3 Chief Tricks Satan Uses to Deceive Men

Satan is a liar and cannot speak the truth. His chief aim is to deceive men. Jesus said that when satan lies he speaks his natural language for he is a liar and the father of lies. Satan in his self-deception and pride believed he could overthrow God. When he failed and was cast out of heaven, he vowed to destroy mankind whom God made in love to worship him.

Satan hates mankind and his goal is to take as many as he can to hell with him. Sadly he has and will succeed in deceiving many. These are those who follow him by choosing to rebel against God through disobedience, rejection, and pride. These the bible calls the sons of disobedience or the children of the devil. Not everyone is a child of God. Jesus called the Pharisees the children of the devil because they did the will of Satan.

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires” John 8:44

“in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Ephesians 2:2-3

God’s children are those who love, honor, and obey him as God. They are those who accept Jesus who himself is God and the only way to the Father. To reject Jesus is to reject God.

Satan knows his time is short

These followers of satan whom he deceives on earth with promises of power and dominion are all shocked to end up in hell upon death to be tormented by their master who deceived them. Satan loves no one and those who follow him face him and his demons in hell upon death. And the word of God tells us eventually at the last judgment, Satan, his angels, and his children will be cast into the lake of fire forever.

Do not be deceived by Satan. There is no partying in hell and there is no dominion or power in hell. Satan will laugh at you when you end up in hell for he deceived you. Upon death, judgment is cast and everyone knows Jesus was always the way. But it is too late since they rejected and despised him while on Earth when he gave them many chances. It is sad.

It says in Revelations 12:21 “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a SHORT TIME.”

Satan masquerades as an angel of light and is a master deceiver. Remember that his deceits are as many as there are people. He knows he cannot use the same methods to deceive all. But his chief aim with all his trickery is to turn men away from salvation and away from the love of God the Father. His chief aim is to make men like he is, disobedient, rejectors, and haters of God.

Here are the 3 main ways Satan uses to deceive men:

1. Deception

Satan’s greatest work is deception. He did this from the beginning with Adam and Eve. This he does in various ways but the goal is to turn men to sin, self-worship, and devil worship consciously or unconsciously. This he will do by:
> Convincing men that God does not exist
> Convincing men that Satan and hell do not exist
> Convincing men that sin does not exist so as to justify sin
> Deceiving men into false doctrines and false spirituality which deny the supremacy of Jesus Christ through false visions, doctrines, and insights. All these things God calls witchcraft because it is the worship of false gods and idols. Jesus is the only way to the Father. Jesus is God.

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden.” Genesis 3:1

2. Ignorance

Satan will also use ignorance to deceive people. It is the truth that sets us free and the truth is found through our relationship with Jesus and God’s word, the holy Bible. The devil will use ignorance by making mankind lukewarm, indifferent, and without any desire to seek after God. If they confess to being followers of Jesus he will tempt them with indifference and lukewarmness. Ignorance is a form of self-deception. The ways in which ignorance is cultivated are:
> Never reading God’s word
> Never pray
> Never seek to know God
> Bad company
> Disconnection from God-loving people

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” 2 Corinthians 2:11

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” 1 Peter 5:8

3. Temptation- Sin and Rebellion

God is holy and cannot stand sin and satan knows this. He is the tempter, always placing temptations before men as he did with our first parents, Adam and Eve. His goal is to turn us from God by turning us to the deceitfulness of sin, lust, and pleasure. Satan knows the power of sin leads to rebellion. And so he will deceive a man in areas he is weak to cause him to sin against God by seeking the pleasures of sin instead of the pleasures of union with God.

Sin separates us from God. Unrepentant and willful sin leads to rebellion. Rebellion leaves us exposed and easy targets for deception.

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21

How can we resist Satan?

1. Ask God to deliver us from evil and temptation

If we ask God to keep us from the evil one, he will and will guide our steps in the paths of righteousness.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” Matthew 6:13

2. Stay vigilant and steadfast in faith

We must stay vigilant because the devil is cunning. This means, always watching ourselves and making an effort to stay rooted in our faith by studying God’s word which is a lamp to our feet. Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:13). The bible calls the word of God the sword of the spirit (Ephesians 6:17). With the word we can fight off and resist the devil as our Lord Jesus did in the wilderness. Jesus countered all of satan’s temptations by declaring to him, “It is written…” truth overcomes the devil.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

3. Abide in Jesus and Obey him

If we remain close to Jesus, fellowshipping with him and in friendship with him, his Spirit in us will keep us from deception and sin. He promises if we abide in him, he will abide in us and make his home in us. To abide in him is to keep his commandments and obey him. If we become the temple of God, then the devil cannot make his home in us.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” Jesus, John 15:4

“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” Galatians 5:16

“Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” Revelations 12:10-11

Taking refuge in the blood of Jesus which was shed for our sins and testifying of our salvation through our life and confession overcomes the devil.