Today I would like to speak to you on the topic of making deals with the devil. I choose the sub topic of Israel and the issue preaching of the Gospel to them as an example. As we take a look around at the events in the world today, it is an absolute must that the true Christian understand that the only hope for Israel (and the rest of the world) is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Multitudes have been bamboozled by the modern day preachers regarding Israel, but a simple reading of the scriptures will cut through that deceitfulness.
The apostle Paul was strong in his testimony for Jesus Christ, and his defense of the Gospel right up until the very end of his life. Paul never made any deals with the Devil. Any person who reads the scriptures for themselves will see that too. It is quite simple. Paul was formerly against Christ, he got saved, and that totally changed the course of his life. After that, he preached Christ to both Jew and Gentile and he was persecuted for that. That should be the testimony of any person who has been truly saved. They get saved, they understand that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, as revealed by the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, and they tell others the very same thing. Nothing fancy, no banners, no balloons, no fireworks, no glittering lights, just plain and simple salvation in Jesus Christ! It is time to make up your mind. No deals with the Devil!
And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of. For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for THE HOPE OF ISRAEL I am bound with this chain. (Acts 28:17-20)
Paul was constantly harassed and persecuted for simply preaching Jesus Christ, as the only way of salvation and he specifically called Christ, THE HOPE OF ISRAEL! Paul did not want to make any deals with the Devil, and he knew that the world was filled with religious leaders who knew not the Lord, as well as politicians who sought their own gain. He could have bargained with the people who were against him, and told them that there were many ways to Heaven, and maybe he got it all wrong about Jesus, but he did not do that.
And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against. And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning JESUS, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. (Acts 28:21-23)
It is very interesting that the word ‘sect’ was used all the way back then in Paul’s time to describe the people Paul was hanging around with. That very same word ‘sect’ has been used in the past by the Roman Catholic Popes to describe those Bible believing born again believers who have the testimony of Jesus Christ and reject their man-made traditions as false. The apostle Paul was given the opportunity to state his position, and he did what he always did, and went to the scriptures. He spoke out of the law of Moses, and he spoke from the books of the prophets. Paul had one goal in mind, and that was to convince the people (including the Jewish people) that Jesus was in fact the Christ (Messiah), and the one they needed for salvation. Once again, it is quite simple. Paul had his mind made up, and he preached Christ wherever he went! There would be no deals with the Devil.
That should be the testimony of EVERY true born again Bible believing Christian, especially Pastors, who have been entrusted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If a person is standing in a pulpit in a church that identifies itself as Christian, and they suppress the truth of the Gospel, then they do not belong there. If they fail to warn the people that they will die in their sins without Christ, then they should not be there. If they hold back the truth that ALL people including the Jewish people, are LOST without Christ, then they should not be there. There is no room for any deals with the Devil in this Christian life. It is much too serious a matter, this issue of salvation. Yes, we are talking about where people will spend eternity. Yes we are talking about YOUR own loved ones and YOUR own relatives. Yes, we are talking about YOUR own wonderful children, who need to be instructed in the way of the Lord, because their very souls are at stake here! Make up your mind, once and for all, that there will be no deals with the Devil!
And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the HOLY GHOST by Esaias (ISAIAH) the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Acts 28:24-27)
What did the apostle Paul do here? He referred to the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8-10) and AGREED with him, that the people of Israel were spiritually blind and deaf regarding the Gospel truth! Paul also made it clear that it was the Holy Ghost (Spirit) who spoke through the prophet Isaiah. The apostle Paul applied the words of the prophet Isaiah to his own present day, and to the people of Israel. Does that same word stand true today for the people of Israel and around the world? It most definitely does apply to the Jewish people around the world, and it also applies to Gentiles (non-Jewish) also. We are living in a day when you will hear the ”religious’ people speak about the ‘three great faiths’ in the world namely, Christian, Muslim and Judaism. Wait a minute, where is that in the Bible? The Bible makes it clear that there has been only ONE people of God, who followed the TRUE and LIVING GOD! The Bible makes it most emphatically clear that there is only ONE way of salvation, and that is through Jesus Christ., the eternal Son of God. That could be a problem though, because the Muslims do not believe that God even has a Son, and the Jewish people rejected Jesus as the Son of God (John 5:18) and wanted to KILL Him for that very reason! Are you ashamed to preach Jesus Christ as the ONLY way of salvation in front of people? Are you ashamed to say that in front of your family? Are you ashamed to say that in front of your co-workers? What are the consequences of denying Jesus Christ in this modern day of compromise, where anything goes? Do the words below still apply to us today?
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I CONFESS also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men,him will I also DENY before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:32-34)
Who spoke those words? They were spoken by Jesus Christ Himself! Christian friend, the Lord Jesus Christ is confessing you before His very own Father in HEAVEN when you are confessing Him (testifying) about Him on earth. But those who DENY the Lord here on Earth, the Lord is also DENYING before His very own Father in HEAVEN! The Lord does not make any deals with the Devil because truth and error can never mix. Jesus fought off the Devil, using the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word) when the wicked one came looking to make a deal with Him, (Matthew 4:1-11) and we all need to follow His example.
Jesus never made a deal with the Devil and He does not want ANY of His followers to make any deals with him either. Jesus also declared that He did not come to bring peace on earth, but what did He mean by that? He meant that He did not come to make any deals with those who reject Him. Jesus was adamant in His teaching that when Christ came into a household, there would be some who would believe and there would be some who would not believe. That is exactly what He was talking about there, and He followed it up by saying this:
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s FOES shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. (Matthew 10:35-40)
There are households by the millions who have those who believe in Christ, and those who reject Him. Do not be ensnared by that great temptation to PLEASE your unsaved family at the risk of denying Jesus Christ Himself. It happens all the time, and yet many still believe that they are following Christ, when they are not. Take heed to the warning that Christ gives us all here! If you truly desire Heaven, then you should avoid those sweet temptations, and Gospel fudging deals that so many thousands of Christian ‘leaders’ have accepted, and passed down to their own congregations, ever so craftily. It is nothing less than “spiritual bribery” when a Christian “Evangelist”, “minister”, or “Pastor”, book author knowingly holds back the truth from their followers, for the sake of being “liked” and “admired” by other “famous” compromising preachers. They have accepted many compromising deals with the Devil, to make their life on this Earth, all the more pleasant, unaware that their very souls are at stake. In contrast to them is the apostle Paul who was so appreciative of the great mercy, and salvation which Christ had shown to him, that he never made a deal with the Devil. He was not ashamed to tell others that Jesus Christ was the ONLY way of salvation for both Jew and Gentile!
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of CHRIST: for it is the power of GOD unto SALVATION to every one that believeth; to the JEW first, and also to the Greek. (Gentile) (Romans 1:16)
No deals with the Devil!