Charles Capps - The Messenger of Satan

Contents

Truth About Deception

God's Word tells us that Satan is both a deceiver and a liar and the truth is not in him. (2 Thess. 2:9 ,10 ; Rev. 12:9; John 8:44.) He would like for us to believe that he is all powerful but the truth is his power is limited to his deception.

Satan takes Scripture out of context in his effort to deceive people into believing it is not God's will for them to be saved, healed, blessed or prosperous here on earth. His ultimate deception is to present truth as error and error as truth, for either will hold you in bondage.

But Jesus gave us the key to freedom from this kind of bondage in John 8:31 ,32 ...If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The apostle Paul said,

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes .

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

verses 23-26

There are many people today who are unaware that they are opposing themselves by what they believe. Being willing to accept truth and believe the Gospel is the cure for deception.

Beware of False Truths

I want to expose some ideas and some beliefs, that oppose the well being of many people who tend to read things between the lines that are not in the context of the Scriptures.

The thought may have originated when they read certain Scriptures in the Bible, but we shouldn't fall for what I call "false truths. A false truth is a statement that is in the Bible that has been accurately recorded but when used or quoted out of context it is not true at all. It was true in the situation stated but quoted out of context it is a false statement.

This is how many people are deceived and it causes lots of problems in their lives; they take Scripture out of its context. For instance, it's true the apostle Paul made the statement in Romans 8:28: ...all things work together for good.... But that statement is true only when kept in the context of the other things that Paul said in the preceding verses; otherwise, it is a false statement because all things don't, always, work together for good. Yet, many people believe they do; therefore, they fail to resist what the devil brings against them. They are convinced it is God's way of working things for their good and that is not always the case. Although the statement conveys a truth, it is not the truth when used as a completed statement by itself.

We could say about any statement in the Bible: it is true that it is recorded in the Bible, but it is not necessarily the truth quoted out of context. For there are lies recorded in the Bible. The Spirit of God inspired the writer to include in the Scriptures some lies that people told, so we would know the truth about their spiritual condition. It is also a warning to us not to follow in their footsteps.

Ananias and Sapphira said, "Yes, we sold the land for so much." But they didn't sell the land for that amount. That statement was a lie. (Acts 5:1-5.)

It is true that they said that, and it is accurately recorded in the Bible; but what they said was not true at all. You will find there are other statements in the Bible recorded in the same manner. These are given by inspiration of God for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness. As Paul said in Second Timothy 3:16, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Instruct Those Who Oppose Themselves

Notice what Paul said in Second Timothy 2:25, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves....

There are many good Christiansand I'm talking about people who love God with all their heart who oppose themselves by the way they talk, the way they believe and by the way they act.

Paul said to instruct them. He didn't say to get mad at them. He didn't say to get in strife over it. We shouldn't get in strife because someone doesn't believe what we believe.

We have to remember that we were there one time. We didn't always believe what we believe now. Some of you reading this book won't have the same belief when you have finished reading it, for the entrance of the Word brings light. (Ps. 119:130.) When you understand that, you will have mercy on other people who don't understand it now.

We shouldn't put people down because they don't agree with the Word, for many of them just can't see it right now. When you come out of a dark building into the sunlight you have to squint because your eyes have been accustomed to darkness. When exposed to bright light, you have to squint for a while until your eyes become adjusted to greater light.

Sunday School Ideas

This is what happens to people who have been raised in religious tradition. They have, what I call, Sunday school ideas. Ideas they got from going to Sunday school that didn't exactly agree with the Bible. We've all had some Sunday school ideas that didn't agree with the Bible.

We acquired some of them by reading between the lines. We all read between the lines at times. And, if you don't have your mind renewed to the Word of God, you will read the wrong thing between the lines. That's why it is so important to renew your mind to the Word of God. We must get to the point where we think like God thinks, walk like God walks, talk like God talks and act like God acts. We are not trying to be God, but we should learn to act as God would act in a similar situation. Paul told Timothy to instruct those that oppose themselves (2 Tim. 2:25), and that instruction comes from the Word of God.

Knowledge of the Truth Sets You Free

Quite often you hear people say that Jesus said,

"The truth will make you free. But that wasn't exactly what He said. That statement could be one of those false truths if you don't rightly divide it.

For instance, if you walk up to someone on the street and say to them, "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free," you may have lied to them. That person may never know the truth. It is true that that statement is in the Bible. But this is the context in which that statement is made: ...If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31 ,32 ).

You can see what a difference it makes when you put it in context. We have all been guilty of quoting only part of the Scripture. Everyone who has a Bible has the truth but the Bible won't set them free unless it abides inside of them. (John 15:7.)

So, it isn't just the truth that sets people free. It is the knowledge of that truth that sets people free. When you teach or preach the Word of God, you transmit knowledge and understanding of that Word to other people. That knowledge and understanding sets them free to act on God's Word.

Millions of people are held in bondage today because they don't know the truth. They have some areas of truth, and they have certain points along the way that are truths but in between are gaps that are filled with misunderstanding. They are defeated in life because they believe wrong; therefore, their action or reaction to things that happen to them is wrong.

Recovering Themselves

Remember what Paul said in Second Timothy 2:25 ,26 , instructing those that oppose themselves... that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil....