Satan’s Greatest Deception!

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”    Matt 7:21 NIV

One of Satan’s greatest deceptions is convincing individuals that they are on their way to Heaven through some form of religious activity, but in all actuality they are heading in the opposite direction. This verse is perhaps the most frightening verse in the entire Bible and should cause everyone to examine themselves before the Lord. Vast multitudes of professing Christians fit into the category spoken of here. Jesus said,"You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate.The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.” (Matt 7:13) Many call Jesus 'Lord,' but they have no regard for the Word of God and practice lack of control or as the KJV puts it lawlessness.

A close examination of this passage will reveal a heart-piercing discovery...  many who Jesus is referring to are in some form of ministry. Many are preachers, teachers and do many wonderful works in connection with their church. These are those who would gladly say, “I am a Christian.” They work their works in Jesus’ name. They pray and heal in Jesus’ name. They preach and teach in Jesus’ name. They build huge churches and ministries in Jesus’ name. They claim a relationship with Him, but they are none of His. In fact, Jesus sends them away not with condemnation for their good works in His name, but by disowning their every deed and word. He “never” knew them, nor did they ever truly know Him.

The most commonly used word for ‘know’ is oida.  It is the perfect tense form of the verb horao, “to see”, it occurs at least 285 times in the New Testament and it refers more to an intellectual knowledge. The difference between oida and ginosko is most easily seen in passages where both are used. For example, lets look at Jesus’ upper room conversation with Peter in John.13:7.  To Peter’s protest at the apparent impropriety of Jesus’ washing the feet of  His disciples, “Jesus answered and said unto him, “What I do thou knowest (oida) not now; but thou shalt know (ginosko) hereafter.”  (John 13:7 KJV)

Satan’s supreme goal is to replace a sincere relationship with God with a religious institution filled rules, rituals and repetition.  God created us for relationship and He wants to walk with us, talk with us, help us to learn and grow. We are spiritual beings, created to know God. Adam and Even in the book of Genesis is a classical illustration. Prior to the fall there wasn’t any knowledge of good and evil. But after their disobedience they hid themselves from God due to their shame. (Gen 3) God covered their shame with a lamb skin which is a representation of what Jesus the Lamb of God did on Calvary for our disobedience.

God wants our focus to be on Him, not on the rules and regulations. When I married my wife I don't lay down the law against my wife…we have a relationship; we love each other, and learn and grow together. Rules don't make that relationship work, love does. God wants the same thing to be true with the relationship He has with us. He wants it to be about love, not sin, not punishment, not getting it right every time, but learning and moving forward. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor 13:13) Love is mankind's greatest motivator. If anything stirs the heart of man, it is the desire for love. You see it everywhere… movies, books, music, poetry, art. We were created to have this relationship with the Creator of the Universe.

If we are in a relationship with God through His Son, commune with Him through His Holy Spirit and guided by His Word we will be lead into right behavior. Jesus Christ set me free from the worry of sin, from the condemnation, from the fear. Now I walk with Him, I make mistakes, I fall, the Holy Spirit speaks to me, I learn and I grow. It is by living that we become the men and women God wants us to be.

Does God want us to sin? Absolutely not! The wages of sin is death. It hurts us, those we love and God dreadfully when we fall into sin. But God wants us to repent be able to let it go and move on. He wants to lead us out of sin as we commune with Him in a love relationship… not because we are fearful of hell or the criticism of fellow Christians. God wants to teach us to avoid sin because it is an assault on the relationship He has with us and because it is an assault on life itself. God has good plans for us and sin prevents Him from leading us into that blessing.

Sin is the choice to do something our way, contrary to the leadership of God. The Lord is the author of life and knows what it takes to provide for life. Sin produces death because it is contrary to God and to His wisdom. Follow God and live Paul said, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ro 6:23) … that message is everywhere in the bible.

                          

We often sin because it’s our Adamic nature we are hurting individuals. All people need love, acceptance, and leadership. God promises to meet all of those needs through the power of His Holy Sprit - He is our comfort (love), provides fellowship (acceptance), and offers counsel (leadership). When we connect with God, we can receive all of these things and be made whole. Our hearts can be filled, so to speak. When we are disconnected from God… our hearts become empty. It's at this time that we often turn to sin as a remedy for the pain of an empty heart. Only the love of God can fill an empty heart. Sin is man's attempt to fill his own heart; to find a little relief; to escape the pain of life. As we grow in our relationship with God, we learn how to recognize when we are disconnected from God by the desire for sin that sometimes rises within. We can sense our own "heart level" and use that nudge to step back into fellowship with God. Satan’s objective is to have one focus on a system of religion filled with the sin of legalism which kills rather than cultivating a loving relationship with God.

A religious person has a relationship with rules rather than a relationship with God. Religion produces a sense of self-righteousness in the person who follows the set of laws. Tragically this keeps them from seeing their need for God. Remember the Saul of Tarsus the Pharisee of Pharisees?  Listen to what Paul has to say about being religious… "If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith" (Philippians 3:4-9).

                  

Satan’s strategy is to produce a self-righteous state of mind depleting your love for Christ. This form of religion produces self-condemnation in those who recognize their own inability to conform consistently. Their reaction will be "I'll never be able to do this!" People give up and leave Christianity in their hopeless and emptiness.  This form of religion prevents people from learning to listen to the Holy Spirit and recognize when they are disconnected from God and how to reconnect. It puts them in a state of spiritual blindness. Since their heart is still empty, they are tempted to think that there might be relief in that which is forbidden... as Eve was tempted in the Garden of Eden.  Satan tempted her using her bodily senses. He used her eyes…saw that the tree was beautiful, taste…its fruit looked delicious, and pride... and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. (Gen 3:6) This same tactic Satan uses on people today as they begin to think, "I'm so unhappy, but those people sure seem to be having a good time. Maybe I'll try what they're doing." The remedy for this emptiness must be sin and they are drawn to sin by their own desperation for peace within his heart.

A vast majority of religious people are relying on their good works for their salvation and forgetting the main point of their calling. So, I quote Jesus from the book of Luke:   So he answered and said, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.” (10:27) Our job on earth is to reach the lost. Legalism prevents us from doing so and focuses us on the sin of others rather than on ways to love them. Commenting or pointing out the sin of others never led them to Christ. It is love that draws people not condemnation, not the fear of hell.

 If you desire to see people come to salvation… love them! Have a relationship with someone, find out what moves them, and get interested. The Holy Spirit is already convicting them of their sin (Jn 16:8) and you'll have opportunities to teach them as they grow in their relationship with God and learn to listen to the Holy Spirit. We are called to exhort, edify, and comfort (1Cor 14:3) - not to criticize.

Those religious individuals Jesus is addressing all boast of their good works but fail to recognize their relationship with Christ. They’re so self-righteous and fail to realize that it’s the powerful Name of Jesus via His Holy Spirit that preformed those miracles. 

Jesus said… “the thief's [Satan’s] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (Jn 10:10) Legalism steals the life that God intended for us to have. God wants us to live full of joy and blessing. Jesus Christ wants us to fully enjoy the kingdom of God. 

It breaks my heart to see a vast multitude repetitiously attend church each Sunday as it was some kind of ritual; attempting to follow the rules and regulations of some particular religious denomination...  producing modern day Pharisees that one day will hear those dreaded words of Christ… “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

Love God, love your neighbor…  “an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:"Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.This is the first and greatest commandment.A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:35-39) - it’s about relationship… not religion!

Peace,