Dangerous Deceptions
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
2 Corinthians 11:3-4
The deception infiltrating the church was driven home for me recently after receiving an email from a visitor to this site. He generally agreed with what he read here, but took issue with an article about one of the pseudo-Christian movements. He pointed out the movement was about holy living through the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. At the same time, he agreed there were counterfeit teachings in the movement and defended them because in his view, counterfeit teachings are found in all denominations. He was willing to embrace the movements abberant teachings in exchange for the "signs and wonders." This is precisely the nature of deception Paul referred to in 2 Cor. 11:3-4 and is why deceptive gospels are so destructive to the Church.
As Paul said, "you put up with it easily enough."
Satan is the arch-counterfeiter.
The Devil is now busy at work in the same field in which the Lord sowed the good seed. He is seeking to prevent the growth of the wheat by another plant, the tares, which closely resembles the wheat in appearance. In a word, by a process of imitation he is aiming to neutralize the Work of Christ. Therefore, as Christ has a Gospel, Satan has a gospel too; the latter being a clever counterfeit of the former. So closely does the gospel of Satan resemble that which it parodies, multitudes of the unsaved are deceived by it.
Satan's primary tactic in opposing God is not to foster atheism but religion; not to prove there is no God but to be worshipped as God.
Satan is not an initiator but an imitator. God has an only begotten Son - the Lord Jesus, and so has Satan - "the son of Perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3). There is a Holy Trinity, and there is likewise a Trinity of Evil (Rev. 20:10). As we read of the "children of God," so also we read of "the children of the wicked one" (Matt. 13:38). As there is a "mystery of godliness (1 Tim. 3:6), so also is there a "mystery of iniquity" (2 Thess. 2:7). We are told that God by His angels "seals" His servants in their foreheads (Rev. 7:3), so also, we learn that Satan by his agents sets a mark in the foreheads of his devotees (Rev. 13:16). Are we told that "the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2:10), then Satan also provides his "deep things (see Greek of Rev. 2:24). Did Christ perform miracles, so also can Satan (2 Thess. 2:9). Is Christ seated upon a throne, so is Satan (Rev. 2:13 - Gr.). Has Christ a Church, then Satan has his "synagogue" (Rev. 2:9). Is Christ the Light of the world, then so is Satan himself "transformed into an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14). Did Christ appoint "apostles," then Satan has his apostles, too (2 Cor. 11:13).
Satan has been in the "another gospel" business for a long time. He still asks modern man the same question he offered Eve, "Did God really say?" (Gen. 3) His goal then as now, especially since the glorious good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ burst onto the world scene nearly 2000 years ago, has always been to produce a counterfeit gospel, which would replace the true, and keep men in darkness and spiritual slumber.
In order "to mislead, if it were possible, even God's own people" [Phillips trans.], the evil one has inspired false prophets to preach error. To be effective, it often is truly seductive: evil will appear harmless or even good. A sugar-coated gospel is much easier to swallow. It is very attractive to accept the blessings without the cross; to choose our own path over "the way, the truth, and the life", to say, "My will be done."
"Woe unto them who call evil, good, and good, evil" [Isaiah 5:20]
The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor yet a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war, but aims at peace and unity. It seeks not to set the mother against her daughter nor the father against his son, but fosters the fraternal spirit whereby the human race is regarded as one great "brotherhood." It does not seek to drag down the natural man, but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation and appeals to "the best that is within us." It aims to make this world such a comfortable and congenial habitat that Christ's absence from it will not be felt and God will not be needed. It endeavors to occupy man so much with this world that he has no time or inclination to think of the world to come. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, charity and benevolence, and teaches us to live for the good of others, and to be kind to all. It appeals strongly to the carnal mind and is popular with the masses, because it ignores the solemn facts that by nature man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, and dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.
In antithesis to the Gospel of Christ, the gospel of Satan teaches salvation by works. It inculcates justification before God on the ground of human merits. Its sacramental phrase is "Be good and do good"; but it fails to recognize that in the flesh there dwelleth no good thing. It announces salvation by character, which reverses the order of God's Word - character by, as the fruit of, salvation. Its various ramifications and organizations are manifold. Temperance, Reform Movements, "Christian Socialist Leagues," Ethical Culture Societies, "Peace Congresses" are all employed (perhaps unconsciously) in proclaiming this gospel of Satan - salvation by works. The pledge-card is substituted for Christ; social purity for individual regeneration, and politics and philosophy, for doctrine and godliness. The cultivation of the old man is considered more "practical" than the creation of a new man in Christ Jesus; whilst universal peace is looked for apart from the interposition and return of the Prince of Peace.
Prophecy Fulfilled
New doctrines, new revelations and new gospels are springing up almost daily. Some have been with us for some time. Many have been previously debunked, yet some people tenaciously hang on to them. And it's going to get much worse. The Bible clearly warns that in the last days strange doctrines will come forth - introducing another Jesus, another Spirit, another gospel (Matt. 24:4-5; 2 Tim. 3:1-5).
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. [1 Thessalonians 2:9-10]
Even a cursory review of what has taken place in the Church during the last 25 years will reveal a fierce underming of the faith. Precisely as the Bible warns (Mt. 7:21-23; 24:4,11,24; 2 Thes 2:3; etc.), today's most effective enemies of Christ are those who claim to be Christians and call mankind not just to any old false religion but to a counterfeit Christianity.
In some respects, believers of Paul's day "had it easy" compared to this generation. In those days the opposition to truth was in the secular world around them - it had not yet infiltrated the Church under the guise of a more enlightened or advanced Christianity. While there were pressing pagan influences as well as some heretical teachings and practices here and there, they weren't subjected to anything like the flood of false beliefs, teachings, and practices surging in on the tidal wave of today's Christian media.
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
[Matthew 7:15-20]
Jesus warned us that these false prophets will come to us in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. False prophets won't come saying that they are deceiving us. No, they will sound good and will claim they are telling the truth. So, rather than judging them by their words, we are instructed to judge the messenger by their fruit.
The corporate owned mass media is flooded with deceptive messages and in many cases outright propaganda designed to manipulate society into their collectivist mold.
Within most mainline churches today, and even many evangelical churches, rather than demanding objective truth about the world around them, too many people are willing to believe whatever seems to agree with their preconceived attitudes. The pragmatic belief is that the ends justify the means. Hence, we see militia groups abounding, claiming a Christian heritage yet spreading hate towards Jews. Others in the Patriot Movement attempting to expose the New World Order are seen as kooks and their message nothing more than conspiracy theory. Other Christian churches are populated with people who justify violence toward abortion mills and homosexual groups. In many Christian churches you find those who view drinking alcohol or "a little wine" (1 Tim. 5:23) as a sin. And in nearly all Christian churches the congregation rushes to accept politically correct but misleading facts about smoking.
The popular church of the 21st Century pretends to adhere to the truth, yet quietly undermines it. Experience and emotion are substituted for the Word of God as its basis of faith. Any time we make emotional "religious experiences" or various signs and wonders the criterion of our faith, we thereby open the floodgates to every sort of delusion. If experience or emotion becomes the standard of our faith, then we must accept the validity of any experience from which someone gains a "religious" sensation: the ancient ritual prostitution at pagan temples; the frenzied worship of Bacchus; the Moslem dervishes and followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini and his successors.
In fact, all religious experiences must be tested for agreement with Scripture before they can be accepted as genuinely from God. Scripture is the objective criterion which permits us to separate true experiences of God from delusions of the evil one. All of our religious experiences must be verified by Scripture; Scripture is not proved by them.
They perish because they refused to love the truth. [2 Thessalonians 2:10]
Without a love for truth and a mental storehouse filled with God's Word, people cannot discern error. Many are drawn to the self-focused empowerment of goddess-philosophy, christian cults, and psychological-spiritual imitations. Like rudderless boats in the night, they cascade down the rapids trapped in a raging social current headed for destruction. You can clearly see this operating today in "multiculturalism" and "political correctness" where we are told to embrace, accept and tolerate things the Bible clearly condemns.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. [Colossians 2:8]
The average American Christian defines God as Love, a word which is understood from a "feelings" humanistic and temporal viewpoint. This definition does not cause any problems to a sinful lifestyle, for the concept of tolerant love does not include the reality of a HOLY God, a JUST God, and a TRUE God.
The Love of God is also Just, which is not concerned with our comfort and feelings, but with what is Right. The Love of God is HOLY, which is destructive to sinful living and the carnal nature and is not tolerant toward rebellion and willful ignorance.
The question is, do you KNOW God in Christ Jesus ... as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures? Have you read His Book? Have you studied it? How can you be sure you know the real God in Christ Jesus if you have not studied what He has said about Himself?
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
Hebrews 5:12-6:3
2 Corinthians 11:3-4
The deception infiltrating the church was driven home for me recently after receiving an email from a visitor to this site. He generally agreed with what he read here, but took issue with an article about one of the pseudo-Christian movements. He pointed out the movement was about holy living through the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. At the same time, he agreed there were counterfeit teachings in the movement and defended them because in his view, counterfeit teachings are found in all denominations. He was willing to embrace the movements abberant teachings in exchange for the "signs and wonders." This is precisely the nature of deception Paul referred to in 2 Cor. 11:3-4 and is why deceptive gospels are so destructive to the Church.
As Paul said, "you put up with it easily enough."
Satan is the arch-counterfeiter.
The Devil is now busy at work in the same field in which the Lord sowed the good seed. He is seeking to prevent the growth of the wheat by another plant, the tares, which closely resembles the wheat in appearance. In a word, by a process of imitation he is aiming to neutralize the Work of Christ. Therefore, as Christ has a Gospel, Satan has a gospel too; the latter being a clever counterfeit of the former. So closely does the gospel of Satan resemble that which it parodies, multitudes of the unsaved are deceived by it.
Satan's primary tactic in opposing God is not to foster atheism but religion; not to prove there is no God but to be worshipped as God.
Satan is not an initiator but an imitator. God has an only begotten Son - the Lord Jesus, and so has Satan - "the son of Perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3). There is a Holy Trinity, and there is likewise a Trinity of Evil (Rev. 20:10). As we read of the "children of God," so also we read of "the children of the wicked one" (Matt. 13:38). As there is a "mystery of godliness (1 Tim. 3:6), so also is there a "mystery of iniquity" (2 Thess. 2:7). We are told that God by His angels "seals" His servants in their foreheads (Rev. 7:3), so also, we learn that Satan by his agents sets a mark in the foreheads of his devotees (Rev. 13:16). Are we told that "the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2:10), then Satan also provides his "deep things (see Greek of Rev. 2:24). Did Christ perform miracles, so also can Satan (2 Thess. 2:9). Is Christ seated upon a throne, so is Satan (Rev. 2:13 - Gr.). Has Christ a Church, then Satan has his "synagogue" (Rev. 2:9). Is Christ the Light of the world, then so is Satan himself "transformed into an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14). Did Christ appoint "apostles," then Satan has his apostles, too (2 Cor. 11:13).
Satan has been in the "another gospel" business for a long time. He still asks modern man the same question he offered Eve, "Did God really say?" (Gen. 3) His goal then as now, especially since the glorious good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ burst onto the world scene nearly 2000 years ago, has always been to produce a counterfeit gospel, which would replace the true, and keep men in darkness and spiritual slumber.
In order "to mislead, if it were possible, even God's own people" [Phillips trans.], the evil one has inspired false prophets to preach error. To be effective, it often is truly seductive: evil will appear harmless or even good. A sugar-coated gospel is much easier to swallow. It is very attractive to accept the blessings without the cross; to choose our own path over "the way, the truth, and the life", to say, "My will be done."
"Woe unto them who call evil, good, and good, evil" [Isaiah 5:20]
The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor yet a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war, but aims at peace and unity. It seeks not to set the mother against her daughter nor the father against his son, but fosters the fraternal spirit whereby the human race is regarded as one great "brotherhood." It does not seek to drag down the natural man, but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation and appeals to "the best that is within us." It aims to make this world such a comfortable and congenial habitat that Christ's absence from it will not be felt and God will not be needed. It endeavors to occupy man so much with this world that he has no time or inclination to think of the world to come. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, charity and benevolence, and teaches us to live for the good of others, and to be kind to all. It appeals strongly to the carnal mind and is popular with the masses, because it ignores the solemn facts that by nature man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, and dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.
In antithesis to the Gospel of Christ, the gospel of Satan teaches salvation by works. It inculcates justification before God on the ground of human merits. Its sacramental phrase is "Be good and do good"; but it fails to recognize that in the flesh there dwelleth no good thing. It announces salvation by character, which reverses the order of God's Word - character by, as the fruit of, salvation. Its various ramifications and organizations are manifold. Temperance, Reform Movements, "Christian Socialist Leagues," Ethical Culture Societies, "Peace Congresses" are all employed (perhaps unconsciously) in proclaiming this gospel of Satan - salvation by works. The pledge-card is substituted for Christ; social purity for individual regeneration, and politics and philosophy, for doctrine and godliness. The cultivation of the old man is considered more "practical" than the creation of a new man in Christ Jesus; whilst universal peace is looked for apart from the interposition and return of the Prince of Peace.
Prophecy Fulfilled
New doctrines, new revelations and new gospels are springing up almost daily. Some have been with us for some time. Many have been previously debunked, yet some people tenaciously hang on to them. And it's going to get much worse. The Bible clearly warns that in the last days strange doctrines will come forth - introducing another Jesus, another Spirit, another gospel (Matt. 24:4-5; 2 Tim. 3:1-5).
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. [1 Thessalonians 2:9-10]
Even a cursory review of what has taken place in the Church during the last 25 years will reveal a fierce underming of the faith. Precisely as the Bible warns (Mt. 7:21-23; 24:4,11,24; 2 Thes 2:3; etc.), today's most effective enemies of Christ are those who claim to be Christians and call mankind not just to any old false religion but to a counterfeit Christianity.
In some respects, believers of Paul's day "had it easy" compared to this generation. In those days the opposition to truth was in the secular world around them - it had not yet infiltrated the Church under the guise of a more enlightened or advanced Christianity. While there were pressing pagan influences as well as some heretical teachings and practices here and there, they weren't subjected to anything like the flood of false beliefs, teachings, and practices surging in on the tidal wave of today's Christian media.
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
[Matthew 7:15-20]
Jesus warned us that these false prophets will come to us in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. False prophets won't come saying that they are deceiving us. No, they will sound good and will claim they are telling the truth. So, rather than judging them by their words, we are instructed to judge the messenger by their fruit.
The corporate owned mass media is flooded with deceptive messages and in many cases outright propaganda designed to manipulate society into their collectivist mold.
Within most mainline churches today, and even many evangelical churches, rather than demanding objective truth about the world around them, too many people are willing to believe whatever seems to agree with their preconceived attitudes. The pragmatic belief is that the ends justify the means. Hence, we see militia groups abounding, claiming a Christian heritage yet spreading hate towards Jews. Others in the Patriot Movement attempting to expose the New World Order are seen as kooks and their message nothing more than conspiracy theory. Other Christian churches are populated with people who justify violence toward abortion mills and homosexual groups. In many Christian churches you find those who view drinking alcohol or "a little wine" (1 Tim. 5:23) as a sin. And in nearly all Christian churches the congregation rushes to accept politically correct but misleading facts about smoking.
The popular church of the 21st Century pretends to adhere to the truth, yet quietly undermines it. Experience and emotion are substituted for the Word of God as its basis of faith. Any time we make emotional "religious experiences" or various signs and wonders the criterion of our faith, we thereby open the floodgates to every sort of delusion. If experience or emotion becomes the standard of our faith, then we must accept the validity of any experience from which someone gains a "religious" sensation: the ancient ritual prostitution at pagan temples; the frenzied worship of Bacchus; the Moslem dervishes and followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini and his successors.
In fact, all religious experiences must be tested for agreement with Scripture before they can be accepted as genuinely from God. Scripture is the objective criterion which permits us to separate true experiences of God from delusions of the evil one. All of our religious experiences must be verified by Scripture; Scripture is not proved by them.
They perish because they refused to love the truth. [2 Thessalonians 2:10]
Without a love for truth and a mental storehouse filled with God's Word, people cannot discern error. Many are drawn to the self-focused empowerment of goddess-philosophy, christian cults, and psychological-spiritual imitations. Like rudderless boats in the night, they cascade down the rapids trapped in a raging social current headed for destruction. You can clearly see this operating today in "multiculturalism" and "political correctness" where we are told to embrace, accept and tolerate things the Bible clearly condemns.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. [Colossians 2:8]
The average American Christian defines God as Love, a word which is understood from a "feelings" humanistic and temporal viewpoint. This definition does not cause any problems to a sinful lifestyle, for the concept of tolerant love does not include the reality of a HOLY God, a JUST God, and a TRUE God.
The Love of God is also Just, which is not concerned with our comfort and feelings, but with what is Right. The Love of God is HOLY, which is destructive to sinful living and the carnal nature and is not tolerant toward rebellion and willful ignorance.
The question is, do you KNOW God in Christ Jesus ... as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures? Have you read His Book? Have you studied it? How can you be sure you know the real God in Christ Jesus if you have not studied what He has said about Himself?
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
Hebrews 5:12-6:3
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