The Bait of Satan by John Bevere is a challenging and worthwhile resource on the subject of offense, bitterness, resentment, and forgiveness. The central idea of the book is that offense can become a spiritual trap that keeps believers bound to past hurts and damages their relationships with God and others.
One of the strengths of this book is its emphasis on taking responsibility for how we respond when we are hurt. Scripture makes it clear that offenses will come, but we are still responsible for how we respond to them. Bevere does a good job exposing how easily hurt can turn into anger, suspicion, resentment, bitterness, and eventually isolation. His encouragement toward forgiveness and reconciliation is particularly helpful.
While much of the practical content is helpful and consistent with biblical principles, some of the declaration-style prayers and affirmations are not always explicitly biblical and should not be treated as Scripture. I would encourage readers to measure those portions against the Word of God rather than accepting every statement simply because it appears in a Christian resource.
Overall, I found much of the content to be helpful and thought-provoking. The book provides a useful warning about the spiritual and relational damage that can come from holding onto offense while encouraging believers toward forgiveness, reconciliation, and freedom in Christ.
How to get this resource:
See if the book is available from your local library – It’s free (Minnesota Viking Library System)
The Bait of Satan (Amazon) at: https://www.amazon.com/Bait-Satan-20th-Anniversary-Offense/dp/1621365484
The Bait of Satan (Christian Books) at: https://www.christianbook.com/the-bait-of-satan/john-bevere/9781621365488/pd/365488?event=CPOF
The Bait of Satan (Barns and Noble) at: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bait-of-satan-20th-anniversary-edition-john-bevere/1115763704
