Satan: The Defeated Foe. Kenneth B. Alexander BSL, JD, Deacon
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Название: Satan: The Defeated Foe
Автор: Kenneth B. Alexander BSL, JD, Deacon
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Дом и Семья: прочее
isbn: 9781456612139
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Many Jewish sects also preached that circumcision was still a necessary requirement to be part of the Body of Christ. Paul said: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligationto keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love” (Gal 5:1-6). Also: “Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh...For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Gal 6:12-15).
Paul’s point was that, under the New Covenant of Christ, salvation no longer came by doing works demanded by the Mosaic Law but through faith. After Christ he who attempts to live righteously by attempting to do the requirements of the Law will fail because man, without Christ, cannot fulfill the law. He made that clear in Romans 2:12: “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law”. Satan’s role in all of this is that, as a religious spirit, is that he fashions churches into institutions that have laws, rules and regulations that, if adhered to (he says) will bring salvation. This is the opposite of Christ’s and Paul’s teaching. Mankind will never become righteous by doing works in the flesh designed to please God. All that attempt this, even with the best of intentions, will never please God who asks us only for our faith and love.
Paul bluntly called these ministers who preach adherence to the Law
“servants of Satan”. Paul said, speaking of the religious false prophets that infiltrated the early churches: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! FOR SATAN HIMSELF TRANSFORMS HIMSELF INTO AN ANGEL OF LIGHT. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Today we have many such “apostles of righteousness” who are no more than ministers of Satan.
Religion, such as described above, gives birth to rituals, laws and attitudes that attempt to please God. However God is only pleased with love, obedience and faith as we learned from Abraham. Man didn’t develop just one religion but thousands, all trying to please God with their works. They use human ideas and their corrupted consciences (Hebrews 10:22) to try to do what was right in the hopes God will be pleased. Ancient civilizations built giant edifices, monuments to and temples to whatever false god they were worshipping. Civilizations like Sumeria, Babylon, Persia, Egypt, Rome, Greece, Maya, Islam, Catholics, and yes even some of today’s great mega-churches have constructed magnificent architectural wonders on earth in honor of their gods who do not exist, except in the form of Satan. Churches organize great works, missionary projects, missions to feed the poor all trying to please God with their great works. We are not saying such projects are bad or evil but God is looking for something else to fulfill His will n the earth.
All of this is religion, which has nothing to do with the God. God is only one God, one faith, not thousands of faiths each interpreting God according to their fallen human understanding. Great books and commentaries are written by men to try and explain God by men who do not know Him but are writing according to their intellect and human understanding. Paul clearly defines the fruit of the human intellect: “For the mind set on the flesh [the soul, emotions intellect] is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the MIND SET ON THE FLESH IS HOSTILE TOWARD GOD; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so” (Romans 8:6-7). All our intellectual attempts to explain God are skewed because they originate from a mind that is actually hostile to God. This fallen nature is the direct result of Satan who does not want mankind to know the truth.
Religion actually gives people a false sense of security that originates directly from Satan. Karl Marx said: “Religion is the opiate of the people”. We are not advocating communism but religion blinds man from the truth of Jesus Christ. As Paul said: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the GOD OF THIS WORLD [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Co 4:3-4). As Paul said: “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 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” (2 Co 11:3-4). This type of activity was common in the first century. As Jesus warned: “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many” (Mt 24:11, 7:15; Mark 13:22). False prophets are those who do not teach the truth and they are numerous in this and past ages.
Revelation warns: “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon”. This is the religious beast that comes with horns as a lamb yet speaks like the dragon (Satan)….He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast” (Rev 11, 13-14). This religious beast was the false prophet (Satan) (Rev 19:20).
Satan’s Angelic name is Lucifer which means “light bearer” and he is referred to as "the bright star of the morning”. He is the father of religion according to Christ. In Matthew 23:13-36 Jesus was speaking to the most religious sect of its day the Pharisees. The Pharisees’ system of religion was a form and nothing more. Theirs was a very lax morality (Matt. 5:20; 15:4, 8; 23:3, 14, 23, 25; John 8:7). On the first notice of them in the New Testament (Matt. 3:7), they are ranked by our Lord with the Sadducees as a “generation of vipers.” They were noted for their self-righteousness and their pride (Matt. 9:11; Luke 7:39; 18:11, 12). They were frequently rebuked by our Lord (Matt. 12:39; 16:1–4). From the very beginning of his ministry the Pharisees showed themselves bitter and persistent enemies of our Lord. They could not bear his doctrines, and they sought by every means to destroy his influence among the people.