Spiritual Warfare Satan’s Schemes – Deception Lesson 4 Ephesians 6.10-13 071821
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:10-11). 1 Whether we recognize it or not, whether we feel it or not, whether we believe it or not we are in a spiritual battle against the Devil, his schemes and hostile spiritual forces of evil. Yes we must deal with our flesh and the world. But don’t forget about this third enemy working against us. 2 And being aware of him and this spiritual battle is half the battle. a You have to realize that when desire for prayer and Bible reading is weak, when temptation gets the upper hand, when the cares of this world are heavy it’s because you are in a war. b You have to realize that when relational conflicts arises, when hope is fading and you find yourself just wanting to escape … it’s because you are in a war. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). 3 We are engaged in a struggle against formidable powers; the Devil, his schemes and the demons that carry them out. Therefore, our only hope is a power superior to our own. And Paul says we have it in the Lord and then describes that power in the form of a military metaphor, the armor of God. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand (Ephesians 6:13). 4 Next week we will start looking at the armor. This week we are finishing up on Satan’s schemes which we discovered can all be boiled down to lies. Satan is a liar, the Father of lies and lies to us through temptation, accusation and deception. a In the last two weeks we have looked at the lies involved in temptation and accusation.
Spiritual Warfare / Satan’s Schemes – Deception / Lesson 4 / Ephesians 6.10-13 1
b This week we are going to take a look at the lies that come to us through deception or what the New Testament calls it false teaching or heresy. 5 This last strategy probably won’t affect you the same way as temptation and accusation and that’s because temptation and accusation are something that you personally feel. a You’ve felt the Tempter. You’ve heard the Accuser of the Brethren whisper lies. Those lies belong to the realm of feelings. b But the lies of deception belong to the realm of ideas. Deception is the Devil’s use and twisting of biblical truth. It is taking what God has said and subtly turning it into the opposite. c And it is significant how often and how strongly the New Testament warns us about the deception of false teaching and false teachers. Let’s look at a few of the many verses.
Warnings about false teaching 1 Let’s begin with Jesus. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves (Matthew 7:15). 2 Paul gives the same warning in his farewell meeting with the Ephesians pastors. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears (Acts 20:28–31). 3 But Paul calls for more than vigilance when it comes to false teachers and false teaching, he calls for avoidance. 17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people (Romans 16:17–18) 4 Keep watch, be on your guard, avoid. And then in 1 Timothy 5 Paul tells Timothy, who apparently was an overseer over many pastors. not just to
Spiritual Warfare / Satan’s Schemes – Deception / Lesson 4 / Ephesians 6.10-13 2
avoid but publicly rebuke false teachers who refuse to repent of sin or false teaching. Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear (1 Timothy 5:19-20). 5 Paul says something similar to Titus and his instructions concerning the pastors on the island of Crete. a He said it was crucial that they …hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it (Titus 1:9) b To those who oppose sound doctrine … 11a They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach … 13bTherefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith (Titus 1: 11a,13b). 6 In other words, the title false teacher can be retracted if someone repents from their erroneous teaching and embraces sound doctrine. But the refusal to be sound in doctrine will eventually result in judgment. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping (2 Peter 2:1–3). 7 The takeaway from all these passages is that false teaching is and has always been a danger to be on guard against. a Paul says men will arise and distort the truth (Acts 20:20). Peter says, there will be false teachers among you (1 Peter 2:1). b And this reality should cause believers to be on guard and pastors to protect the flock. Particularly, sobering to me is Paul’s warning to the Ephesian pastors … Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears (Acts 20:31).
What is false teaching? 1 False teaching is egregious doctrinal error.
Spiritual Warfare / Satan’s Schemes – Deception / Lesson 4 / Ephesians 6.10-13 3
a These warnings and the many others in the NT are not about secondary doctrinal differences but rather about departing from the main essential doctrines of Christianity and teaching something contrary in manner that is deceitful, manipulative, faith-destroying, and unrepented of. b No teacher or pastor is immune to getting a point of doctrine wrong. Peter says grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). And that is true for Pastors too. • There are a few things I once assumed to be true in early in my pastoral ministry but since then, I have come into a more accurate understanding (Acts 18:26). • That would have not made me a false teacher. I wasn’t deceitful, faith-destroying or unrepentant. I was just ignorant. c So we have to start by believing the best in love and giving the benefit of the doubt. • Perhaps someone is teaching something in error out of ignorance and it needs to be addressed. • Or perhaps it is simply a secondary doctrinal issue like how one is to be baptized or how often the Lord’s table is to be observed. d I offer this caution because there seem to be a lot of people on the internet who have the ministry of pointing out error and false teaching. I thank God for them. But you may be a bit over zealous when you have Billy Graham and Joseph Smith on the same heretic list. e However, with that being said there is no small amount of false teachers and false teachings that are one click away on the internet or TV. And so we have to be discerning. 2 False teaching originates inside the church. a False teaching is not an argument against Christianity from atheists or apostates outside the church but rather comes from false teachers inside the church. And these teachers are not those who are trying to disprove Christianity but trying to fundamentally change it. b Jesus said, they come to you in sheep’s clothing (Matt 7:15). Paul wrote, even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth (Acts 20:30). Peter said, there will be false teachers among you. (2 Peter 2:1) c False teachers always self-identify as biblical and present themselves as a part of mainstream Christianity. And they may adhere to some of the essential doctrines of Christianity but distort others in a way that is disguised. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1). Spiritual Warfare / Satan’s Schemes – Deception / Lesson 4 / Ephesians 6.10-13 4
d They are usually persuasive people that seem to offer a new perspective combining biblical sounding ideas, personal experiences and a dose of helpfulness. But their views do not arise from a right handling of God’s Word. • These false views then get into a book and they get invited to conferences alongside sound biblical teachers which gives them legitimacy. • Over the course of time and testing there “new teaching” is proven to be not sound. But usually by that time they have surrounded themselves with others who embrace this new teaching and refuse to debate it on its own merits with those outside of their group. 3 False teaching modifies, distorts and undermines the gospel. a It’s not outright rejection of Christian truth, it’s the twisting of Christian truth. It’s not outright unbelief but it often leads to unbelief. b And that’s why it is so serious and why Jesus in Revelation 2 commended the church at Ephesus for discerning those who were false apostles but called for repentance in the churches at Thyatira and Pergamum who were tolerating false teachings in their fellowships. c Satan uses all of these deceptions to keep them from the one true faith or to destroy people’s faith. The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars … (1 Timothy 4:1–2a). d The faith is not one’s personal faith but the faith or the body of Christian truth which includes all kinds of specific truth about who God is, who we are, why we are in our current condition, what we need and how God has met our need for us through his Son’s incarnation, life, death and resurrection and how to live in this life and what he has for us in the future. e Why does the Bible tell us all these very specific things? So we can know God and trust God and believe the gospel. The great harm of the deception of false teaching is that it keeps you from knowing and believing the gospel. 4 False teaching usually begins with a desire to reach people. a Most false teachers, not all, but most, are initially motivated by a sincere desire to make the Christian message more acceptable to culture.
Spiritual Warfare / Satan’s Schemes – Deception / Lesson 4 / Ephesians 6.10-13 5
b So Satan deceives them into gradually changing the message by overstating, modifying, adding to or denying an essential doctrine of Christianity to accomplish that. c By doing so they end up distorting the gospel into something that looks like the gospel but is really no gospel at all. There are hundreds of cases of this throughout church history that fall into nearly 50 unique forms of heresy.
Examples of False Teaching 1 About 20 years after Christ’s resurrection Paul wrote a letter to the Galatian church to address the heresy of legalism. a Proponents of this false teaching called Judaizers believed a lot of right things … Jesus was the Messiah, died for our sins, rose from the dead, etc. But they wanted to make the Christian message more attractive to their fellow Jews. b So, they modified it and said for Gentiles to become full-fledged believers in Jesus they first had to become Jews and be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. In other words, you need more than the gospel. c How did Paul respond? He didn’t say, “This little modification doesn’t matter.” No, he said it’s another gospel that is no gospel at all and it undermines the complete saving work of Jesus Christ. Furthermore he said, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:8). 2 A few years later Paul wrote a letter to the Colossian church to address another false teaching. Instead of changing the message to make Christian message more attractive to Jewish culture, it was changed to make it more attractive to Greco-Roman culture. a In the Greco-Roman world people valued mystical experiences and secret knowledge. So, there were teachers in the Colossian church who taught that you are saved by faith in Jesus, but that’s only the first step. b If you really want to know God, if you really want to walk in the deeper life and have a higher spiritual experience with God then you need more than the gospel. You need to get this deeper knowledge from us, adhere to a special diet and observe special days. c How did Paul respond? Did he say: “Well, as long as you say you are saved by faith in Christ, then if these things help you move to a deeper
Spiritual Warfare / Satan’s Schemes – Deception / Lesson 4 / Ephesians 6.10-13 6
level of spirituality then its ok?” No. He said teaching is subverting the gospel. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world (demonic powers) rather than on Christ (Colossians 2:6– 8). 3 False teaching not only revolved around modifying the gospel but also modifying the central person of the gospel, Jesus Christ. a The Greeks drew are hard line between the physical which was evil and the spiritual which was good. The idea that God became a man by adding humanity to his deity was inconceivable. b To make Jesus more palatable the heresy of Docetism developed. Docetism is from the Greek word that translates “to seem”. They taught that Jesus only seemed to be divine because God would never take on human flesh. c It took three centuries to stamp out the error. Certainly, one of the first to expose it was the Apostle John who said, 1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world (1 John 4:1–3). 4 There were many false teachings about the Jesus that followed like Arianism which was named after a teacher named Arius who taught Jesus was not God but a created being. Jehovah’s Witnesses are a modern-day version of Arianism. a After that Donatism, Pelagianism, Nestoriansim and many others all the way up to the 19th century when the heresy of modernism came about. b Modern scientific people reject miracles. So if we want to preserve Christianity, make it appealing for future generations— must reinterpret the miracles in the Bible as spiritual lessons instead of actual events that historically happened. c Therefore Jesus is not really God incarnate and did not rise from the dead but was merely was a good man who left us teachings to follow and died as a martyr as the ultimate example of love.
Spiritual Warfare / Satan’s Schemes – Deception / Lesson 4 / Ephesians 6.10-13 7
5 And the trend continues today with postmodernism which says there is no absolute truth … an idea that you find in another heresy called Progressive Christianity. a Progressives claim the truth of the Bible is not truth for all people of all ages but rather that truth evolves and progresses with the changing norms of society. b But what is even more dangerous are the teachers who do not identify as Progressive but are knowingly or unknowingly teaching out of the Progressive playbook. • For example there is a prominent mega church pastor who teaches that using the Bible to evangelize postmodern people is ineffective because postmoderns don’t believe in absolute truth. • Of course, that is a direct denial of the power and sufficiency of scripture to save. Just because someone doesn’t believe in absolute truth doesn’t mean absolute truth is ineffective to bring them to salvation. • God the Holy Spirit uses his truth to open our hearts and transform our hearts whether we initially believe the Scriptures are absolute truth or not. 6 I could go on the rest of the day with examples like this. And I know that some of you would just like me to give you a list of false teachings and false teachers. But I am not going to name names this morning because that wouldn’t be right without explaining why a person is in egregious error or teaching a false gospel. a I have learned that people can be a bit unenthusiastic to simply being told that a certain teacher is in error or that a certain book, while it sounds right and makes you feel good and has some truth in it … is actually based on false teaching. b When Satan tempted both Eve and Jesus he used truth to cover over a lie. His methods have not changed. So how can we steer clear of Satan’s deception through false teaching? c The one thing all false teachers and therefore false teaching have in common is that they begin by first practically denying the inerrancy and sufficiency of scripture. They all adhere to a limited inerrancy and a limited sufficiency. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness … (2 Timothy 3:16)
Spiritual Warfare / Satan’s Schemes – Deception / Lesson 4 / Ephesians 6.10-13 8
How to steer clear of false teaching 1 So the best defense against this lies of deceptive teaching is to hold fast to the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture. And that’s exactly where Paul starts when he says put on the whole armor of God … Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist … (Ephesians 6:14a). 2 Just like you resist temptation and accusation with the truth of scripture, you also resist deception with the truth of scripture. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour … (1 Peter 5:8). 3 Be sober, be vigilant but don’t be anxious about this. Just be aware the devil is the propagator of the lies of false teaching. But you can resist him if you stand firm in “the” faith. . Resist him, standing firm in the faith (1 Peter 5:9). a “The faith” is the whole body of Christian truth, the content of the gospel message that has according to Jude 3 been once and for all entrusted to us. b You resist by standing firm in truth. And to stand firm in the truth you need to know the truth, do the truth and keep growing in the truth. So read it, listen to it, meditate on it, memorize it and talk about it with others.
Discussion Questions 1 Satan is a liar, the father of lies and lying is his native language (Jn 8). What are the three ways he lies and how are they different from one another? [Page 2, Point 5] 2 Deception primarily comes through false teaching. Throughout the New Testament we are continually warned to watch out and keep away from false teachers and false teaching. Why? [Page 5, Point 3] 3 Have you or someone you have known ever suffered because of false teaching? 4 Not everyone who teaches something wrong is a “false teacher.” Why? [Page 3-4, Point 1]. 5 Some people are over-zealous about false teaching while others are unconcerned about false teaching. Which one do you naturally trend towards and why … and do you think you need to change?
Spiritual Warfare / Satan’s Schemes – Deception / Lesson 4 / Ephesians 6.10-13 9
6 What are some of the way you can avoid the deception of false teaching? [Page 9, Points 1-3]
Spiritual Warfare / Satan’s Schemes – Deception / Lesson 4 / Ephesians 6.10-13 10