SATAN’S WAYS VS GOD’S WAYS

 

Satan’s Ways vs God’s ways on influencing people. This is in a very rough format and was copied from my sermon notes (when I was preaching at an assisted living center) but it shows the ways Satan keeps people from following God and how he suppresses the truth, and how it’s been happening from the very beginning.

 

 

 

Satan’s Ways	God’s ways
Riot, kill, physically attack	* Endure suffering to show sincerity * Love, pray for, and feed your enemies.
False accusations with authorities and in the courts	* reluctant to go to court even when wronged.
Rude, Proud, Brash, mocking. Naturally and easily expresses opinions and tries to influence people (partly because it’s popular and accepted but also due to the nature of pride). e.g. loud music (intruding on others space) is usually bad music	* Humble, loving, gentle instruction, polite * Have to work up the courage to speak the truth in love. * Show sincerity, thru hard work, good fruits, good deeds, right living, etc.
Lie, Deceive, False security, Angel of Light (feel good preacher), Cause Doubt and confusion (evolution “theory”). Can’t prove anything but just cause doubt, like Satan with Eve, “Did God really say…”	* Speak the truth plainly, * Use logic to show the truth.
Popular opinion is gold, go with the flow, make fun of being different.	Be Different (narrow road)
Natural craving of our fallen sinful nature (leads to lots of problems though).	* Resist the Sinful Nature. * Let God crucify it. (Galatians 5:24) * Speak Truth that is not attractive (however a wise man will thank you)

 

 

 

SATAN’S WAY: RIOTS

 

 

^{Mt 27:22} “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” ²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” ²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

 

 

^{Ac 13:49} The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. ⁵¹ So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

 

 

^{Acts 14:3} So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. ⁴ The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. ⁵ There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. ⁶ But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, ⁷ where they continued to preach the good news.

 

 

^{Ac 14:19} Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰ But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

 

 

^{Ac 17:5} But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. ⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” ⁸ When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.

 

 

^{Ac 17:13} When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. ¹⁴ The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea.

 

 

^{Ac 18:5} When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. ⁶ But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive,

 

 

^{Ac 19:23} About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. ²⁴ A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. ²⁵ He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: “Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. ²⁶ And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. ²⁷ There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”

 

 

^{Ac 19:28} When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater. ³⁰ Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. ³¹ Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. ^:32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.

 

 

^{Ac 21:27} When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, ²⁸ shouting, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place.” ²⁹ (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.) ^{Ac 21:30} The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. ³¹ While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³² He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

 

 

^{Ac 23:12} The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

 

 

SATAN’S WAY: RIOTS VIA THE LEGAL SYSTEM – FALSE ACCUSATIONS IN THE COURTS

 

^{Ac 6:8} Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. ⁹ Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, ¹⁰ but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. ^{Ac 6:11} Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.” ^{Ac 6:12} So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. ¹³ They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” ^{Ac 6:15} All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

 

 

^{Ac 18:12} While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. ¹³ “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

 

 

GOD’S WAY: SHOWING OUR SINCERITY BY ENDURING SUFFERING

 

 

Definition of sincere, without wax.

 

 

^{1Th 2:1} You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. ² We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. ³ For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.

 

 

¹⁴ For you, brothers, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, ¹⁵ who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men ¹⁶ in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

 

 

^{2tim 2:5} But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 

 

 

^{2 cor 4:12} We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we answer kindly.

 

 

^{2 cor 6:3} We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. ⁴ Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; ⁵ in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; ⁶ in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; ⁷ in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; [then it mentions some sincerity methods we will talk about later] ⁸ through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; ⁹ known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; ¹⁰ sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

 

 

^{2 cor 12:7} [Paul speaking of the revelations he had received]. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

 

Paul, though not present for this teaching, was following Jesus’ teaching exactly:

 

^{Mt 10: 11} Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. ¹² As you enter the home, give it your greeting. ¹³ If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

 

¹⁶ “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. ¹⁸ On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

 

²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ²³ When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

 

²⁴ “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

 

²⁶ “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. ³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

 

³² “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

 

³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father,a daughter against her mother,a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— ³⁶ a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ ³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

 

A side note on the Old Testament Biblical Battles: Again these were limited to specific nations and times and were not intended to convert people to their religion. It was also during a time of continual warfare between countries. When a people group becomes too wicked God always takes the few that remain true and cleanses the rest. Ie Noah and the flood, Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah, Rahab and the Canaanite battles, and lastly the final Day of the Lord.

 

SATAN’S WAY: BOLD ARROGANT, PUSHY, INSULTING

 

 

We talked before about how Satan’s way is using persecution and false accusations in the courts. Now we’ll cover the less severe form of persecution: verbal.

 

 

^{1 Peter 4:2} As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.

 

 

^{2Pe 2:10} This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; ¹¹ yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. ¹² But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.

 

 

^{2Pe 2:13} They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.

 

 

^{2Pe 3:3} First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”

 

 

Psalms 1 …or sit in the seat of mockers.

 

 

^{Pr 1:22} “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?

 

 

^{Pr 9:7} “Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. ⁸ Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you.

 

 

^{Pr 13:1} A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.

 

 

^{Pr 14:9} Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright.

 

 

^{Pr 19:28} A corrupt witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.

 

 

^{Pr 21:24} The proud and arrogant man—“Mocker” is his name; he behaves with overweening pride.

 

 

^{Pr 22:10} Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.

 

 

^{Pr 29:8} Mockers stir up a city,

 

 

^{Pr 9:13} The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge.

 

 

It seems good people have to motivate themselves to exhort or correct others but to foolish people with bad advice it just comes natural.

 

 

And though it’s not wrong to use some mockery, Elija did it with the prophets of Baal, there are differences in how Godly people do it vs Satan’s

 

^{1Ki 18:27} At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” ²⁸ So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. ²⁹ Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

 

 

Notice he’s attacking their belief and he’s about to show God’s power. 

 

1)    Satan’s people will rely on it heavily to make a point. (not all do but some). God’s people will use mainly logic or God’s power (Elija) and a little humor.

 

2)    Satan’s people will stoop to attacking the person’s qualities individually (usually stupid type insults). God’s people might attach a belief or an entity or organization.

 

 

 

So if it’s an attack that is short on logic or attacks the person individually, it’s probably from Satan. 

 

 

 

 

GOD’S WAY: HUMBLE, GENTLE, KIND

 

 

^{1 then 2:7} but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. ⁸ We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. ⁹ Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. ^{1Th 2:10} You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹¹ For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

 

 

²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

 

 

SHOWING OURSELVES SINCERE BY GOOD LIVING AND GOOD DEEDS, GOOD FRUITS

 

 

1 Thes 1:5b You know how we lived among you for your sake

 

 

^{1 Pet 2:12} Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

 

 

^{2 cor 6:3} We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. ⁴ Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: … ; ⁶ in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; ⁷ in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

 

 

^{Mt 5:14} “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

 

 

1 tim 4:12 [Paul giving instructions to Timothy] set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

 

 

^{1Ti 6:17} Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹ In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

 

 

^{Heb 10:24} And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

 

 

^{1Jn 3:16} This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

 

 

Jesus told 5 of the 7 churches in Revelation that he knew their deeds, and the other 2 were going thru suffering.

 

 

And James is the clearest on deeds. He even makes it clear that faith without deeds faith is dead.

 

 

^{Jas 2:14} What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

 

 

      ^{Jas 2:18} But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

 

      Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

 

 

      ^{Jas 2:20} You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless ? ²¹ Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

 

 

      ^{Jas 2:25} In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

 

 

SPEAKING THE TRUTH PLAINLY AND CLEARLY

 

 

^{1 Thes 2:5} You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.

 

 

^{2 cor 4:2} Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

 

 

Dishonesty doesn’t usually work out well. Story of new General pretending to talk about important stuff on a phone that didn’t work to impress a younger officer who was there to fix his phone. 

 

 

Also one lie tends to lead to another, and it’s just not God’s way.

 

 

 

 

BY REASONING WITH LOGIC OR SCRIPTURES

 

 

 

To the Jews, Paul used the scriptures to show that Jesus was the messiah from OT prophesies

 

² As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,’” he said. ⁴ Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

 

 

 

To the Gentiles, he used basic logic. The Same kind of logic that is true today, listen…

 

^{Ac 17:16} While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. ¹⁸ A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰ You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” ²¹ (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) ^{Ac 17:22} Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

 

 ^{Ac 17:24} “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. ²⁷ God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ ²⁹ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. ³⁰ In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹ For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” ^:32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” ³³ At that, Paul left the Council. ³⁴ A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. … ^{Acts 18:4} Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

 

 

 

SATAN IS THE FATHER OF LIES

 

 

^{John 8:44} You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

 

 

^{2Co 11:13} For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵ It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

 

 

^{2Pe 2:1} But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. [shows the secret deceptive way that people will introduce heresy into the church, as is clearly happening.]

 

 

 

 

SATAN’S WAY: CONFUSION/DOUBT

 

 

Satan made Eve doubt God and what he said: “Did God really say…”

 

And a partial truth without mentioning consequences “you will be like God” (they did find out what right and wrong were but what a mess it caused).

 

 

To counter Satan’s deception you have to really know the Bible, like Jesus did:

 

 

^{Mt 4:1} Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

 

 

                        ^{Mt 4:4} Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’”

 

 

                        ^{Mt 4:5} Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

 

                                    “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,            and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’’”

 

 

                        ^{Mt 4:7} Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’’”

 

 

                        ^{Mt 4:8} Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

 

                        ^{Mt 4:10} Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’’”

 

 

Evolution: Can’t be proven at all or in any way and yet it gives just enough confusion to cause many to doubt God. The sinful nature helps tip the scale toward Satan’s way.

 

 

 

 

SATAN’S WAY: APPEAL TO THE SINFUL NATURE, SATAN’S GREATEST TOOL

 

 

^{2 Pet 2:14} With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! … ¹⁷ These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸ For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

 

 

When you get to the bottom of it, you’ll find people usually believe there is no God because they don’t want there to be a God.

 

 

“I had motive for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics, he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves. … For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.” Aldous Huxley was a grandson of ‘Darwin’s Bulldog’, T.H. Huxley. He was also the brother of the leading atheistic evolutionist Sir Julian Huxley

 

 

 

“The reason we lept at The Origin of Species was because the idea of God interfered with our sexual mores” Sir Julian Huxley

 

 

 

“Evolution is unproved and unprovable. We believe it only because the only alternative is special creation, and that is unthinkable” Sir Arthur Keith