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| Q: | How does Satan work to decieve us nowadays and lead us to fall into the trap? In the garden he took the form of a snake (visible), but we don't see or hear him even though people say "The devil made me do it"! How does he tempt us into the sins of gambling, pornography,etc? For instance: In Las Vegas sin is camoflauged with lights and glamour. People even say it's a family fun destination. But is it really? The Bible says that Satan roams the earth looking for souls to devour. Just what are his tricks? | ||||||
| A: | "There is nothing new under the sun" is how Solomon put it in Ecclesiates. This also applies to Satan's temptations. He rarely thinks up something new. Rather he recycles his temptations over and over again. They may at times come in new wrappers. But inside one finds the same temptation. Therefore the best way to see how he tempts people in the present is to see how he has done this in the past. Scripture gives us many examples. In the first temptation Satan planted doubt in the minds of Adam and Eve. He raised the question, "Did God really say . . . ?" This is a temptation that the devil mass produces at his recycling plant day after day. Did God really say that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world? Did God really say he created the universe in six normal days? Did God really say that living together outside of marriage is a sin? Did God really say that sexual intercourse before marriage or outside of marriage is all that wrong? Did God really say that having critical thoughts about others is against his law? Did God really say that having hatred in the heart for someone else breaks his commands? In many ways the devil plants the seeds of doubt. And from these seeds of doubt grow the stalks of sin. Satan also knows our weak spots--that particular sin that appeals to our sinful hearts. For Judas Iscariot it was money. The Bible specifically says that Satan entered Judas' heart and tempted him to betray Jesus for thirty silver coins. Perhaps greed for more money or gambling is a temptation we struggle against. Or maybe it is uncontrolled anger, or wishing we were married to someone else, or envy for the lives and possessions of others. The devil knows our weaks spots and does all he can to exploit them. Another tactic of the devil is to lead us to despair over our sins. Once again we look at the example of Judas Iscariot. When the bag of money didn't give him the joy he hoped it would, Judas took it back. Then the devil changed his approach. He knew that money was not Judas' weak spot at the moment; it was despairing over the guilt of his sin. The devil convinced Judas that his sin was so great it couldn't be forgiven. He accused him of his sin. This feeling of hopeless despair led Judas to take his own life. The more we study the way the devil tempted people in Bible times, we more we will see how he tempts people in present times. As far as resisting those temptations, we cannot only take comfort in knowing Jesus defeated the devil for us. He also gives us an example on how to resist these temptations. When Jesus faced Satan's temptations, he resisted with God's Word. Satan could do nothing but walk away defeated. | ||||||
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