The Devil's Religion

Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ and has impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth, simply stated. Thanks for joining us for this message.

Here's Adrian Rogers. Here's five, but before we do, I want to ask you a question. I don't want you to answer it out loud, but I want you to think about it.

Here's the question. Is the devil for religion or against religion? Well, I want to tell you, friend, he is very much for religion. As a matter of fact, the devil uses religion to oppose the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the title of our message today is The Devil's Religion. Now, the theme of the book of Acts is that old-time religion, but I want to tell you, dear friend, that old-time religion, the Bible religion, is going to receive some old-time opposition, the devil's religion. And as a matter of fact, it is really old-time opposition because it began in the Garden of Eden. And as a matter of fact, as a path into the pages of history in the Garden of Eden, that very first temptation was a religious temptation. What did the devil say to Eve? Like God. It was a perverted religion. And the devil has always been in the religion business up to his ears.

Begin reading with me. Acts chapter 8 and verse 5. Acts chapter 8 and verse 5. Acts chapter 8 and verse 5. Acts chapter 8 and verse 5. Now when the apostles, which were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent, therefore, of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.

Then answered Simon and said, Pray to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me. Now, I want to tell you four things about the devil's religion. What I have to say is not merely interesting. I trust it'll be interesting.

But whether it is or whether it isn't, it is vital. And if ever a generation needed to be warned against false religion, what I call the devil's religion, it is this generation. In the last days, there will not be a lack of religion.

There will be more than ever. The Bible prophesies the last days as days when men will have a form of godliness. But they will deny the power thereof. That is, they will have religion without reality.

They will have form without force. They will not know God, and yet they will be very religious. Here are the four things I want to tell you about the devil's religion. And four warnings I want to give you. Number one, beware of the devilish power of false religion. Look with me, if you will, in verses 9 and 10. There was a certain man called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that he himself was some great one to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, this man is the great power of God, the devilish power of false religion. Here was a man who was practicing witchcraft. Here was a man who was practicing what the Bible calls sorcery. Now, was this just a bag of cheap tricks? Was this man a sleight-of-hand artist?

No. Here was a man who had tapped into devilish, unholy, supernatural power, so great that everybody said, the power that is on this man is the power of the great God. And everybody in that city had been swept away by this man, Simon the sorcerer. Where did he get that power? If you don't mind writing in the margin of your Bible, I want you to write in the margin of your Bible this scripture, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 9. In that passage, God describes the devil's superman who's to come, the antichrist, that man of sin who will one day rule the entire world, the antichrist. And the Bible describes him in these words, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. Power, signs, lying wonders. This is going to be the hallmark and the devil's stock in trade that he has power to perform signs and wonders and to deceive people. Let me give you another passage of scripture.

Let me write down Revelation chapter 16 verse 14. The Bible speaks of unclean spirits and then this is what the Bible says, for they are the spirits of devils working miracles. Spirits of devils working miracles.

I have little doubt in my mind that this man Simon the magician worked miracles. I believe he did it by devilish unholy power. A generation that is being and will be swept into hell by a demonstration of satanic miraculous power. By the way, these people were deceived and that's the devil's duty and the devil's delight is to deceive people to keep people out of heaven. Suppose you were deceived by one of the devil's miracles.

Suppose you died. You stood before the Lord and there the Lord has you at his great tribunal and you stand before him and the Lord asks you that all-encompassing question. Why should I let you into my heaven? And suppose you would answer, well, Lord, there was a time when I was seeking you.

I really wanted to know religious truth and I had a vision. Do you remember, God, when you sent that angel to visit me? Remember, Lord, there was a great, glorious, shining, magnificent holy angel, an angel of light. And that angel came and said to me, my child, you found favor with God and I have been dispatched from heaven to tell you that you have a place for eternity with the Father in heaven. That's why, Father, I expect to enter into heaven. Suppose at that moment the devil appeared on the scene and suppose the devil said to you there standing in front of the judgment of Almighty God, you poor, deluded fool. That was no angel. That was me. I was the one who spoke to you. Oh, you say, pastor, that would be impossible.

Oh, you think so? Listen to this scripture and write it down in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 14. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed as an angel of light. Did you know that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light? That's what the Bible says.

Not necessarily some scaly monster with a forked tail and hooves, cloven hooves and horns. No, no, the devil, very beautiful, very holy looking, an angel of light. Friend, if an angel were to come and tell you you're saved, how would you know it wasn't the devil in disguise? He has power to do miracles.

Suppose you stood before the judgment of God and God says, why should I let you into my heaven? And you said, well, Lord, you remember that miracle I saw? You remember, Lord, when I was praying and I said, Lord, give me a sign and the heavens roll back and you remember, Lord, how that glorious fire came out of heaven? What a glorious light. Oh, God, it was a miracle.

And I knew that you'd heard my prayer and I knew I was right with you. And suppose again the devil said, you poor, deluded fool, that was me, I did that. You say, pastor, could the devil do that?

Put in your margin Revelation chapter 13 and verse 13. He doeth great wonders so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles that he had power to do. The devil has power to make fire come down out of heaven to deceive people. Well, you say, pastor, how on earth is a man going to know then? I mean, if an angel telling you that you're saved doesn't mean that you're saved. If seeing a ball of fire come down out of heaven doesn't mean that you're saved, how can you know you're saved? My dear friend, the Bible says we have a more sure word of prophecy. And that's the Word of God, more sure than any vision, more sure than any ecstasy is the Word of God. And that's the reason 1 John 5 verse 13 says, these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. We have God's Word. And you'd better learn to stand on the Word of God. If I were to stand before the Lord and the Lord and ask me, Adrian, why should I let you into my heaven? I would say, because, Lord, you've said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and I believe. And you've said in your Word in John chapter 5 verse 24, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is past from death unto life. And if the devil is there, I'll say, devil, read it yourself. The argument's between you and God's Word and I know who's going to win that argument. Learn to stand on the Word of God.

I am telling you, ladies and gentlemen, listen to me. There's a time coming when the devil himself is going to perform such miracles upon this earth, he'll make you think white is black, black is white, up is down, down is up, and you'll cut your mother's throat and think you're doing God a service. He's such a deceiver. The Bible says he deceives the whole world and you beware, beware of the devilish power of false religion. It is not just that people are preaching the wrong thing. They will come with a demonstration of power and miracles that you'll say, why, that must be of God. Even him who's coming is after all power and signs and lying wonders.

That's who the antichrist is going to be. There's a second thing I want to warn you about in this passage of Scripture. Not only do you need to beware of the devilish power of false religion, but you need to beware of the devilish pride, the devilish pride of false religion. Look again in chapter 8, verse 9. But there was a certain man called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, now watch this, giving out that himself was some great one.

Do you see it? Here was Simon the sorcerer who was egocentric rather than being God-centered. Here was a man who was inflated with pride and ego. The hallmark of all satanic and false religion is pride. It was pride that made the devil the devil. You want to find the genesis of the devil? You want to know how the devil became the devil? Well, Isaiah chapter 14, verse 12, gives us this biography of the evil one. And listen to what happened to the devil. What made the devil the devil? Isaiah 14, beginning in verse 12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning?

How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations? Now watch this. You're going to find five times the devil will say, I will.

Listen to it. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. I will, I will, I will, I will, I will. He's self-centered.

I will. Do you know what the devil said? He said exactly the opposite of what the Son of God said. The devil said, not thy will, but mine be done. Not thy will, but mine.

All false religion is based in will worship and self-will. This is the way the devil tempted Eve with the first temptation in the Garden of Eden. He said to Eve, if you will do this, you can be your own God.

You will be like God. This was the appeal to pride. All false religion, all devilish religion is built on pride. That's the reason Paul warned Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 6 verses 3 and following. If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words to even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud.

He's proud. It was pride that made the devil the devil and we have a generation of people who are religious, but their religion rather than being God-centered is self-centered, it is ego-centered. And my dear friend, you need to examine yourself right now and find out whether you have ever repented of your sin, been broken in the dust before the Lord Jesus Christ and dethroned self and enthroned Jesus Christ. Now, there's a third thing I want you to notice.

I want you to notice the devilish pretense of false religion. Notice beginning now in verse 12, but when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. How wonderful. They believed in Jesus and they were baptized because Philip preached the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.

Wonderful. But now notice verse 13. Then Simon himself... Now, this is the sorcerer. Then Simon himself believed also and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and the signs which were done.

I want you to listen very carefully. In these verses, there are two kinds of believers that are described. True believers and false believers. Possessors and pretenders. The first group in verse 12 were possessors.

The second group were pretenders. Simon never was saved, and I'm going to show you in a moment clearly that he wasn't saved. He was an unbelieving believer.

Now, the difference was in the object of their belief. One group, those who were saved, believed in the master. Simon believed in the miracles. Simon was a man who was interested in power that he could get hold of, something that he could use, and he had been practicing witchcraft and sorcery. And then he saw the apostles who had the power to lay their hands on people and people would receive the Holy Ghost. He said, that's an amazing thing.

I want that kind of power in my life. And so he tried to buy that power. I want you to notice in verse 18. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money saying, give me also this power that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, thy money perish with thee. Now, folks, I want to be kind, but I want to tell you in just plain English what Peter said, and I'm not stretching it. He said, you and your money both go to hell.

That's what he was saying. Your money perish with you, because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

Repent, therefore, of this thy wickedness. He wasn't a saved man. He was a lost man.

He had no part, no lot, whatever in this matter. His belief was not in the master, but in the miracles, not in the person, but in the power, because false religion is egocentric. It is always rooted in what I can get and not in what I can give. There are always people who want miracles, not because they love God, but because they love miracles. It's a false faith. It's a faith that will not save.

It's a faith that will condemn and lead to hell. There are always those miracle-mongers. Now, the difference between Simon and those other people, those other people had faith in Jesus. Simon had faith in miracles.

All right, now watch. Not only is faith authenticated by its object, but it is also authenticated by its objective. What is the purpose of faith?

It's to bring us in a relationship with God. Faith is not some way that man's will is done on earth, but faith is some way that God's will is done in heaven. Faith is not something that uses God. Faith is where God uses you, where you come to God and you're broken at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you say, Lord, let your life and your will be done in me, not my will but thine be done. Faith, my dear friend, is for official use only. It is for God to do what God wants done on this earth.

Oh, how many people would like to have some power? It's all self-centered. It's all self-centered. They are in religion for what they can get and not for what they can give. They have never knuckled under to Jesus Christ. They have never repented, as Peter told Simon to repent later on, but they have joined churches, been baptized, gotten in the church for what it can do for them. It's false religion. It's devilish pretenders who've never been saved, and the thing that breaks my heart is that churches are filled with them, great pretenders. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful works and then will I profess unto them, depart from me ye that work iniquity.

I never knew you. You beware of the devilish power of false religion. It has power in it. You beware of the devilish pride of false religion. It is ego-centered rather than God-centered. You beware of the devilish pretense of false religion. The devil will sometimes join a church.

Simon did. He got baptized. He believed, but he wasn't a believer in Jesus. He did not have a genuine faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus will save, but faith that's not in the Lord Jesus will condemn and take you to hell.

Now the fourth and final thing. You beware of the devilish poison of false religion because false religion poisons everything that it touches. I want you to notice also here when Simon said, Give me this power on whomsoever I lay my hands that I may receive the Holy Ghost.

Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Have you ever heard of P.T. Barnum? P.T. Barnum of the Barnum Bailey Circus fame.

P.T. Barnum who thought there was a sucker born every minute. When Charles Haddon Spurgeon, many believe Charles Haddon Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers that ever lived.

When Charles Haddon Spurgeon was preaching so mightily and so powerfully in London, Barnum heard about it. And he thought, I wonder if there's some way I could merchandise that. So he thought, well, I'll just get the great Spurgeon to come to America. I'll put him in a big hall and I'll charge people to come hear him. And I'll get him to lecture. Evidently, he's a very gifted and articulate speaker.

There's some way we ought to be able to make some money on that. So he wrote Spurgeon and offered Spurgeon a proposition and told Spurgeon if he'd come, he'd make him a wealthy man. Spurgeon wrote him back, sent him a wire, fired him back a wire. Spurgeon didn't say anything. He just put one verse of scripture in the wire.

Do you know what it was? It was Acts 8, verse 20. Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money.

Signed, Spurgeon. Amen. You and your money can go you nowhere. You think the gift of God can be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thine heart is not right with God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

Now watch it. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. The word gall may be translated poison. Beware of the poison of false religion. There are two things that false religion brings, bitterness and bondage. You're in the gall of bitterness and the bondage of iniquity. Every man, every woman, every boy, every girl that's swept up into false religion ends up in bondage and in bitterness. In bondage, why? Because the devil has ensnared them and there's no deliverance from the sin. No false religion can make a person free.

There's only bondage in it. There's nothing more tedious and more binding than false religion. And why are they bitter? I'll tell you why they're bitter. Because they're unfulfilled. They're unsatisfied. They're uncontrolled. And they become more and more bitter.

Listen to me. The sweetest, most wonderful, most godly, gentle, genteel, loving, pure people you'll ever find on the face of this earth are found in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that the favorite sport of some people is Christian bashing. They just love to talk about all the hypocrites and all that in the church and everything. I've been preaching long enough to know that God is real and God's people are real.

I know that, folks. You'll never convince me that the dear saints I know don't know the Lord Jesus Christ and they are not genuine and real and gentle and loving. Now, having said that, and I want you to remember I said that, I want to say also, the meanest, the wickedest, the cruelest, the bitterest people you will often find are religious people who don't know God. They are bitter and in bondage.

They're like old Simon. Peter said, you're full of bitterness. You're in the bond of iniquity. My dear friend, if you'll think about it all over our world today we're having wars over what? Religion. The devil's not against religion. The devil's in favor of religion. That leaves people in bondage and in bitterness and that will take them to hell because they've never had a vital relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Sometimes in a church in a business meeting some bitter person will stand up and cause all kinds of problems in a church. He doesn't know the Lord of glory. He talks about his rights. What rights does a dead man have?

He's been crucified with Christ if he's saved. A man has a right. He's a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ when he's born again but an ego-centered person talks about his rights. Somebody said, you teach a man his rights you'll have a revolution.

You teach him his responsibilities you'll have a revival. People in bondage, people in bitterness, religion without reality, church without Christ. Listen, there is devilish power in false religion. It is rooted in devilish pride. It shows in devilish pretense. It results in devilish poison, the gall of bitterness.

The answer is to repent and some people need to repent of the sins of the flesh but a lot of people need to repent of the sins of the Spirit, not believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, not receiving him. My time is gone but let me just tell you about a woman. She was at home one day and there was a knock on her door and she opened the door and there was a man standing there. This man had a Bible in his hand and he said to the lady, he said, Madam, may I have a few moments of your time? She said, well, what do you want to talk about? He said, madam, I want to ask you a question.

Do you know God? She got flustered. She didn't know what to say.

She groped for words for a moment and couldn't think of what to say. She got so embarrassed she just shut the door, left him standing there. She went all the way back into the bedroom as if she were afraid of him and she never had an experience just like that and it bothered her all afternoon. When her husband came home, she said, let me tell you what happened to me today. A man came and knocked on our door and he asked me a question.

Do you know God? She said, it so bothered me, I got so flustered I didn't know what to do and I shut the door in his face. She said, I wish I could find him and apologize to him for doing that.

She said, apologize? You should have slammed the door in his face, the nerve, coming to you and asking you a question like that. Why didn't you tell him we're members of the most prestigious church in this town? Well, she said, he didn't ask that. He asked if I knew God. Well, he said, why didn't you tell him that you're a moral, upstanding, upright person, that you have your religion? She said, husband, he didn't ask that. He asked if I knew God.

That's what I want to ask you. Do you know God? I'm not asking are you a member of this church or anybody's? And I'm not asking you how religious or upstanding you are. Simon the sorcerer was religious and he was in bondage and bitterness. He didn't know Jesus. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.