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Warnings About the Devil

Here are a few warnings about the devil. The first is from the Lord Jesus in John 8.
“Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:39-47)
The key words: “He spoke out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Our Enemy is a liar. He cannot speak the truth. The nature of a liar is to sound like the truth. The false prophet does not say, “I am a false prophet; don’t listen to me.” He is incapable of saying that. He will always say that he is telling the truth. Occasionally, you will hear someone say, “I am telling the truth.” That is nice to hear, but it does not mean he is telling the truth. The devil is a liar. He tells lies that sound like the truth.

“We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).

The second warning comes from Paul in Ephesians:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph. 6:10-17)
The key words are “the devil’s schemes.”

The third warning is from 2 Corinthians 11:3: “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” The key word is that the serpent is described as cunning.

Three warning: lying, scheming, and cunning.

In contrast, when the Scripture speaks of Jesus, it speaks of the simplicity that is in Christ. Jesus also says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

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