Topical Bible: The Devil: The Wicked: Ensnared By

◄ The Devil: The Wicked: Ensnared By ►

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Topical Encyclopedia

The Devil, also known as Satan, is depicted in the Bible as the ultimate adversary of God and humanity. He is a master of deception and seeks to ensnare the wicked through various means, leading them away from the path of righteousness and into sin and destruction.

Deception and Lies

The Devil is described as the father of lies, using deceit as a primary tool to ensnare the wicked. In John 8:44 , Jesus states, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies." The wicked, by rejecting the truth, become susceptible to the Devil's lies and are led astray.

Temptation

Satan employs temptation to lure individuals into sin. He presents sin as desirable and beneficial, masking its destructive consequences. In the account of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, Satan attempts to entice Jesus with promises of power and glory (Matthew 4:1-11). The wicked, lacking the spiritual fortitude to resist, often fall prey to such temptations, becoming ensnared by their own desires.

Pride and Arrogance

Pride is another tool used by the Devil to ensnare the wicked. Proverbs 16:18 warns, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." The Devil himself fell from grace due to pride, as described in Isaiah 14:12-15 , and he seeks to instill the same arrogance in others. The wicked, consumed by pride, become blind to their need for God and are easily led into further sin.

Accusation and Condemnation

Satan is also known as the accuser, constantly seeking to condemn and bring charges against God's people. Revelation 12:10 refers to him as "the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them day and night before our God." The wicked, already ensnared by sin, are further trapped by feelings of guilt and condemnation, which the Devil uses to keep them from seeking redemption and forgiveness.

Spiritual Blindness

The Devil blinds the minds of the wicked, preventing them from seeing the truth of the Gospel. 2 Corinthians 4:4 states, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." This spiritual blindness keeps the wicked in darkness, unable to perceive the light and truth of Christ.

Bondage to Sin

Ultimately, the Devil seeks to keep the wicked in bondage to sin. Romans 6:16 explains, "Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?" The wicked, ensnared by the Devil, become slaves to sin, leading to spiritual death and separation from God.

Through these means, the Devil effectively ensnares the wicked, drawing them further away from God and deeper into sin. The Bible provides numerous warnings and teachings to help believers recognize and resist the Devil's schemes, emphasizing the importance of faith, truth, and reliance on God's strength to overcome the adversary.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

1 Timothy 3:7
Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Timothy 2:26
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

In the Creation of the World, and all Things in It, the True God ...
... of pardon in case any should have become ensnared by the ... they are said to be of their
father the devil. ... of God by bearing his image, so the wicked are properly ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 14 in the creation.htm

That in Adam's Sin an Evil Will Preceded the Evil Act.
... The devil, then, would not have ensnared man in ... Accordingly, this wicked desire which
prompts man to please himself as if he were himself light, and which ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 13 that in adams sin.htm

On Proverbs. From the Commentary of St. Hippolytus on Proverbs.
... tear out, ie, him may unclean and wicked spirits deprive ... idols, she renounces these
and the devil, and is ... kepphotheis in the Septuagint, ie, "ensnared like a ...
/.../on proverbs from the commentary.htm

A Treatise to Prove that no one Can Harm the Man who Does not ...
... laid snares for Abel, yet he himself was not ensnared. ... repeat, no man if he be
infinitely wicked could attack ... is implacably hostile to us, the devil: but yet ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/a treatise to prove that.htm

Index of Subjects.
... Devil, the, not sensual, 27; encourages play, [465]42; his craft in the Temptation ...
departs, [470]99; how to be resisted, [471]124; how "the wicked One," [472]136 ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on the gospel of saint matthew/index of subjects.htm

Sermons of St. Bernard on the Passing of Malachy
... the fire is prepared for the devil,[1043] though ... the Lord.[1054] The death of the
wicked is indeed ... soul which passes through both, neither ensnared by pleasure ...
/.../sermons of st bernard on.htm

The Number of those who Fought for Religion in Gaul under Verus ...
... These, being ensnared by Satan, and fearing for themselves the tortures ... For when
the wicked men tortured him a second time after ... "But the devil, thinking that ...
/.../pamphilius/church history/chapter i the number of those.htm

Introduction
... to be joined a thousand years later by the Devil himself, to ... Has then, the Wicked
One been revealed? ... solemn fact that thousands of those who are ensnared by it ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/introduction.htm

The Seventh Commandment
... read not.' Matthew 25:7. Many have been ensnared by dancing ... so at last he drew her
to his wicked purpose. ... had been together a while, in came the devil, and took ...
/.../watson/the ten commandments/2 7 the seventh commandment.htm

Of Meditating on the Future Life.
... In short, the whole soul, ensnared by the allurements of the ... the latter end of the
righteous and the wicked. ... in the breasts of believers over the devil and the ...
/.../sergieff/on the christian life/chapter iv of meditating on.htm