In this episode of the International Gospel Hour, host Jeff Archie takes listeners on a profound exploration of the spiritual battle against Satan, the greatest deceiver. Drawing from scripture, listeners are encouraged to embrace vigilance and spiritual strength as they equip themselves with the armor of God. Through engaging analogies, Jeff highlights the cunning nature of Satan and the ubiquitous presence of his temptations, urging faithful Christians to be steadfast and aware of his devices.
The greatest enemy in the world is Satan, the old devil himself. And as the scripture says, let us not be ignorant of his devices. Wrong is always wrong, and that’s our study just ahead from the International Gospel Hour.
SPEAKER 02 :
It’s time for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jay Webb, and welcome to our study today as we embrace God’s Word to help us meet the challenges of today. Let’s open our Bibles and open our heart for this time of Bible study with our speaker Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, a broadcast of the Churches of Christ.
SPEAKER 01 :
Here’s Jeff. Well, thank you to our J-Web, and greetings and hello everyone. Great having you with us today for our studies here from the International Gospel Hour. Let’s think about our enemy today as we begin. Satan, the old devil, the old deceiver. And I apologize to start a broadcast talking about our greatest enemy, but let us see the one in whom we have an eternal battle. 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Now friends, do you really think the devil has our good before him? Do you really think he wants the best for us? He’s doomed to his hell with his angels, and he wants to take as many people with him as he can. He deceives the multitude. How about Ephesians 6, 10 and 11? Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Now, I’ve often wondered why the Apostle Paul, through inspiration, placed that there. Be strong in the Lord, in His power. Because the devil will come after those he does not have. He already has those that are doing his bidding, not living for God, living the way they want, following erroneous teachings, things of that nature. He’s got those comforted just right. You know, when I see that wiles of the devil, I think about that old Roadrunner cartoon with the Roadrunner and the coyote. What was the coyote’s name? Do you remember? His first name was Wile. His middle initial was E, and his last name, Coyote. Wile E. Coyote. He was wily. He would use a number of different tools to try to capture that Roadrunner, but he never did. And friends, we’ve got to be honest. Don’t let him capture our lives. Not a coyote, but the devil himself. Noted as the deceiver in Revelation 20 and verse 10, Satan will think of many ways to deceive people, to swerve people, to temper down what is wrong. I mean, when you think about it in Genesis 3, through the serpent with only one word, how Eve was deceived, as was Adam, and sin entered the world. In a time where morality is loose, sagging in living, Satan provides many rationalizations for improper behavior. But you know, friends, those who live faithful Christian lives must not be ignorant of his devices. 2 Corinthians 2.11 So in a moment, let’s think about those things. Think about these matters as we consider wrong is always wrong. Now, as we are thinking along that theme, I’m going to defer to our J-Web, who has our free gift for you today, a free booklet. And then later, he’s going to tell you about our free Bible study course by mail. So you may want to just request both at one time. But for now, our J-Web with our free booklet today.
SPEAKER 02 :
In a world of division and even confusion in the religious world, friends, please know this. The Bible is always right. The free booklet, Something is Wrong, But the Bible is Right, is available from International Gospel Hour. Please call us toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, your address, and just say, Bible Tract. That’s it. You may also go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type Bible Tract in the message box. We will get it to you right away.
SPEAKER 01 :
Friends, let’s think about the following. You know, wrong is wrong even if one doesn’t get caught. Proverbs 15 verse 3 says, The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. So friends, even if an individual doesn’t get caught, it’s still wrong and the Lord is watching. How about this one? Wrong is wrong, even if you do it for a good cause. Because in 1 John 3, 4, and 5, whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Sometimes folks may lie, hoping that that is a better way to go. But when one learns of a lie, then that attacks the trust. You know, wrong is wrong even if we do it for a good cause. How about this one? Wrong is wrong even if others are doing worse things. Well, what I’m doing is not as bad as so-and-so, and we try to point toward them. But listen to what we’re saying. Well, I may be doing wrong, but it’s not as bad. Hold it. Stop. Listen. Not as bad means it’s still bad. In 1 Timothy 4 and verse 12, Paul told Timothy, Let no man despise your youth, but be an example of the believers. That we are to be one of doing the right thing. To be that example, and he went on to say, in word, in conversation or lifestyle, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. In 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 12, Paul says, For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves… And comparing themselves among themselves are not wise. And so, friends, we want to make certain that we’re not comparing ourselves to others, but rather compare ourselves to Jesus. You know, wrong is wrong even if others are doing worse things. Think on this one. Wrong is wrong even if it doesn’t bother your conscience. You know, there’s the teaching in Galatians 6 and verse 7 that we will reap what we sow. We may do wrong and it may not bother us at all and we just go right on, but we’re going to reap what we sow. How about this next one? Wrong is wrong even if you did not know that it was wrong or believe it to be wrong. You know, Paul talked about the times of ignorance God winked at, but now commands everywhere to repent. Acts 17 and verse 30. And sincere individuals that realize, you know, I didn’t know that that was wrong. They’ll find mercy by many upon that. And they have a deep regret, a deep repentance. And now that they know better, they’re going to do the right thing. Think about this one. Wrong is wrong even if you plan to get forgiveness later. We know James 4 and verse 17 reminds us, in essence, to do wrong is always sin. Sometimes we’ll use the phrase, well, it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission. And you know, folks, I’ve used that term, I’ve used that line many a time, you probably have as well, that we go ahead and do something that needs to be addressed, and then we might just simply say tongue-in-cheek, well, it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission. But if it was something of which we needed to have permission to do, are we truly handling it the right way if we just go on and do something else? Folks, I’ve got to tell you, with this one, I’ve got to work on this one. And this is not a lesson to where I’m bringing four things to let you know that, hey, I’ve got this down. But for us to simply look at the scripture and ask ourselves, is Satan starting to deceive us and kind of move us into areas that we don’t want to go? Let’s think on that. You know, as we look throughout the scriptures of those that knew to do the right thing but did wrong. How Adam and Eve lost paradise because they did what God told them not to do. Genesis 3, verses 6 and 23. Cain became a fugitive for murdering his brother Abel in Genesis chapter 4. He was aware of what an offering was to be to God. He knew. Nadab and Abihu were burned up for offering a strange fire to God. Leviticus 10, verses 1 and 2. They were priests. They knew better. How about Saul, who had the command to destroy the Amalekites, but did not destroy them all, spared the king, actually. He lost his kingdom for disobeying the Lord, 1 Samuel 15, 28. We think about Goliath. Well, he lost his head for being an enemy of God, so we know from 1 Samuel 17, you can’t do wrong and be right. And Jesus even told us it would not be good to gain the whole world and yet lose our souls. Matthew 16 verse 26 Friends, we always want to do the right thing. We want to do what the Bible says. We want to do the right things according to God to make the right decisions. Earlier, our J-Web offered you our free booklet, Something is Wrong with the Bible is Right. Let’s add one more thing to that order. And if you will, here is our J-Web with our free Bible study course available by mail.
SPEAKER 02 :
Our long-time free Bible study course by mail is always available. Have you tried it yet? Just call us toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, address, and just say, Home Study. That’s it. You may also go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type Home Study in the message box. study the bible at your own pace again it’s free from your friends here at international gospel hour
SPEAKER 01 :
Friends, how thankful we are to study this subject today. Wrong is always wrong. I want to nod a special thank you to a brother and friend from Amory, Mississippi, Brother Philip Hathcock, for these thoughts today. Philip shared this lesson some years ago through a conference of which we both attended, and I thought it would be worthy to look at that today. Thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour broadcast. I’m Jeff Archie, and as always, friends, keep listening.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening today to God Be the Glory, and we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His Word to walk in His way. Feel free to listen to our other programs at our website at internationalgospelhour.com and join us next time.
