Acts 13:10 —“And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
Here Paul is rebuking Elymas the sorcerer as he attempted to dissuade Sergius Paulus, a Deputy of the Country, from believing on Christ. In Paul’s rebuke we can see clearly the methods of the enemy, and thereby discern the enemies because the use these tactics.
First, the enemies of God are subtle. Their methods are, by design, sly and cunning in the hope of keeping their schemes undetected and effective. The Word of God warns us to be wary of those things done in secret, because the things of God are by nature open and inviting.
Second, the enemies of God are mischievous. They intentionally seek to cause harm. Whereas God’s people are always looking to restore, repair, and mend; the enemy seeks to bring down and destroy.
Third, the enemies of God are perverse and perverters. They wish to detract others from the ways of God by contaminating God’s Word and replacing God’s people with counterfeits meat to keep them blind in false doctrines.
The devil is crafty and ever rebranding and reshaping his tactics, but these three motives will be present in anything that he does. When confronted with something new, as children of God we always should ask the question, “What’s the goal behind this?”
If the answer is to discreetly promote a change, to alter the truth of God’s Word, or to divide/harm the people of God then it is a plot of the enemy.
We must ever stand guard against the wiles of the devil. Sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves of how he operates.
Your fellowservant in Christ,
Bro. Jordan Foster
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