[Have a fishing pole with a hooked worm.]
SATAN APPEARS AS AN ANGEL OF LIGHT: Sin takes what is good and twists it just enough.
- 2 Corinthians 11:14.
- Genesis 3:1.
- What does it mean that Satan appears as an angel of light? It means that Satan in tempting us often comes to us in the form of something good or godly.
- How does he fool us then? Clearly he isn’t going to offer us the actual good thing. No, instead he just slightly twists that which is good and offers it. In that case, it still has remnants of the good that attracts us, but it leads us in a bad direction. Satan is using that which is good to point us in a bad direction.
- This twisting of God’s words is as old as the Garden of Eden. Satan doesn’t attempt a frontal assault on what God has told Adam and Eve: “Let’s rebel against God! Reject your Creator!” No, instead He simply tries to twist God’s words just enough: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1).
- Eugene Peterson: “Every temptation that comes to me is packaged as a good.”
EXAMPLES:
1. Sex is good, but twist that truth to say that you don’t have to be in a marriage to enjoy it.
- Despite the excessive amount of time that conservative Christians spend saying, “Don’t!” when it comes to sexual matters, the point where we should start is that God is the One who created sex. Sex is a good gift from God, but He gave it to be enjoyed within the confines of marriage. That’s not because He’s a killjoy, but because sex is a valuable and meaningful connection that is not to be treated lightly.
- Satan takes that gift from God and just twists the message a little bit. Sex is great, but it’s ridiculous that you should save sex for marriage. It’s fun, so enjoying it in the most causal of relationships is perfectly acceptable.
- Another way that this plays out is with pornography. The good, physical attraction that men and women have for each other is used to draw people into watching things where the visual stimulus is used to twist the good desire from God into watching morally wrong videos.
- So in this situation Satan doesn’t try to make something that’s evil and despicable sound good; instead he takes something that is good and twists it enough that it looks good without being good.
2. Belief in God is good, but twist that truth to say that you don’t have to follow Jesus to make that happen.
- This is so common today: people who believe in God, but make no effort to actually follow Jesus.
- In many cases, the situation was caused by faulty preaching.
- The end result is people who think they are ok with God when in fact many of them are lost.
- So in this situation Satan doesn’t try to make something that’s evil and despicable sound good; instead he takes something that is good and twists it enough that it looks good without being good.
3. The value of a human life is good, but twist that truth to say that I deserve to get what I want all the time.
- We believe that each human life is made in the image of God. But sometimes we let that metastasize into a belief that I should get everything I want. After all, I’m valuable, so I should get what I want.
- So in this situation Satan doesn’t try to make something that’s evil and despicable sound good; instead he takes something that is good and twists it enough that it looks good without being good.
4. The world was created to be good, but twist that truth to say that things will give our lives meaning.
- The physical world that we live in was one that was declared “good” by God after its creation. That does not mean that it hasn’t been impacted by the Fall, but it does mean that its original condition was good. Because of that, we enjoy the things of this world.
- Sometimes, though, we try to find meaning in our lives from the things we buy. A new iPhone will make me happy! Getting boat will give me fulfillment! A new outfit will cheer my heart!
- Things can be enjoyed but they cannot give our lives meaning. That demands something far higher.
- So in this situation Satan doesn’t try to make something that’s evil and despicable sound good; instead he takes something that is good and twists it enough that it looks good without being good.
5. Owning things is good, but twist that truth to say you should have whatever you want (and thus create credit card debt).
- Having possessions is part of the way the world works. And it is a good thing to have what we need to live.
- Some, though, come to believe that they deserve to have whatever they want, whether they have the money for it or not. This is not confined to the poor – middle class and wealthy people are just as likely to try to live beyond their means.
- So in this situation Satan doesn’t try to make something that’s evil and despicable sound good; instead he takes something that is good and twists it enough that it looks good without being good.
6. Having meaningful relationships is good, but twist that truth to say that gossip is a good way to cement your insider status.
- We were made by God to be social creatures. We need those meaningful relationships. In fact, a large part of the meaning we find to our lives is tied up in the connections we have with those around us.
- When we don’t have the deep and meaningful connections that we would like, we are tempted to gain insider status by gossiping about those outside the group. It allows me to get in better by stepping on other people.
- We are to have those deep relationships, but we are not to hurt others in the process.
- So in this situation Satan doesn’t try to make something that’s evil and despicable sound good; instead he takes something that is good and twists it enough that it looks good without being good.
7. Food is good, but twist that truth to say that you should eat whatever you want whenever you want (not matter the health consequences).
- We need food to live, but it’s also a joy to sit down to a delicious meal with people we love.
- Sometimes, though, we eat more than our body needs and suffer the health problems that come from that.
- So in this situation Satan doesn’t try to make something that’s evil and despicable sound good; instead he takes something that is good and twists it enough that it looks good without being good.
8. Relaxation is good, but twist that truth to say that spending hours mindlessly scrolling social media is a good use of time.
- We are meant to do meaningful work, but God also gave us the Sabbath as part of His plan because we also need down time. We need moments of quiet and relaxation.
- Countless hours are being wasted, though, in our world today as we “relax” by sitting down and scrolling our bottomless social media feed. Yes, we do need to relax, but we don’t need to flush the hours of our life away.
- So in this situation Satan doesn’t try to make something that’s evil and despicable sound good; instead he takes something that is good and twists it enough that it looks good without being good.
9. Being good citizens is good, but twist that truth to say that your allegiance to a political party is more important than your allegiance to the Kingdom.
- We are called to be good citizens. We should vote, be good neighbors, pray for our governmental leaders, and be thankful for the steading presence of government.
- Sometimes today, though, Christians get so caught up in political intrigue that they have a stronger loyalty and allegiance to their party than they do to the kingdom.
- So in this situation Satan doesn’t try to make something that’s evil and despicable sound good; instead he takes something that is good and twists it enough that it looks good without being good.
10. Having food to eat and a home to live in is good, but twist that truth to say that you should only be concerned about yourself in how you live your life (rather than being a good neighbor).
- We should be thankful for the blessings of life that give us food on our plates, clothes on our backs, and beds to peacefully sleep in each night.
- Sometimes, though, that plays out in our lives with us only thinking of ourselves as we consider how the world should be run, what policies would be best for our government to implement, and what I want to happen with our schools. I don’t give any thought to those around me and whether it will hurt them.
- So in this situation Satan doesn’t try to make something that’s evil and despicable sound good; instead he takes something that is good and twists it enough that it looks good without being good.
Avoiding That:
1. DOES IT JUST LOOK GOOD OR FEEL GOOD? OR IS IT GOOD?
- John 10:10; Galatians 5:19-25.
- We need to ask ourselves whether what we are pursuing just looks good or feels good or whether it is genuinely good.
- Jesus told us that He came to give us “abundant life” (John 10:10). That’s not to say that there won’t be struggles and difficulties in the Christian life, but that what He is offering is the best of all possible lives.
- It will bring the fruit of the Spirit into our lives (Galatians 5:19-25). Even when we go through trials, God will even then bring spiritual growth out of that (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4). It may not be easy, but it is helping us to become better people.
- Our vision for what is good in this context is that we want to be like Jesus. He is all that is good and right and we want our lives to reflect His.
- To note three of the examples given earlier:
- 1. Sex.
- Obviously the sexual ethic that our world uses is one that it about pursuing what feels good. But it also leaves a ton of problems in its wake: unwanted pregnancies, abortions, broken hearts, feelings of being used, etc.
- Sex is good, but the desire to pursue whatever feels good abuses that gift from God.
- 2. Belief in Jesus.
- It looks good to be able to say that you believe in God. But doing so while at the same time having a completely unchanged life is dangerous.
- 6. Relationships.
- It feels good to know that you have friends to talk to during your day. But maintaining those relationships by gossiping and tearing down others is not good.
2. LOOK FOR THE HOOK.
- Once we know this big truth (about twisting) we’ve been talking about this morning, we should be wise to the way that Satan sometimes works. Because of that, when we see something that seems too good to be true, we should look for the hook.
- In these situations, we need to look for the hook. Just like the fishing pole we have this morning has that hook hidden in the worm, we need to know that what initially looks good may have damaging, even damning consequences later.
- The way that much of sin works is that all the good is presented up front and then the consequences show up once we’re in too deep. Maybe the most obvious example of that is drug addiction. Someone enjoys the high, which makes them want that experience again. It’s only much later that they realize their body can’t live without those drugs anymore. The drug high hid the drug hook.
- Because of that, we need to look for the hook. When something morally questionable seems so attractive, we need to stop and think about what the later consequences are going to be.
- To note two of the examples given earlier:
- 5. Indebtedness.
- It’s easy to see the hook when it comes to financial indebtedness when you know where to look, but businesses try to hide it.
- Just to cite one of the worst examples: a furniture store may offer “6 years same as cash” for people to come in and buy at their store. It sounds like a great deal. What many don’t know is that if you don’t get it paid off in 6 years, then they add interest retroactively to the day of your purchase. And, not surprisingly, most people who get those loans don’t pay them off in time.
- 8. Relaxation.
- It’s so easy to sit down and waste huge parts of your day scrolling through social media. What we don’t always pay attention to is that social media has a negative impact on our emotions. It can make us depressed, lead to envy, and cause us to feel the world is hopelessly divided. It seems harmless enough, but look for the hook.
3. IF YOU DON'T KNOW GOD'S TRUTH, YOU'RE DUMB AS A CARP.
- We’re going to stick with the fishing analogy. It’s not particularly smart of the fish to eat something with a hook in it. It’s also not particularly smart of us to swallow these lies that we’ve been talking about today.
- How do we avoid the hook?
- You need to know God’s truth.
- It’s only in knowing God’s truth that you will start to be able to discern between what is false and true. Only then will you be able to tell between an angel of light and Satan masquerading as an angel of light.
- To note three of the examples given earlier:
- 4. Things will give our lives meaning.
- We live in a heavily materialistic culture. Everyone tells you that buying things will make you happy.
- Where are you going to hear that’s not true? From God.
- 9. Party over kingdom.
- We live in a polarized political environment where many forecast that electing the wrong person is the end of the world and electing the right person will fulfill all our needs.
- Where are you going to hear that’s not true and that there is a kingdom worth working for? From God.
- 10. Only concerned about yourself.
- We live in a culture that pushes putting yourself above all else. We need to know that we are to live beyond ourselves.
- Where are you going to hear that we have an obligation to love our neighbor? From God.
