Satan and Devils Part 3

H. Satan’s power through the lie is best realized by deception, not by plain declaration. 2CO 11:3. 1. A summary of Satan’s deception of Eve in GEN 3:1-6 is that he basically conned her into thinking she could maximize her existence by acting independently of God and His truth. 2. Jesus Christ's life on earth was the model of NOT acting independently of God. JOH 5:30; 6:38, 57; 8:28, 42, 54; 14:10. 3. There is no fulness acting independently of Christ. COL 2:9-10. 4. There is only futility in so doing. JOH 15:4-5. 5. This highlights the error of trying to establish one's own righteousness before God instead of leaving that up to Christ. It only breeds self-righteousness and bondage. ROM 10:3 c/w LUK 18:9; GAL 5:1. 6. There is no good thing that we can do independently of Christ. 2CO 3:5-6 c/w PHIL 4:13. 7. The person who seeks to achieve emotional, mental or spiritual fulness independently of Christ will never make it. Satan and Devils 12-13-23 Page 3  a. The Book of Ecclesiastes stands as a witness to this fact. b. Pay particular attention to Solomon's conclusion about finding true fulness. ECC 12:13-14. c. Consider how much of modern day psychological and psychiatric counselling is based upon the fallacy of helping people find fulness without God. d. “If we are trying to help people establish their identities, find meaning in their lives and seek to meet their needs without Christ, then we need to know that is precisely the agenda of Satan on planet earth. Sobering!” (Neil T. Anderson, Helping Others Find Freedom in Christ, p. 39) I. Satan's deceptions may be doctrinal or moral in nature. 1. Doctrinal deceptions a. can corrupt our perception of God, His love and will for us. Examples: (1) “God is a tyrant if He overrules man's free will.” ROM 9:20. (2) “God cannot love me; I am too wicked.” ROM 5:8; 1TI 1:15. (3) “God will not save anyone without my participation.” MAR 10:26-27. b. can corrupt our perception of ourselves. Examples: (1) “I'm not really all that bad.” ROM 3:12-18. (2) “There is a spark of divinity in all men.” ROM 3:10-11; 7:18. (3) “I am a hopeless wreck of a sinner; I'll never measure up to God's standards, so what's the point in trying?” 1JO 2:1-2. (4) “God cannot receive me; I am too unlearned.” MAT 19:13-14. c. lead us away from one truth, which starts a domino effect since all truth is interrelated. (1) God has a doctrine composed of cohesive, harmonious bits and no portion of it is to be interpreted in contradiction to its internal teaching. 2PE 1:20-21. (2) Devils have doctrines (1TI 4:1). “Doctrines” in the Bible is always negative. MAT 15:9; MAR 7:7; COL 2:22; 1TI 4:1; HEB 13:9. (3) Similar observations may be made of “truth” v. “truths.” Many “truths” implies multiple gods, many devils. 1TI 4:1. d. lead us to blindly oppose those who stand for the truth. JOH 16:2. e. can lead us to promote devilish doctrines like sacramentalism, prayers to dead saints, purgatory, prayers for the dead, candles for the dead, offerings for the dead, baptisms for the dead, evil generates good, grace excuses sin, marriage is forbidden, foods defile us, etc. 1TI 4:1-3. f. can open doors to moral corruption. REV 2:14. g. can result in our loss of kingdom inheritance in this world. ROM 16:17; TIT 3:10-11. h. are most likely to overtake: (1) the worldly saint. MAR 4:18-19. (2) the simple and unstable. ROM 16:18; 2PE 2:14. i. are actually preferred by compromised saints. ISA 30:9-10. 2. Moral deceptions a. blind us to truth. 2TI 3:5-7; 1PE 2:1-3. b. compromise our individual testimony. PSA 50:16-17; 1CO 9:27. c. scandalize the church's testimony. 1CO 5:1-5. d. are an affront to God's holiness, inviting wrath. ROM 2:3-5. e. can cost us our kingdom inheritance in this world. EPH 5:5. 3. Both doctrinal and moral deceptions are departures from truth and the liberty that only comes through truth. Satan and Devils 12-13-23 Page 4