I read an article by Dr. Joel Beeke last night and wanted to share something with you. The article listed a number of specific ways that Satan tries to defeat us and destroy our faith. I want to share just a couple of them from the article, and then I’ll share a list of things we need to do to avoid these snares.
“Device: Satan dampens obedience to the saving knowledge of gospel truth. Once you are saved and come under the refining process of God’s pruning knife, Satan tries to bewilder you. Like Peter, you will then deny your Master and walk unworthy of the spiritual vocation to which you are called.
Remedy: Repent of your backslidings, return to God, and do the good works that you did so zealously in your time of first love (Rev. 2:4-5). Immerse yourself in the Scriptures and in solid biblical literature. Pray much to be enabled to walk in firm, loving obedience before God.
Device: Satan stresses that intellectual knowledge of spiritual truth is enough. If other people who claim to be saved are satisfied just knowing about Christ, why should you long for more experiential knowledge of Christ? Satan doesn’t mind if we continue to learn about Christ, but he works hard to prevent fact-gathering from turning into sanctified knowledge of the truth (2Timothy 3:7). “The devil does not care how many sermon pills you take so long as they do not work upon your conscience,” wrote Thomas Watson.
Remedy: Settle for nothing less than Spirit-worked experiential knowledge of Christ (ICor. 1:30), and, by extension, knowledge of all the great truths of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:14-17). Christ, who is the living Word (John 1:1) and the embodiment of truth, must be experientially known and embraced. As John 17:3 says, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.” The word know in this text indicates a deep, abiding relationship.”
Dr. Beeke points out that the remedies for all of Satan’s devices all follow similar patterns. He writes, “Thomas Brooks, whose classic Precious Remedies against Satan’s Devices has never been rivaled, summarized the Christian’s duty in responding to Satan’s devices in ten remedies. Brooks marshaled these remedies from the whole of Scripture:
1. Walk by the rule of Scripture
2. Don’t vex or grieve the Holy Spirit
3. Pursue heavenly wisdom
4. Resist Satan’s first overtures immediately
5. Strive to be filled with the Spirit
6. Remain humble
7. Maintain a strong and constant watch
8. Maintain communion with God
9. Fight Satan in Christ’s strength, not your own
10. Pray much
Beeke concludes, “Finally, would you truly see Satan’s defeat in your life? Focus on Christ. Remember who you are in Christ. Overcome the world by faith in Christ. Bear fruit for Christ’s sake. Don’t become a tempter for Christ’s sake. Put all your hope in Christ. Trust His power. Love Him and His people. Live in such a way that Christ means everything to you.
(This is taken from the February, 2007 edition of The Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth magazine, the official publicatin of the Heritage Reformed Congregations.)
The article catches the essence of what it means to be a bondslave of Christ. When Christ becomes the water we thirst for and our heart criew, “More like you, Lord, I want to be. Make me humble, meek and lowly and wholly Thine”.
Eureka! Christians focused on their Lord, others, and service out of love for, and to the glory of His Name can impact the culture. Is it any wonder he promotes carnal pulpit warmers?
Shalom
Just getting back from being on the road all morning and this is what I read first. Thanks for the blessing today.
http://hobbs705.wordpress.com/
I love these kinds of posts! Helpful, informative and encouraging.
Ingrid, I sooo much appreciate these posts you put up, and so many have spoken to me aptly at specific times and seasons. This one in particular has struck such a chord because of my current circumstances and some recent difficult events. Could you possibly either post some more of the article or, if it’s available on the net, let me have a link to the full article – it would be a huge help.
May our Lord bless you and all your family as you continue to serve Him, and guide you as you seek the way forward in Him.
What an uplifting post. We need to be encouged & challenged to walk in the ways of the Lord at all times.
Life seems so hard & we struggle to make it from day to day & sometimes from hour to hour. Thank you for reminding us to always look to the Lord.
Another great author outlined how to combat satan hundreds of years ago (around the 1590’s).
His name was Dom Scupoli and his book, The Spiritual Combat is available online for free at:
http://www.copiosa.org/spirituality/spiritual_combat.htm
Excellent, another great resource that is also on the Heritage website is Watchman Nee’s “The Normal Christian Life” what a blessing and an encouragement that book is to follow Christ alone.
In the opening to the book, he states that God has one way and one way only of meeting ALL of our needs and that is to reveal Jesus to us, period.
thanks
Very nicely written and a lesson for us all.
http://handsacrossoceanministry.wordpress.com/
Wise words. Thanks
I’m a Catholic, not a Christian. But I get your meaning. And I appreciate the scientific approach you took to religion. Not in proving, but in presenting. In secular times, presentation like that is important.
Catholics ARE Christians.
Great article, thanks for posting and giving us the solid reminders we need to go to spiritual war. Remember, we don’t strive against the powers of the world, but against the adversary and his minions, always hugry for souls.
What if this is all just in our head? How does one know whether the devil is real? Does he leave physical evidence? If not, is that part of his cunning? How do we know that angels exist? If they are generally seen by one person at a time, I mean? How do you know if a prayer has been heard? Is there a response time to be expected (like mail)?
I often wonder if satan even bothers with individuals – I mean, there are 6 billion of us. I’m certain I’ve never been tempted to stray. Life is easy. People who do are probably weak-minded and looking for excuses for their actions.
Take responsibility for your own actions people!
Thank you. I need all the knowledge and inspiration I can get to be closer to God and to live without Satan in my life.
Steven
We need more articles like this, to wake people up to the reality of the fact that though we are Christians and love Jesus the adversary is always working to distract and defeat us. By the way, to Santa Fe, Catholics are Christians,(I am one). Don’t we follow Jesus Christ? I know that there are other denominations that call us otherwise, but we are Christians nevertheless.
I will assume that Vanessa’s reply #13 was tongue in cheek/joking sarcasm. I sure hope so. “I’m certain I’ve never been tempted to stray”.
#11- Catholics are unfortunately not Christians by default. I was a Catholic through high school and I can most certainly tell you that if I had died I was going to hell.
Such a shame at what a terrible job the Roman Catholic Church does of making sure you know what being “born again” really means. When I speak to people who talk about “believing in some sort of higher power”.. no joke, 75% of the time they “grew up Catholic”.
Addressing several issues here.
The first burden I see that someone wrote they are Catholic not Christian. This is tragic because Jesus is not LORD in that denomination, Mary is given more worship and focus than Jesus. Jesus is not the only way to God, but through priests, “saints” and Mary. This grieves me because many people think they are honoring God by being Catholic, but they are deluded.
There are those who are in “evangelical churches” as well who go through a religious ceremony, but they don’t have a personal walk with God. They have their rituals, but they don’t have any power, no faith that gets them through difficult times.
I find it truly sad when people attend services as a routine, but there is no daily walk with God. No Biblical understanding of who God is, who Jesus is and why they are really here on earth. Many people think of God as a spiritual genie who grants their wishes, but are little else in their lives. This is tragic. As well as for those “seekers” who go to church to hear a “God Loves you” message, not realizing they could be dead in their sins, but are not hearing that. Not hearing the true gospel and not knowing the true Jesus, but just as cultural “Jesus” image that the world has adopted that loves everyone but doesn’t remind them that their righteousness are as filthy rags.
To have true victory in Jesus, not only being saved from eternal damnation, being forgiven of their sins, and being made a new creature in Christ, but knowing the enemy and his tactics and knowing how to defend oneself against the enemy’s attacks, one has to be prayerful, spiritually knowledgable of Scriptures and personally walking with Jesus daily.
When we face temptation, as our Lord had showed us, we can say “It is written….” and not allow Satan to have any victory over us.
We cannot have this power if we are seeking entertainment in Elvis Church, or listening to the prosperity gospel. We need to know truth and we can’t have that without the Word of God, without a saving knowledge of God and Jesus as Lord, and an effective prayer life.
This spiritual growth comes in difficult times, and even times when one is alone, it doesn’t happen during a clown ceremony or a juggling sermon.
Dear Paulie 11,
Comment # 12,,, If one believes in God,, and that one, really must come to terms with the fact if One exist, then the other must. As to does he leave any evidence, look at all the good and evil in our lives and the world, can one exist without the other, yes paulie thier is much phisical evidence, to say does he leave a calling card, well not as in the ink, but plenty spirits are abound, good and evil. He is the father of all liars, satan that is, and the more of a threat you are to bringing our Lords children to the light of salvation the more opposition you may find from Satan. And inso, that brings us to prayer, and if I find myself in devout prayer, I know my prayers are being heard, because of the peace I’m covered by his grace and love, his passion and cleansing blood and the answers are given, though you may have to listen carefully he is always thier, to be saved and reborn is to know without any doubt it all exists. When I accepted the Lord as my Lord and surrendered my Soul to Christ and God and the Kingdom of heaven I found such a profound peace, I was crying, sobbing and telling him and them how much I had missed them,and then I felt what I have come to believe the distinked feeling of the crown of salvation pressed upon my scalp, to surrended is to know, I hope so that all will find our home within the kingdom, God Bless you and every soul on the earth and heaven, B.C.
Catholics don’t worship Mary, the mother of our Lord. We honor her and pray to her for help. We try to imitate her obedience to God’s will. When St. Gabriel announced to her that she would bear a son, the Messiah, she said yes to God.
We pray to the saints and ask for their help. We try to imitate
and learn from their holy example. They put God first in their lives and many of them died for their faith. St. Peter was the
first Pope in the long line of Popes. You can research the long
list of Pope’s names on the internet.
Jesus is Lord in the Catholic faith. At Mass every Sunday we recite the Creed, the summary of our faith: ” I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary…” We receive Jesus in the Eucharist. We can receive Him every day if we attend daily Mass. What better gift could we recieve every day than Jesus Himself given to us in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? While at Mass we hear the scripture readings—the Old Testament reading, the Psalms, the New Testament reading and the Gospel. Then the priest gives a homily which furthers our understanding of the scripture readings for that particular day.
In the Catholic Church there is a great treasury of prayers to Jesus, our Lord. One of the most beautiful is the “Anima Christi”: “Soul of Christ, sanctify me, Body of Christ save me, Blood of Christ, inebriate me, Water from Christ’s side, wash me, Passion of Christ Strengthen me, O good Jesus, hear me, Within Thy wounds hide me, Suffer me not to be separated from Thee, From the malicious enemy defend me, In the hour of my death call me and bid me come unto Thee, That I may praise Thee with Thy saints and with Thy angels forever and ever. Amen.” Many Catholics pray this in the silence of their hearts after recieving the Body and Blood of our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.
I am sorry to read Ms Carol comments on ‘Catholic’. She has misunderstood ‘Catholic’. We are not only Catholic but Catholic Christians. We do not worship Mary but honour and venerate her. We honor all ‘Saints’ who gave their life for proclamation of Gospel and lived true value of christianity. We ask their intercession as how Ms Carol asks her fellow beliver to pray for her or for others. When we ask intercession through these saints and Blessed Virgin Mary, we hope our prayers are answered quickely since they are with the LORD in heaven. Sometime, we feel we are not worthy.
Let her not comment simply on Catholic but let her study Catholic doctrine and understand fully and in depth. Let her go to a priest and speak to him to know about Catholic way of workshiping GOD.
When the LORD (Gospel of John chpt 6) tells his follower “unless you eat the flesh of SON of MAN and drink his BLOOD, you will not have eternal life in you” then many of his followers are left him by sayingwho can understand these teachings? They could not diggest LORD’s words. They same thing now also when Catholic says “Eucharist” is the real body of Christ (real presence), many people do not believe and left the church and joined break-away Catholic denominations. They think it is rememberence.
Anyway, GOD Bless Ms Carol and LET HIM bring her into true knowledge of HIM.
Ms. Carol, do not critise others about what others believe and what you believe. If you critise, you will not grow with the LORD spiriturally instead pray for others. Pray for the unity of Christians all over the world so that we can effectively spread the GOSPEL all around the world.
Thanks.
F. Alva
Since when is a Catholic NOT a Christian? We are Christians 100% and Bible people, but it is up to the individual how close of a walk he/she wants to have with the Lord. It’ not the denomination that makes us, it’s our faith in Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
He is the Head of the Church, He is the Vine and we are the branches, and apart from Him we can’t do nothing.
John 15:5
Again, it is up to us how much if at all we want to be connected to the Vine.
As far as Mary goes, she is the One chosen by God the Father to be the Mother of His only Son, the One of whom it says in the Catholic/Christian Bible ” All generations will call me Blessed.” Luke 1:48. Therefore, if the Bible says it, I believe it. And that is why I venerate her and go to her when I need prayers, just as I will go to any of my brother and sister in the Lord.
May God bless us and make us ONE, in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!
P.S. Come and check out the believes of the Catholic Church, but come with open minds and heart, and I promise you that your eyes will be open and you will see Jesus as the Head and Center of the Church.
I agree that Mary should be respected and admired. She is the greatest woman who ever lived.
I also agree that the saints can serve as wonderful role models. My personal favourite is St. Augustine, for reasons I won’t get into right now.
But I think that the Catholic church has strayed by asking Mary and the saints to intercede on our behalves. The Bible makes it quite clear that Jesus – Jesus alone – is our intercessor, and amen to that.
Jesus is FAR greater than Mary, FAR greater than all the saints combined. Knowing this, why would you even NEED to ask Mary or the saints for intercession. Jesus is all you need.
He’s your God, your lord, your saviour, your comforter, your friend. He’s everything, man. Everything.
Enough with this worshipping Mary and the saints nonsense. I admire them, but the distance between admiration and worship, to me, is a huge gulf.