Tuesday, May 10, 2016
If you could see and meet the devil
face to face, what would he look like? He is commonly depicted as a cartoon
character in a red suit with a pitchfork or as a hideous-looking ghoul.
But neither of these
characterizations is anywhere close to the truth. In reality, if you were to
meet the devil, you would find him attractive, engaging and persuasive. Though
he is really the prince of darkness, Satan successfully presents himself as “an
angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
Satan never presents sin as it
really is. He never presents both sides of the story, pro and con. He presents
only what he wants us to see, something that appears fun and exciting. He wants
us to focus on pleasure, on what feels or looks good at the moment.
He wants long-term consequences to be the last thing on our minds while he
entices us to sin.
The vast majority of people have
lost sight of the real connection between cause and effect. We rarely hear or
see that concept mentioned, much less discussed. Instead we hear people clamor
for quick fixes to every problem, ease for every discomfort and a pill for
every ailment. We seldom stop to consider the long-term consequences of our
actions.
Our approach is shortsighted and
foolish. “Do not be deceived”, cautions Paul. “God is not mocked, for you reap
whatever you sow” (Galatians 6:7, NRSV).
We live in a world that pays little
attention to the long-term results of sin. We don’t think through the
consequences of our words and deeds, and we’re constantly under pressure from a
society that is built on Satan’s standards and values rather than God’s.
It’s neither easy nor popular,
considering the culture surrounding us, to adopt a different set of values and
standards—those that God reveals. As the Lord Jesus said: “If the world hates
you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world,
the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world…the world
hates you” (John 15:18-19). God’s way will never be popular in this day
and age.
Nevertheless, most people appear
supremely confident that their ways are pleasing to God. They defend their
religious beliefs and practices as being perfectly satisfactory and acceptable
in God’s eyes. They assume that all, or most, teachers and churches bearing the
Christian name teach the truth. Few indeed stop to consider that Satan’s great
deception is not only worldwide, but has deeply infiltrated Christianity.
Notice the context of Paul’s words
when he writes that Satan appears as “an angel of light”. In 2 Corinthians
11:13-15 Paul warns of “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into
apostles of Christ”. We shouldn’t be surprised at this, writes Paul,
because “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it
is no great thing if his ministers also transform
themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to
their works”.
Is that possible? How could people
who claim to represent the Lord Jesus Christ in reality be Satan’s “ministers”,
his servants, used by the devil to spread deception?
The Lord Himself repeatedly warned
of this very thing! He said that many would appropriate His name but deny Him
by their actions. He stated: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done
many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I
never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
(Matthew 7:22-23). Of such, he asked, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not
do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
The Lord Jesus and His true apostles
spoke of false apostles, false prophets and false
brethren. Jesus further warned: “Take heed that no once deceives you.
For many
will come in My name and deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-11). He knew that
false teachers would arise who would teach a distorted, corrupted version of
Christianity. That deception began in the first century, when Paul wrote that
some were already teaching a “different gospel” and “pervert[ing] the gospel of
Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7).
To carry out his purpose, Satan uses
some people to deceive other people. This is especially true when they are
motivated by personal ambition to be teachers of spiritual matters but lack a
proper understanding of the Scriptures. Satan simply takes advantage of that
desire and seduces susceptible individuals to represent Christ falsely, though
often sincerely, while advancing the devil’s own deceptive, disguised agenda.
Indeed, such teachers are usually unwitting agents of Satan, being deceived
themselves along with everyone else.
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