Lies Disguised
Satan is never more dangerous than when he tells the truth. To be sure, "there is no truth in him . . . he is a liar and the father of lies" (Jn 8:44). But Satan often speaks seductively true words camouflaging razor blade motives as he seeks to deceive not only the world but the church. Blatant heresy immediately jars the senses of Christ's church. But subtle undermining of Scripture—its misapplication or misdirected focus—can go undetected by Christians for years if not indefinitely. Who has not suffered, like Job, from the right doctrine in the wrong hands? (Job’s friends abused Job with God's sovereignty, for example.) Who has not used Scripture itself to justify a sin or an idol? (To sanctify greed, for instance, one can misuse Proverbs about stewardship.) It is true that Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Co 4:4) but he wants to deceive the church, too.
So, how does Satan infiltrate behind enemy lines? He quotes Scripture. And he quotes it to you and me. Satan does not care if the Bible is circulated, so long as it is misunderstood, misapplied, misdirected, and misused so that people are led away from Jesus Christ. Mind you, people can hear the words "Jesus Christ" many times but never hear the actual Christ. Do not cults even talk about Jesus Christ without ever lifting the veil (2 Co 3:15)? You must be most guarded with people who claim to speak for God. Christian bookstores come to mind. Churches and their pastors come to mind. Ministries and ministers come to mind.
On at least one occasion when the devil tempted Christ, he quoted Scripture: "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone'" (Mt 4:5-7). Jesus rightly interprets this sly, underhanded misuse of Scripture as putting God to the test.
When the religious leaders came to test Christ, like their forebear Satan himself, they came with truth and flattery. "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances" (Mt 22:16). That was all true, but the venom of asps was under their lips (Ro 3:13).
During the Apostle Paul's Macedonian mission, he met a very outspoken young girl who cried out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation" (Acts 16:17). Who could argue with that truth? But she was demon-possessed. How sinister it is that the devil used truth to distract people from seeing Christ! "And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And it came out that very hour" (Acts 16:18). Demons don't always talk dirty.
One could argue that Jesus and Paul saw right through this masquerade. And of course they did. But we must admit that Satan's devices are all the more effective because we are prone to thinking that we see just as clearly as they did. We do not think of ourselves as easily deceived or naive, able to be led astray by "smooth talk and flattery" (Ro 16:18). Do not be arrogant, Jesus as well as Paul urged us not to be led astray (Mt 24:4, 5, 11, 24; 2 Tim 3:5).
Your heart must be all the more alert! Satan is speaking to you! He is waiting for you to drop your guard. As JC Ryle said, "the sun makes the traveler cast off his protective garments far sooner than the north wind. Let us beware of the flatterer. Satan is never so dangerous as when he appears as an angel of light: the world is never so dangerous to the Christian as when it smiles." 1
When Satan is dressed up in brazen evil, he is easier for the Christian to recognize. He rarely employs this tactic in confronting Christ's church, because when he does, many a Christian soldier snaps to attention and garrisons the defenses or charges into battle. Explicit and flagrant evil is recognized immediately and often stood up to with great courage. But what about flattery? What about Christian pretense? Satan is most dangerous when he is dressed up like a Christian.
The Devil rarely wears drag. We should not be surprised when Satan's false teachers wear their Sunday best. They are "false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness" (2 Co 11:13-15).
Instead of being surprised, we should be on watch and tune our ears closely to the messages we are hearing. For "false teachers will put a great deal of paint and garnish upon their most dangerous principles and blasphemies, that they may the better deceive and delude poor ignorant souls. They know sugared poison goes down sweetly; they wrap up their pernicious, soul-killing pills in gold." 2
In one of Jesus' final teachings to his apostles, he repeatedly warned them and us not to be unsuspecting disciples who get deceived by Satan's devices. "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray . . . And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray . . . For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect" (Mt 24:4, 5, 11, 24).
You might ask how is Satan leading the church astray with "truth" now. While I could give many examples, the common denominator of these deceptions is that Satan always obscures, misrepresents, and leads people away from Christ while using Christian language to do it. A substitute Christ is presented; an application is given that leads away from Christ; a teaching engenders fear in you instead of faith in Christ. Word of Faith teaching points you to your faith (or lack thereof) instead of pointing you to the all-sufficient Christ. As Job's friends show, right doctrines are in the wrong hands when ministers use them to make a caricature of God. Teachers can obscure the fullness of Christ's person and work. They can claim that Jesus is everything then set him alongside their own hobby horses and personal agendas. Christ is never a side show to God! All of Scripture funnels toward Jesus Christ—the image of God, the Word of God, the glory of God. If the teaching you are listening to does not actually center upon the gospel of Jesus Christ (even if it claims to), it cannot be of God. Satan, as Thomas Brooks said, presents the bait but hides the hook.
The antidote to these very subtle Satanic delusions is not to know each counterfeit well but to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Know the real Christ well in order to spot the fakes. "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen" (2 Pt 3:17-18).
1 J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, p. 229.
2 Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, p. 233.
[This article was originally published a year ago. We run it again this week as a complement to this Sunday’s sermon.]
