Satan, the Great Counterfeiter

The Devil is now busy at work in the same field where the Lord sowed the good seed. He seeks to hinder the growth of the wheat by sowing another plant, the tares, which closely resemble the wheat in appearance. In a word, by a process of imitation, he aims to neutralise the work of Christ.

Therefore, just as Christ has a gospel, Satan has a gospel too — the latter being a clever counterfeit of the former. So closely does Satan’s gospel resemble the gospel it imitates that multitudes of the unsaved are deceived by it.

It is to this gospel of Satan that the apostle refers when he says to the Galatians, “I marvel that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, which is really not another, only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6–7). This false gospel was already being proclaimed in the days of the apostles, and a most solemn curse was pronounced upon those who preached it. The apostle continues, “even if we, or an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be accursed!” (Gal. 1:8).

By God’s help, we shall now seek to explain — or rather, expose — this false gospel.

The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor is it a programme of anarchy. It does not openly promote strife and war, but aims at peace and unity. It does not seek to set mother against daughter or father against son, but fosters a spirit of fraternity in which the human race is viewed as one great “brotherhood”.

It does not seek to drag down the natural man, but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation, and appeals to “the best that is within us”. It aims to make this world such a comfortable and agreeable place that Christ’s absence from it is not felt and God is not needed. It endeavours to occupy man so much with this world that he has neither time nor inclination to think about the world to come.

It promotes principles of self-sacrifice, charity, and benevolence. It teaches men to live for the good of others and to be kind to all. It strongly appeals to the natural mind and is popular with the masses because it ignores the solemn facts that, by nature, man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.

In contrast to the gospel of Christ, the gospel of Satan teaches salvation by works. It teaches justification before God on the ground of human merit. Its sacramental phrase is, “Be good and do good.” But it fails to recognise that in the flesh there dwells no good thing. It proclaims salvation by character, which reverses the order of God’s Word. Scripture teaches character as the fruit of salvation, not the cause of it.

Its forms and organisations are many. Movements for temperance, reform, ethical culture, social improvement, political idealism, and world peace may all be employed — perhaps unconsciously — in proclaiming this gospel of Satan: salvation by works. The pledge-card is substituted for Christ; social purity for individual regeneration; politics and philosophy for doctrine and godliness. The cultivation of the old man is considered more “practical” than the creation of a new man in Christ Jesus, while universal peace is expected apart from the intervention and return of the Prince of Peace.

The apostles of Satan are not chiefly saloon-keepers and traffickers in vice, but, for the most part, ordained ministers. Thousands of those who occupy modern pulpits are no longer engaged in presenting the fundamentals of the Christian faith. They have turned aside from the truth and have given heed to myths.

Instead of magnifying the seriousness of sin and setting forth its eternal consequences, they minimise it by declaring that sin is merely ignorance or the absence of good. Instead of warning their hearers to flee from the wrath to come, they make God a liar by declaring that He is too loving and merciful to consign any of His creatures to eternal punishment. Instead of declaring that “without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22), they merely hold up Christ as the great example and exhort their hearers to follow in His steps.

Of such men it must be said, “For not knowing about the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3).

Their message may sound plausible, and their aims may appear praiseworthy, yet Scripture says of them, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds” (2 Cor. 11:13–15).

In addition to the fact that many churches today are without a leader who faithfully declares the whole counsel of God and presents His way of salvation, we must also face the further fact that the majority of people in these churches are unlikely to learn the truth for themselves.

The family altar, where a portion of God’s Word was once read daily, is now, even in the homes of nominal Christians, largely a thing of the past. The Bible is not expounded in the pulpit, and it is not read in the pew. The demands of this rushing age are so many that multitudes have little time, and still less inclination, to prepare for meeting God. Therefore, the majority, being too idle to search the Scriptures for themselves, are left at the mercy of those whom they pay to search for them — many of whom betray their trust by studying and expounding economic and social problems rather than the oracles of God.

In Prov. 14:12, we read, “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” This “way” which ends in death is the Devil’s delusion — the gospel of Satan — a way of salvation by human attainment. It is a way which “seems right”; that is, it is presented in such plausible language that it appeals to the natural man. It is set forth in such a subtle and attractive manner that it commends itself to the intelligence of its hearers.

Because it uses religious terminology, sometimes appeals to the Bible for support when it suits its purpose, holds up lofty ideals before men, and is proclaimed by those who have graduated from theological institutions, countless multitudes are deceived by it.

The success of a counterfeiter depends largely upon how closely the false coin resembles the genuine article. Heresy is not usually the total denial of the truth, but the perversion of it. That is why half a lie is often more dangerous than a complete rejection. Therefore, when the father of lies enters the pulpit, it is not usually his custom to deny the fundamental truths of Christianity outright. Rather, he quietly acknowledges them and then proceeds to give them a false interpretation and a false application.

For example, he would not be so foolish as to boldly announce his disbelief in a personal God. He takes God’s existence for granted and then gives a false description of His character. He announces that God is the spiritual Father of all men, when Scripture plainly tells us, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26), and, “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). Further, he declares that God is far too merciful ever to send any member of the human race to hell, when God Himself has said, “if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15).

Again, Satan would not be so foolish as to ignore the central figure of human history: the Lord Jesus Christ. On the contrary, his gospel acknowledges Him to be the best man who ever lived. Attention is drawn to His deeds of compassion and works of mercy, the beauty of His character, and the greatness of His teaching. His life is praised, but His substitutionary death is ignored. The all-important atoning work of the cross is never mentioned, while His triumphant and bodily resurrection from the grave is regarded as one of the credulities of a superstitious age.

It is a bloodless gospel, and it presents a crossless Christ — received not as God manifested in the flesh, but merely as the ideal man.

In 2 Cor. 4:3–4, we have a Scripture which sheds much light upon our present subject: “even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers by hiding the light of the gospel of Christ, and he does this by substituting his own gospel. Appropriately, he is described as the one “who deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9).

By merely appealing to “the best that is within man”, and by simply exhorting him to “lead a nobler life”, a broad platform is provided on which those of almost every shade of opinion can unite and proclaim this common message.

Again we quote Prov. 14:12: “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” It has been said with considerable truth that the way to hell is paved with good intentions. There will be many in the lake of fire who began life with good intentions, honest resolutions, and lofty ideals — people who were just in their dealings, fair in their transactions, and charitable in their ways; people who prided themselves on their integrity, but sought to justify themselves before God by their own righteousness; people who were moral, merciful, and generous, but who never saw themselves as guilty, lost, hell-deserving sinners in need of a Saviour.

Such is the way which “seems right”. Such is the way that commends itself to the natural mind and recommends itself to multitudes of deceived souls today. The Devil’s delusion is that we can be saved by our own works and justified before God by our own deeds. But God tells us in His Word, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8–9). Again, “He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5).

Perhaps an illustration from personal experience may be pardoned. Some years ago, the writer became acquainted with one who was a lay preacher and an enthusiastic “Christian worker”. For more than seven years, this friend had been engaged in public preaching and religious activity. Yet, from certain expressions and phrases he used, the writer doubted whether his friend was truly born again.

When we began to question him, it was found that he was very imperfectly acquainted with the Scriptures and had only the vaguest conception of Christ’s work for sinners. For a time, we sought to present the way of salvation in a simple and impersonal manner, and to encourage our friend to study the Word for himself, in the hope that, if he were still unsaved, God would be pleased to reveal to him the Saviour he needed.

One night, to our joy, the one who had been preaching the gospel for seven years confessed that he had found Christ only the night before. He acknowledged, to use his own words, that he had been presenting “the Christ ideal”, but not the Christ of the cross.

The writer believes there are thousands like this preacher. Perhaps they have been brought up in Sunday school, taught about the birth, life, and teachings of Jesus Christ, and believe in the historicity of His Person. They may occasionally endeavour to practise His precepts and imagine that this is all that is necessary for salvation.

Often, when such people reach adulthood, they go out into the world, encounter the attacks of atheists and unbelievers, and are told that such a person as Jesus of Nazareth never lived. But the impressions of early days are not easily erased, and they remain firm in declaring that they “believe in Jesus Christ”.

Yet when their faith is examined, it is often found that, although they believe many things about Jesus Christ, they do not truly believe in Him. They believe with the head that such a Person lived, and because they believe this, they imagine they are saved. But they have never laid down the weapons of their warfare against Him. They have never yielded themselves to Him, nor truly believed in Him from the heart.

The bare acceptance of orthodox doctrine concerning the Person of Christ, without the heart being won by Him and the life devoted to Him, is another phase of the way “which seems right to a man”, but whose end is “the way of death”. Mere intellectual assent to the reality of Christ’s Person, which goes no further, is another form of Satan’s gospel.

And now, my reader, where do you stand? Are you in the way which “seems right”, but ends in death? Or are you in the narrow way which leads to life? Have you truly forsaken the broad road that leads to destruction? Has the love of Christ created in your heart a hatred and horror of all that displeases Him? Do you desire that He should reign over you? Are you relying wholly upon His righteousness and blood for your acceptance with God?

Those who are trusting in an outward form of godliness, such as baptism or confirmation; those who are religious because it is considered respectable; those who attend a church or chapel because it is the custom to do so; and those who join a denomination because they suppose such a step will make them Christians — all are in the way which ends in death: death spiritual and eternal.

However pure our motives, however noble our intentions, however sincere our efforts, and however well-meaning our purposes, God will not accept us as His sons until we accept His Son.

A yet more subtle form of Satan’s gospel is to move preachers to present the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and then tell their hearers that all God requires from them is to “believe” in His Son. In this way, thousands of impenitent souls are deceived into thinking they have been saved. But Christ said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).

Again, thousands are deceived into supposing that they have “accepted Christ” as their “personal Saviour”, though they have not first received Him as their Lord. The Son of God did not come here to save His people in their sins, but “from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).

To be saved from sins is to be saved from ignoring and despising the authority of God. It is to abandon the course of self-will and self-pleasing. It is to “forsake” our way (Isa. 55:7). It is to surrender to God’s authority, yield to His dominion, and give ourselves over to be ruled by Him.

The one who has never taken Christ’s yoke upon him, who is not truly and diligently seeking to please Him in all the details of life, and yet supposes that he is “resting on the finished work of Christ”, is deceived by the Devil.

In Matthew 7, there are two Scriptures which give us the approximate results of Christ’s gospel and Satan’s counterfeit. First, in verses 13 and 14: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Second, in verses 22 and 23: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

Yes, my reader, it is possible to work in the name of Christ, and even to preach in His name, and yet, though the world knows us and the church knows us, to be unknown to the Lord. How necessary it is, then, to find out where we really stand; to examine ourselves and see whether we are in the faith; to measure ourselves by the Word of God and see whether we are being deceived by our subtle enemy; to find out whether we are building our house upon the sand, or whether it is founded upon the Rock, Christ Jesus.

May the Holy Spirit search our hearts, break our wills, slay our enmity against God, work in us deep and true repentance, and direct our gaze to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Reflection Questions

1. What does it mean to say that Satan is the great counterfeiter?
2. Why is a counterfeit gospel often more dangerous than open unbelief?
3. How does Satan’s gospel resemble Christianity outwardly while denying its essential truth?
4. Why does the gospel of Satan appeal so strongly to the natural mind?
5. What is dangerous about a message that focuses on improving man while ignoring his need to be born again?
6. How does salvation by works reverse the order of Scripture?
7. Why must godly character be understood as the fruit of salvation, not the cause of it?
8. How can good things such as charity, education, morality, and social reform become spiritually dangerous when separated from the gospel of Christ?
9. Why is it possible for ministers of Satan to appear as “ministers of righteousness”?
10. What are some ways false teachers minimise sin or soften the judgement of God?
11. Why is the blood atonement of Christ essential to the true gospel?
12. Why is it important for believers to know the Scriptures for themselves?
13. Why is half-truth often more dangerous than outright denial?
14. What is the difference between believing facts about Christ and truly believing in Christ?
15. Why can no outward religious act, such as baptism, confirmation, church attendance, or denominational membership, save a person?
16. In what ways might modern churches be tempted to preach a respectable but bloodless gospel?
17. How can believers guard themselves against being deceived by Satan’s counterfeit gospel?