1 Timothy 4:1 says, “But the (Holy) Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach” (AMP).

Before we look at other ways we compromise our sexuality and how to safeguard them, I want us to gain understanding of the spiritual battle and how Satan is using seduction to play a key role in temptation during today’s times.

I am focusing on this specifically because I believe that Satan’s latest scheme on this era is tempting people through seduction. I believe that Satan is trying to get God’s people to stumble by use of seducing spirits. Why do I believe it? Well, for one, I feel I have been “seduced” during a time when I had never been more in love with God. I could have never imagined it happening to me during that time and I know others that have fallen into the same web of sexual seduction who had devoted lives to Christ. Beth Moore has a very informative book on arming yourself in the age of seduction called, When Godly People Do Ungodly Things. In her book she describes what she believes Satan’s latest scheme to be: Seducing God’s people. After reading today’s lesson, if you want to go into a deeper study on this subject matter I encourage you to refer to her book. You will find it most fascinating and informative.

God’s word clearly teaches us that we are to put on his full armor to take a stand against the evil one. I know its not always comfortable talking about spiritual warfare, but I think it is of importance to understanding why we fall into some of the traps we do. God would not have taught us about the importance of being fully armed if we were not engaged in a real battle.

If you have never read C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, I highly recommend it. It will give you an awareness of the works of the enemy. In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis wrote: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe and feel an unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors in them and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”

I don’t believe we are to give too much attention to Satan and his cohorts, but I think what C.S. Lewis says here has a lot of merit. Understanding that Satan and his forces do exist and have powers here obviously is important to know or God would not have told us about them. Scripture tells us that we can be easily seduced away from our devotions to Christ. Let’s take a moment to dissect the following scripture.

In the Amplified Version, 2 Corinthians 11:3 says, “But (now) I am fearful, lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

In this scripture, who beguiled Eve? _________________________________________________________________

What is Paul specifically afraid their minds may be corrupted and seduced from?

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What specific part of the body is Paul afraid might become seduced?

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Who is Paul referring to that can corrupt and seduce your minds?

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Can you see that Paul clearly is afraid that believers in Christ might have their minds corrupted and seduced by the enemy which can affect their walk with Christ? Isn’t it interesting that he is afraid of their minds being corrupted? That relates directly to our study on where the battle begins: our thought lives.

You see, the mind is where the battlefield begins. If there is one thing you remember from this study, I hope you remember that the battle always begins in our minds. If Satan can corrupt our thinking and manipulate our feelings, we are more likely to act off of what we feel and believe. Because women tend to walk in their feelings we can be susceptible to seduction.

Can you think of a time when you were devoted to Christ and somehow your mind began to slowly become seduced into thinking that something that was forbidden by God suddenly was ok? If so, please write about that time briefly.

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I know there was a period of my life when I was devoted to the Lord and I became desensitized to things I knew at one time God had clearly said “no” to. I was hurting from old wounds that had not been dealt with. My husband and I went through a season of disunity as well. There were times when my husband was upset with me about something and I heard things through my wounded “filters” and I would interpret things completely wrong. I perceived things in my mind far worse than what the complaint really was. I had unhealthy filters that distorted his words and what I was hearing was not actually reality. Because I was rooted deeply in rejection, I received most of his complaints as rejection. I was left feeling unloved and unwanted. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I began to listen to lies from the enemy that he didn’t love me and would be better off without me. The lies were fed slowly to where I did not notice I was receiving most of them. Understand that at this time, I had no idea I even had “filters” on my ears, much less that they were unhealthy ones! By the time I received many of the lies, my mind had been corrupted and seduced. I became convinced that I would be doing him a favor by leaving him. My devotion to the Lord had become broken through the corruption of my mind which led me into a season of sinful choices. I want to state that at this particular time, I had a heart that was in love with God. I had just been baptized and wanted nothing more than to serve Him. I had very little knowledge of God’s Word, because I had never really been exposed to His teachings. My reason for sharing this is that I want to point out how being out of balance can cause you to become a prime target for the enemy’s seduction. See the following illustration:

All heart + Little knowledge = Candidate for seduction

All knowledge + No heart for God = Candidate for seduction

Both of these formulas are out of balance. One outweighs the other. I have found that having a balance of both knowledge of the word and a heart for God places me out of the target zone for the schemes of the enemy when it comes to seduction.

I’m not afraid to tell you that I believe the body of Christ is being seduced, particularly sexually. Almost monthly I hear of another victim who has had a life devoted to Christ fall into a relationship outside of marriage. I believe we are experiencing something like we never have before. Just in the last two weeks I have heard of three victims who have fallen into Satan’s sexual schemes. I believe those in leadership are targeted even more because if they fall it’s likely to affect a larger mass of people in the church.

God’s Word refers to demonic spirits as unclean spirits. We know that when we receive Christ we are washed clean. Satan knows he cannot take our salvation away once we are saved, so one of his primary goals is to attempt to make our lives difficult. Since this study is primarily one of sexual content I want to personalize what I just said. Understand me loud and clear: I BELIEVE ONE AREA THAT SATAN IS ATTACKING WITH FULL FORCE IS BY ATTEMPTING TO MAKE US, THE BODY OF CHRIST, FEEL UNCLEAN WITH HELP FROM UNCLEAN SPIRITS.

Satan cannot make us do anything but he can sure try to tempt us to. He can only tempt us in the areas we are vulnerable. If you are vulnerable in your sexuality, it’s important to be aware of how he attempts to seduce you.

There are many ways you may become vulnerable to the seduction of sexual sin. What better way for us to feel unclean than from that of sexual sin?

I believe he has assigned a number of seducing spirits (demons) in the area of sexual temptations because of all the sexual sin going on today. I believe we are growing closer and closer to the end of earth on the kingdom calendar. The scripture in 2 Timothy clearly states that in the end times people will break away from their faith by giving attention to seducing spirits. Notice that we are the ones responsible for giving attention to seduction.

Satan wants to tempt us in this area in hopes we will take the bait and fall into sin. Many of you know exactly what I’m talking about. He knows he cannot make us do anything, so he tries to do everything he can to get us to. From what I have observed, I believe he attempts to get us to fall into sin by attacking our thoughts lives to manipulate our feelings. Women tend to want to follow their feelings. They tend to want to act out on what they feel. There have been countless times in my life where I allowed my feelings to dictate my choices. Many people make poor sexual choices “in the name of love.”

In When Godly People Do Ungodly Things, Beth Moore states, “One of our most important defenses against satanic influence will be learning how to behave out of what we know is truth rather than what we feel.”

Sexual seduction doesn’t always involve intercourse. You can be seduced into an affair mentally or emotionally. You can be robbed of the joy in your life by entertaining any kind of sexual thoughts outside of marriage. You can be seduced into other things such as pornography, homosexuality, alcohol, drugs, and the like.

Have you ever experienced a season of seduction? If so, what did it look like?

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In Beth Moore’s When Godly People Do Ungodly Things she says, “Few things, however, accomplish Satan’s goal of inducing feelings and actions of uncleanness in those who are clean like sexual seduction. Somehow Satan makes sure it just seems dirtier than the rest of the dirt. Sexual sin is a perfect choice to achieve his goals. It breeds shame like nothing else and has uniquely horrendous ramifications.”

I hope you are beginning to have an awareness of seduction and how it looks. It is not always easy to identify but as we become aware of its nature we will be able to protect ourselves from it as the day of redemption draws near.