We are told in Scripture that Satan masquerades as an angel of light. In reality, he looks quite attractive, and that’s why he’s so successful. Jesus said he was the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning. With that in mind, two thoughts come to the forefront.

Firstly, the U.S. Treasury Department teaches their agents what a real dollar looks and feels like. They don’t waste any time on fakes, and secondly, we are not taking about money identification for this article’s purpose.

If Satan is the great “deceiver” or “deluder” as an historical reference, then we must take him and his actions seriously as Christians at least. As Jesus’ defended Himself from Satan’s temptations in the wilderness, He parried his offers and perversions with accurate applications of Scripture. In so doing, Satan had no effect on Him, and ultimately Christ ordered him to be gone, and he left – tail between his legs one would think.

Since that time, Satan has had millennia to ply his trade and refine and hone it to a razor’s edge. He is no less a deceiver today than then, although he has become much more clever in his deceptions. Of course, we don’t run into Satan personally in the world, but instead, we are confronted by his agents who do his bidding and ultimately try to destroy mankind.

The destruction can be in the form of making a man wealthy so he worships his money instead of God, although spiritually impoverished, or financially impoverished; desperate to obtain what is needed at all costs leading to spiritual poverty anyway, or anywhere in between. Satan can draw as fine a line as he wishes, but the bottom line for the individual man involved is that he is a slave to sin.

Along comes Jesus Christ; the second person of the Trinity – God manifested in the flesh as man. Jesus Christ came to defeat Satan and to save man from his sins. He did not necessarily come to eliminate sin and temptation – not until He returns again anyway. In the meantime, St. Paul declares himself a slave of Christ’s, and so we believers should also be!

In the meantime, Christ lived a “PERFECT” and “SINLESS” life before God and man. He went so far as to be persecuted, falsely accused, mocked, beaten, scourged and crucified unto death. He did this having committed no sin or crime. Who today would go to that extent for his fellow man? This writer will not speculate on that question other than to say that the number, if any, will be few. After that, he rose from the dead conquering death, sin and Satan. That’s the Good News (Gospel).

By dying on the cross, Jesus Christ saved His elect (chosen from the beginning of time) to be saved from the death sentence brought upon man from the Garden of Eden and the original sin of Adam and Eve. Many will mock and seem incredulous at the story of Christ, His purpose and walk on this earth and His status as fully human and fully God. The empiricist will not be convinced!

What many do not realize is that ultimately, there is only eternal life and death. In either state, you will be conscious after temporal decease, whether in Heaven and paradise with God and His Christ, or in Hell with Satan in eternal torment where the worm never dies, the flame never goes out, the thirst is never quenched and the terror, fear and agony never stop!

“Oh”, you say, “How could a good God cause so much pain and evil?” Remember, we are all under a death sentence from the sin of Adam and Eve. We deserve only death, but by God’s infinite and gracious mercy, we may, by His choosing and will, be brought into His adoptive family in Heaven.

But, what about those who’ve never heard about Christ? That is still within God’s providence and sovereign control. If you are a believer, make His Gospel (good news) known! The good news is so simple, that many cannot fathom it and reject it as well. All you have to do is say I repent of my sins, and I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God! You will not be able to do that unless God, through the Holy Spirit, changes your heart to believe. If He does, then you will be blessed with the peace that passes all understanding!

How will you believe? You will need a preacher. Where will you find a preacher? In church. Does every church have a good preacher? No! In fact some churches have wicked and evil preachers. Therefore, it is your duty to read the Bible, know what it teaches, and then find a church that follows that teaching.

With today’s technology, one can find a good church fairly readily. This writer had to find one by God’s providence because he had exhausted the Yellow Pages phone book long before computers were available. Many churches call themselves “Bible believing”, but are they? Back in the 1600’s, the King of England called for a gathering of scholars to compose an agreed upon understanding of what they believed the Bible taught. These were scholars in Bible, hermeneutics, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and church history as well as first hand observers of culture and society.

They produced the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Larger Catechism and the Shorter Catechism and also recommended is the Book of Church Order. This Confession with accompanying catechisms help explain what the Bible teaches and means. It strengthens the claim of a “Bible believing church” that indeed it can be known what is meant by that claim. It is also a way to hold unscrupulous people to account both Biblically and confessionally. Believe it or not, there are sinners in the church, and even some of them are downright evil. Satan doesn’t mind twisting the truth – read the temptations of Christ.

Now with all of this in mind, another question must be asked. What is the duty of the church and its members within and among society? Let the Bible be your primary guide!

Pensiamento Peligroso