Paul says in verse 14, there's no marvel that those who do disrupt and destroy and are destructive in the church are subtle. They seem to be not what they are. It's no marvel, it's nothing to be shocked about because Satan himself came with man's best interest allegedly or presumably at heart in the very garden. He came and convinced Eve that he was there for her benefit.

And so Satan's apostles, his messengers, his ministers, and the title of the message tonight is simply Satan's preachers. I mean, it says clearly in our text, Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers, that word his, think about what that refers to. We're talking about preachers that belong to Satan. They are Satan's preachers. We don't think about that much, but we have this Very serious warning in the scriptures. And you know, Satan's preachers, they use the Bible.

They're transformed into ministers of righteousness. They talk about God, they talk about Jesus, they talk about heaven, and they talk about hell. But they do so in a subtly evil, perverted way, and we'll see it in the Garden of Eden, as we've touched on a couple of times recently, and we'll see it in the so-called false religion of our day. They use the Bible, they speak of God, they claim to speak for God, and they use very comforting and presentable words, they use rhetoric that's enticing.

That's why Paul deliberately said, I didn't come with enticing words that man has figured out to use in order to trap people in a false gospel. I don't do that. I didn't come like that because he had to make that clear because that's how Satan's ministers do come.

But their message is satanic. Satan's preachers preach a satanic message. And as we often in order to understand what satanic preaching is, we go back to the garden and we remember. And as I say, we've touched on that some recently, but I want to I think I think we'll see a little more thoroughly tonight. Satan's methods and his motivation. And his message. We remember what Satan did and what he said there, and you'll understand what he's doing now.

First thing he did was cast doubt on the word of God. Remember in Genesis chapter three, hath God said? Hath God said? And before he even did that, let's turn back to Genesis three and look at it. You'll remember most of the language of it, but it'll be good to get that kind of almost an outline in our minds. He took step after step to deceive Eve and Adam, ultimately. Now the serpent, verse 1, was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.

And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. So he's putting a question mark on the word of God. Is that what God said? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die. He said, There's a way that you can do what you want and not die.

It's not certain that you'll die. So deceptive. There may be a loophole here. You can do what you want and still. Get to heaven when you die. In other words. You shall not surely die, which is a. The Lord said you shall surely die, so it's a direct. Lie, it's it's directly in opposition to what God said. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

What could tempt somebody who literally has everything? Paradise. What if you lived in paradise and you didn't have to worry about what you were going to eat, what you were going to wear, what you were going to drink, how you were going to live? You didn't have to worry about comfort, even fellowship with God. Back then, to today, people don't care about that, but they did. They had communion with God. Perfect communion with God.

What are you gonna tempt somebody like that with? To be God. To be God. For you to decide for yourself what's good and what's evil. And he's casting doubt on God's motives. God knows now that you're going to be like him, that your eyes are going to be open. This is going to be good for you, and God knows that. So he's implying that God is withholding something from you. He's implying that God's not being fair with you. He's not doing what's best for you.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise. She took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also under her husband with her. And he did eat, so he first cast doubt on God's word, the clear, clear, you talk about clear.

And that's like the gospel, the gospel is clear as it can be. Trust Christ, believe on Christ. Bow to Christ, come to Christ, hear Christ. Christ is all. So he cast doubt and then he perverted the word of God. He told direct lies about what God said. You shall not surely die. That word surely is directly opposite of what God said. He said, you shall surely die. But it leaves a little wiggle room there. It leaves a little thought in In Eve's mind there that maybe, you know, maybe I won't die. Maybe he didn't mean that there's no way for me to do this and not die.

So he's a liar. He was a liar from the beginning. He said to the Pharisees, you're your father, the devil. He's the liar. He was a liar from the beginning. And now you're lying for him. And the premise and the purpose of his lies were to convince people, Eve and Adam, that what God had actually said was not fair. It wasn't fair to them. You deserve for your eyes to be open. You deserve to be as gods.

God had denied Adam and Eve the right to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and Satan convinced them that God wasn't being fair with them, that the tree was good for food. It's good for food. Some say, I heard somebody say a long time ago, that she saw that it was good for food, implies at least, that Satan took a bite of it, showed her, nothing's happening to me. Satan was already dead. He was already dead spiritually. But he convinced them that it wasn't fair.

The tree was good for food. It was beautiful. It was desirable to make one wise. They could be wise like God. They could determine for themselves what's right and wrong. They didn't need to just obey God. And today, Satan's ministers are convincing people that God loves them. It wouldn't be fair for him not to. Why wouldn't he? Hath God said that he hateth all workers of iniquity? Is that what he, did he say that?

And think about this. Now there were consequences and a stern warning in the garden. There's a stern warning. It's not just God loves you and wants the best for you and everything's going to be wonderful. If you, you're already dead, you're already, Depraved you're already held down. You're by nature the child of wrath There was a threat in the garden of death, but when the gospel comes you're already dead The gospel tells you the condition that you're in but notice that there's a warning and God said if you don't tell them if you don't warn people Of the truth.

I'll hold you accountable for it. The gospel comes as a warning and a promise and And that's what it was in the garden. There were consequences. There was a warning. If you eat it, you're going to die. It's the same with the gospel. The gospel is not an invitation. It's not a love letter to mankind. There is with the gospel and or else. In fact, the gospel declares that the or else has already happened. That you are in desperate, urgent need of the Savior. Satan's message in the garden was, you shall not surely die. And his message since then has been, you did not die.

Oh yeah, you're inclined, you're spiritually disadvantaged now. You may do some bad things sometimes, but Dad, you can decide things, you can choose, you can make decisions. Dead people can't decide things. You have a free will. You're not gonna die. And ever since then, you're not dead. You didn't die.

Satan told Eve, you have a choice. You don't have to be resigned to submitting to God. You have a choice. Satan is telling religious lost people tonight, you have a choice. The gospel doesn't give sinners a choice. Have you ever noticed that? Has anybody in this religious, anti-Christ world ever noticed that the gospel doesn't give you a choice?

It's look and live or else. Or else. Not believe or don't believe. It's up to you. It's believe or perish. That's not a choice. That's not a choice. Not believing is not one of your options. Going to hell is, but that's not an option. That's just a sure thing. That's not one of your choices either.

That's just what God's going to do if you don't obey the gospel, the command of the gospel. And we're going to get to the difference between the old command and the new command before this is over, if the Lord Doesn't come back further. That'd be all right. We'll understand it a lot better if he comes back before I finish. Satan is telling the religious masses all over this world, over and over and over and over, tonight, every week, and all the time, constantly, masses of people, over and over and over, he's telling them, it's up to you. That's what he told Eve.

Satan knows what man wants to hear. You shall be his gods. You know what God does? He decides everything. It's up to him. So when Satan says it's up to you, he's saying you should be his gods. It's the same old message. It's you, you, you. The mark of the beast is man, man, man. Satan knows what works, and he's sticking with what works, all in God's good providence and purpose. The gospel message is submit.

Turn with me to Romans 10. I know you're familiar with this. I was just going to read it, but let's turn and look at it together again. I want to get this in our minds that what we're dealing with, you know, are you, Are you having any conversations with people that are lost?

Do you know anybody that's going to listen to one of Satan's preachers? I mean, that's that's not. That's not exaggeration, and we read that Satan has preachers. And they sound a lot like gospel preachers, except what they're saying is just the opposite. of what gospel preachers say, what Christ taught. They transform themselves into ministers of righteousness. The problem is they're preaching your righteousness and not Christ's righteousness.

Brethren, my heart's desire, Romans 10.1, and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. The problem is not we're all going to heaven, we're just going on different roads. Those that are deceived regarding God's acceptance of your works and believe that anything that you do, decision, will, works, way, whatever, anything to do with you has anything to do with God saving you. Paul says, I wish God would save them. I want God to save them. They need to be saved. They're lost. They're dead.

For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God. They pride themselves on knowing the letter of the Word of God. They pride themselves on being God's chosen people. But it's not according to knowledge. They have a zeal for a God that they don't know.

For they're being ignorant of God's righteousness. In order to think that you can just decide to go to heaven and it's so, you don't know what God's righteousness is. That's the problem. It's not having a different philosophy or a different outlook on salvation. It's that you don't know who God is. If you think God can accept your decision on the matter, you don't know who God is. You don't understand the righteous holiness of God.

He requires perfect obedience, not you're coming down an aisle, that's not gonna cut it. He requires perfect holiness. You've gotta be as holy as he is to stand in his holy hill. You gotta have clean hands and a pure heart. Clean hands, you've never done anything wrong. and pure heart, you've never even wanted to do anything wrong or thought about it. I better be standing there in Christ God's Son or I'm a goner. And going about to establish their own rights.

That's what you do when you don't know who God is. You try to do things for God to gain favor with Him. They haven't submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God because we want to do, do, do. We're going to talk about that next, what Satan did after the garden. They haven't bowed before God and said, Lord, I'm a liar.

I'm guilty. Everything I do just adds to my sin. Be propitious to me on the mercy seat. Let the blood of your spotless lamb speak for me. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. He's the termination of me doing anything for the law, for righteousness sake. And he's the goal of the law. The goal of the law is to show us how evil we are so that we will run to the Savior. To everyone that believeth. Once God gives you faith in his son, you trusting in your works is over with. It's terminated. Your hope in anything else or anyone else is terminated.

And since we just talked about works, they're going about to establish their own righteousness by what they do. Satan didn't quit after the fall of man. Satan's next move that's recorded in Scripture, at least, was to convince Cain that his works would be acceptable to God. or as Paul called it, where we just read, going about to establish your own righteousness. Instead of submitting to God's way of righteousness by the blood of an innocent lamb, as Abel did by God's grace, by faith, he did it by faith, Paul said. By faith, Abel offered the more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Cain offered the works of his hands. You think Satan wasn't in on that? How did Abel know to sacrifice a lamb, of all things? How do you think Abel knew that, honestly? You think he just thought, well, you know, I think I'll just kill a lamb and offer it to God. How about that? That sounds good. No, clearly not.

Clearly he was taught by God, by Adam and Eve. after God saved them by sacrificing an animal and covering their nakedness, their guilt, and their shame with the skins of that animal and showed them how that the only way of acceptance with God, the only way to stand before Him clothed in righteousness and accepted is by the blood of an innocent sacrifice and not just any... by faith. Abel offered the more excellence.

Faith, remember this always, religion talks about faith is just believing something good's gonna happen. That's not faith. Faith has one object. Faith believes one thing. God-given faith has one object, Christ, the Lamb of God, one. So when Abel was offering that lamb, he's saying, Lord, By faith in Christ, he offered that lamb. But Cain offered the works of his hand. Was that information, you think, of offering a lamb unto God? Only that? And by faith in his son? You think that information was withheld from Cain? Of course not. Of course not. He knew what he was supposed to do. Didn't God say, if you do well, it'll be well with you? Why would God say that to somebody that had no idea what to do? He knew exactly what he had to do.

And he defied God and offered him what he was proud of instead of, by faith, offering an innocent lamb, by faith in Christ, the Lamb of God. And he did it on purpose. We just read about going about to establish your own righteousness. The gospel message has always been that the only way back to God, the only way into God's favor and blessing is by the sacrifice and the life of an innocent victim. The offering of the animal was not the sacrifice. The sacrifice was Christ by faith.

And that's the, you think about that right there. God's lamb, the lamb of God, Christ, is the object of all of Satan's hatred. All of it, all of it. That's all Satan is interested. I'm telling you, he doesn't care if you cuss like a sailor. He doesn't care if you drink or not or smoke or not. This is the word of God now. He cares about one thing. whether you trust Christ or not, he sows distrust. Did God tell you that? He just knows that you'll be like him if you do that. Distrust. And he promotes the idea, I can please God about what I do, what I'm proud of, what I've worked for.

So Satan's achievement, there, and God's purpose in the garden was to ruin mankind. Ruined every one of us, and that was out of simple hatred for the Lord Jesus Christ. The undoing of Satan's achievement is by the blood and sacrifice of God's Son, pictured by Abel's Lamb. All of Satan's hatred is directed toward God's son. Abel offered that lamb by faith in God's son. And so what did he do? Not excusing Cain, but Cain was a puppet of Satan, just like all antichrist free will works religionists are. And so Abel is murdered in cold blood.

Just for honoring Christ. just for trusting God's way of salvation, the eternal spotless Lamb of God. You see Satan in that? You should be proud of what you've done. God'll accept that. It wouldn't be fair if he didn't. Satan's message is what God said is not fair. Everyone deserves a chance to be saved. Have you heard that one before? Everybody. Everybody deserves a chance, really? Is that what the Bible teaches?

And Satan is saying this from pulpits in so-called churches by credentialed ministers who presume to speak for God when they're really speaking for Satan himself. They're his ministers. When God speaks and commands, it's not decision time. Did we learn that from the garden? It's bow and submit and obey time. In the garden, God said thou shalt not, and it was a decision that plunged our whole race into sin. The gospel command is believe and repent. God commandeth all men everywhere to repent. And again, not decision time. You've already spit in God's face. No matter what your decision is, if you presume that your decision has anything to do with it, you've already spit in His face.

And the new covenant of grace in Christ does not depend on man's obedience. In the garden, it was all about obedience. In the gospel, a sinner will obey the gospel when God gives him faith, but turn with me to Hebrews 8, verse 7. For if the first covenant, covenant of works, this do and live, thou shalt not, had been faultless. In other words, if that covenant could have accomplished the purpose of God, then should no place have been sought for the second.

We're finding fault with them. What's the fault with the first covenant? You and me. He saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. What was the fault? What went wrong with the first covenant? Disobedience, sin. Half God said, here's what God said, I've got a decision to make. That's the only problem with the first covenant is you and your decisions and your choices and your will and mine.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind. and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Paul displays this so beautifully in Romans chapter seven, does he not? The law was in his heart, wasn't it? He said, I love the law of God after the inward man. I wish I could do everything exactly how God told me to. Still can't do it, but it's in my heart. It's in my mind. And I'll be their God, I'll be to them a God. And they shall be to me a people."

But he didn't stop there. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor and every man his brother saying, know the Lord. Again, I've always felt like I needed to explain this. It's not that we don't teach our children anymore to know the Lord, we teach them about the Lord, but he's saying, here's how you're gonna know me.

Here's ultimately how you're gonna know me. For all shall know me. Every one of them is going to know who God is that are involved in this covenant, with this new covenant, God's spiritual Israel. Every one of them are going to know me because he's going to reveal himself. No man knoweth the Father save the Son, and who? From the least to the greatest, for I will be merciful. How are they going to know me? How are you going to know me? Of course we're going to teach our children, but how is it not going to go in one ear and out the other? How is it not going to roll off of their head like water off a duck's back?

Mercy. God's mercy. God's tender mercy. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. It's no longer What are you gonna do? It's here's what I'm gonna do. So don't think the command of the Old Testament is the same as the command of the gospel. The command of the gospel is Lazarus come forth. The command of the gospel is let there be light. The command of the gospel is Thomas, Be not faithless, but believing.

And Thomas didn't sit there and think about it, did he? Interesting. Because when God says, let there be light, the power is in the voice of God, not in the heart of a sinner. When he says, Paul said that the one that said, let there be light, and there was, shined in my heart. And that's how I know it. The power is in his voice, not in the heart of a sinner. So Thomas falls on his face and cries, my Lord and my God, because the Lord Jesus told him to. Is that what happened to you? That's what happened to me. He called me by my name. He brought me down. He said, Chris, I'm coming to your house today. Like he did Zacchaeus, I'm coming.

For I will be merciful. Isn't that beautiful? Notice in the description of that covenant, it says that all who are included in that covenant shall know me. Why? Mercy. It's not gonna be up to them. It will be decided by the mercy of God. Have you ever heard that before? Hmm. God said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth. So it's not up to you. How are you gonna know God then?

Mercy, mercy. It's not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth or striveth or worketh, but of God that showeth mercy. That's the new covenant. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up. that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore, hath he mercy on whom he will, have mercy on whom he will, he hardeneth.

He's God. He's just God. And you're not going to know him unless he has mercy on you. And God's mercy is in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, who said to his disciples, you haven't chosen me, I chose you. Satan has not changed. It was all about will and he will. And the same thing is the problem now.

Second Timothy 2, 23, but foolish and unlearned questions avoid knowing that they do gender stress and the servant of the Lord must not strive. Must not argue, must not debate, must not come with an I know more than you, but be gentle. Be gentle unto all, apt to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves. If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledgement of the truth and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him at his will. If you haven't submitted to God's righteousness, You're out there popping off about your free will, free will, we insist on free will, and all the time Satan is pulling your strings. Beware, beware, and warn everybody you can.

Watch out for them, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision, Philippians 3.2.

Matthew 7, 15, beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing. They're not gonna look like wolves, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 1 Peter 5, 8, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, is a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. And Paul is telling these people at this church in Corinth, the devil is among you, Satan is working in your midst. Be sober. Be careful, listen to what they're saying. Mark 13, 21, if any man shall say to you, lo, here is Christ, or lo, is there, believe him not.

For false Christ and false prophets shall arise, and shall show signs and wonders to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. Bless God, because of the new covenant, which is older than the old covenant, the eternal covenant of grace in Christ means that the deception of God's elect is not possible. Why? Because it's not up to them.

The very watchword of religion is anathema to the child of God. The choice is God's and not man's. That's the God we bow before and believe on and rejoice in. The God who's God. The word elect means chosen. He chose. Man's choice resulted in the fall and will always result in a fall. God's choice in electing love, as Mark 13, 22 plainly states, cannot fail. We cannot fall. If it were possible, but it's not. The gates of hell cannot prevail against Christ's church because he chose, he willed, he revealed, he drew us to himself with cords of everlasting love.

Psalm 65, for blessed is the man that thou choosest, that calls us to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. Thank you, Lord, for bringing us home, for bringing us to yourself. Keep us by your side. Keep us looking to you in all things by your grace. Amen. Let's pray.