3 ways Satan will use the scriptures against you

In most action movies, it's pretty obvious who the enemy is. Aside from an occasional twist, the evil villain is easy to identify. Whether it's a discouraging laugh or an unpleasant hunger for power, the characteristics of the bad guys are usually clear to see. This is not the case with Satan, the villain in God's story and the enemy of our souls. Its tactics are deceptive and difficult to spot if we don't know God's word for ourselves.

It takes just what is meant to lead people to God and tries to use it against us. He did it in the Garden of Eden. He tried to do it to Jesus, and he still does it today. Without an understanding of what God's word says about us, we are subject to the devil's schemes.

Let's take a look at a couple of famous biblical stories to find three ways that Satan tries to use the scriptures against us.

Satan uses the scriptures to create confusion

"Did God really say," You can't eat from any tree in the garden "?" These were the serpent's famous words to Eve in Genesis 3: 1.

“We can eat the fruit of the trees in the garden,” he replied, “but concerning the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat or touch it, or you will die. '"

"No! You certainly won't die, ”the snake told her.

He told Eva a lie that seemed partially true. No, they would not have died immediately, but they would have entered a fallen world where the price of sin is death. They would no longer be in direct communion with their Creator in the garden.

The enemy knew that God was actually protecting her and Adam. You see, by keeping them unaware of good and evil, God was able to protect them from sin and therefore from death. Just as a child does not recognize right from wrong and acts purely out of innocence, Adam and Eve lived in heaven with God, free from guilt, shame or intentional wrong.

Satan, being the deceiver that he is, wanted to deprive them of that peace. He wanted them to share the same miserable fate that he had earned for his disobedience to God. And that is also his goal for us today. 1 Peter 5: 8 reminds us: “Be sober, be vigilant. Your opponent, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour ”.

By whispering half-truths to each other, he hopes that we will misunderstand God's words and make decisions that lead us away from what is good. It is essential to learn and meditate on Scripture so that we can catch these cunning attempts to lead us astray.

Satan uses God's word to cause impatience
Using a strategy similar to that of the garden, Satan tried to influence Jesus to act prematurely. In Matthew 4 he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, took Him to a high place in the temple, and had the audacity to use the Scripture against Him!

Satan quoted Psalm 91: 11-12 and said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give orders to his angels concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you do not hit your foot against the stone.

Yes, God promised angelic protection, but not for show. He certainly didn't want Jesus to jump off a building to prove any point. It wasn't time for Jesus to be exalted in this way. Imagine the fame and popularity that would have resulted from such an act. However, that was not God's plan. Jesus had not yet begun His public ministry, and God would lift him up at the right time after completing His earthly mission (Ephesians 1:20).

Likewise, God wants us to wait for Him to refine us. He can use both good times and bad times to make us grow and make us better, and He will lift us up in His perfect timing. The enemy wants us to abandon that process so that we never become all that God wants us to be.

God has amazing things in store for you, some earthly and some heavenly, but if Satan can make you impatient about promises and push you to do things faster than you should, you may be missing out on what God has in mind.

The enemy wants you to believe that there is a way to achieve success through him. Look at what he said to Jesus in Matthew 4: 9. "I'll give you all these things if you fall down and love me."

Remember that any temporary gains from following the enemy's distractions will crumble and ultimately be nothing. Psalm 27:14 tells us, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart be brave. Wait for the Lord “.

Satan uses the scriptures to cause doubt

In this same story, Satan tried to get Jesus to doubt the position given by God. Twice he used the phrase: "If you are the Son of God."

If Jesus had not been sure of his identity, this would have made him question whether or not God had sent him to be the Savior of the world! Obviously it wasn't possible, but these are the kinds of lies the enemy wants to plant in our minds. He wants us to deny all the things God said about us.

Satan wants us to doubt our identity. God says we are his (Psalm 100: 3).

Satan wants us to doubt our salvation. God says we are redeemed in Christ (Ephesians 1: 7).

Satan wants us to doubt our purpose. God says we were created for good works (Ephesians 2:10).

Satan wants us to doubt our future. God says He has a plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11).

These are just a few examples of how the enemy wants us to doubt the words our Creator has spoken about us. But his power to use the scriptures against us diminishes as we learn what the Bible really says.

How to use Scripture against the enemy

When we turn to God's word, we see Satan's deceptive patterns. He interfered with God's original plan by deceiving Eve. He tried to interfere with God's plan of salvation by tempting Jesus. And now he tries to interfere with God's final plan of reconciliation by deceiving us.

We are his last chance at deception before he reaches his inevitable end. So no wonder he tries to use Scripture against us!

We don't have to fear though. Victory is already ours! We just have to walk in it and God told us what to do. Ephesians 6:11 says, "Put on the full armor of God so you can resist the schemes of the devil." The chapter then goes on to explain what it means. Verse 17 in particular says that the word of God is our sword!

This is how we dismantle the enemy: by knowing and applying God's truths to our life. When we are endowed with God's knowledge and wisdom, Satan's cunning tactics have no power against us.