The Great Pretender

Articles

Antoine N. Holloway
04/26/09 - 2009 Bulletin Article

Breaking Down Sunday Morning’s Sermon - “The Great Pretender"

As a preacher of the gospel, there are certain rules I try to live by when preaching, teaching, and speaking to people:

I believe in giving you the word you need, when you need it
I believe in speaking where the Bible speaks and remaining silent where the Bible is silent
I believe in calling Bible things by Bible names
I believe in living what I preach (I will NEVER preach a message I am not living. If I am not living it, then I will alter my life so I can preach it)
I believe in being considerate of others when it comes to the words I use and the length of my messages

Therefore, when I know I have prepared a lesson, which has the potential to run longer than I would like, then I will provide all the scriptures from the lesson in the bulletin. The purpose for this is to make sure we all take the time to study this subject in an effort to educate someone else and I believe some things are better read and quoted than referenced only. So, I will be doing a lot of referencing this morning, but it will be your responsibility to have a Berean-like spirit and search those things whether they are so (Acts 17:11).

Satan Wants To Be God. Therefore, Satan pretends to be God. Whatever God has, Satan has a counterfeit.
Satan’s Has Devices And…The Christian is not ignorant to them (2 Corinthians 2:11). Satan’s #1 device is Confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). Confusion allows Satan to pretend he is God, do things in religion, and go unchallenged.
Satan Has A Mystery Just Like God Has A Mystery. God’s mystery is the mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16). If Satan had known about God’s mystery, then he would have never deceived men to crucify Christ (1 Corinthians 2:7-8). Satan’s mystery is the mystery of iniquity (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12). Because of this mystery, many will not make it to heaven (Matthew 7:21-23). We can avoid being partakers of Satan’s mystery by studying and obeying God’s word (2 Timothy 2:15).
Satan Has Apostles, Workers, Angels, & Ministers Just Like God Has Apostles, Workers, Angels, & Ministers. Satan’s workers are not obvious to the uninformed because they look and sound like they are of God (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Their end will be according to their works. God is the light (1 John 1:5) & Satan transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). God has apostles (Acts 1:20-22 & Jude 17) & Satan has false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13). God has workers (1 Corinthians 3:9) & Satan has deceitful workers (2 Corinthians 11:13). God has angels (Hebrews 1:6) & Satan has angels (Matthew 25:41 & James 2:19). God has ministers (2 Corinthians 3:6) & Satan’s ministers make themselves appear to be ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:15).
Satan Has Churches Like God Has The Church. Jesus said He would build the church (Matthew 16:18). He built it (Acts 2). God recognizes one, for He only adds to one (Acts 2:47). The church is the church of Christ (Romans 16:16). God endorses the gospel (Romans 1:16), but Satan has another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9). The gospel only talks about one church (Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:4, Colossians 1:18, & 24), but Satan says “Any church will do.” Question: Where is his scripture for this? The gospel only talks about one faith (Ephesians 4:5), but Satan says “You have your faith and I have mine’s.” Question: Where is his scripture for this? The gospel only talks about one baptism (Mark 16:16, Ephesians 4:5, & 1 Peter 3:20-21), but Satan says, “Water baptism is not essential to salvation and pouring and sprinkling are acceptable forms of baptism.” Question: Where is his scripture for this? God has prophets (1 Corinthians 13:8-10 & 2 Peter 3:2) and Satan has false prophets (1 John 4:1). God has witnesses (Acts 5:32) and Satan has false witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:15). God has brethren in the church (Ephesians 6:10) and Satan has false brethren in his churches (Galatians 2:4). God has teachers (Ephesians 4:11-12) and Satan has false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-2). God has one doctrine in His church (2 John 9-11) and Satan has many doctrines in his churches (1 Timothy 4:1). Any church that does not wear the name of Christ does not teach the salvation of the Lord, neither is there salvation in it (Acts 4:12). Any church that does not call Bible things by Bible names and do Bible things Bible ways does not submit to nor love the Lord (Ephesians 5:24 and John 14:15). Any church that does not speak where the Bible speaks and remain silent where the Bible is silent is not the church of Christ and it does not belong to Christ, but rather to the devil (1 Peter 4:11). Therefore, let us earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 3).