Purify Your Mind Series (Part 1) by Joe KirbySample

Satan's Three Secret Weapons

Satan, who runs the world’s system, has three secret weapons: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Every time he attacks, he uses one of these to tempt us to sin.

We see this so clearly when the serpent tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. The fruit of the tree was “good for food,” appealing to the flesh’s desire for luxury; it was “pleasant to the eyes,” appealing to the eyes’ desire to fixate on beauty; and the fruit of the tree would “make one wise,” appealing to the pride of man to be seen as knowledgeable (Gen. 3:6).

We see the exact same pattern when the Devil tempted Christ in the wilderness. Satan said, “Command that these stones become bread” (Matt. 4:3), appealing to the flesh. Jesus was hungry during His fast, but He had a greater mission than satisfying the flesh. Satan showed Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (4:8), appealing to the eyes and the desire we have to own beautiful things. Satan also tempted Jesus into a prideful demonstration of His power (see 4:6) and baited Him with, “If you are the Son of God” (4:3, 6), appealing to the prideful desire in human nature to protect one’s reputation.

One good thing about Satan’s strategy is it’s predictable. So spend some time today thinking about how you might be tempted by one of these three strategies.