SATAN'S COUNTERFEIT GOSPEL

     The Bible teaches that every unsaved person is under bondage to Satan. First John 5:19 R.V. "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the Evil One." Ephesians 2:2: "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." This bondage to Satan can be broken only by the power of Jesus Christ. John 8:36: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."  

     A young engineer said to a comrade who had been converted: "You have lost your liberty now." But the young engineer replied, "Yes, I have lost my liberty to serve the devil, but it was not worth having, and I have got something far better."  

If Satan exercises influence over all unsaved people, then it stands to reason that his biggest task is to see to it that these same people do not become Christians. One of his chief methods in doing this is by means of proclaiming a counterfeit gospel, i.e. he gets men to accept what they think is the gospel, but really is not, and then these men believe themselves to be Christians when they actually are not.  

     But does Satan actually preach a counterfeit gospel? Let the Scriptures answer that question. Galatians 1:6-9: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Yes, there is a counterfeit gospel and we know that its source is in Satan. Matthew 13:24-25: "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way." In this story of Jesus, the true gospel is likened to the wheat, and the counterfeit gospel of Satan is likened to the tares.  

     At this point it would be well for us to ask the question: What is the real nature of Satan's gospel? Actually it is a mixture of truth and error. The devil would not succeed in getting people to accept it if it were composed of all error. He is clever enough to mix some small amount of truth in it in order to get people to accept it. Just as a counterfeit coin has some of the real metal in it, and just as a piece of April Fool Candy has a coating of real chocolate around it, so the devil puts an element of truth along with a great deal of error, and then gets unsuspecting folks to swallow it whole. But one drop of poison mixed with some good food is sufficient to poison a man. Let us beware of the poison of Satan.  

     One form of Satan's counterfeit gospel is given forth like this: "Yes, by all means be saved, but save yourself by your own good works." In some circles this teaching goes by the name of Humanism. Humanism leaves out entirely the supernatural. Humanists say: We seek the improvement of man, believing in the latent power of man for his own self-betterment." There are several things radically wrong with this doctrine. It does nothing about the past pages of the book of life before "the leaf is turned". It robs the person of the help of God in living a better life. But most important of all, it goes contrary to the principle of grace which is the foundation truth of the gospel of Christ according to the New Testament. Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, "not of works", i.e., by keeping the law ourselves, "lest any man should boast." If we can be saved by our own good works, then what was the use of Christ dying on Calvary's cross? Galatians 2:21: "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law (i.e. by our own good works) then Christ is dead in vain (or Christ died in vain)."  

     Now Satan's gospel often takes a slightly different form. It is put this way: "Be a Christian by imitating the life of Jesus." There are Scriptural injunctions to imitate Jesus Christ. But we must remember that such commands are always given to Christians and never to -unsaved ones. Furthermore, other Scriptures indicate that even Christians cannot imitate Christ in their own strength.  

     An unsaved man came to Dr. Stearns one day after hearing his sermon, and said to him, "I don't like your preaching. I do not care for the Cross. I think that instead of preaching the death of Christ on the Cross, it would be far better to preach Jesus, the Teacher and Example." Dr. Stearns asked him, "Would you be willing to follow Him, if I preach Christ the example?". The man replied, "I would. I will follow in His steps." Then Dr. Stearns added: "Let us take the first step". Then he quoted the Scripture describing the sinlessness of Jesus: "Who did no sin." He asked the man, "Can you take this step?" The man looked confused and admitted: "No, I do sin, and acknowledge it." "Well then", said Dr. Stearns, "Your first need of Christ is not as an Example but as a Savior."  

     Another way of expressing Satan's gospel is this: "Be a Christian by putting into practice the ethical teachings of Christ." Sometimes it is put like this: "If you live up to the Golden Rule or the Sermon on the Mount, you'll be a Christian all right." The subtle part of this statement is that it is so easy to say you are doing all this when as a matter of fact you are not. If you lower the standard of Christianity low enough you can take in most anyone. But we will not be judged by our standards of righteousness, but rather by God's standard. Teaching the ethical sayings of Christ apart from the message of the Cross never changes the lives of men.  

     As a young minister Dr. Thomas Chalmers preached for eight years in his Scotch pulpit the counterfeit gospel of Satan. He thundered away at sin in all of its forms. He made known the ethical teachings of Christ, but no change took place in the lives of his parishioners. Then one day he came upon the verse in the Bible. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." For the first time in his life he believed. He was saved by the old fashioned gospel. Then he started to preach the Cross, and right away he began to have conversions, and transformation of lives. He once said: "The only effective way to teach morality is to preach Christ."  

     With some people it seems to be a difficult thing to be able to tell the gospel of Satan from the true gospel of Christ. They are asking the question, "How can I always know the difference between the true and the false, between the real gospel taught in the Word, and Satan's countrfeit?" If the places for the preaching of the gospel were always correctly labelled it would not be difficult to distinguish the right from the wrong. Pulpits in churches that are supposed to be evangelical sometimes sound forth a false note. How can men know when they are hearing the old fashioned gospel and when they are not?  

     A young man was beginning his duties as clerk of a certain bank. He asked the president of the bank this question: "How can I distinguish counterfeit bills at sight?" The bank president made a very significant reply. He said: "Get familiar with the good bills, and you will recognize the bad ones without any trouble." And this suggests the answer to the question of how to recognize Satan's gospel. The way - to recognize his gospel is to become thoroughly acquainted with the true gospel of Christ. When you are, you will have no difficulty in being able to tell the counterfeit gospel when you hear or read it.  

WHAT IS THE TRUE GOSPEL?  

     A good definition of the real gospel is found in First Corinthians 15:1-4: "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS BURIED, AND THAT HE ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES." This was Paul's definition of the gospel which he preached. At the heart of it stand the words: "Christ died for our sins." Making it personal it would read thus: "Christ died for my sins." I deserved to go to the cross because of my sins, but Jesus took my place. He died in my place. If I accept Him as my substitute and Savior, I am saved. It is simple, yet it is sublime. Do not let Satan confuse you. Take the Bible to mean just what it says. Do not try to explain it away. Accept this gospel message to-day and let the Holy Spirit make it the turning point in your life. Then you will not need to be afraid of any counterfeit teaching which Satan may proclaim. Romans 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."