Satan’s Tactics Shouldn’t Surprise You

Imagine if we had to face our tempter and accuser on our own! But we know that Christ not only stands beside us—he sends us his Spirit to dwell within us.

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As long as I can remember, I’ve heard the warnings. Reading the Goosebumps books, playing Magic: The Gathering, or even dressing up for Halloween have been presented as open doors to the demonic.

The audience watching the first episode of season 4 of Netflix’s Stranger Things is apparently familiar enough with this “fundamentalist logic” to scoff along with Eddie Munson as he reads a Newsweek article that gives into this sort of “Satanic panic”:

The Devil has come to America. Dungeons & Dragons, at first regarded as a harmless game of make-believe, now has both parents and psychologists concerned. Studies have linked violent behavior to the game, saying it promotes Satanic worship, ritual sacrifice, sodomy, suicide, and even . . . murder!

Ironically, the bad guys in each Dungeons & Dragons campaign the Stranger Things kids play are a lot like the devilish creatures that bring death, guilt, and fear to the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the show.

The Bible tells us that the real Devil and his minions can afflict humans in all sorts of extraordinary ways—some that resemble the dark side’s magnified portrayal in film and TV, others that parallel the twisted actions we see on the news. But Satan’s modus operandi is typically more mundane.

In his exposition of the sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Puritan Thomas Watson (1620–86) catalogs the ordinary ways the Devil comes against Christians. He categorizes Satan’s ordinary assaults in accordance with the two titles the Devil is given in Scripture: “the tempter” (Matt. 4:3) and “the accuser of our brothers” (Rev. 12:10).

As Watson makes clear, we don’t just need God’s grace for instances of extraordinary evil; we need his grace even when we face these everyday crafts and assaults.

Satan Tempts

“The devil lays a train of temptation to blow up the fort of our grace,” writes Watson. Satan diligently observes and takes notes. He knows your constitution, what makes you tick. Watson’s metaphor is spot-on: “As the husbandman knows what seed is proper to sow in such a soil, so Satan, finding out the temper, knows what temptations are proper to sow in such a heart.”

Observing man’s ways for millennia, the Devil knows how to induce us to stumble. Watson writes, “Satan tempts the ambitious man with a crown, the sanguine man with beauty, the covetous man with a wedge of gold.”

The Bible tells us that the real Devil and his minions can afflict humans in all sorts of extraordinary ways. But Satan’s modus operandi is typically more mundane.

Of course, the Devil’s schemes don’t always work. We’ve all had days when our self-control and determination were firing on all cylinders. He could tempt us with our greatest desire, and we’d muster the will to push back against his offers.

But Satan is diligent. He doesn’t take no for an answer. Watson writes, “He does not confine himself to one sort of temptation.” He seems to have a plot for every day, hour, and minute. If he finds one temptation doesn’t work, he has another up his sleeve, as Watson explains:

If he cannot tempt to lust, he will tempt to pride; if temptation to covetousness does not prevail, he will tempt to profuseness; if he cannot frighten men to despair, he will see if he cannot draw them to presumption. . . . He will tempt them to leave off ordinances; he will pretend revelations. Error damns as well as vice: the one pistols, the other poisons.

The Devil leaves no stone unturned when tempting believers. But he’s more than just a tempter.

Satan Accuses

Satan lies and tells us we’re not worthy to approach God, despite our justification. He reminds us that we’re sinners and God is holy, then says we shouldn’t dare approach our holy God in prayer.

He also leads us to question whether we deserve to approach the Lord’s Table. He fights to keep us away from this life-giving means of grace by drawing attention to our failures and keeping our eyes off Christ’s finished work.

Recently, I was at church, singing, “The cross has spoken, I am forgiven, the King of kings calls me his own.” These words should have moved my heart to gratitude, but as I belted them, distracting thoughts flooded my mind: Why are you part of this church plant? Do you really think you have something to contribute? You bring nothing of value here. You should just pack your bags and go to a church where you can be anonymous.

Instead of turning my gaze to Christ, my eyes turned to myself. Instead of experiencing the joy of salvation, I experienced anxiety over my shortcomings. Were these thoughts mine? It’s hard to know. But we know Satan can stir our introspective fears and magnify the insecurities we already feel in our hearts.

Watson goes on to say that Satan labors to keep us from our duties, “to take men off . . . from praying and hearing, in order to discourage them.” If he can keep you from spiritual disciplines or from stepping out in faith into new ministry opportunities by launching fiery accusations, he’ll surely empty his quiver until an accusation sticks.

So what do we do when we’re confronted by the Devil’s mundane schemes? We pray.

Pray and Know Who Stands Beside You

The early church father Cyprian tells us that when we pray for strength to resist the Devil, we’re reminded of our frailty and weakness. Praying for God’s grace to resist temptations and accusations keeps us from being proud and arrogant, for we know we can resist our Enemy only by God’s grace, not by our willpower.

So we pray, in the words of the Anglican Litany, “From all evil and mischief; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the Devil; from your wrath, and from everlasting damnation, Good Lord, deliver us.”

We pray, and he gives us grace in abundance. We acknowledge our weakness, and he provides strength. We take comfort in knowing that Christ is at our side. We find peace in knowing he’s present with us. We find grace in remembering not only that he is present but who is present.

Praying for God’s grace to resist temptations and accusations keeps us from being proud and arrogant, for we know we can resist our Enemy only by God’s grace, not by our willpower.

Satan is a devourer, but Christ is a Savior. Satan is a “strong man,” but Christ is the “Mighty God.” Satan is an accuser, but Christ is our advocate. Satan is a tempter, but Christ is a comforter. Satan is the lowly Serpent who brings death, but Christ is the Bronze Serpent lifted high who heals. As Watson writes, “The very names of Christ have some succour in them for tempted souls.” Knowing who stands beside us strengthens us when we’re beset by temptation.

The characters in Stranger Things are called to stand against evil through their own strength and ingenuity. Though they stand together, the only recourse they have is themselves. Imagine if we had to face our tempter and accuser on our own! The idea is overwhelming and leads to despair.

But Christ not only stands beside us—he sends his Spirit to dwell within us. We don’t face the Enemy on our own. The Spirit of truth reminds us of all Jesus has said (John 16:13).

He reminds us of God’s promise and that Christ has come to crush the Serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). He reminds us that Christ provides grace by interceding for us. Jesus prayed for Peter, that Peter’s faith wouldn’t fail when Satan sifted him like wheat (Luke 22:32). He prayed for his disciples, that none of them would be lost (John 17:12). To this day, he sits at the right hand of the Father pleading on your behalf. Christ prays for you. He prays that you wouldn’t be led into temptation, that you’d be delivered from the Evil One.