saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” (Matthew 27:4)
The religious Jews who had courted Judas’ favor to obtain his cooperation in arresting Jesus cared nothing for him. They simply used him. The devil’s crowd will flatter you and see that you prosper as long as they can use you, but when there is no longer anything in it for them, they will forsake you just as the chief priests did Judas.
The serpent didn’t come to Eve in the Garden threatening to bite her if she didn’t eat of the forbidden fruit. Instead, he came with deception, presenting himself as being concerned for her welfare. Satan’s greatest weapon is deceit, which is bending the truth, using half-truths, and outright lying. He will take the Word of God and twist it just a little, add to it, and eventually he will say the exact opposite of what God originally said.
Just as an athlete or military person’s success depends partly on how well they know their opponent, believers must not be ignorant of Satan’s devices [simple_tooltip content=’lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.’](2 Cor. 2:11)[/simple_tooltip]. Jesus stripped Satan of all his authority [simple_tooltip content=’And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’](Matt. 28:18)[/simple_tooltip], and the only influence Satan has over us now is deception. If he can get us to believe a lie, something that does not line up with God’s Word, he can get us to use our own power and authority against us. The thing that makes deception so deadly is that those who are deceived don’t know it. Once they realize they are deceived, they aren’t deceived any more.
The best defense against the devil’s deception is to be so Word-centered that you give no place to him. Whenever you sense the presence of evil or discern an idea or thought that might be evil, run to the Word of God to check it out. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is the truth.
