Satan Preaches the Gospel

C. H. Spurgeon in his book ‘Lectures to My Students,’ records the dream of the old Puritan Thomas Boston.

He dreamt that while walking through town he saw the Devil preaching at the street corner. Boston thought he must be a fundamentalist for he was preaching the Gospel, telling men and women that he believed God’s Word from cover to cover.

The Puritan went up to him and asked, “Are you the Devil?”

“Of course I am,” replied the Devil.

“And are you preaching the gospel?”

“Yes, I am preaching the gospel,” replied the Devil.

“But why are you preaching the gospel?” asked the Puritan.

“Because I have made this discovery: the best weapon for the damning of souls is to get men to preach the gospel without the anointing of God.”

Mr. Spurgeon said, when he read this, he trembled.

The great evangelist and Christian educator R. A. Torrey understood this truth when he said, “I tremble for those who are preaching the truth, the very truth as it is in Jesus, the truth as it is recorded in the written Word of God; the truth in its simplicity, its purity, its fullness who are preaching it in ‘persuasive words of man’s wisdom’ and not ‘in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.’

They are preaching it in the energy of the flesh and not in the power of the Spirit. There is nothing more death-dealing than the gospel without the Spirit’s power. “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life” (II Corinthians 3:6).

No wonder Paul commanded, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

Amen!Amen!

Praise God for posting this brother!

I believe this with all my heart brother and pray and depend on His anointing.

Blessings to you!

Here Here! Well said and spot on!

I just saw this, wayneman!! This is so true.

I hope this is along the same lines as the story (it seems so in my head) but Bro Herman who I've talked about was from Indiana but he and his wife had a mission in Kentucky and he always told people to double check him when he was preaching - to go home and read what he preached on to make sure he was preaching it right!

And every month when they crossed the bridge in Cincinnati, he said he always got a bit of fear in his gut because the people that came to hear them in KY couldn't read and he always prayed that they would preach the simple unadulterated word of God to them. Because HE KNEW he would be held accountable for anything else.

We all should fear to preach the word of God uprightly and holy to people.

God bless,
Lisa

Just curious, how does the OP line up with Philippians 1:15-18?

"15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice."

Paul seems to be saying that even if someone preaches Christ who is not Spirit-filled or even saved he rejoices because God will use the preaching of truth regardless. Please don't get me wrong, I don't want to downplay the need for us to be Spirit-filled. I'm just challenging all us of us to test all things in light of Scripture, whether dreams, prophecies, etc.

brethren, as much as I love and admire Spurgeon, Watson and many others I want to be careful not to give their words or teachings a priority above God's surer Word of truth.

The problem I saw with the OP was these statements:

“Because I have made this discovery: the best weapon for the damning of souls is to get men to preach the gospel without the anointing of God.”

There is nothing more death-dealing than the gospel without the Spirit’s power. “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life” (II Corinthians 3:6).

It just seemed to not line up or reconcile with Phil.1:15-18 and the rest of Scripture which seems to teach clearly that there are much worst things than hearing God's truth come from unregenarate or carnal preachers. Like hearing heretical preaching in which Scripture is twisted. Or hearing truth and not believing it or applying it. Maybe there is a way to reconcile that dream with Scripture, I'm not too sure. I just threw that question out there. Please understand I was not trying to be nitpicky about it, it just seemed a little off to me that's all.

continuation...

I thought, if the OP is true, why would Paul rejoice over the preaching of the truth which produces nothing but death? The OP seems to imply there is nothing but death that can come out of the preaching of truth without it coming from a Spirit-filled believer.

I think there can be an over-emphasis on focusing on the preacher and not the message being preached.

It would seem to me that there may be a level of effectiveness that may be missed out on if the preacher is not Spirit-filled or anointed, but God will still honor His Word regardless. Again, the thing that stood out is the thought of the truth of God producing nothing but death if it does not come from someone Spirit-filled.

I have personally seen the effects of an non-anointed preacher. There is no doubt that a spirit spoke through that man, but I am quite sure that it was not the Holy Spirit. Additionally, when he was angry at me, spirits would come and visit me in the night - and again, I am most certain that it was not the Holy Spirit. And to make matters worse, evil spirits attach themselves to some that I know that feed upon his sermons - and unfortunately, they also come into my house and create havoc. There is a verse in the Bible that talks of this - but I do not recall what it is at the moment. If the LORD rises it to the surface, I will post it.