Satan’s Two-Pronged Attack

The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
–2 Corinthians 4:4

Satan is trying to build a rival kingdom that will one day defeat the kingdom of God. What is his ultimate strategy? The first prong of his attack is to blind unbelievers to God’s offer of salvation. Anyone who has not personally trusted in Christ as Savior is a part of Satan’s kingdom. It is not just Satan worshipers. It is that work associate who sits across from you every morning. It is that churchgoer who has never personally trusted in Christ as Savior. It is that child or grandchild you look at every morning across the breakfast table. Satan has control of their life, and most importantly, he has control of their eternal future. We have to be involved in God’s plan to rescue them out of the kingdom of darkness to become a part of God’s kingdom of light.

But know this: Satan is going to do everything he can to minimize his losses, to hold on to those people who are already a part of his kingdom. How does he do that? In 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, Paul said, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Have you ever tried to share the gospel with somebody and they say, “I just don’t understand it”? They are telling you the truth. Satan has blinded their eyes so they cannot see the truth of the gospel. When you share with somebody the truth of the gospel, you are fighting against the powers of hell itself. Satan does not want them to hear about the only way they can be saved.

But there is a second prong in Satan’s attack, and that is persuading believers that we are still under Satan’s control. And he does it in a very crafty way. He says, “Yes, you are saved, but you still have this sin nature inside of you. You will never be free from sin until you get to heaven one day!” That is a lie out of the pit of hell. If you are a Christian, sin has no more control over your life than you choose to allow it to have. The Holy Spirit is in your life right now, giving you the power to say no to sin and yes to God. But Satan does not want you to discover that truth. He wants you to think you are still under his control. Why? He wants to rob you of the joy that comes from being in a right relationship with God. He wants to rob you of the benefits that accrue to you in this life from following God. He wants to rob you of the influence that you have in expanding the kingdom of God. He wants to rob you of the eternal rewards that can be yours for obedience to God. Jesus got it right about Satan when He said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” That is why we need to know our adversary’s plan–so that we can stand firm against his lies and attacks in our lives.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “War Of The Worlds” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2010.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.