Does Satan Cause Us to Sin?
The Bible is replete of passages that confirm Satan's nature as a deceiver that causes us to sin. His first victim was Eve in the Garden of Eden. It is generally taught that the devil influenced the serpent to tempt woman. But Revelation 20:2 describes him as "that ancient serpent" which could indicate it was actually him who tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit.
The point here is that Satan had a hand in the fall of mankind. Another example of his character was during Christ's temptation. Jesus fasted for 40 days in preparation for His ministry when the devil came to him and challenged Him to prove His divinity by turning stone to bread.
From both examples, it can be deduced that Satan uses man's weakness against him. Eve saw the fruit as pleasing to the eye and was attracted to it (Genesis 3:6), while Jesus was famished. The difference lay in the responses — Eve gave in to her desire while Jesus drove the devil away.
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So, the process of sinning begins with enticement (James 1:14) which Satan works on. But we cannot use this in our defense because we have to take responsibility for our own actions as what Eve had learned. She tried to lay the blame on the serpent for making her eat the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:13) but God punished her anyway.
There are other verses proving that Satan influences man to sin. He blinds minds (2 Corinthians 4:4), puts contempt in the hearts (John 13:2) and can enter the body of those who are open to his influence like Judas Iscariot (John 13:27). The only thing man can do to avoid falling into his trap is to resist and flee from him (James 4:7).
The bottom line to all this is that man always has a choice. Some claim to have been forced into committing wrongdoing even if the option to refuse is always there. Precaution is always the best solution by avoiding to being in the position where Satan can easily deceive.
