Styles of Teaching

The Devil

1. HIS ABILITY
1. His Creation
1. He was created perfect in the beginning (Ezekiel 28:15Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
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2. He was "the anointed cherub that covereth" (Ezekiel 28:14Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
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3. He was said to be full of wisdom (Ezekiel 28:12Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
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4. He was possibly the most powerful of God’s creation (Jude 1:9Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
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2. His Power
1. He led in the fall of mankind (Genesis 3:1-6 [1] Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? [2] And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: [3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. [4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. [6] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
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2. He got into the heart of Judas Iscariot (John 13:2And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
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3. Believers must be fully armed to withstand his wiles (Ephesians 6:11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
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4. He takes some captive at his own will (2 Timothy 2:26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
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5. He is as dangerous as a lion (1 Peter 5:8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
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6. Consider his influence in the cults and false religions of the world and you will find that he has far more converts than we could even wish for.
2. HIS STYLE
1. Asking Questions
1. The first question of the Bible was asked by the Devil (Genesis 3:1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
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2. The Devil used a question to get his agenda across with Adam and Eve.
3. This does not necessarily mean that this is a bad approach; as a matter of fact, the Lord often uses the same approach.
4. Asking questions can actually bring the hearers into agreement with you without having to convince them that you are right.
2. Explaining Gain
1. The Devil does not give all of the negative details, but he does give his hearers reasons why they should follow his plan.
1. He told Eve that she would become as a god, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
   See All...). Notice that he was able to convince Eve to eat without even telling her to do so.
2. He told the Lord that He could gain all of the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 4:8-9 [8] Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; [9] And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
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2. This again does not necessarily mean that this is a bad approach. The Lord uses this approach and we are admonished to use it as well (1 Corinthians 9:24-25 [24] Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. [25] And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
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3. Perhaps one reason why we struggle to get people to follow our teaching is because we do not show them enough of the benefit of obedience.
3. Appealing to the Desire of the Hearer
1. Satan appealed to Eve’s desire and that is how he deceived her (Genesis 3:5-6 [5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. [6] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
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2. Satan attempted to appeal to a desire of the Lord during the temptation of Christ (Matthew 4:2-3 [2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. [3] And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
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3. As teachers we must appeal to the desire of the students. Do they desire peace? Do they desire hope? Do they desire fellowship with God? Do they desire blessings?
4. Manipulating Context
1. The Devil knows scripture (Luke 4:9-10 [9] And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: [10] For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
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2. The Devil, however, is willing to take verses out of context or ignore some context (Luke 4:9-10 [9] And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: [10] For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
   See All...; Psalm 91:11-13 [11] For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. [12] They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. [13] Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
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3. As teachers of God’s word, we must be careful to always be honest in our approach to the study and teaching of God’s word. This means that we teach the Bible in its context.
3. HIS PURPOSE
1. To Yield Doubt
1. Satan brought doubt into the mind and heart of Eve (Genesis 3:1-5 [1] Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? [2] And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: [3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. [4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
   See All...).
2. Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
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3. Any teacher that leaves the students doubting any part of God’s word is doing the work of Satan.
2. Self Gain
1. Satan always strives to convince people based on his own personal gain.
2. The mainline Christian teachers of our day are teaching a great deal more for personal gain than for eternal rewards.
3. As teachers we must make sure that our purpose for teaching is correct. We should never twist the scriptures for our gain. Even when teaching sound biblical truths, we ought to make sure that our motive is right.