SPIRITUAL WARFARE 3.2

SECTION 3-2:

*** Satan Distorts The Word Of God ***

If Satan can entice us to question the Word,
he can cause us to lose trust in the message of God.

(2 Timothy 3:16)
God’s Word is:
    – God-breathed (inspired).
    – Useful for teaching (the source for God’s principles).
    – Useful for rebuking
      (exposing errors in doctrine and personal wrongs).
    – Useful for correcting
      (guiding believers toward restoration after committing sins).
    – Useful for training in righteousness
      (shows us how to live disciplined and holy lives).

    Note:
        If God’s Word is so powerful and has such an effect
        on us, then naturally Satan wants to attack His Word;
        Satan doesn’t want us to trust God’s Word.

(Genesis 2:16-17)
Not only did God offer Adam and Eve every other tree in
the garden, but in His goodness, He even warned them of
the consequences of disobedience.
The question was not, “Is God good?”,
but whether or not Adam and Eve would trust God’s Word.

    (Genesis 3:1-7)
        – The serpent spoke only twice and in each case his words
          were designed to cause doubt regarding God’s Word.

        – “Did God really say….?”
          Subtly the serpent led them to question God.
          They probably never thought of questioning God
          until the serpent spoke to them.

        Note:
            He is not only leading them to question God,
            but to also question His character.
                – What kind of God would prevent them
                  from having the best of the best?

                – If God was going to restrict them unfairly,
                  why should they trust Him, or His Word?

                – “You will not surely die”.
                  This was a half-truth.
                  When they ate from the tree, they didn’t immediately
                  die physically (they did die eventually – Genesis 5:5).
                      – Satan’s goal was achieved:
                        he caused them to think that
                        maybe God didn’t really mean what He said.

                    – Once he had them, he took it a step farther;
                      He convinced them that God had only warned them
                      because He selfishly didn’t want them to be equal to Him.

                    – He wanted them to believe that if God couldn’t
                      be trusted for His Word, and His motivation is unfair,
                      then He Himself cannot be trusted.

                – Look at the results of his efforts:
                  They questioned God and His Word
                  to the point that they yielded to temptation.
                  Note:
                      When we sin, we show a lack of confidence in God’s Word.

Some thoughts Satan puts into our mind:
    – “I can get away with sin;
      after all no one will ever find out”
      (1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

    – “I’m not sure I will reap what I sow;
      the consequences aren’t always bad
      (at least not immediately)” (Galatians 6:7-8).

    – “God loves me so much that I don’t think He
      will make me answer for my lifestyle;
      after all, I’m a Christian” (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

    – “I can always turn from my sin tomorrow;
      one more day of fun won’t hurt me” (Luke 12:13-20).

Satan Quotes Scripture:
(Matthew 4:1-11)
    – Jesus Himself was subjected to Satan’s attacks.

    – When he tempted Jesus, he quoted Psalm 91:11-12
      (daring Him to trust God to fulfill the psalmist’s
      promise of protection if he jumped).

    – Jesus knew that tempting God was sinful
      and He responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16.

    – We can draw at least two conclusions:
          1. Satan can quote scriptures, and he will quote
             them in order to try to mislead and deceive us.
            Sometimes he can easily deceive us because
            he knows more about God’s Word than we do
            (he can also cause us to take scripture out
            of text, or to misinterpret its meaning).
            Note:
                If he used scripture to try to entice Jesus, then
                certainly he will misuse scripture with us as well.

          2. We need to know God’s Word in order to
              respond to Satan’s attacks (just as Jesus did).
              We also need to know how to interpret the Word properly.
              Note:
                  Jesus didn’t deny the promises in Psalm 91,
                  but He pointed out that the promises didn’t give Him
                  permission to deliberately test those promises.
                  He used one passage
                  to guide His interpretation of another passage.

Some thoughts we may have at this point:
    – “I want to begin a systematic, consistent Bible study
       so that I can be prepared to defend against the enemy.”
    – “I read the Bible often,
       but I’m not sure how to interpret what I read.”
    – “I’m not sure I fully trust God and His Word.”
    – “I read the Bible sometimes, but it hasn’t changed my life much.”
    – “I am faithful with daily Bible reading and
       I think I’m learning how to interpret the Word.”
    – “I’m going to recommit myself to a discipline of daily Bible study.”