Paul in his second letter to the Corinthian church wrote, “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” (ch. 11:14). In context, Paul was warning the Corinthians to beware of false teachers. Satan’s goal is to lead people to disobey God and thus disconnect them from the source of truth. Thankfully, the Lord has repeatedly warned His followers to be on guard and has given them the directions on how they can tell the difference between good and evil angels.
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The Litmus Test
The Lord says: “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). The prophet, here, directs people away from the words and wisdom of devils and leads them to the revealed wisdom of God that is found in the Scriptures. The prophets of God were His witnesses and the “testimony” they gave were His truths. Isaiah presents God’s Word as the standard of truth and the guide to true living. Whatever people or angels may say that is not in line with that Word means that they have “no light” in them (Isaiah 50:10, 11). Thus, the Bible is our litmus test, it helps us differentiate between truth and error. Anything that contradicts the Scriptures, or leads us away from it, is from the devil.
How did Christ resist temptation
The best example of discerning between good and evil can be found in the life of Jesus and especially during His wilderness temptations (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan tried Jesus in three major areas and to each temptation Jesus answered with, “it is written” and quoted scripture (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). Satan even presented scripture to tempt Jesus. But he used it out of context. Jesus was able to discern Satan’s deception because He completely understood the scriptures and answered back with a Scripture.
Christ’s faith and understanding of God’s will were based on the Bible. From childhood, He had been taught to stand on thus says the Lord. And in this lay the secret of His power to meet the trials. It is faith that brings triumph over the world (1 John 5:4), and faith is built on the the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). Standing on the Scriptures is of greater weight than even the making of a miracle.
Strength in the Word
When a person compares the messages that is being presented to him with the Scriptures, he will be able to distinguish between truth and error, between a clean and unclean spirit. When a believer studies the Bible daily and prays, the Lord will enlighten his understanding with the Holy Spirit and he will be able to see the light (John 14:26).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
