Suttle Warfare

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. Genesis 3:1

This verse not only shows the methodology of the Father of Lies, but reminds us that God made him, and then allowed him to take the form of a serpent. Since everything that God made was good, the serpent represented a fallen creature.

Imagine God letting the Evil One represent himself as a lion. Instead of being beguiling, the lion could have said, "Eat of the fruit of this tree or I will kill you!"

Could it be that subtlety (the NIV says that he was "crafty") is the most effective form of warfare?

We know that the Devil uses both forms. But it is warfare by deception that I wish to speak of now, because it is the form being used in the worldly churches.

It has long been proven that martyrdom is not an effective weapon against the true church. This was known since early Roman times. Which of two devilish forms of warfare does this leave?

Deception by subtle infiltration is the order of the day. Question, then contradict the Word, the lifeblood of the church.

It is not always easy to resist, but it is simple. If someone told you to lift a heavy weight, that would be a simple order. But it would not be easy. Frankly, we are not able to resist the devil's craftiness alone. But Jesus has showed us the way.

In Luke chapter four, Jesus resisted the Devil with the great weapon of His word. All scriptures were from one book, Deuteronomy. We can use the entire Bible. "Yea, hath God said?" may be answered by "Yea, God hath said."