought on by the wiles of the devil, coupled with man’s lack of trusting God by obeying His Word, is the essence of spiritual warfare. Deception is Satan’s number one tactic. It is his agenda to get mankind to trust in their own strength apart from God’s protection so he can boast to God of his cleverness over His when it comes to governing the affairs of mankind.

Lastly, Satan likes to remind the sinner of their faults and shortcomings; he is known as the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). It is an ongoing effort in these accusations to keep the sinner feeling guilty thereby keeping the act of repentance between men to God from occurring. Satan knows that repentance brings cleansing to the unrighteous sinner. So how do we stand firm in this world where Satan is the ruler of the air, against the principalities and powers? In James we are told to resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7). How do we do that, resist him? The remainder of this paper will focus on our command to put on God’s armor, stand firm against the schemes of the devil, and pray for the brethren. It will do us well to remember we are not called to defeat the devil that has already been accomplished by Jesus Christ. We are only told to spiritually suit up, stand firm, and pray and as these are the prerequisites for protection in duty, we can be sure God has provided a way for us to exercise these commands.

In Christ,

Jim