Class Notes: 10/28/2012

Satan uses religion to control mankind through fear, worry, anxiety, doubt and guilt

In our study of Satan and his lies, deceit and murder we will now look how the god of this world uses Religion to instill fear and keep mankind deceived and to advance his hidden agenda of ruling the world.

Satan as the father of all lies is the father of all religions. Religion is the world's greatest purveyor of fear, anxiety, worry and guilt and Satan use it to control people through emotional and mental attitude sins. He loves religion and religious people and uses both to promote his propaganda and advance his deception of men and nations.

The word translated "religion" is the Greek word " threskeia" that is, is used a very few times in the New Testament. When it is used it is always in contexts having to do with the external or ceremonial.

"Threskos, " or religious," means "careful of the externals of divine service." But the Bible does not say that any amount of care in the externals of divine service can make a person acceptable to God either before or after salvation. Rom 4:2;

Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Entry into Christianity is based solely on the work of Christ on the cross, on the basis of faith. Growth and production in the Christian life are based solely on the work of Christ on the cross on the basis of faith. Rom 4:3;

Christianity is a total grace operation. Eph 2:8-10;

Man can neither earn nor deserve anything from God. But in grace, God does the work, God gets the credit, and man gets the blessing. This is not a plan that man would have ever devised. Isa 55:8;

Christianity is not to anyone's natural liking. Because it is absolute, there is no place for dialogue or discussion in Christianity. It declares the way to life to be very narrow. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life," Jesus said, "no one comes to the Father but through Me" John 14:6;

We see from this that Jesus is the most narrow minded person who ever lived and the world hates that. Satan, on the other hand, is very broad-minded. He fosters an infinite variety of religions, but they all promote dependence on man, not God.

Satan even works his propaganda and deceit within Christian churches to de-emphasize grace and promote works for salvation and independence from God for the spiritual life by mixing truth with his lies and deceit.

The Bible reveals that Satan has his own system of counterfeits including a false gospel. 2Cor 4:3-4; And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
v4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Gal 1:6-7; I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel
v7 not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ.

He has a counterfeit Jesus who is not the Jesus of the Bible. 2Cor 11:4; For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear (this) beautifully.

He has false doctrine. 1Tim 4:1; But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

He has false ministers who tell people what they want to hear and what to do but not how to properly do it; 2Cor 11:13-15; For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
v14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
v15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds.

Matt 23:2-3;"The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;
v3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

He has a false communion. 1Cor 10:19-21; What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
v20 (No,) but (I say) that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
v21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

Satan has a false spirituality by works rather than grace. Gal 3:2-3; This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
v3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Strong side of the OSN)

Col 2:20-23; If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,
v21 "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!"

v22 (which all {refer to} things destined to perish with the using)-- in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?

v23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, {but are} of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Satan promotes false standards of good and evil that promote the evil of human good through social action, anti-establishment activity ,cosmic panaceas, religion, and internationalism and promotes the rejection God's system of Divine Establishment, salvation by Grace through Faith alone in TLJC alone, and accurate Bible Doctrine.

Col 2:8; See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

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