He will tempt you to grasp for authority (1 Tim 3:6; 3 John 1:9), to mistake harshness with good leadership (2 Tim 2:24) or selfish ambition with wisdom (James 3:14-16). He will bring about physical difficulty in order to tempt you to curse God (Job 1:1-22).
Paul told the Corinthians that he and his apostolic associates were wise to Satan’s deceptive schemes (2 Cor 2:11). The apostle knew Satan was a formidable enemy who had millennia of experience tempting and deceiving God’s image-bearers; but he also knew he had been given insight into the way his enemy operated.
Following Paul’s example, it is vital—a matter of life and death—to understand Satan’s strategies and, specifically, the ways he will tempt us to sin. Scripture gives us crucial intel of our enemy’s strategies and the content of his arsenal. Consider:
His first strategy will be to get you to doubt God’s Word (Gen 3:1).
Then he will then lure you away from fellowship (Heb 3:12-15) and away from church (Prov 18:1; Heb 10:23-24).
He will exploit your natural proclivities and tempt you to run to extremes (Matt 26:33-35).
He will tempt you to care too much for your reputation (Luke 6:26) or too little (1 Tim 3:7).
He will tempt you to prize your ministry over your family (1 Tim 3:4-5) and your personal life (1 Tim 4:16). Or he will tempt you to value your family over Christ (Luke 14:26).
He will tempt you to rely on your own resources (1 Chron 21:1; John 15:6), to avoid suffering (Matt 16:22-23), or to compromise your convictions to evade persecution (Gal 6:12).
He will tempt you with unbelief (Matt 13:19; cf. Ps 3:1) and despair (Ps 73).
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