The Devices of Satan

There are many people who do not believe the Bible. Some do not even believe in God at all. When you ask why, they usually have reasons—sometimes even sounding convincing. But no matter what reason they give, it isn’t the real root of their unbelief. Those arguments are only surface-level. The true issue runs deeper.

Here are some of the common objections people raise:

God seems unrighteous – They misunderstand the Bible and accuse God of evil, pointing to slavery, judgment, or gender roles.

The Bible seems outdated – They argue it was written only for ancient people, not for today. Basically they are saying we don’t need the God of the Bible because He was only God yesterday, not today.

God seems inactive – Since they don’t see miracles or answered prayers in their own lives, they assume God must not be real.

They trust their own wisdom – Often tied to atheism, they say science has “proven” the Bible false.

They see supposed contradictions – They aren’t able to connect the dots properly in scripture. This leaves them confused. Therefore, they dismiss the Bible as unreliable.

They distrust transmission – Because the Bible has been copied and translated many times, they assume it must be corrupted.

These are just a few examples, but there are many more. Yet all of them are nothing more than distractions. If Satan wants to hide the truth like a needle in a haystack, it makes sense that he would pile on as much hay as possible.

Strong Delusion

Paul explains this clearly:

Each of those “reasons” I listed above is nothing more than a lie of Satan, sometimes reinforced with what look like powerful proofs. But they are not true. The ones who are deceived are those who “did not receive the love of the truth.”

But why would God send strong delusion? Notice carefully—God does not force people into unbelief. Their own unrighteousness makes them deceivable. Because they love sin more than truth, God allows them to chase after the lie. He lets them find reasons to believe it because that is what they are looking for anyway.

As Paul continues:

The real problem is not the morality of God, the trustworthiness of the Bible, the lack of evidence, or any other objection you will hear — it is lack of love for the truth.

When we look at the current state of the world it is clear there is an overwhelming amount of delusional people in it. It all came from one root source. One person tricked the world into loving a lie more than the truth. Satan has blinded the world.

The Devices of Satan

If we want to understand those devices, we must go back to the beginning—Eden—when Satan first tempted mankind. It is our first introduction to Satan.

From this story, and others throughout scripture, we can see a pattern Satan always uses.

1. Subtlety

Satan never comes with horns and a pitchfork. He comes as a friend. He whispers softly, twisting words just enough to plant doubt. He distracts you with one hand while striking with the other. His subtle approach makes God look like the villain while Satan plays the part of the kind alternative. Many fall for this disguise without even realizing it.

2. Ignorance

If you don’t know God’s Word, how can you stand against Satan? He tells people the Bible is full of contradictions or errors, and the ignorant believe him. For example, skeptics say Cain could not have had a wife since Adam and Eve only had two sons. But scripture also tells us Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters. Satan preys on gaps in knowledge. This is why we must not remain ignorant of the Word—or of his lies.

3. Doubt

Here Satan called God a liar. He planted a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind: Maybe God was wrong. Maybe it won’t be so bad. Doubt often begins small, but if it is left unchecked it grows. People doubt the Bible because men copied it, or because science supposedly disproves it. But the real problem isn’t doubt itself—it’s failing to seek answers. If you let questions linger, Satan will turn them into unbelief.

4. Pride

This is where Satan uses our own pride. We think we know better than God. We judge Him as unfair or outdated. We lean on our own understanding and declare what is right or wrong. Pride blinds us and keeps us from listening to God—or to anyone else who might correct us.

5. Pleasure in Sin

Sin always looks good at first. It seems pleasant, even desirable. But it brings death. Many people know the truth of God’s Word, but they refuse to repent because they love sin too much. They think they will repent later, but sin holds them tighter and tighter until it is too late.

6. Fear and Guilt

Once people fall into sin, Satan uses guilt to drive them further away from God. He whispers that they cannot be forgiven, that they should hide, that God is only a judge and never a redeemer. Fear keeps them from the very One who can save them.

The Pattern of Attack

This same pattern shows up again in Matthew 4, when Jesus was tempted:

Subtlety – Satan approached as if he cared for Jesus’ hunger: “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”

Ignorance – He twisted scripture itself: “It is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee…”

Doubt – He suggested God would not care for Jesus, tempting Him to put God to the test.

Pride and pleasure – Finally, Satan offered Him all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship.

The only tactic he could not use was guilt—because Jesus was sinless.

This is the same battle we face today. Satan has not changed his strategy. His devices are the same: subtlety, ignorance, doubt, pride, pleasure, and guilt. We must not be ignorant of them.

We must not be ignorant of these devices. If we recognize the pattern, we will not be caught off guard. In the next study, we will look at how to overcome these attacks and stand strong in Christ.

Unit 3:16 – Overcoming the Devices of Satan OR

Return To Christianity 101 Unit 3 To Review What You Have Gone Over