As a disclaimer, I admit that I am no longer acquainted with Satan, and cannot confirm these words as his personal picks. Nonetheless, because he is known by his title, “the father of lies” (John 8:44), the five terms and their respective verses below come to mind as favored deceptions in the devil’s arsenal.
These fallacies are especially effective against today’s Christians, who are separated from the Bible’s original audiences by language, time, and culture. Of course, I am not denying that the Bible is reliably translated, relevantly timeless, and revolutionarily transcendent to every culture… but I am saying there are nuances within its pages that our enemy enjoys exploiting. He’s practiced his talent in twisting God’s Word over multiple millennia (Genesis 3:1-6), and continues this assault in the modern age through skepticism outside the Church and perverse teaching within.
Fortunately, the clarity of these terms is easily restored-- by casting aside our hasty assumptions and considering their meaning in the larger Biblical context.
1. Faith
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Skeptics like to call faith blind, which carries some literal truth: no one since the Apostle Paul has witnessed the physical manifestation of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Going further, Christianity’s critics often stress that the supernatural cannot undergo lab testing as nature can, which to them means religious faith is hostile to reason; theism only exists as men and women surrender their feeble minds to illogical indoctrination and subjective superstition. Sadly, believers will compound this error further at times, when they sidestep a logical argument by declaring, “you just need to accept it as a matter of faith”.
Contrasting this illustration of blind belief which evades the intellect, the Greek word pistis refers to a conviction that something is true. This kind of faith can also be described as active trust, and implies that the subject is itself (or Himself) trustworthy.
Abraham, for example, is commended for his faith when God asks him to sacrifice his only son Isaac (Genesis 22)… not by acting in mindless devotion, but because “he considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Hebrews 11:19). Abraham logically reasoned that God would not kill Isaac, who He already promised to provide descendants through. Without knowing the precise details of how, Abraham trusted God’s goodness and faithfulness; his great leap against his fatherly instincts was - while extreme - not an unreasonable plummet toward the depths of the unknown, but a rational bound into God’s outstretched arms.
You don’t have to abandon your God-given intellect to consider religious belief; you can use that gift to sincerely test the evidence supporting true conviction. While faith does imply some factors will be invisible, the point is that there’s an anchor for your hope despite chaotic circumstances. Christian faith is not wishful or desperate, but secure and confident-- with good reason because Christ is ultimately trustworthy.
No unbelief made [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
2. Flesh
“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Sometimes, we assume the Bible to mean that spirit is always good, and physical matter always bad. Christians may not identify with this philosophy verbally; instead, elevating spiritual disciplines and ministries as exclusive devotions to God, while condemning all pursuits beyond the church walls as “fleshly”, speaks louder than the words ever could. I wonder how a bodybuilder or dermatologist in particular must feel about this divide, and I can hardly fault the skeptics when they conclude Christianity as irrelevant to our tangible world… or even the experience of human life.
The disciple who is versed in God’s Word will deny this crude contrast-- God deemed His material creation to be good, then very good once humanity enters the scene (Genesis 1; v. 31). An immaterial state cannot guarantee purity, for the devil and his armies are wholly spiritual, yet rebellious to their Maker. If Jesus is both God and man, then God the Father’s declaration at His baptism that “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), is either blatant contradiction of Romans 8, or else an indication that flesh has a figurative meaning.
The Greek word sarx literally refers to soft tissue of any living body, generally points to a person’s entire body or the world’s creatures as a whole, and symbolically represents either biological descent or a fallen, human nature. The very last definition originates from an ancient Greek philosopher named Epicurus, who believed the physical body to be the source of humanity’s desires. Paul had his audience in mind when he alluded to this theory, for the Romans honored the Greeks, but that is not to say the apostle was declaring Epicurean philosophy as Christian Truth.
Is the human body corrupted? I would answer yes, but no more than the rest of our world, due to the consequences of sin-- going against the moral grain of the One who sustains the cosmos. Muscle fibers are not the source of this impurity, but a fellow hostage at the hands of our selfish nature. Throughout the New Testament, this distinction is upheld by the neutral mentions of sarx as universal humanity: “in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh” (Acts 2:17)... and the positively associated word for body, sōma: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?” (1 Corinthians 6:15).
The spiritual life is not a mystical, out of body experience attained from neglecting your physical self and drawing away to a remote monastery. Rather, living spiritually means yielding to the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, so that concrete, day-to-day experiences are imbued with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22). All creation awaits the new heaven AND new earth of Revelation 21, and in the meantime, we have work to do bringing the physical domain into God’s kingdom as a foretaste of that future glory.
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
3. Love
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
In context, this is a beautiful verse dispelling impersonal legalism, in favor of an empathic ethic-- where mercy towards fellow men and women trumps over ritual observance. However, even this passage can be applied toward sinister ends. To those outside the Church, love’s importance as the law “summed up” (Romans 13:9) means that a Christian who warns or rebukes - instead of tolerating - another person’s lifestyle is guilty of inconsistency. Worse yet, believers will at times subscribe to the same idea, possibly going further to justify all sexual choices as moral for persons caring for each other.
The technical definition of the Greek word for love is worth noting, though it does not settle this matter entirely. Agapaō, or agapē in noun form, is a benevolent affection held unique from storgē, philía, and érōs (love for kinsmen, friends, and romantic lovers). C.S. Lewis, in his book The Four Loves, translates this term as charity-- an unconditional caring regardless of circumstance or relationship. Agapē then is a set apart kind of love, which believing and unbelieving masses will likely agree to, but to fully clear up this issue we must look at how benevolence is truly expressed in action (as its commandment was in verb form).
While love is indeed the summary of the moral law, glancing over a summary without reading the full work is typically unwise-- especially so for the fullness of God’s inspired instruction to us. Humanity is fallen, after all, so we cannot project our own understanding of love onto the text without considering that God’s Love is deeper and greater. Because “whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7), and Jesus’ statement that ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15), we can trust that love does not forcefully abolish rules, but partners and harmonizes with them.
On that very same note, genuine Love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6). Many people prefer a watered down love, which is primarily concerned with getting along with others... but to a believer who sees the eternal souls of men and women in jeopardy, this hyper-tolerance is selfish and apathetic towards the ultimate good of all people. Therefore, “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) - that is, exposing falsehoods with appropriate sensitivity and a motivation for others’ welfare - is not only possible, but our mission.
Even if we were to only examine human examples of love, we would realize from the father disciplining his unruly son (who he is personally responsible for) and the wife jealous for her husband (who rightfully and mutually belongs to her, not other women) that love is more than fluffy fondness. Acting soft and stern - or compassionate to feelings while prioritizing spiritual health - can be difficult to balance (trust me, I tend toward being tender), and sometimes the recipe will vary by situation... but tough love and pure love are parts of agapē Love we cannot afford to forsake.
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good”
4. Hate
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
I admit, this verse seems crazy at first glance. Believing and unbelieving readers alike are justified in asking, “how does this not conflict with the Bible?” The inconsistency seems evident, considering that anyone who claims to love God yet hates his brother “is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20), and hating your life likewise suggests opposition to being “content with what you have” (Hebrews 13:5).
The definition of the Greek word for hate, miseō, offers no help here at all, as it means to detest or be detested. Do we then conclude that Jesus wants us to despise our very existence, and foster festering contempt for our parents? No-- not when there is a reasonable explanation for this teaching.
While miseō is just what we would expect, this single word is found within a hyperbole to make a provocative statement of contrast. Jesus does not leave us in confusion, for His parable immediately after regards a builder counting the cost of a tower to prevent a uselessly incomplete structure (v. 28-30), and a king who deliberating between fighting enemies in outnumbered odds or arranging for peace before they line up at the battlefield (v. 31-32). The theme is a willingness to give up everything - including your family ties and life - to follow Christ, which was a serious consideration for the early believers and a radical teaching in the family-centered Jewish society (hence the radical way of saying it).
The gospel of Matthew reinforces this interpretation when presenting the same teaching as “whoever loves father or mother more than me” (10:37). Jesus’ own life demonstrates the same principle: when His own family attempts to silence his controversial teaching, He identified those who do God’s will as true parents and siblings (12:46-50), yet at His crucifixion He declared the disciple John as His mother Mary’s son, thus providing protection and a home for her (John 19:26). Modern Christians should likewise show their family Love, though our Savior warns us to stand ready-- we may have to sacrifice these relationships and more as they intentionally hinder us from relationship with God.
Lastly for this point, there is another deception that arises in this teaching-- that this passage is suggesting our eternal fate is dependent on the measure of our emotional attachment to parents in proportion to God. As we know from the previous paragraphs, this is not at all the context... and as we discovered in the preceding section, Love is more than sentimental feeling. Young children and recent converts both come to my mind, as they would feel more natural intimacy with their family members than the God of the Bible. That is okay; salvation is from grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), not your saintly works nor forced affection. Learning who God is and developing a relationship with Him may take time, but what’s urgently important is that you make a decision of your will to follow Him, even if your closest family and friends were to reject you for it (a high cost to ask, but no greater than what God paid for us through His Son already).
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
5. Judge
“Judge not, that you be not judged.”
I most often hear this verse quoted only as “judge not”. Skeptics and some Christians use this passage similarly to the teaching on loving God and people, to assert that believers should not be in the business of making judgments.
The period is not found at “not”, however. In fact, it goes on to describe proper judgment through parable-- “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (v. 3-5). Ignoring the irritation in our irises is not the solution; we are to take care of our own 2x4 plank first (repent our sin before God), then alert our friends of the splinter behind their eyelids before they waste an entire bottle of eyedrops.
This Greek word for judge, krinō, can refer either to an opinion, a judgment of morals, or a judgment passed upon a person from someone in authority. This adds some complexity to the practice of judging, which the “judge not” crowd is in one sense wise for approaching with caution.
Because the passage above warns “with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged” (v. 2), we must already be watchful that our standards are based on Biblical expectations rather than self-righteousness or traditions, and that our lifestyles can withstand that same scrutiny. Additionally, our judgments ought to match our limited authority: a human - no matter how upright - does not presume the eternal judgment that belongs to God (2 Corinthians 5:10), and a Christian does not judge an unbeliever in the same way he would discipline a backsliding believer within the Church (1 Corinthians 5:12).
Even with those reservations in mind, the followers of Christ are called to judge in a way consistent with tough and pure Love, and we are adequately equipped to this end. Though we cannot judge human hearts as God can, we can still examine the words and actions which flow from them (Matthew 12:34; Mark 7:21-23), and Jesus even tells us to do so to discern false prophets “by their fruits” in the same chapter about judgment (Matthew 7:16). For this task, who is more qualified to resolve matters objectively than God’s people, guided by “the Spirit of truth” (John 16:13). Because God is not only the perfect judge but also the final judge, we should not let that be anyone’s only warning when repentant correction is already too late.
“When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!”
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