Matthew 4:3
“And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”
One of the keys to winning any war is to know the movements of your enemy. If you know the movements of the enemy and their tactics, then you have a better chance of defeating them. The enemy of the Christian is Satan. Our enemy is not the authority or the person who attacks us. Our enemy is not the person who commits the sin. Our enemy is the Devil himself. There are four key tactics that the Devil commonly uses to destroy the Christian.
First, he uses temptation to destroy the Christian. In the verse above, Satan is called the “tempter.” He tried to tempt Jesus in three different areas. We know that Jesus had no weaknesses, so Satan tempted Jesus in His strengths. We oftentimes think that Satan tempts us in the areas where we are weak, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t have to tempt us in our weak areas because those areas will tempt us on their own. He goes after our strengths. He continually tempts us where we are the strongest so that if we fall in those areas it brings the greatest damage to the cause of Christ. This is why you will be surprised when you hear of someone who fell in the very area where they seemed to be the strongest. Christian, if you are going to win in the battle of life, then you must beware of Satan tempting you in your areas of strength.
Second, Satan uses deceit to destroy the Christian. 1 Timothy 2:14 shows us that Eve was deceived by Satan. The only way we can be destroyed by deceit is when we take our eyes off Christ and place them on people or institutions. Satan will promise you many things, but he never follows through with his promises. Whenever you are given an opportunity, always check the Scriptures to be sure that what you are offered is true. The Scriptures are your final authority, and if you trust them, you will never be deceived.
Third, Satan uses lies to destroy the Christian. John 8:44 shows us that Satan is the father of lies. He will always tempt you to live or tell a lie. It is so easy to start telling lies when the truth is not convenient. You must always remember that telling a lie is never right no matter what the lie will do. You may think that telling a lie will keep you from hurting someone, but lies always hurt. Moreover, living a lie will hurt you. Living a life of transparency is always the answer to overcoming the double life. If you live right, you have nothing to hide or lie about.
Fourth, Satan uses hate to destroy the Christian. Matthew 13:39 calls Satan the “enemy.” The word “enemy” is the same word we use for hating. In other words, Satan will do all he can to tempt you to become hateful. He oftentimes uses the hurts of life to cause you to become hateful towards others. You have to be careful that you don’t allow the hurts from the past to cause you to become hateful toward those you are supposed to help. Always remember that broken people hurt you. If broken people get fixed, they will stop hurting people.
Satan uses these four tactics for one reason, so that the Christian loses their credibility with the lost. Christians are supposed to help people, and the only thing that will keep us from helping them is if we lose our credibility with them. Beware of these four tactics and always remember that Satan will use them in the areas where you are the strongest.