Sunday, May 15, 2016
As a deceiver, Satan has no equal. In addition to being the world's greatest con artist, he is also its most accomplished counterfeiter.
As a deceiver, Satan has no equal. In addition to being the world's greatest con artist, he is also its most accomplished counterfeiter.
Notice Paul’s warning to the
Christians in Corinth: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve
by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is
in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not
preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or
a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!” (2
Corinthians 11:3-4).
Here Paul describes three areas in
which Satan employs clever counterfeits of the truth to deceive even
Christians.
First , he presents the Lord Jesus as
being quite different from the Christ revealed in the Bible —in effect creating
another Jesus, a false Christ. This is the Jesus most people hear about today—a
counterfeit of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible. Regrettably, most of what is
called Christianity is built around this false Christ.
The second of Satan’s clever
deceptions is to represent the mere outpouring of human emotion—or, in some
cases, the direct influence of demons —as God’s Spirit. Hundreds of thousands
of people are deceived every year in this manner. They are impressed by what
they see or feel rather than by the fruit of God’s Spirit as listed in
Galatians 5:22-23 and by whether the accompanying teaching is indeed of God
(compare Isaiah 8:20).
The true Holy Spirit is the power of
God (Acts 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:7) through which “those who are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). He is
the third person in the Godhead. And his work in our lives is not manifested
through bizarre actions or nonsensical babbling worked up through human emotion
or unwitting communication with demonic spirits. Rather, it is through the Holy
Spirit that God “works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose”
(Philippians 2:13, NIV)—that is, to live by God’s words and commands, though
many religious teachers falsely claim these are done away.
The third deception, twisting
the Lord Jesus’ gospel message, seems to be Satan’s most effective tool for
maintaining his deadly grip on many people. The lord Jesus explained that as
soon as people begin to respond to God’s Word, Satan acts quickly to snatch it
out of their hearts and minds (Matthew 13:18-22). The devil’s methods are
powerfully effective with many.
For example, notice Paul’s lament
over what was happening to the Galatian Christians who had been converted under
his ministry: “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called
you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another [as it
was not truly good news, which “gospel” means]; but there are some who trouble
you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let
him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-8). So this is quite a serious matter.