enemy tactics in spiritual warfare

Enemy Tactics

The devil uses many tactics to accomplish his mission. Recognizing these tactics will help us fight spiritual warfare. Click on the following shortcuts to learn more about each tactic:

Deceive by tempting with pride and knowledge
Oppose the Gospel of Christ
Steal, Kill and Destroy
Tempt through lust of eyes and lust of flesh
Use idle words to cause strife, division and destruction
Use trickery to ensnare
Deceive by veiling the mind from truth
Weaken faith in God

Deceive by tempting with pride of life and knowledge:

Question-lie-entice: Satan first used this tactic on Eve in Eden (Genesis 3:1-6). He asked her what God had told her. He then planted a lie which caused doubt, and appealed to her desire for god-like knowledge. She subsequently decided to sin.
Inflate spiritual pride (2 Corinthians 11:12-13)
Use false visions and flattering divinations to deceive (Ezekiel 12:24)
Lead astray through theological or philosophical arguments (1 Timothy 6:20)
Obsess with arguments over words, producing envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless bickering (1 Timothy 6:3-5)
Teach false doctrine that heeds lies and causes disputes rather than godly edification (1 Timothy 1:4)
Use deceiving spirits and doctrines to lead false prophets to speak lies, searing their own conscience (1 Timothy 4:1-2)
Deceive by philosophyor religious tradition, according to worldly principles and not according to Christ (Colossians 2:8)

Oppose the Gospel of Christ

Use violence to stop the preaching of the Gospel (Acts 14:5)
Hinder efforts to edify body of Christ: Satan hindered Paul twice from visiting the church at Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 2:18).
Infiltrate and corrupt the body of Christ (Matthew 13:24-30,37-42)
Poison the heart against the Gospel (Acts 14:2)
Corrupt the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3)

Steal, Kill and Destroy

Use people to do evil, then destroy them (Matthew 27:3-6)
Satan is a liar and murderer and leads people to lie and murder (John 8:37-44, Luke 22:2-4)
Mock and treat cruelly (Matthew 27:27-31, 39-44)
Plant seeds of destruction through bitter root judgments, unforgiveness, trauma, etc… (Deuteronomy 29:18, Hebrews 12:15, James 3:14)
Poison the heart with bitterness (Acts 8:23)
Steal the simplicity of the Gospel and replace with deceptive philosophy (Colossians 2:8)
Destroy people's faith and devotion to God (Job 1:9-12, 2:1-7)
Destroy our fulfillment of God's mission for our lives (Matthew 16:22-24)
Steal the Word out of the heart, preventing people from believing and being saved (Matthew 13:19, Luke 8:12)
Destroy families through idle talk and false teaching (Titus 1:10-11)
Destroy reputations through gossip (1 Timothy 1:6)
Use jealousy, selfish ambition or arrogance to open a door to confusion and every sort of evil (James 3:14-16, 2 Timothy 2:16)
Promote evil speaking, which defiles the whole body and enflames man's evil nature (James 3:5-11)
Use unbelief to introduce speculation, lies, idolatry, lust, degrading passion, perversion, a depraved mindset and then every form of evil after that (Romans 1:18-32).

Tempt through lust of eyes and lust of flesh

Tempt new Christians before they "take root" (1 Thessalonians 3:5; Luke 8:13)
Choke the word so it becomes unfruitful through deceitfulness of riches, desires for other things and cares of this world (Mark 4:19; Matthew 13:22)
Tempt through the love of money, causing people to fall into lusts which drown people in destruction and sin (1 Timothy 6:9-10, Acts 5:3)
Creep up, capture through deceit, lead away through lusts, blind to truth (2 Timothy 3:6-7, Acts 20:30)
Tempt by pride of position for comfort or gain; Satan (through Peter) tempted Jesus to avoid suffering and death on account of his position as God (Matthew 16:22-23)
Tempt with personal gain to get a person to carry out evil plans (Matthew 26:15-16)
Appeal to our sensual desires and use them to wage war against us (James 1:13-15, Acts 20:30,James 4:1).

Use trickery to ensnare

Trap in one’s own words (Matthew 22:15)
Use trickery to lay a snare to kill (Matthew 26:3-5, Psalm 119:110, Psalm 140:5, Psalm 141:9, Proverbs 7:22-24)
Cloak attacks or snares with secrecy (Matthew 26:3-5, Psalm 64:5, Psalm 142:3)
Justify evil deeds and mock true justice by using false testimony (Matthew 26:59-61)

Deceive by veiling the mind from truth

Cast a blinding veil on the minds of the unsaved from the light of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

Blind the eyes with evil - numb the conscience (1 John 2:11)

Corrupt the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3)

Masquerade as a minister of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:12-15)

Propagate false doctrine to overthrow faith (2 Timothy 2:17-18)

Teach false doctrine that heeds lies and causes disputes rather than godly edification (1 Timothy 1:4)

Use false doctrine to ensnare in religious methodology (Hebrews 13:9, Colossians 2:8)

Misinterpret scripture (twist) to lead the unstable astray (2 Peter 3:16)

Confuse truth through false teachings and idle talk (1 Timothy 6:20)

Promote lies as truth by power, signs, lying wonders and unrighteous deception (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)

Use deceiving spirits and doctrines to lead false prophets to speak lies, searing their own conscience (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

Speak perverse things to draw away the disciples of Christ (Acts 20:30)

Blind senses and conscience through false teachers, then commission the people to do the devil's will (2 Timothy 2:26)

Use tumult and confusion to obstruct truth (Acts 21:34)

Corrupt truth through bribery (Matthew 27:11-15)

Weaken faith in God

Plant doubt (pose question, suggest erroneous answers): Satan in Eden (Genesis 3:1-4); Eliphaz’s night visitation (Job 4:17-21); Satan tempting Jesus (Luke 4:3,7,9)

Promote doubt of the goodness and sufficiency of God's provision (Genesis 3:4-6; Proverbs 5:15-20, Jeremiah 44:16-19, Exodus 16:2-3)

Tempt to sin, then use condemnation to cut off person from God

Weaken new Christians through tribulation or persecution (Matthew 13:20-21)

Throw Christians into prison to test them (Revelation 2:10)

Promote fear, embarrassment and shame for those who are or desire to stand up for Christ – Peter’s denial of Christ (Matthew 26:69-75)

Use persecution to promote fear of falling into hands of the wicked; cause doubt in God's deliverance and protection

Appeal to rational thinking, i.e. that the visible world is reality and the invisible world is myth

Test faith with trials (James 1:2-3, Job 1:9-12, 2:1-7)

Example: King Sennacherib of Assyria taunted King Hezekiah and ridiculed God in 2 Kings 19. He attempted to destroy the people's faith in God by telling them that God would not save them. Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and the Lord delivered Jerusalem by sending an angel against the Assyrian army and causing Sennacherib's assassination.

Please refer to my Spiritual Warfare Bible Study for more info on the topics covered in this page.

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