The main text for today's study is found in 2 Corinthians 11: 14-15: "And no marvel; For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light, therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." Satan likes to work in intimidation (1 Peter 5:8) as a roaring lion. Or he likes to work through imitation. Satan will cause miracles to be performed so people will be deceived. He will distort or distract the seekers of truth to a gospel that is close, but false. True believers will know and understand the truth. This study will concentrate on a few of the imitations Satan will use to deceive.
First, Satan will have you focus on the miracle of healing. Nowhere in God's Word are we instructed to preach a gospel of healing. If you carefully read the book of Acts, you will see that no believer was ever healed. There is only one case in Acts where faith was mentioned (Acts 14:8-11). We are to preach the Gospel of Christ crucified, Christ buried, Christ resurrection, Christ ascension and Christ coming again. Satan will have you distracted to get your eyes off Christ. That is what makes the gospel of healing so dangerous. If you watch ministries that stress divine healing, listen carefully for any discussion of the Sovereignty of God, blood redemption, or Holy Spirit conviction. You will wait a long time because it is not there. Satan has imitated the true work of the Holy Spirit and he has sidetracked the people.
Second, Satan will have you lose confidence in the Word of God. There are three times in the Scriptures that Satan speaks: in the garden to cast doubt on the Word of God, to accuse Job to God, and in the temptation in the wilderness of our Lord. There are many people today that think they are in the body of Christ, but Satan has deceived them by casting doubt on the Word of God. The canon of Scripture has closed. This means the Lord Jesus Christ has ceased to speak with people. He has said all He will say to get you saved and sanctified. There are certain groups that believe that the Canon has not closed and God is still speaking revelation to His children separate from the Scriptures. Those groups include Charismatics, Pentecostals, and other groups that focus on the gifts of the Spirit. They will say something like, "God told me this morning...." This is an example that I saw on my social media:
"Was just sitting on the porch and felt strongly to post this. The pleasure God finds in us is not because of our works.. but because of our Love…
All of a sudden, a Dove hit my glass door which is odd because it’s so low, and landed in my chair. It looked at me for a few seconds and flew away.
The Holy Spirit began to remind me Doves represent his peace and it was a Dove that let Noah know it’s was time to come out of the ark and claim the new land …
Not going try and explain this, just being obedient to post it, and know it’s for God to quicken the hearts of those he is speaking to thru this…"
While the person who said this may have the best of intentions, they did not hear from the Lord Jesus Christ. They had some thought in their head and they attribute it to God. You might say, "You are making too big of a deal over this." No, I am not. The writer of the post is directing the person to consider their words instead of the Word of God. What God sees in you that is pleasurable to Him is nothing. It is only when He sees Christ and the blood redemption that He is pleased. Part of the misguided approach will be seen in the next section, is how Satan has imitated truth and sought to deify man instead of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember Revelation 22: 18 states in part: "If any man shall add unto these things (referring to the words of prophecy of the book (v. 18), God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book...." What many do not realize is that when you need to supplement the Scriptures you take away from their completeness and sufficiency. When you don't close the Canon, you cast doubt on its sufficiency and trustworthiness. Sound familiar? Think Genesis 3.
Many times, I have heard someone say, "I need a word from the Lord." Consider that phrase. The person has just said that God's Word is not sufficient, I need a person to speak to me from God. No, my reader, the Bible is sufficient. I have had people approach me with a dream and believed it was a message from God. I know of Charismatics that seek to interpret the dreams. Without all the details, I said to a group, why would I need confirmation from a human being when I have the complete Word of God? No dream, vision, or thought someone has will provide me comfort or direction when I have the Word of God. The Canon is complete and closed.
As I have repeatedly said, "If you want to hear God speak, read the Bible. If you want to hear God audibly speak, read the Bible out loud."
Third, Satan has sought to imitate the great doctrines of the Bible such as the Sovereignty of God, the depravity of man, blood redemption and Holy Spirit conviction, the work of the Holy Spirit and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The following summary is not meant to be exhaustive, or complete. It simply points out, in brief, how Satan is watering down the Gospel so that his wolves in sheep clothing occupying the pulpits will make sure the Gospel is not presented.
A. The Sovereignty of God: There are many Scriptures that establish God as Sovereign. For now, I will define His Sovereignty as His right to control every aspect of His creation. God controls our lives. He has that right. As you could imagine, Satan hates this doctrine. He can't stand that God is in control, even of him. Therefore, Satan has done his best to dethrone God and deify man. Candidly, he has been very successful. Let us look at the subject of how a sinner gets saved. The sinner under Holy Spirit conviction will see themselves as a lost soul deserving of hell fire. They see themselves as completely unable to save themselves. In faith they turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, repent of sin, and call on Him to save them. This is not a decision for Christ. If you made a decision for Christ, you are most likely unsaved. Nor is this saying the "sinner's prayer." Saying some words in a repeat after me format will not save anybody. Only Holy Spirit conviction will bring a soul to Christ for salvation. Romans 8: 29-30 presents the Ordo Salutis (Latin for "order of salvation): Foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification and glorification. Jonah 2: 9 states: "Salvation is of the Lord." Salvation is initiated by God, yet man is responsible s well. However, man is not in charge.
B. The Depravity of Man: Paul said in Romans 3: 10-18 that there were none righteous, none doing good, there were like snakes with poisonous lips, with mouths full of deceit, cursing and bitterness, and there are none that seek after God. He is describing the total depravity of man. This does not mean that unbelievers are as horrible as Hitler, but rather when it comes to salvation, they are unable to come to the Lord on their own. Satan sought to imitate the truth of the total depravity by getting preachers to believe that man was capable of making that first step on their own. You make the first step; God will meet you and provide the grace to get you to salvation. Satan wanted to deify man and he has been very successful in getting churches to have man become sovereign. Ephesians 2: 1 state: "And you hath Her quickened (means made alive) who were dead in trespasses and sins...." Satan wants you to believe that man can on his own take and receive the gospel without the Holy Spirit. Ever see a dead person to respond to get help. If you are dead, you can't do anything but stay dead. This is the imitation that Satan wanted: man can take credit for art of his salvation. That part i making the first move toward God. This is a lie and creates a number of problems.
Think about all the gimmicks to get people saved, "try Jesus", seeker sensitive services, turning our churches into entertainment centers with light shows, and doing your best not to offend them, or" what do you have to lose?" One of the reasons I have always tried to preach the truth without compromises is because I know if God doesn't give the hearer grace, he or she will never respond. I don't want false converts. I want to preach the truth in love knowing that unless God moves on the heart of the listener, my words will be ineffective. It is part of Satan's imitation to soften the gospel to deify man and remove his total depravity.
No comments:
Post a Comment