Who is this serpent?
Revelation 12:9 “The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan.”
Adam and Eve were face to face with Satan.
We don’t know if this was merely an appearance of a serpent or a real serpent possessed by Satan. The passage only tells us he is crafty (cunning, shrewd, sensible) and created by God. We don’t know how it’s possible for a serpent to communicate and reason with Eve; she didn’t seem surprised. Scripture doesn’t explain these things, so I won’t take time to speculate. It’s ok not to know everything! Only God is all-knowing! It keeps us humble.
Many people don’t believe there is a Satan, like one little boy…
Two 6 year olds struggled with the problem of the existence of the devil. One boy said, "Oh, there isn't any devil." The other, rather upset, said, "What do you mean, there isn't any devil? It talks about him all the way through the Bible!" the first replied, "Oh that's not true. It's just like Santa Clause, the devil turns out to be your dad."
The Bible does indeed talk about Satan, and it’s not your dad! If God saw fit to include teaching about the devil in his Holy Word, we ought not ignore it.
Two Biblical truths I would like to remind us of:
God is truth; there are no lies in him
Satan is a liar; there is no truth in him
There are only two camps in this world: God’s or Satan’s.
1 John 5:19 “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
1 John 3:8-10 “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother.”
Jesus said, “He who is not with me is against me.” (Luke 11:23)
You are either walking in God’s truth or Satan’s lies.
God is truth; there are no lies in Him
Hebrews 6:18 “…it is impossible for God to lie.”
Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
2 Samuel 7:28 “O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy…”
Titus 1:1-3 “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness – a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.”
John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
1 John 2:20-21 “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.”
Satan is a liar; there is no truth in him
I’ve come across people who get too cocky when dealing with the devil. “I’m gonna be the devil’s worst nightmare!” Jude warns us…
Jude 1:8-9 “In the same way, these dreamers (false teachers who have slipped into the church) pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’”
When I call Satan a liar I am only quoting our Lord Jesus from John 8:
John 8:42-44 “Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he 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 desire. 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.
2 Corinthians 11:13-14 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
He accuses
Zechariah 3:1 “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing on his right side to accuse him.”
Revelation 12:10 “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.’”
He blinds unbelievers to the truth
2 Corinthians 4:4 “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
He seeks to draw believers away from the truth
2 Corinthians 11:2-3 “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 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.”
Remember, we’re either walking in God’s truth or Satan’s lies.
The serpent planted doubt in Eve’s mind: “Did God really say…”
Eve affirms the truth God told them: "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
Serpent: “You will not surely die.” Satan, the liar.
So Adam and Eve were faced with a fork in the road: walk in God’s truth by being obedient or walk in Satan’s lies by being disobedient. Our journey of life boils down to a series of forks in the road – walk in God’s truth or walk in Satan’s lies. It’s that simple. I understand it’s not always so easy, but the choice is simple.
Paul puts it this way in Romans 1:25 “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen.”
Result of walking in Satan’s lies: Dead in your transgressions
Ephesians 2:1-2 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”
Remember what God told Adam?
Genesis 2:16-17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’”
God is truth; there are no lies in him. This means his warnings are always accurate. And it also means his promises are always fulfilled.
Satan is still at work today, but because of the Word of God and the Spirit of God, “we are not unaware of his schemes (thoughts, purposes).”
1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…”
James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
When dealing with Satan, Scripture always tells us to stand firm. Don’t run away, stand firm. Why? Because Satan is attacking your foundation of truth by feeding your mind with doubts and lies. Stand firm on the truth of God!
We’re not defenseless.
Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes (craftiness, deceit, wiles).
Ephesians 6:13 “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.”
Belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (the word of God).
Is the father of lies messing with your mind? Do you struggle with doubts? Are you walking in God’s truth or Satan’s lies?
Close with 2 Corinthians 10:1-5.
