“Do not be deceived, for there is a deceiver out there and he lies when he speaks to you and he says that evil is good and good is evil. But do not listen to that voice.”
The context to the above is God’s call for the believer to live a holy lifestyle. A challenge to that lifestyle is the adversary’s voice trying to confuse the believer as to what is good and right with what is evil and wrong.
We, as believers, must always remember that Satan’s main occupation is to oppose God’s will in this world and, thus, in individual lives. Such opposition is what brought our Lord’s rebuke to Peter in Matthew 16 as Jesus said,
“Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
– Matthew 16:23 (NASB)
With Peter’s statement challenging the way of death for Jesus, the adversary tried to take the cross out of the gospel.
Similarly, today the adversary will try and take the effects of the cross away from the believer. But do not listen to that voice.
As the accuser moved in on the chief priest, scribes, and elders at the foot of the cross, beckoning Jesus to come down (see Matthew 27:42) so will he try, through various means and individuals to deny its power in the life of the believer.
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
–1 Corinthians 1:18 (KJV)
But do not listen to that voice.
It is the power of the cross that will allow a believer to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world (see Titus 2:11-14).
Thus, the question: How can the believer differentiate between the voice of God and that of the adversary, how can they know what is good from that which is evil?
First and foremost, the answer is to know the Word of God, as evidenced in the Lord’s battle with the adversary in the wilderness.
But sometimes, and especially in matters of personal holiness, the adversary comes at the believer in a subtler way. When the tempter tempts us to sin (James 1:13–15) he appeals to our flesh, and many believers will recognize the enhanced desire in our personal lusts and identify it as a temptation.
However, when the accuser accuses us of sin, he appeals to the conscience and the conscientious Christian many times struggles to distinguish between the Holy Spirit’s conviction and Satan’s condemnation.
Here is a key in knowing the difference:
• The adversary speaks against the believer (‘you hypocrite,’ he says) and leaves the sin untouched;
• The Holy Spirit speaks of the sin in the believer to reprimand them in love and then to purge the iniquity.
William Gurnall, in The Christian in Complete Armour, Volume 1, first penned this in 1655:
“Try this test: If such rebukes [by Satan] contradict any prior work of the Spirit in your soul, they are Satan’s and not the Spirit’s. Satan’s purpose in emphasizing your sin is to try and unsaint you and persuade you that you are only a hypocrite. ‘Oh,’ hisses Satan, ‘now you have shown your true colors! See that horrid stain on your jacket—what other saint every committed such a sin! Your whole life is a sham! God wants nothing to do with such a desperately wicked person as you.’
“And with a single blow Satan dashes all to pieces. The whole mansion of grace which God has been building many years in your soul and all the special comforts the Holy Spirit has brought are blown down by one gust from his malicious mouth. He leaves your life in shambles, and tells you it is your own fault (page 99).”
But do not listen to that voice.
Do not listen to the voice that condemns rather than convicts; that speaks destruction rather than life; that speaks evil as good and good as evil.
Hear the voice of the Lord as you grow in a sanctified life. In hearing His voice, realize and remember:
• realize that Holy Spirit conviction, and a resulting personal repentance, is a continued practice in our quest to be more like Him;
• remember that He knew of our sin prior to His convicting us of it—and He continued to love us regardless!
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
– Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
Believe it, in Jesus name.
