What do you think?
Rate this book
Satan: A Defeated Foe
Christ has made His power available to us so that we can defeat the Enemy in our lives. Here are powerful biblical strategies to overcome Satan when he tries to maneuver his way into your life.
- GenresChristian
185 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1995
15 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
5,682 books1,653 followersCharles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the famous Baptist theologian, John Gill). The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues, Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000—all in the days before electronic amplification. In 1861, the congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed Metropolitan Tabernacle.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 9, 2012
A practical way to understand the battle Satan fights - a lost battle. Very simple writing, yet so much insight is provided. Though some references were off, I still knew what the author was referring to. I enjoyed it. I read this at a time I was facing a not so pleasant reality, I felt that the Lord was showing me through the book that He was in control. God is good!
April 2, 2020
I didn't choose to read this next because of the covid-19 virus, but because it was next on my Spurgeon reading list. However, it's been appropriate reading.
A friend texted to ask me if I thought this covid-19 was from God or from Satan (or, I suppose, just natural forces in this fallen world.) And while I gave a somewhat lengthy response, it can be easily summarized by, "I don't know." This I do know. God allowed it, and God will use it for good. That's hard for us to see when people are dying, because pains and sorrows are sharp. I know, also, that God doesn't see death like we do. He sees it as reversible, through resurrection, and He sees the life to come. That can be incredibly hard to remember at times, when we see others die, especially if any we care about die.
"He [Satan] is well aware that mournful Christians often dishonor the faithfulness of God by mistrusting it." It's not that Christians mourn that dishonors God, and I don't think that Spurgeon meant that, but it's worth pointing out. The apostle Paul said to grieve, but not like those who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13. Grief, even for Christians, is real. I think that what Spurgeon meant was that when we grieve, that we are more vulnerable to the temptation of "dishonoring the faithfulness of God by mistrusting it." I know that can be true of me. No matter how many times I've seen God come through before, in ways beyond what I ever asked or imagined, I still wonder if THIS time, I might suffer this, that, or the other thing. And I might. We have no magical cure against suffering. But we have the grace of God that He is with us to walk us through it, if necessary. If He has been sufficient for our trials of the past, He will be sufficient for the trials to come.
Spurgeon wrote, "Beloved, let us commit ourselves in faith to the care and keeping of God. Come poverty, come sickness, come death, we will in all things through Jesus Christ's blood be conquerors. But the power of His Spirit, we will overcome at the last. I pray that we are all trusting in Jesus. May those who have not trusted Him be led to begin right now. And God will have all the praise in us all, forevermore. Amen." Yes, Jesus.
"Oftentimes the development of evil is an indication that there is an equal or a greater development of good." Spurgeon studied a couple of those times, that he had witnessed among others, as he ministered: right before they came to Jesus, or were in the process of coming to Him, and right before they died. Although I don't see any Biblical backing for that, it made sense to me. "It is very remarkable that some of the greatest of the saints have died in the midst of the most fearful conflicts for the same reason: the dog howled at them because he knew that they would soon be out of his reach." Spurgeon reminded us not to pay attention to the howling dog, because we would soon be safe. That's something I hope I can remember, if ever I have a death bed. He then went on to describe the deathbeds of various saints, both their last lingering doubts and their faith. "He [Jesus] will not lose His sheep even at its last extremity." Thank You, Jesus. "Courageous hope is a weapon that he [Satan] dreads."
"Rather, rejoice in this, that his great wrath is the token of the shortness of his [Satan's] time."
"After the mad fit, active persecution will cease. There will come a time of calm and perhaps, of general reception of the Gospel." I'm not sure I agree. Sometimes, persecution in some countries, seems to go on and on and on. There WILL come a final day when it will cease, though.
"He [Satan] may be mighty, but set the Almighty One upon him. He who accuses you, refer him to your Advocate. When he brings your sin before you, throw the blood of atonement in his face. Here is a text that will drive him down to his den: 'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanesth us from all sin.' (1 John 1:7)."
"Besides, Satan always hates Christian fellowship. It is his policy to keep Christians apart. Anything that can divide saints from one another, he delights in." This made me think of covid-19 and social isolation, and two memes that I've seen. "If Satan thinks that the church is limited to a building, then he's got another thing coming." And "The church has been deployed."
"You, weakest of all the host, triumph, for the Captain has triumphed before you."
"The Devil must have felt himself small that day when he tried to overthrow Job, when he dragged him down to a dunghill, robbed him of everything, covered him with sores, and yet could not make him yield. Job conquered when he cried, 'Though He [God] slay me, yet will I trust in Him' (Job 13:15). A feeble man had vanquished a Devil who could raise the wind, blow down a house, and destroy the family who were feasting in it." I thought Spurgeon's other comments on the order of Job's disasters were interesting, plausible.
As for those who died in Jesus, I love the reminder that "... they are without fault before the throne of God." - Revelation 14:5. Beautiful.
I also loved the beautiful concluding chapter about the angels ministering to Jesus after His temptation. (Matthew 4:11) Spurgeon: "We find Him afterward peaceful, ministered unto by angels, and rejoicing." Spurgeon connected this to "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb. 1:14). We have our own ministering angels. Spurgeon: "But above the angels, far superior to angelic help, is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter."
"Many of you can tell how, when you have heard the Word after a bad time of temptation, the gospel message has been wonderfully sweet to you. You have sat in your pew and said, 'God sent that sermon on purpose for me.' Or if you have not had a sermon, you have read the Bible, and the words have seemed to burn and glow on the page, warming your soul by their heat." Exactly like that.
When I came to "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6), I had pause reading to listen to Michael W. Smith's "Alleluia: for the Lord God Almighty reigns." Amen.
"My dear friends, let us watch against those deceptive temptations that pretend to make us humble but really aim at making us unbelieving." Interesting warning, and I think there is truth in it, for some.
"... yet the enmity of the human heart toward Christ and His seed is just the same, and it very often shows itself in a 'trial of cruel mockings.' (Heb. 11:36)." This made me think of a funny series that I've been reading about a woman who attends church, and who does do good works, trying to take care of others. But she often puts down other people trying to do the right thing. I have slowly, over the course of the series, begun to think that she is not a Christian character at all. She just thinks she is. The painful thing is that she's not a Christian, despite all the good that she's done. And because she's in a church setting, we believe her that she is one. Or perhaps she is a Christian, but just a seriously deluded one in some areas. Still, the fact that she mocks other Christians trying to do the right thing is troubling.
Other favorite quotes:
"A traitor, when he knows the thorough villainy and the blackness of his own heart, cannot help being astounded when he is forced to believe another man to be faithful." I have seen this, sadly.
"... the temptations of Satan are of service to the people of God. Fenelon said that they are the file that rubs off much of the rust of self-confidence."
"When sin loses its sweetness, Satan is losing his power."
"If the men of this world oppose the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ ore fiercely than any other, surely it must be that there is something special in it, something opposed to their sinful ways or to their proud hopes, something that is of God."
A friend texted to ask me if I thought this covid-19 was from God or from Satan (or, I suppose, just natural forces in this fallen world.) And while I gave a somewhat lengthy response, it can be easily summarized by, "I don't know." This I do know. God allowed it, and God will use it for good. That's hard for us to see when people are dying, because pains and sorrows are sharp. I know, also, that God doesn't see death like we do. He sees it as reversible, through resurrection, and He sees the life to come. That can be incredibly hard to remember at times, when we see others die, especially if any we care about die.
"He [Satan] is well aware that mournful Christians often dishonor the faithfulness of God by mistrusting it." It's not that Christians mourn that dishonors God, and I don't think that Spurgeon meant that, but it's worth pointing out. The apostle Paul said to grieve, but not like those who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13. Grief, even for Christians, is real. I think that what Spurgeon meant was that when we grieve, that we are more vulnerable to the temptation of "dishonoring the faithfulness of God by mistrusting it." I know that can be true of me. No matter how many times I've seen God come through before, in ways beyond what I ever asked or imagined, I still wonder if THIS time, I might suffer this, that, or the other thing. And I might. We have no magical cure against suffering. But we have the grace of God that He is with us to walk us through it, if necessary. If He has been sufficient for our trials of the past, He will be sufficient for the trials to come.
Spurgeon wrote, "Beloved, let us commit ourselves in faith to the care and keeping of God. Come poverty, come sickness, come death, we will in all things through Jesus Christ's blood be conquerors. But the power of His Spirit, we will overcome at the last. I pray that we are all trusting in Jesus. May those who have not trusted Him be led to begin right now. And God will have all the praise in us all, forevermore. Amen." Yes, Jesus.
"Oftentimes the development of evil is an indication that there is an equal or a greater development of good." Spurgeon studied a couple of those times, that he had witnessed among others, as he ministered: right before they came to Jesus, or were in the process of coming to Him, and right before they died. Although I don't see any Biblical backing for that, it made sense to me. "It is very remarkable that some of the greatest of the saints have died in the midst of the most fearful conflicts for the same reason: the dog howled at them because he knew that they would soon be out of his reach." Spurgeon reminded us not to pay attention to the howling dog, because we would soon be safe. That's something I hope I can remember, if ever I have a death bed. He then went on to describe the deathbeds of various saints, both their last lingering doubts and their faith. "He [Jesus] will not lose His sheep even at its last extremity." Thank You, Jesus. "Courageous hope is a weapon that he [Satan] dreads."
"Rather, rejoice in this, that his great wrath is the token of the shortness of his [Satan's] time."
"After the mad fit, active persecution will cease. There will come a time of calm and perhaps, of general reception of the Gospel." I'm not sure I agree. Sometimes, persecution in some countries, seems to go on and on and on. There WILL come a final day when it will cease, though.
"He [Satan] may be mighty, but set the Almighty One upon him. He who accuses you, refer him to your Advocate. When he brings your sin before you, throw the blood of atonement in his face. Here is a text that will drive him down to his den: 'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanesth us from all sin.' (1 John 1:7)."
"Besides, Satan always hates Christian fellowship. It is his policy to keep Christians apart. Anything that can divide saints from one another, he delights in." This made me think of covid-19 and social isolation, and two memes that I've seen. "If Satan thinks that the church is limited to a building, then he's got another thing coming." And "The church has been deployed."
"You, weakest of all the host, triumph, for the Captain has triumphed before you."
"The Devil must have felt himself small that day when he tried to overthrow Job, when he dragged him down to a dunghill, robbed him of everything, covered him with sores, and yet could not make him yield. Job conquered when he cried, 'Though He [God] slay me, yet will I trust in Him' (Job 13:15). A feeble man had vanquished a Devil who could raise the wind, blow down a house, and destroy the family who were feasting in it." I thought Spurgeon's other comments on the order of Job's disasters were interesting, plausible.
As for those who died in Jesus, I love the reminder that "... they are without fault before the throne of God." - Revelation 14:5. Beautiful.
I also loved the beautiful concluding chapter about the angels ministering to Jesus after His temptation. (Matthew 4:11) Spurgeon: "We find Him afterward peaceful, ministered unto by angels, and rejoicing." Spurgeon connected this to "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb. 1:14). We have our own ministering angels. Spurgeon: "But above the angels, far superior to angelic help, is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter."
"Many of you can tell how, when you have heard the Word after a bad time of temptation, the gospel message has been wonderfully sweet to you. You have sat in your pew and said, 'God sent that sermon on purpose for me.' Or if you have not had a sermon, you have read the Bible, and the words have seemed to burn and glow on the page, warming your soul by their heat." Exactly like that.
When I came to "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6), I had pause reading to listen to Michael W. Smith's "Alleluia: for the Lord God Almighty reigns." Amen.
"My dear friends, let us watch against those deceptive temptations that pretend to make us humble but really aim at making us unbelieving." Interesting warning, and I think there is truth in it, for some.
"... yet the enmity of the human heart toward Christ and His seed is just the same, and it very often shows itself in a 'trial of cruel mockings.' (Heb. 11:36)." This made me think of a funny series that I've been reading about a woman who attends church, and who does do good works, trying to take care of others. But she often puts down other people trying to do the right thing. I have slowly, over the course of the series, begun to think that she is not a Christian character at all. She just thinks she is. The painful thing is that she's not a Christian, despite all the good that she's done. And because she's in a church setting, we believe her that she is one. Or perhaps she is a Christian, but just a seriously deluded one in some areas. Still, the fact that she mocks other Christians trying to do the right thing is troubling.
Other favorite quotes:
"A traitor, when he knows the thorough villainy and the blackness of his own heart, cannot help being astounded when he is forced to believe another man to be faithful." I have seen this, sadly.
"... the temptations of Satan are of service to the people of God. Fenelon said that they are the file that rubs off much of the rust of self-confidence."
"When sin loses its sweetness, Satan is losing his power."
"If the men of this world oppose the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ ore fiercely than any other, surely it must be that there is something special in it, something opposed to their sinful ways or to their proud hopes, something that is of God."
April 11, 2022
Spurgeonic in every way.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews