Identifying Our Enemy

Kelsea Studebaker
Oct 28
4 min read

The military understands the importance of identifying their enemy and staying one step ahead of him so they are not destroyed by him. We too must understand our enemy so he will not outsmart us. So...

Who is our enemy? What is his purpose? What are his tactics? I answer all these questions in depth in chapter six of my book, Training Godly Warriors, but here's a little overview for you. Let's teach our children to identify him so they will not fall for his evil schemes.

Who is our enemy?

The devil/Satan – 1 Peter 5:8
The god of this world – 2 Corinthians 4:4
The father of lies – John 8:44

The devil is the false accuser and father of all lies, God's adversary, who rules this world.

What is his purpose?

To steal, kill, and destroy - John 10:10

He wants to steal our joy, rob us of our peace, kill our hope, destroy our marriages, steal our kids, and ultimately take us to hell with him. We must not let him!

What are his tactics?

Sowing seeds of doubt - one of the first tactics we see him use in Gen. 3:1 when he says to Eve, "Did God really say you must not to eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?" He knew if he could make Adam and Eve doubt God it would lead to a loss of intimacy with Him and worse.
Deception and false prophets - Matthew 7:15-20 and 1 John 4:1 warn of the dangers of false prophets and how we can recognize them by their fruits. We are also told to test the spirits to see if they are from God or not.
Compromise - we need to teach our children it's okay to compromise on preferences but we should never compromise on principles!
Idolatry - many people today make a god to suit themselves. A god who is okay with their sins. They may even claim to believe in the God of the Bible but they don't believe all the Bible says about Him to be true, therefore making up a false god who is okay with their sins. This is called idolatry.
Tolerance - this used to be defined as to agree to disagree but in today's world tolerance is just the devil's word for compromise. It has been redefined as to give equal legitimacy to other's beliefs no matter how stupid and devoid of reality they are.
A watered-down gospel message - this happens when we tell people all they need to do to be saved is believe in Jesus - but even the demons believe and shudder according to James 2:19. We have to be careful not to leave out the importance of repentance (turning from our sins) and putting our faith in Jesus as the only way to salvation. I also like how Ken Ham talks about creation evangelism and helping people understand why we have sin in this world (because of the fall of Adam and Eve sinning). God originally created the world to be perfect. Sadly, we all sin and fall short of His glorious standard (Rom. 3:23), therefore we all need a Savior and the only one who can pay our penalty is the one who never sinned, Jesus!
Knowing our weaknesses and using temptations - of course the devil will play to our weaknesses. This is why it is vital we teach our children to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) and also to stay away from those things that tempt us to sin.
Anger - gives a foothold to the devil according to Ephesians 4:27, it is also always associated with foolishness in the Proverbs.
Pride - the downfall of many kings in the Old Testament and many people today who try to be their own gods.
Peer-pressure - the Bible says, "Bad company corrupts good character" -1 Corinthians 15:33. We need to teach our children to choose their friends wisely and stay away from those who do not love the Lord and put him first.
Unforgiveness - Paul warns the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that they should forgive the man who had sinned against them, "So that Satan will not outsmart us, for we are familiar with his evil schemes." Here Paul calls unforgiveness one of the devil's evil schemes. Why? Because it can keep us from being forgiven ourselves according to Matthew 6:14-15.
Fear of man - we are often tempted to fear man but instead we should fear God alone! Matthew 10:28 says, "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
A false sense of security - see Matthew 25 and the parable of the 10 virgins. Matthew 7:21-23 states, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ We must be careful to have a genuine faith by obeying God and not just an outward show.
Busyness and distractions - can keep us from having a personal relationship with the Lord if we are not careful.
Ignorance - the devil loves it when we are ignorant of God's Word (so we are easily deceived), ignorant of God's holiness (so we do not fear him), and ignorant of sin (so we won't repent and turn to Jesus for salvation).

These are just a few of the devil's many evil schemes. As Christians, we must stay alert and on guard against him. We must also remain vigilant in prayer for God's help to resist him when he comes a prowling. Praise God He has already defeated the devil and will help us resist him too when we draw near to the Lord.

Learn more about the devil's tactics and how to combat them in my book, "Training Godly Warriors"