Satan’s Schemes: How the Enemy Tempts Believers Today? | George Whitefield

"George Whitefield's sermon, ""Satan's Schemes,"" takes its text from 2 Corinthians 2:11, emphasizing that believers must not be unaware of the adversary's methods. The sermon's specific context involved the Apostle Paul warning the Corinthian church against being overly severe toward a repentant sinner, lest Satan tempt him to despair and cause the Holy Name of Christ to be blasphemed by depicting the church as merciless.
Satan, the chief of the devils, is an adversary defined by hatred, envy, and revenge. While possessing great power, he is most renowned for his cleverness and reliance on deception, rather than force. Temptation is a universal and necessary experience, perfecting the saints, but the moment of conversion is identified as the most critical time for violent assault.
Whitefield identifies several key schemes Satan uses against new converts:
1. Driving the believer to despair after conviction of sin. The remedy is remembering Christ's merits are infinitely greater than any sin and answering temptations with ""It is written"".
2. Tempting to spiritual pride after experiencing God's grace. Believers must remember that grace is freely given and that God opposes the proud; they should pray for the humble Heart of Jesus Christ.
3. Troubling the believer with blasphemous and impure thoughts. This is the common experience of God’s children, and God pities and rewards those who resist the temptation to stop worshiping or praying.
4. Not tempting the believer at all. This temporary withdrawal aims to surprise the Christian later ""like a roaring lion with double Fury"".
Whitefield concludes that believers must always ""watch and pray"". Since Jesus Christ defeated the grand enemy and God limits Satan's power, Christians should not be discouraged. The path to glory is found not in being exempted from temptation, but in enduring it by putting on the whole armor of God.
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