“they set up their own salvation shops and noisily hawk their wares …
refusing to really deal with God on his terms” (Rom 10:3, MSG)
Our last few discussion have all centred around the four horns of the brazen altar which also have counterfeits in the spiritual realm (Zech 1:18-19). We learnt that people are often bound to these altars because of a lack of knowledge, and then become privy to a host of negative spiritual experiences, the origin of which remains a mystery to them. Different facets of Satan’s “cunning schemes” (Eph 6:11, ALT) were discussed. This “unprincipled cunning with a view to systematized error” (Eph 4:14, Darby) first binds them and then blinds them so that they are unable to discern true faith from the fake copy presented to them – “They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.” (Isa 44:18, EST).
One of the most dangerous horns is what I term the humanitarian gospel. This teaching is founded upon the notion of love for your fellow man and of accommodating one another. It proclaims peace and unity between all people, so that “the world will be as one”, as John Lennon’s Imagine professes. It aims to uplift and improve man. It promotes the education and cultivation of the masses, appealing to the good in every individual. It aspires to make the world a better place, instating programmes which will enrich the individual and his environment. It is founded upon values of selflessness, goodwill and generosity toward your fellow man, living in harmony with other human beings, as well as with the earth and its creatures.
Most people who adhere to this gospel do not believe in the existence of Satan, and considers sin an archaic notion which serves to make man feel guilty and indebted to a non-existent higher entity. They believe that man is inherently good and that it is only his choices which propel him in the wrong direction, but that these “wrong decisions” are also relative to what the society the individual finds himself in considers as right and wrong.
From this perspective God becomes an undefined entity of Good which is born from an individual’s search for meaning. Many pastors and (spiritual) leaders propagate this idyllic state of humanist utopia, adorning it in accoutrements of the faith which will suit any religious persuasion. Caught up in the greatness that is the symphony of life they cannot dare cast a dissonant note.
As was the case with Christ, Satan still today shows man “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (Matt 4:9), which he will present to us if we are willing to worship this world of imagine. 1 John 2:16-17 – “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
- Sela: Find at least three Scriptures that dismiss this humanitarian gospel.
- Read: 2 Sam 21; Prov 25; 1 Thess 1
- Memorise: Prov 25:2
- For a deeper understanding: Read Francis Schaeffer’s article at http://www.creationism.org/csshs/v06n3p11.htm
