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| Sermon #53 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid, MAT 5:14. In our previous message on our Saviour's Sermon on the Mount, we pointed out how verses 13-16 deal with the influence of the Christian on the world. The Christian's influence is through Biblical principles. We dealt with that secret, but powerful, influence a Christian has on the world under the figure of salt. This secret influence has no words connected with it. It's just an influence that the unction of the Spirit has upon the world when they see Christian principles within those who are not of the world. As soon as a man is born again, he has a two-way effect on his fellow man which is rather felt than seen. This effect is being the salt of the earth. Every true Christian will manifest a visible influence. Our Saviour sets this forth under the figure of light. For this message let's look at the effect the Christian has on the world as a light. This is under the figure of salt and under the figure of light. We have dealt with the figure of salt, so now let's look at the figure of light. If we are going to understand any Biblical principle, we must understand that Christ is the center. If we are going to speak of light, we must look to Christ as the light. Christ is the light of the world; so when Christ is formed in you, He is that light which people see. Let's consider what that light is. The true light is the righteousness of Christ. REV 21:23 says, "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." What is the glory of God? God the Father is only glorified in the purpose of His creation. The purpose of His creation was that man should reflect His true Character. Where we read in GEN 1:26, "And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," that word "image" means "a reflector of." In other words God said, "Let us make man as a reflector of our likeness." Since the fall of man, it was through the righteousness, i.e., the obedience of Christ, that God's true character is reflected in our human nature. The purpose was that the Father might be glorified in the reflection of His true character in man. God was to be glorified in man as the jewel of His creation walking in true submission and humility to Him. Christ's perfect obedience reflects the true character of God in our human nature. This is where the Father has gained the object of His creation. Christ was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Through an act of obedience, Christ paid the price for the penalty of sin. This righteousness of Christ, which reflects the true character of His Father, is the light which is the glory of God that did lighten the heavens. "...for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." The Lord Jesus Christ through His perfect obedience is the light which reflects the true character of His Father. We must now be reflectors of that light by conforming to the image of Christ. ROM 8:29 says, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." This is the light we must shine. As we become conformed unto the image of Christ, we begin to reflect the image of Christ who is formed in us. We become the light of the world, in proportion, as we become reflectors of the true character of Christ. This is "...Christ in you, the hope of glory," COL 1:27. We have to see that Christ being formed in us becomes the light of the world. Let's understand what this means. Righteousness and judgment are the very foundation of God's throne. In PSA 97:2 we read, "Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." The righteousness of Christ dispels the darkness. It dispels the clouds of sin. The perfect righteousness of Christ is the habitation of His throne. Let's take notice of what that light is. We will look at it in two messages. There is too much to put it into one sermon. In this message, we will look at the counterfeit light. There is so much light in the world today; many people think they are being the light of the world. How many, however, walk in the counterfeit light? How many truly walk in the light of the righteousness of Christ? The perfect righteousness of Christ must be imparted in our soul. If it is not, we are walking in a counterfeit light establishing a righteousness of our own. Let's look at this counterfeit light, which is Satan's gospel. We have to be aware that Satan's gospel sheds a false light which comes from the kingdom of darkness. We must not be deceiving ourselves and walking in a false light. REV 16:10 tells us, "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness." Satan's gospel of darkness is a permissiveness of sin, or unrighteousness, depravity, and error. Under the preaching of Satan's gospel, there is no call to true evangelical repentance or the process of sanctification; there is no understanding of the two-fold gospel. We need to be justified before the bar of God's judgment, and we need to be cleansed in the fountain which is open for all sin and uncleanness. Under the teaching of Satan's gospel, he would lead us into the broad-road church wherein there is no call to "...be salted with fire, and every sacrifice [to] be salted with salt," MAR 9:49. There is no call to sacrifice that body of sin, i.e., that evil eye, that hand that is swift to exercise that which the evil mind contrives, nor that foot that is swift to run to evil. The way is so broad that all these things can enter, and there is no call to be purged from our sin. There is a legal repentance preached under the teaching of Satan's gospel. This teaches a remorse over sin, but only because of its consequences! Satan's gospel teaches people to seize upon the death of the Son for the inheritance, MAT 21:38, but without rendering any fruits of repentance. This is the broad road that leads unto destruction. This is the false light. In MAT 7:13-14 we read, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." The broad gate is the way of Satan's gospel. It's the way where we don't have to give up our pride, covetousness, or the secret sins of our heart. This is a legal religion whereby the broad road believers claim we can go into heaven without ever having been delivered from sin or the power of sin. Satan will tell us that the penalty is all washed away in the blood of Christ. The first four beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount show what it means to be delivered from sin. They show the work of regeneration in the heart. The gospel of Satan omits the work of regeneration. The next three beatitudes set forth the fruit of regeneration: the fruit of regeneration is conversion, i.e., to be cleansed from sin, to show mercy, to be pure in heart which results in being a peacemaker. These are the fruits of the regeneration of the Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus Christ has preached such a beautiful full gospel in His Sermon on the Mount; He preached the whole counsel of God. At the conclusion of His Sermon on the Mount in MAT 7:13-14, Jesus warns about the dangers of not entering through the strait gate. The word strait in those verses is the same word from the original text that David used in 2SA 24:14 when he said, "I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man." The word means compressed. It means a way of difficulty. The strait way is the way whereby all of the things of the world will be purged away. We will be stripped naked before God. We cannot take along any sin. The slightest private sin of our heart must be purged away before we can fit through the narrow gate. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat." That broad road is the way of Satan's gospel. Satan gained the fall of man by placing the authority of God's Word and God's integrity in question. Satan barters the Word of God. To barter means to trade one item for another of equal value. Satan tries to barter the Word of God with human reasoning. Satan sets human reasoning equal in value to the Word of God. Satan teaches man to barter the Word of God. In Satan's gospel, the authority of the Word of God has been set at naught. Satan tries to replace the Word of God with philosophy and human reasoning. GEN 3:4 says,"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die." He was bartering the Word of God with human reasoning. Satan sold Eve on the idea that man should be equal with God, and questioned God's authority to decide what was right or wrong. We see this in Satan's gospel today. In GEN 3:5 we read, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." He was calling into question the integrity of God. By so doing, he brought about the fall. If we identify Satan's gospel today, we will see the bartering of the Word of God. Satan's gospel uses human reasoning to barter the Word of God. We must be well aware of this because Satan is very crafty. Before we can rightly understand what it is to be the light of the world, we must identify Satan's false light. If we do not understand the false light of Satan, we will never understand the true light of the world.
FOR OUR FIRST POINT , let's consider how Satan attempts to establish his kingdom of darkness by his gospel of deceit with human intellect or human reasoning.
FOR OUR SECOND POINT , let's consider how Satan attempts to put out the light of the church through persecution which forces the church to hide its light under a bushel with a hidden discipleship.
FIRST , let's consider how Satan attempts to establish his kingdom of darkness by preaching his gospel of deceit with human intellect or human reasoning.God's Word admonishes us to beware of "...false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works," 2CO 11:13. In the introduction I pointed out that the righteousness of Christ is the light. The verse above said, "...Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness." In other words, they are transformed into ministers of light, but they are the ministers of darkness. The righteousness of Christ is not the light that they shine. They do not shine the beauty of the perfect obedience of Christ. It is so important that we can discern the truth of the Word of God. We cannot try to shine a light of philosophy or of human reasoning. We cannot be a renowned Christian on the basis of a religion that is outside of the Bible. It is so important that we understand this. In our day and throughout the history of the church, Satan has wanted to penetrate the church with darkness, substituting his darkness for light. I read in the encyclopedia that the communists have despaired from trying to put out the light of the church. They have found that the harder they beat on religion, the deeper they drive it in. They have backed away from persecuting the church. To try to stop religion, they pollute it. This is Satan's gospel. They pollute it so they have a light that is darkness. It is not the righteousness of Christ. We have to understand that Satan authored this idea. Satan's whole purpose within the church is to pollute the Word of God with human philosophy and human reasoning which barters the Word of God. It is very important to identify the ministers of Satan's gospel for they claim to be ministers of righteousness. How do we identify them? It becomes very simple once we understand that they call in question the authority of God's Word by placing humanistic reasoning above God's Word, preaching peace through the blood of the cross without repentance. They are those of whom we read in ROM 1:25. "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." Those who preach the gospel of Satan change the Word of God into a lie. I read in the newspaper about a new discovery the scientists have made. They said the mantle that is purported to have been placed upon Christ in the tomb couldn't have been. They found that the mantle contains a type of cloth that was first manufactured in the year 1100. The church has now conceded that it was not the mantle which was laid over Christ. They don't want to desert it because of the tremendous blessings people have received from the holiness of this mantle which they lay over themselves. These same people have a staircase which was supposed to have been taken from Pilot's hall. The traditional philosophy is that the blood of Jesus is on those steps. Scientists have proven that this staircase did not come from Pilot's hall because it contains material that didn't exist during Christ's life on earth. They have disproven the authenticity of the staircase as a fabrication of man. Yet, the church will not eliminate it from their church ritual because it is sacred to them. They say that people have been blessed by going down on their knees next to the drops of Christ's blood. They say this blood dripped from His head, wounded from His crown of thorns, as He ascended the staircase into Pilot's hall to be judged. Human reasoning can become so sacred! Such philosophy can seem so genuine that people hold it as sacred! We can think this is so precious and imagine we receive a rich blessing, while it is a religion that is outside of the Word of God! It is nothing more than the light that comes from Satan. It is not the righteousness of Christ. It is bartering the Word of God. Once a man told me that he felt so blessed to be able to look to that baptized forehead of his children. I truly believe this man was a dear child of God, yet you can see how Satan was trying to remove his eyes from Christ. Where does Scripture mention a baptized forehead? Oh beloved, though it may seem so sacred, may God enlighten the eyes of His church to see the delusion. How can it be a blessing to place our children under the covenant of circumcision and thus make them debtors to do the whole law? COL 2:10-11 tells us "And ye are complete in him...In whom also ye are circumcised...by the circumcision of Christ." It was in the circumcision of Christ that He became a debtor to do the whole law on our behalf. When we re-circumcise our children, the circumcision of Christ in their behalf is nullified. This is why the apostle says when we administer the covenant of circumcision, "...Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, [because you are re-circumcised, you have nullified Christ's circumcision on your behalf, that is why Paul says,] whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." How can we pretend to place our children under the covenant of circumcision when the apostle so sharply admonishes us in COL 2:ll saying, "And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased." Circumcision does not replace baptism; they are co-essential. Christ's circumcision was His pledge to fulfill the law on our behalf, that His obedience might be imputed unto us. Christ's baptism was his pledge to step down into death to pay the penalty of our sin, and to rise again for our justification. Thereby we "are complete in Him"! See COL 2:10, "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Satan tries to use these things which can seem so sacred to replace the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ as the object of our comfort and our salvation. Something can become so sacred to us; we can be so sincere, and yet be so sincerely wrong. Satan is coming forth as an angel of light. He pulls our eyes away from the perfect righteousness of Christ; then Christ is not the center and object of our faith. ROM 1:25 says, "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." I am speaking about this exact thing. Christians today create sacred items which they barter for the Word of God. They think their faith is enlivened by them. Satan is placing something besides Christ as the object of their faith to keep them out of the strait and narrow way. Oh beloved, God's Word admonishes us in COL 2:8, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." The gospel of Satan will spoil us and cause us to rest on something outside of the blessed atonement and perfect righteousness of Christ. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." God's Word admonishes us to beware of Satan's gospel preached by those who received not the love of the truth. They can barter the Word of God for something that is sacred and precious to them; by so doing, they become gainsayers of the Word. They start adding to or taking from the Word of God saying, "But we must presume," when God's Word calls presumptuous sins the great transgression. David said in PSA 19:13, "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression." Satan's gospel sets God's Word at naught. Where is the authority of the Word of God? These satanic substitutes and human reasonings destroy the sacredness of the Word of God. COL 2:8 says, "Beware lest any man spoil you [by following these philosophies we are spoiled!] through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." It is so important that we understand these admonitions. 2TH 2:10-11 speaks of those who, "...received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." These strong delusions become so sacred that we hold them above the Word of God. V:12 continues, "That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." Having pleasure in something besides that perfect light and having our eyes fixed upon something besides Christ is a delusion. The men of Berea were more noble than those in Thessalonica. ACT 17:11 says, "...in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." We must sort out all these gospels with the Word of God. Anything that is not founded 100% upon the Word of God must be filed in that little round file, the trash can; a lid must be put on it, so we will never refer to it again. If we have to add any philosophy to God's Word to gain our interpretation, we must throw it away. It is Satan's gospel. There is only one true gospel, and that is the Word of God. If we don't understand the authority of the Word of God, we can never be a true light to the world. We can be ever so sincere, and yet be sincerely wrong if we are not settled wholly upon the authority of the Word of God. We must understand that human intellect and humanistic reasoning is confounded by the true light. 1CO 1:27 says, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." What seems so insignificant within the Word of God will confound the wise men of the world. It will confound the things which are mighty. The Word must become our total authority. Human intellect and human reasoning are a light of their own kindling. How does the Lord deal with this. We read in ISA 50:11, "Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow." The Lord will remove the candlestick. He will remove the true light if the light of your own kindling and the sparks of your own kindling become more precious to you than God's Word. If you barter your own kindling, i.e., Satan's gospel, for the true light of the Word of God, the Lord will withdraw His candlestick. Let's turn to ISA 1:12-20. V:12 says, "When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?" The Lord is not pleased with any type of worship that is not of His origin. He will be the Author and Finisher of our faith. If He is not the uthor of your gospel, He says, "who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?" Don't try to come before the Lord to please Him with those things you think are so sacred, but are outside of His Word! V:13, "Bring no more vain oblations; [i.e., don't think you can please the Lord with any of your human philosophy] incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting." Vain oblations are these things which are sacred to you, but are empty of truth. They are not based on the Word of God. The Word of God has been bartered. "Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood," V:14-15. Verse 16-17 show what is acceptable to the Lord. "Wash you,[Come to the fountain open for all sin and uncleanness.] make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." Verse 18 is so precious. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." The Lord is saying that it isn't even reasonable or logical to go to Him with gospels outside of His Word. You cannot please Him with things that are sacred to you, yet forbidden in His Word. The Lord says, "Come let us reason together...If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it," V:19-20. The Lord wants our heart to come into subjection to His will and His Word. This false light comes from the kingdom of darkness. REV 16:10 says, "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness." All of these things which he barters are from the kingdom of darkness. Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, which means he had the highest education of human reasoning; yet he was serving the kingdom of darkness and persecuting the true church of Christ. He was acting absolutely contrary to the will of God. The Lord arrested him on his way to Damascus. In ACT 22:3 we see, "I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day." The Apostle Paul was trying to show the Jews that they were so zealous, but they were moving in the wrong direction. They were doing the very things we just read of in ISA 1. They were bringing vain oblations before the Lord. Their heart was far from the Lord. Paul pointed out that he had done the same thing. He had the highest education of human reasoning; and, believing he was doing God's service, he persecuted the followers of Jesus. Paul was arrested on the way to Damascus by the true Light. "And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" ACT 9:4. Jesus pointed out that Saul was persecuting the true Light. When Saul, who was to become the Apostle Paul, was taught of the Spirit of Christ, he had a completely different religion. ACT 26:16 says, "But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee." Paul had to become a messenger of the true Light. He was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, but all his human reasoning and teaching had to be put away for Paul to become a minister of the Light. When the true Light from heaven was shown into his heart, Paul's natural eyes were blinded. When his eyes were opened to see the true Light, he was blinded to all his human reasoning. When the Apostle Paul was enlightened with the Light from heaven, he was commissioned to be a minister of Jesus Christ to shine that true Light of the gospel unto the Gentiles. Paul was sent to turn them from the darkness there is in Satan's gospel to the true Light: "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me," ACT 26:18. Satan's gospel can come so close to the Word of God that if it were possible, he would deceive the very elect. Human reasoning can accept Satan's gospel as the gospel of Christ. MAT 24:23-25 says, "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." What is a false Christ? The word Christ means anointed. A false Christ is something that we take as sacred. We believe it to be the gospel, but it is false. We think it is the anointed way of the Lord. We believe that it is the way of salvation. The word Jesus means Saviour. We are seeing a false salvation. This doesn't necessarily mean a person. False Christs can be false places of security. They can be false places where we rest believing we have salvation. This is like the sprinkled forehead or resting upon the staircase thinking it is sacred. Scripture shows no basis for this, but many find such comfort and such blessings in them. In our own heart, we think we are settled on Christ, but this isn't true. Christ is the Christ of the Bible. We must be so careful that we are not settling on a false Christ that has been bartered for the Word of God. It may be a salvation and resting place outside of the Word of God. The false Christ can come so close and seem so genuine. The Apostle Peter was a man of faith. In MAT 26:33, "Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended." He showed such faith. In V:35, "Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples." Peter had strong faith, but it was not faith in Christ. Peter had faith in himself. Satan had built him up in a powerful faith, but it was not the faith of Jesus Christ. Jesus told Peter in LUK 22:32, "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Peter had become strong in himself. The Lord Jesus said in MAT 18:3, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." In LUK 22:61-62, "And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly." That was faith in Christ. Look at the difference. We must be on guard for the false Christs. We must pray that we are not resting the hope of our salvation on human reasoning. MAT 24:24-25 speaks clearly of false prophets as well as false Christs. "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, [Don't pass this by.] I have told you before." It is not possible to deceive God's elect because the Lord intervenes. He does not allow His elect to deceive themselves. How do we discern the gospel of Christ from these false gospels? The gospel of Christ is two-fold. Satan wants a one-fold gospel. This is the dividing line. It is two-fold; we must hunger and thirst after righteousness. You can die of thirst while you still have food, and you can die of hunger while you still have water. We must have both food and water. Hungering after the broken body of Christ is hunger after Christ's righteousness before the bar of God's justice. Thirsting after righteousness is thirsting for cleansing from sin in that fountain which was opened for all sin and uncleanness. That is the two-fold gospel. This two-fold gospel not only teaches the need to be delivered from the penalty of sin, but also the need to be delivered from sin itself. If our gospel will only deliver us from sin, we are trying to establish a righteousness of our own, and we have never been made righteous by the blood of Christ. If this is our gospel, then we will fall short of salvation. On the other hand, if our religion only makes us just before the bar of God's justice, if we have never had a desire to be cleansed from the pollution of sin, if we have never come to the fountain that is open for all sin and uncleanness, if sin has never become sin to us, we will fall short of salvation. We must have a two-fold gospel. Satan's gospel leads us into believing only one of the two principles of the gospel of Christ: either in the doctrines of Balaam--to seek a pardon without sanctification, or to seek a salvation out of self- righteousness, without the righteousness of Christ. Balaam had many rich and blessed experiences, but his heart was never changed. He coveted the wages of unrighteousness. See the rich experiences of Balaam in NUM 24:2: "And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him." Balaam saw the beauty of and longed for the death of the righteous. NUM 23:10 says, "Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." Balaam did not live the life of the righteous, and he did not die the death of the righteous. In REV 2:14 we read, "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication." Balaam advised Balac to cast this stumbling block before Israel because Balac had offered a reward to curse Israel. The Lord forbade him to curse Israel. To obtain the reward, Balaam counseled Balac how to cause Israel to sin. He knew that by sinning they would lose the favor of God. Balaam understood the gospel of Satan, and he understood the gospel of Christ. He chose the wages of unrighteousness. He taught Balac how to trap Israel with the gospel of Satan. He taught Balac how to cause them to fall by sinning against the Lord with fornication and idolatry. Balaam coveted the reward of unrighteousness and perished. In JUD 11 we read, "Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core." Satan's gospel of darkness is to teach a righteousness from a social religion of self-righteousness, i.e., claiming a pardon in the blood of Christ without ever learning to mourn over sin. If he cannot get us to claim righteousness in the blood of Christ without sanctification, Satan will teach a righteousness of good works outside of the perfect sacrifice of Christ. The salvation of Christ is two-fold, we must have both sanctification as well as justification; they are co-essential. In ROM 10:3 we read, "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." In other words, they haven't submitted themselves unto the will of God through the obedience of faith. They are establishing a righteousness of their own, and they have bartered the Word of God. Through human reasoning they are trying to decide what is right and wrong. This is exactly what Satan preached in the Garden of Eden. Satan preached that man could be as God and decide what is good or evil. That is bartering the Word of God. The gospel of Satan teaches that we can establish what is righteous with human reasoning. I heard a lady say that God won't keep you out of heaven for what she considered a trifling sin. No, but He may send you to hell for the rebellion that prompted it. Oh beloved, can we slight God's will in the smallest way? Jesus said in MAT 5:19, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: [This is bartering the Word of God.] but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." ROM 10:4 says, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." This word end means the purpose or the intent of the law. The intent of the law was fulfilled in Christ. How? It was by His perfect obedience and submission to the will of God. Satan's gospel of darkness builds self-esteem. LUK 18:11 says, "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. [He had self-esteem through self-righteousness.] I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." The best way to identify the gospel of Satan is by looking at what it does to you. As it unfolds, does it make you feel like you have become something? Does the gospel bring you to see that the more you see of Christ, the more you see the fountain of pollution that lays within? As we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, we will more and more understand the words of the Apostle Paul in ROM 7:24-25, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." The more we grow in grace, the more we understand that we cannot look unto God the Father outside of the perfect righteousness and perfect atoning blood of Christ. This is the only way we can stand righteous before God. Satan's gospel blinds the eye to see man's fallen condition. The eye is evil. MAT 6:22-23 says, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" The light that is within us is the basis of our hope and salvation. If that is darkness, then how great is the darkness within? The work of grace and the blessed gospel of Christ is what we need. We cannot settle for anything less.
FOR OUR SECOND POINT , let's consider how Satan attempts to put out the light of the church through persecution which forces the church to hide its light under a bushel with a hidden discipleship. He cannot put everyone's light out with deceit, so he brings persecution upon the ones still shining.The Lord Jesus cautioned about hiding our light under a bushel. Likewise, Satan wants to accomplish the very thing that Jesus cautioned us against. Satan wants to cause us to desire a hidden discipleship. Satan wants us to walk with our light under a bushel. MAT 5:13-15, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." Darkness typifies sin, unrighteousness, depravity, error, guilt, despair, despondency, hell, and Satan. Light reproves these sins by revealing them. Light is the condemnation on all these things of darkness. JOH 3:19-21 says, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." When our heart is right before the Lord, we will cry out with David as in PSA 26:1, "Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide." We want Him to search our heart and try our reins to see if we have an evil way within us as we see in PSA 26:2, "Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart." PSA 139:23 also says "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts." The righteous want their evil deeds to be revealed so they can be purged away. These are the ones Satan wants to bring into darkness by temptations or to see them forced into a secret discipleship. There has been secret discipleship in times of persecution through all ages. The object of Satan is to put our light out. If it is necessary, he will use persecution to keep it from shining and affecting our fellow man. He wants us to disobey the law of Christ which tells us to let that light shine. The Lord told Elijah in 1KI 17:3-4, "Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there." Elijah had to hide himself because of persecution. The king of Israel would slay him for the light he had shined and the truth he had brought forward. Elijah had reproved the deeds of Ahab. Ahab did not like the light; it was the condemnation which opened his heart and conscience to see the sinfulness of his sin. Obadiah was a secret disciple, and he was the governor of Ahab's house. Obadiah was actually right in the household. 1KI 18:3 says, "And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house." Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. Obadiah was a true messenger of the Lord, but he was dwelling as the governor of the house of Ahab. Obadiah was not identified. His light was not shining. Through persecution, Obadiah's light was put under a bushel, but the Lord still blessed Obadiah. "For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water," V:4. Obadiah was a secret disciple living within the house of Ahab. He took the bread from Jezebel's table to feed one hundred prophets who had to hide for their lives. This was a hidden discipleship. There is a time and a place for a hidden discipleship. This is only when it is the Lord's will for persecution's sake. While Obadiah was in the house of Ahab, he was yet able to be a servant of the Lord. Obadiah feared for his life if he were revealed. Watch what Obadiah said to Elijah in 1KI 18:9. "And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?" On Mount Carmel Obadiah stood with King Ahab, and Elijah did not reveal him. This is very important to understand. Elijah knew that Obadiah was there. He saw him, but he did not reveal him. In 1KI 18:22 we read, "Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men." When Elijah stood before King Ahab on Mount Carmel, he didn't say that Obadiah was a prophet before the Lord. Elijah did not reveal Obadiah. There was secret discipleship because of persecution in the times of Christ. In JOH 19:38 we read, "And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus." Joseph of Arimathaea was a secret disciple of Christ. He could not be revealed because he would be killed; he was living in times of persecution. Nicodemus was a secret disciple of Christ. JOH 3:1-2 says, "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we [he and all the Jews] know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." Jesus was not ashamed to preach the gospel to one sheep who found his way to Him alone in the night. Nicodemus came to Jesus in the night. One of the most blessed parts of the gospel was preached to this one man. JOH 3:3 says, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." That is one of the most vital elements of the gospel recorded for the church of Christ. Jesus preached this to one man who came to Him at night because he was a secret disciple of Christ. Nicodemus stayed hid enough that he was not put out, but he was suspected. His peers knew that he believed in Christ. We read in JOH 7:50-52, "Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet." They suspected that he identified with Jesus, but they didn't have enough evidence to kick him out. Nicodemus was pleading their own law found in the Word of God. "Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" He was still hidden enough that he couldn't be pointed out. In the Lord's church today, many have to operate as Obadiah's and as Nicodemus's. Jesus said in MAT 10:16, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." They must do this within the very pack of the wolves. They have to go out as sheep among wolves. They must be able to feed the prophets of the Lord from Jezebel's table. I believe this is happening today. If Nicodemus would have fully admitted that he believed in Jesus as the Christ, they would have put him out of the church. Yet, Nicodemus was still there contending for the truth. Jesus hid Himself from the Pharisees because of persecution. JOH 12:35-36 says, "Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them." The Lord Jesus Christ hid Himself so He wouldn't be killed. It wasn't His time yet. He hid on account of persecution. During persecution there were many secret disciples. JOH 12:42 says, "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue." To be the light of the world, we cannot hide our "candle under a bushel." We will fellowship in His suffering if we are to bear the image of Christ. There is a difference between hiding from persecution for your life's sake and putting your light under a bushel. You hide from persecution because it will put your light out; you are no longer able to go forward. Obadiah was a secret disciple, but he was still serving the Lord. He still took the bread from Jezebel's table to feed one hundred prophets. Nicodemus came to Christ by night to be informed of the gospel. He contended for the truth and the Word even among the adversaries of Christ. His light was shining. He didn't deny Christ like Peter. His discipleship was in secret. If persecution would have put him out, then his light would cease. 2TI 2:12 says, "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us." This does not contradict the secret discipleship. These men were not denying Christ. They were hiding from persecution so they could bear the light. Their light could still shine; they were not denying Him. The Apostle Paul said in ROM 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." It is very important that we understand Satan's tactics so that we can identify them. If we understand how he is going to pollute the gospel in order to make people rest in a false Christ, we can identify it. Satan is trying to make us rest short of salvation and short of the righteousness of Christ. Then, on the other hand, he will persecute to try to put the light out and prevent it from shining. Satan knows that he can never destroy one of God's elect; however, Satan will attempt to prevent the servant of God from bearing fruit. When persecution does not prevent us, our light must be shined publicly. It must be shown, so the world can see it. We must also understand that we deny Him if we are not willing to suffer shame for His name's sake. There will be persecution for the true saints of God throughout all times, even in times when you have legal rights to protect yourself. Almost every time, this persecution comes from within the church. Those who profess Christianity persecute you because you are a light and a condemnation to them when you contend for righteousness. The professed Christians who are settled under the gospel of Satan are the ones who will persecute you. It will not be those who have no profession of Christianity. They couldn't care less what light shines. The Romans did not want to crucify Christ; it was the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees who wanted to crucify Him. Almost every instance of persecution is provoked by those who profess Christianity. They are the ones who want to put out your light. You must be prepared to accept this. You will suffer persecution from those within the assemblies of professed Christianity. The Lord says in 2CO 6:17, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate...." from those who want to build on a false foundation, those who want to build on a false hope, those who want a false gospel, those who want to sit under the gospel of Satan, come out from among them and be ye separate. Amen. |
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