What can protect us from being deceived by Satan?

Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44). He lied to Eve when he told her that if she ate of the forbidden fruit, “You shall not surely die.” Eve was deceived by Satan and the consequences of her sin, and that of Adam, her husband, were devastating (Genesis 3:1-19; 1 Timothy 2:14). They knew God’s word but they did not obey it. It is not enough to know the truth; we must obey the truth. That’s why Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples” (John 8:31). In his discussion with the Jewish leaders who rejected him, Jesus said that they were “slaves to sin” because “his word found no place in them” and “they would not hear his words” (John 8:34-37, 43). He said, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God” (8:47). Knowing and obeying the truth of God keeps us from being deceived.

We resist and overcome Satan and his schemes by “being strong in the Lord and the power of his might.” By taking up “the whole armor of God” we can stand firm against the powers of evil (Ephesians 6:1-18). This armor of God is truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the word of God and prayer. The “weapons of our warfare have divine power to destroy strongholds, arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Three times Jesus met the temptations of Satan by quoting the word of God found in the Scriptures (Matthew 4:4, 7,10). For Christians, the help of the Holy Spirit and a vital recall of the word of God enables us to “resist the devil” (Ephesians 3:16; James 4:5-10). We will not be deceived if we are focusing on God and his will.

Because we know the truth, we can be positive, strong and optimistic. We are “born of God” and “everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world because we believe that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:1, 4-5). John assures the believers that “greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world” (4:5). Jesus “protects us so that the evil one does not touch us” (5:18). John concludes, “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (5:20).