A treatise on Satan's temptations by Richard Gilpin (Available from Amazon or free here) - Commence Chapter 3 of Part 2 by reading up to '(6) Sixthly, A more plausible argument for error than the learning and holiness of the persons that profess it, is that of inspiration, in which the devil soars aloft and pretends the highest divine warrant for his falsehoods; for 'God is truth,' and 'we know that no lie is of the truth.'
Now that Gilpin has shown us Satan's advantages for introducing error, this week he begins to show us how Satan improves those advantages.
Satan improves his advantages of error by stratagems as more directly work upon the understanding to delude and blind it. His usual way of proceeding this case is by:
(i) giving an error some countenance or pretence from Scripture;
(ii) supposed mysteries;
(iii) astonishing men with strange language and affected expressions;
(iv) bold assertions that error is truth;
(v) deriving a credit and honour to error.
What grabbed me
I appreciated this description of how Satan calls truth error: 'In any grand design of error, he endeavours to lay the foundation of it as near to truth as he can; but yet so that, in the tendency of it, it may go as far from it as may be, as some rivers, whose first fountains are contiguous, have notwithstanding a direct contrary course in their streams. For instance, in those errors that tend to overthrow the doctrine of the gospel concerning Christ and ordinances — and these are things which the devil hath a great spite at — he begins his work with plausible pretences of love and admiration of Christ and grace ; he proceeds from thence to the pretence of purer enjoyments ; from thence to a dislike of such preachers and preaching as threaten sin and speak out the wrath of God against iniquity, and these are presently called legal preachers, and the doctrine of duty a legal covenant. Having them once at this point, they easily come to immediate assistances and special gifts, which they pretend to have above others. Being thus set up, they are for free grace and the enjoyment of God in spirit. From thence they come to Christian liberty, and by degrees duties are unnecessary. There is no Christ but within them ; and being freed from the law, whatever they do is no transgression. This is a path that Satan hath trodden of old, though now and then he may vary in some circumstances, and be forced to stop before he come to the utmost of his journey.'
Calling good evil is one of Satan's oldest strategies.
Next week's reading
Conclude Chapter 3 of Part 2.
Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
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