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The snare and lure of Satan
There is today a departure from the faith and a giving heed to seducing spirits among Bible believing Christians. Many believe in whatever they want, others believe what they have been taught and cling to it for dear life, standing against everything that does not sound so good in their ears. Some time ago I was talking to someone telling me about some minister, saying that he was so clear and accurate in his doctrine and teaching. What she meant to say was that this minister presented the certain doctrines as clear as her understanding and own believe system are formed. When faced today with truths that contradicts and even challenges our way of believe, many withstand it totally and fully. For some to imagine a different view than theirs is totally not possible. Then there are those that believe anything that comes their way. How can a man distinguish error from truth and even a slight deviation from the truth? Error is not to be taken lightly. It destroys real faith. It breaks down the barrier in a man’s soul that separates him from the world and the influences of the deceptive spirits. It steals away the essence of what Christianity is all about. Paul writes to Timothy:
“And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2Timothy 2:26
The words “recover themselves” Paul is using is very noteworthy. It gives the impression of one that is under the influence of someone or something else. It can be liken to coming under the influence of alcohol to become drunk, and donates that one must become sober again. That means one have lost something. It means then to regain one’s senses. Thus one can loose his sense of right and wrong, of truth and error so that it is hard to discern because his senses that must distinguish have become inactive and was render powerless, like a drunken that is under the influence of alcohol. Many are under the influence of another. They are like a drunkard who has lost the senses of the truth. They must be recovered. Now look at these words “recover THEMSELVES… out of the snare …” Now this is noteworthy. There is in many things spiritual, laid traps or snares by which you may be catch or ensnared with. So we may call these traps, snares which ensnare many. This must be grasp in our lives, if you don’t you will become ensnared.
This gives also a warning to all. There are certain ways by which the enemy traps many. Many are caught up by many things. This is possible. If you deny this you may already be ensnared by many things. It’s possible otherwise Paul would not have written these things to Timothy. What is the implication? Paul says to Timothy with many who would differ with you, you must pray earnestly, that God may give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, because many are ensnared to believe what they believe, they are under some influence by which they are held CAPTIVE! They themselves believe they are truly free, but they are themselves captives by the very things they believe make them free. “
“And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2Ti 2:26
Paul said these peoples strive over words and many things; they are like a bird in a cage taken captive. They never grow out of, they always stay on the same place, and no deeper advancement into maturity, always on the same things their whole lives evolves around the things by which they have been taken captive by. But we need to consider that the very things by which many are ensnared in even though it may be spiritual things are here described as “of the devil…” Will the one that is ensnared by various things consider himself as one that is ensnared and that the very things he hang on so dearly to and which he or she clings so strongly to or adhere to, are actually a snare of the devil? This may marvel many. Satan had disguises himself behind these very things by giving them prominence, some scriptural thing, some prominent doctrine or matter, by which he keeps thousands captive, busy with only those things! The word used here for captive is to be taken alive by an ally, to become a prisoner of war. We need to take heed that we may not be caught up or taken captive by the enemy. What further is said is astonishing. One that is under such influence becomes a subject of the one by whom he has been captured. Now he is no longer free to do what he would, but become a captive or subject of the one that captured him, so that his will is done. The one taken captive now begins to fulfill the purposes of the one that have taken captive. His will and purposes is now being fulfilled and worked out. Many there are who believe they are serving God are in actual reality serving Satan by what they cling so dearly to! Is this possible? The very thing that ensnared them becomes the medium by which God’s purposes are defeated and Satan’s will being initiated.
We may distinguish the snares of Satan and then avoid them, to be caught in the trap. We may discern two alike things. A snare is accompanied by what we call bait or a lure. A fish is not caught by a mere hook, it is the lure or the bait that draws the fish’s attention and awake in him something that goes after the bait and be caught. Amos said:
“Will a bird fall into a trap on the ground, and there is no bait for it? Will a trap spring up from the ground and nothing at all be caught? “(3:5)
You do not catch birds with your bare hands, but you can catch them with a net. Even then it is not the net that catches the bird. It is the bait you are using in the net that eventually ensnares the bird.
Now Paul said to Timothy, that there are many who strive after doctrines and truths, because they have been ensnared by Satan, otherwise they would have recognized the truth. This we must not deem as an unimportant matter. There are certain snares by which people are ensnared by that produces in them blindness and the ability to discern the truth from the error. Scripture name a few of these things; some are harder to discern and to recognize because of its subtlety. Why can’t some see certain error and misquotes, while many are not able to discern deeper truths? There is more than one reason for this, reasons other than what we are discussing here. Peter said that some may be “led away” by “the error of the wicked,” and will as a result “fall from their own steadfastness.” (2 Peter 3:17) One need to take heed continually and be on guard constantly against many things, and for one is the very reason why many are being ensnared or even “led astray” is that few today are actively and persistently guarding and taking heed for these very things. Many today live such “loose” and “ease” life’s that they are not even in any way guarding taking heed to any of these things. Whatever they hear and with their natural abilities discern, they accept in most cases what they here without a high akin alert of awareness in their lives. Peter says that some may be “led away” in faith and from Christ and fall from their steadfastness. Some are even being “uprooted” and loss their very ground in which they must be established. Here Peter makes mention of the cause why some are being led away and loose their ground. Peter says it is by the “error of the wicked” or the “straying or deceit of the lawless” - those who wrest the Scriptures to make them tolerate and approve their lusts and lawless practices. Peter refers here to teachers, by which the grace of God is being scorned, “having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2Peter 2:14, 15) He describes them as those that “BEGUILE” especially “UNSTABLE” souls. One of the many characteristics Peter names here is very noteworthy. Peter speaks of them as ones that have known the RIGHT WAY but have FORSAKEN it and were led astray or away from the RIGHT WAY to something that includes approves of their lawless practices and now they are teaching others to do the same. They change the grace of God into lasciviousness: unrestrained lust, excess, recklessness and even lawlessness say Jude (4). They teach grace in such a way as to promote lawlessness, as if it doesn’t matter to God at all in what state we are or lives. Grace especially is put into a wrong light and man’s sin and lawlessness as if it doesn’t matter before God. Paul said about God’s grace and man’s relationship to it, “what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid….” (Romans 6:1-2) Then Paul said why there is no way that the grace of God could ever validate such a doctrine, because of the true fundamental nature of the death of Christ. These are people that once have walked and known the right way. They are men that are held therefore in high esteem among many. They would say things as if “the right way” is all about “legalism” or will attribute it to a misunderstanding of the grace of God. Their own lives are marked by worldliness (eyes full of adultery) and untamed lusts; they are following after more ease and prosperity, money and materialism, worldly substance – they have a heart EXERCISED with ways to make more money and profit (covetous practices), all under the banner of grace and Christ and the Word of God as if this is what it is all about! They have forsaken the RIGHT Way. They will get involved in anything as long as it prospers them even if it against the very principles of God’s Word and of the revelation of Christ whose example we have to follow after as did Balaam son of Bosor did. They love the wages of unrighteousness, obtain even by unrighteous ways.
What Peter said about these teachers is worth understanding about what these teachings are doing. He says they “beguile” unstable souls. The word “beguile” means: “ensnare, catch by a bait “to entrap. They are caught up by these very teachings into a snare or trap. It is the very word James use in James 1:14 to describe how man is led away into sin and become enticed by lusts and desire. Peter then say: “For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.” (2Pe 2:18) He says they through these teachings “ensnare” or “catch” men by using the “lusts of the flesh” as bate or a lure to draw men away from Christ.
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety (craftiness), so your minds should be corrupted (degraded, depraved) from the simplicity (from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ) .that is in Christ.” (2Co 11:3)
Satan will use any means “lest by any means,” to ensnare those who have escaped the corruptions and enticements of sin by the knowledge of Christ in this world. He uses subtle things, teachings, teachers, doctrines, ideas, etc, to corrupt the mind and bring the man into a state of being where he becomes worthily worthless in the kingdom of God by the things he believes and practices. We tend to live what we believe. Our belief system determines our way of live, what we do and how we do it, what we accept and receive and what not. In fact it determines our very lives and how it should be engaged in. Satan used a lure in the garden to ensnare Eve, to take captive her mind to do and act in a way that was fatal to her relationship to God.
Through snares Satan find a foothold in the mind of the believer by which he corrupts the mind and enslave it, making the man a captive of Satan and of his will. These men will always resist hereafter the RIGHT WAY, and will strife about and debate the grace of God to include lawless practices.
And what is the outcome of a corrupted mind and an ensnared believer? They are being deceived, they “bear” with error and falsehood, they have been robbed of true discernment and truth: “For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”(2Co 11:4)
Many are not even aware of that such is possible in a believer’s life. The very fact that many not even give heed to such things as the snares and devices of Satan leaves them wide open and a prey for the snares of the evil one. And the result? The very essence of life in Christ; what it must produce are being touched, so that it never produces that Christ are formed in them. The real fruit never are formed in them because they are catch in a snare of Satan to fulfill his will and not God’s. They ran after this world and the enjoyments of this world and what money can buy and they test their spirituality by what they possess materially! So many strife against what God says, they are entrapped and interpret Scriptures through their deceived concepts. People should read the Bible with the feeling that it is possible that they may fall into error, and be deceived at last. This apprehension will do much to make them diligent, and candid, and prayerful, in studying the Word of God.