Home Pastors Articles for Pastors 20 Ways Satan May Seek to Destroy You

20 Ways Satan May Seek to Destroy You

10. He may smite you with physical disease (Luke 13:16; Job 2:7).

11. He may murder you (Ps 106:37; Jn 8:44).

12. He may sow tares [counterfeit Christians, sons of the evil one] within your assembly of believers in order to deceive and create disunity (Mt 13:38-39; 2 Cor 11:13-15).

13. He may lead you toward theological compromise by causing you to be friendly to false doctrine and its teachers (1 Tim 4:1-3).

14. He may persecute you for your godliness (Rev 2:10).

15. He may tempt you to do evil (Matt 4:1; 1 Thess 3:5).

16. He is—at this moment—prowling about seeking to capture and destroy you, chiefly through pride (1 Pet 5:6-8).

17. He will most assuredly slander you before God in heaven (Rev 12:10).

18. He may ask God for permission to sift you out for concentrated attack and temptation (Luke 22:31).

19. He may use the power of suggestion to move you away from the will of God (Matt 16:21-23).

20. He may try to cripple your effectiveness through confusion, discouragement and despair (2 Cor 4:8-9).

How can you stand firm and resist the devil so that he will flee? The Bible exhorts believers to war against the enemy of faith by not remaining ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor 2:11); by submitting to God (Jas 4:7), being sober and alert and resistant to him (Eph 4:27; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8), and by not speaking lightly of him (Jude 8; 2 Pet 2:10).

5 Defensive Pieces of Armor and 2 Offensive Weapons: We must put on the armor of God, which includes the defensive weapons of truth, righteousness, gospel proclamation, faith and salvation. We must also employ the offensive weapons of the sword of Scripture and prayer (Eph 6:11-18). These are the only means by which we may firmly stand against the devil. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Eph 6:12).

[The above list makes a great personal Bible study or the basis for small group discussion.]

Grow in your understanding of Bible-based discipleship: Counseling One Another: A Theology of Interpersonal Discipleship

Other recommended resources:

• [Added, January 2016] Good News About Satan (excellent little book)

• The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare Cumberland Valley Books or Reformation Heritage Books or Amazon (also available in Kindle version).  

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Dr. Paul Tautges serves as senior pastor at Cornerstone Community Church in Cleveland, Ohio, having previously pastored in Wisconsin for 22 years. Paul has authored eight books including Counseling One Another, Brass Heavens, and Comfort the Grieving, and contributed chapters to two volumes produced by the Biblical Counseling Coalition. He is also the consulting editor of the LifeLine Mini-Book series from Shepherd Press. Paul is a teaching fellow Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). He and his wife, Karen, are the parents of ten children (three married), and have two grandchildren. Paul enjoys writing as a means of cultivating discipleship among believers and, therefore, blogs regularly at Counseling One Another.