Lesson 90 November 30, 2003
2. What about believers? What is Satan's work related to the Believer?
a. False ministers, prophets and evangelists;
b. Again the focus is on the mind, the thinking!
- cleaverly disguised 2 Cor 11:3-4; 13-15
c. A false communion table - idolatry 1 Cor 10:14-27
d. He seeks to hinder the communication of BD. 1 Ths 2:18
e. He accuses believers of sin before God. Rev 12:9-10; also Zech 3:1-3
f. He encourages MAS, such as worry, anxiety 1 Pt 5:6-9
g. He seeks to obscure the believer's focus in life, to get their eyes off of the Lord and therefore sidetrack them from DVPT. [from thinking and using DVPT]
His method is to turn our focus:
1. Towards people. Jer 17:5-6
2. Towards things - materialistic - $$. Heb 13:5-6; 1 Tim 6:9-10
3. Towards yourself - become hedonistic
Examples: Peter Mt 26:31-35; Elijah - 1 Kg 19:10
h. He uses man's fear of death. Heb 2:14; promise/provision Ps 23:4
3. What are his systems of Anti-Theistic thought:
a. Atheism - which says there is no God and leads to Nihilism, which is a lack of belief in anything. Hedonism is a logical outgrowth of this.
b. Agnosticism - which answers the question "Does God exist?" with "I don't know or I don't think you can know."
c. Evolution: cf 2 Pt 3:3ff uniformitarianism
1. Theistic evolution says God caused it Gen 1 He started it; then some mechanic of evolution took over
2. Atheistic evolution says nothing caused it, it just happened; most in this camp used to say that the universe is eternal, it always existed;
3. The ultimate result of Atheistic evolution is "Materialism" which bases their philosophy on reality of a material existence only;
4. Polytheism claims that there are many gods with attributes and functions spread out among them.
d. Idealism say that everything is getting better.
e. Realism is a belief that says that everything that is in existence is made of material.
f. Pantheism says that God equals everything and vice versa; God is in and a part of all of creation, not distinct from it.
g. Deism says that God created everything perfect, but at the fall ceased to have anything else to do with His creation; does not act in or towards His creation.
h. Positivism says that you can only know in part thru reality. You can only know as you have experienced reality and then only in part.
i. Monism says that there is one principle in the universe all reality is one substance, can be either good or bad.
j. Dualism - yin/Yang philosophy.
k. Pluralism says that there are as many worlds (as many realities) as there are minds to create them.
l. Humanism says that man in essence is god and man can solve all man's problems