Satan loves twisting Scripture to tempt our selfish desires.
His success is dependent on our lack of Scripture knowledge.
He'll encourage us to live worldly lives by emphasizing Ephesians 2:8-9 and telling us “works” is a dirty word. (See Works is Not a Dirty Word)
He'll hope we don't read the very next verse, Ephesians 2:10, that says we're created for good works.
If he wants us to hang out with bad influences, he'll remind us that Christ met with unsavory characters (Mark 2:13-17).
He’ll leave off the part that Christ always confronted sinners when He was with them and "hung out” mostly with His disciples (e.g. John 5:14). Satan won't mention Scriptures about avoiding bad influences (1 Corinthians 15:33; 4 Types of People to Avoid).
Satan tempts us by sharing part of the truth and manipulating our selfish desires.
So how do we overcome Satan’s temptations? We study all of Scripture, accept all of Scripture (2 Timothy 2:15), and deny selfish desires (Matthew 16:24).
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These devotions also address this subject:
Half-Truths
3 Keys to Defeating Satan - Strike First
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Bible Love Notes
Amen, we can often quote one verse, but have no clue about the context.
ReplyDeletethgank you, may our God Bless you all
ReplyDeletefor marjaverschoor-Meijers I have seen God's word butched by some who know better. For my own protection, & cause of our Christ filled Pastor who tells us to prove evwn his words by scripture, I always check a verse or so before & after what was quoted to me. Many times it makes the point clearer. God said things best. Too bad man doesn't accept that!
ReplyDeleteThis just re - emphasizes the importance of reading, AT LEAST, the verse(s) before AND AFTER the target verse to ascertain the correct context and intent of the verse in question. Good stuff. Thanks again for all you do!!
ReplyDeleteGreat reminders! It's so important to keep the whole Bible in mind when reading it. :)
ReplyDelete