Another Gospel.

Satan is not an initiator—but an imitator. God has an only begotten Son—the Lord Jesus; so has Satan—the son of Perdition" (2 Thess 2:3). There is a Holy Trinity; and there is likewise a Trinity of Evil (Rev 20:10). Do we read of the "children of God;" so also we read of "the children of the wicked one" (Matt 13:38). Does God work in His children, both to will and to do of His good pleasure; then we are told that Satan is "the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience" (Eph 2:2). Is there a "mystery of godliness" (1 Tim 3:16); so also is there a "mystery of iniquity" (2 Thess 2:7). Are we told that God by His angels "seals" His servants in their foreheads (Rev 7:3); so also we learn that Satan by his agents sets a mark in the foreheads of his devotees (Rev 13:16). Are we told that "the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God" (1 Cor 2:10); then Satan also provides his "deep things" (Rev 2:24). Did Christ perform miracles; so also can Satan (2 Thess 2:9). Is Christ seated upon a throne; so is Satan (Rev 2:13). Has Christ a Church; then Satan has his "synagogue" (Rev 2:9). Is Christ the Light of the world; then so is Satan himself "transformed into an angel of light" (2 Cor 11:14). Did Christ appoint "apostles;" then Satan has his apostles, too (2 Cor 11:13). And this leads us to consider: "The Gospel of Satan."

Satan is the arch-counterfeiter. The Devil is now busy at work in the same field in which the Lord sowed the good seed. He is seeking to prevent the growth of the wheat by another plant, the tares, which closely resemble the wheat in appearance. In a word, by a process of imitation he is aiming to neutralize the Work of Christ. Therefore, as Christ has a Gospel, Satan has a gospel too; the latter being a counterfeit of the former. So closely does the gospel of Satan resemble that which it parodies, that multitudes of the unsaved are deceived by it.

It is to this gospel of Satan the apostle refers when he says to the Galatians, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. " (Gal 1:6,7). This false gospel was being heralded even in the days of the apostle, and a most awful curse was called down upon those who preached it. The apostle continues, "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!" By the help of God we shall now endeavor to expound—or rather,expose this false gospel.

The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor even a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war—but aims at peace and unity. It seeks not to set the mother against her daughter nor the father against his son—but fosters the fraternal spirit whereby the human race is regarded 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 congenial habitat, that Christ's absence from it will not be felt and God will not be needed. It endeavors to occupy man so much with this world—that he has no time or inclination to think of the world to come. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, charity and benevolence, and teaches us to live for the good of others, and to be kind to all. It appeals strongly to the carnal 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, and dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.

In contradistinction to the Gospel of Christ, the gospel of Satan teaches salvation by works. It inculcates justification before God on the ground of human merits. Its sacramental phrase is "Be good and do good"; but it fails to recognize that in the flesh there dwells no good thing. It announces salvation character, which reverses the order of God's Word—character by, as the fruit of, salvation. Its various ramifications and organizations are manifold. Temperance, Reform Movements, "Christian Socialist Leagues," Ethical Culture Societies, "Peace Congresses" are all employed (perhaps unconsciously) in proclaiming this gospel of Satan—salvation by works. The pledge-card is substituted for Christ; social purity for individual regeneration, and 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 looked for apart from the interposition and return of the Prince of Peace.

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