The power of crafty words

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1)

We are introduced to satan early and his introduction contained an extremely negative assertion about his character. He's crafty.

Satan is an angel. He is an unholy angel, as opposed to Gabriel or Michael who are holy angels. If you look at the angels' activity you see just how powerful and intelligent they are. They administer judgment. (e.g. Revelation 8:6-13). They give the Law. (Acts 7:53, Hebrews 2:2, Galatians 3:19). They give the Gospel to the whole earth at once. (Revelation 14:6). They stand on the sun. (Revelation 19:7). They hold back the wind. (Revelation 7:1).

They're powerful.

We'll come back to that in a moment.

I'm enjoying the buzz around a couple of movies just out. Darkest Hour is the story of Winston Churchill's early days as England's Prime Minister. He was leading the United Kingdom through tough times as WWII rages on the continent and is about to hit home for Britain. Much of the focus of the movie is on Churchill's oratory. It's a movie largely without action and is tightly confined to the bunker tunnels and small rooms below the city. Churchill made several famous speeches which roused the populace, enabled changed minds and hearts to make decisions, and cemented the nation in unity to face the evil force that was soon to come upon them. It's a movie about speeches.

Another movie just out is called The Post. It depicts the editor Ben Bradlee and owner/publisher Katherine Graham of the Washington Post during the critical years of the decisions about whether to release the Pentagon Papers, and leading up to their coverage of the Watergate Break-in, which eventually led to the downfall and resignation of American President Richard Nixon. It's a movie about words.

Words, whether written or spoken have power. Where would we be without Thomas Paine's Common Sense, Lincoln's Gettysburg address, Kennedy's 'to the moon and back', Reagan's 'tear down this wall'? We remember Chief Joseph's surrender speech, 'I will fight no more forever.' Lou Gehrig's farewell to baseball 'luckiest man alive' speech. President Reagan reassuring a shocked nation after the space shuttle Challenger exploded and the astronauts having 'slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’

Look at the impact of President Franklin Roosevelt's Fireside Chats:

Fireside chats is the term used to describe a series of 28 evening radio addresses given by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944. Roosevelt spoke with familiarity to millions of Americans about the promulgation of the Emergency Banking Act in response to the banking crisis, the recession, New Deal initiatives, and the course of World War II. On radio, he was able to quell rumors and explain his policies. His tone and demeanor communicated self-assurance during times of despair and uncertainty. Roosevelt was a great communicator on radio, and the fireside chats kept him in high public regard throughout his presidency. Their introduction was later described as a "revolutionary experiment with a nascent media platform".

I'm brought back to the early chapters of Genesis. The serpent. What was his mode of attack? Did he hold Eve hostage and force her to eat the fruit? Did he call for his legions of followers to surround them and attack? No. He did it with words. Satan attacks with words.

We should not pay attention to satan.

Of course we don't pay attention to satan, you say. Of course not, silly! But we do. We come across a false teacher and we listen. We rationalize that we have the power to 'eat the meat and spit out the bones'. We wail, 'But he/she helped me so much!' Of course false teachers are skilled at oratory. They can make fine speeches. They use words well. They're crafty!

False doctrine is sin because false doctrine doesn't originate from God. (John 7:16, Titus 1:2). God hates false doctrine. (Revelation 2:15). Several of the letters in the New Testament were written to address errors of false doctrine (Galatians 1:6–9; Colossians 2:20–23; Titus 1:10–11). Take false doctrine seriously. Why? Its words will affect you.

Why do we know that speeches, movies, newspapers, and advertising affect us, but mistakenly think that listening to false doctrine won't?

The Bible says that those who listen to false teachers are heaping these teachers up so they can 'suit their own passions.' (2 Timothy 4:3). Don't indulge your passions by falling into satan's crafty trap of words.

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Further reading

Challies: The Five Tests of False Doctrine

Michelle Lesley: Is She a False Teacher? 7 Steps to Figuring it Out on your Own

Got Questions: How can I recognize a false teacher / false prophet?

Art of Manliness: Resurrecting the Lost Art of Oratory