The schemes and wiles of the evil one

I'm in the process of preparing a sermon on Ephesians 6:16 which is as follows: In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one ( ESV). In considering the fiery dart metaphor, I came across a list of attacks of Satan that were presented in a sermon on this same verse. The preacher referenced The Dictionary of Theological Terms by Alan Cairns when he delivered the list, but I have no way of verifying the accuracy of what follows in comparison to what is presented in Cairn's book. Also, the Scripture references have been added by me. That being said, here is a list of many, though not all, of Satan's activity on the earth:

• Afflicts people – Acts 10:38
• Dominates and captivates sinners – Acts 26:18
• Blinds the minds of unbelievers – 2 Corinthians 4:4
• Wrestles against the saints – Ephesians 6:12
• Inspires lying wonders – 2 Thessalonians 2:9
• Tempts people to sin - 2 Corinthians 11:3
• Slanders and accuses the saints – Revelation 12:10
• Inflict diseases - Luke 13:16
• Opposes prayers – Daniel 10:13
• Removes the seed of the gospel – Mark 4:15
• Sows tares among the wheat – Matthew 13:25
• Ruins bodies and souls – 1 Corinthian 5:5
• Lies – John 8:44
• Instigates sin – Acts 5:3
• Devours souls – 1 Peter 5:8
• Deceives – 2 Corinthians 11:14
• Possesses men’s souls – Luke 22:3
• Speaks through men – Mark 8:33
• Defiles minds – Matthew 16:23
• Ruins lives – Revelation 9:11

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

Irreconciable War

The fact that the devil is everywhere called God's adversary and ours also ought to fire us to an unceasing struggle against him. For if we have God's glory at heart, as we should have, we ought with all our strength to contend against him who is trying to extinguish it. If we are minded to affirm Christ's Kingdom as we ought, we must wage irreconcilable war with him who is plotting its ruin. Again, if we care about our salvation at all, we ought to have neither peace nor truce with him who continually lays traps to destroy it. (Institutes 1.14.15)

Preaching on Satan ... on Halloween!

I'll be at High Park Baptist Church in Toronto this morning filling the pulpit while a good friend who pastors there is taking a break. They are working through their statement of faith and have thus entitled a 12 week sermon series Sacred Seeds. I was invited to help out and was able to preach last week on the Holy Spirit and will preach on Satan today.

How does one preach about Satan. Following a tip from C. J. Mahaney I heard in a sermon of his, you can handle this "hot" topic properly by teaching about Satan from the Bible and while you do that contrast the devil with our Champion; Jesus Christ.

One resource I appreciated in preparing for this sermon was a sermon by Mark Driscoll. Though I never actually listened to the sermon, I read the transcript. Perhaps it would be good listening for a Halloween day: Jesus Casts Out Demons

How Satan tries to darken the Christian's mind

In The Glory of Christ, John Owen discusses how Satan tries to darken and distort the mind's clear sight of the glory of Christ:

1) "With some, Satan arouses fears, doubts, arguments, uncertainties and various worries and troubles, so that believers find it difficult to maintain comforting views of Christ or his glory." In this first group, Satan uses anxiety, fear, and despair to mar their vision of Christ and his glory.

2) "Satan deceives others into false assurance by which they promise peace to themselves, and so live in a vague presumption that they will be saved by Christ even though they have no idea how." Satan uses this attack to deceive people in the world into an apathetic stupor in which they have no clear vision of Christ's glory.

God help us to neither fall into false fears nor accept apathetic attitudes. Let us pursue, in the strength of the Holy Spirit, a clear apprehension of the glory of Christ.

The Strategies of Satan

From Enjoying God Ministries, Storms writes about the methods that Satan uses to undermine all of creation. In one of his points, Storms expresses how even through Satan's attempts at causing us to sin, God remains sovereign. Using the example of Peter denying Christ three times, we see that Satan had a specific agenda, but God being sovereign, had an agenda that superseded that of Satan's, and taught Peter some valuable lessons.

"He tests or tries Christians, the malicious “sifting” “like wheat” of Peter’s faith being an excellent example (Luke 22:31). Clearly, Satan is unable to act outside the parameters established by the will of God but must first ask permission. He wanted to destroy Peter by inciting him to deny Jesus. But God's intent in permitting Satan to do it was altogether different. God's purposes with Peter were to instruct him, humble him, perhaps discipline him, and certainly to use him as an example to others of both human arrogance and the possibility of forgiveness and restoration. This points to the fact that often we cannot easily say "Satan did it" or "God did it". In cases such as this, both are true (with the understanding that God's will is sovereign, supreme, and overriding), but their respective goals are clearly opposite. Sydney Page's comments concerning this incident are important:

"Luke 22:31-32 reveals that Satan can subject the loyalty of the followers of Jesus to severe tests that are designed to produce failure. So intense are the pressures to which Satan is able to subject believers that the faith of even the most courageous may be found wanting. Satan is, however, limited in what he can do by what God permits and by the intercession of Jesus on behalf of his own [cf. Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 1 John 2:1]. Furthermore, those who temporarily falter can be restored and, like Peter, can even resume positions of leadership. It is implied that Satan cannot gain ultimate victory over those for whom Jesus intercedes" (124). "