The Scheme of Satan
Part 1 of 8 on Recognizing & Resisting False Gospels
Growing up, one of my favorite low-key activities after a long day at school was watching cartoons. Anyone else still need that time to “decompress” after a long day? At the top of my watchlist was the classic, creme de la crème of cartoons, Looney Tunes.
One particular episode begins with Sylvester the Cat chasing Tweety Bird on a rooftop. Failing to stop himself in time, Sylvester free-falls off the roof and uses up the first of his nine lives. He wakes up in hell, where Satan goads him into continuing his pursuit, ensuring he loses his other eight lives.
This post is not about whether certain beliefs send us to an eternity apart from God (while I certainly believe that to be the case!). Our theology of Satan is shaped, in part, by media like this. But have you ever wondered how Satan actually operates?
He plays to our disordered desires (the flesh, as scripture calls it), which lead to broken systems that normalize sin.
And say what you will about the Devil, but he is quite good at what he does, because, unlike Sylvester, our encounters with him are never straightforward.
Do you know anyone who volitionally listens to the voice of the Devil?
In 2 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul writes that Satan masks himself as an angel of light. In other words, his MO is deception.
Whether you’re a pastor, church leader, or member, we both must recognize and resist the devil’s schemes.
Think of spiritual deception like this:
If you’ve ever seen warning labels on a poison label, you know they’re meant to get your attention: “Danger. Deadly if swallowed.” But say someone removes the poison label, slaps on a Coca-Cola label, and the color of the liquid is doctored. The substance’s true nature is much harder to detect. But its lethality remains.
Satan doesn’t present us with a bottle marked “poison.” He gives us something that appears safe for consumption.
Certain poisons destroy slowly, undermining health from the inside out. You don’t feel its effects right away. Sometimes it takes years for the full effect to be reached. As it is with the physical, so it is with the spiritual. Slowly, over time, you begin to notice a change.
In the digital landscapes most of us inhabit, there are so many good, gospel-centered teachings available. But there are just as many, if not more, bad ones. Many believers today are ingesting poisonous teaching. Thankfully, when we recognize spiritual poison, its effects can be counteracted with the truth.
But false teachings aren’t presented to us with a bold, red-colored label that reads “False Teaching.” They show up subtly—comforting words, partial truths, and easy paths. They sound Christian, even feel biblical at times, but they quietly hollow out the gospel until all that’s left is a shell.
Trevin Wax (2011) uses the metaphor of a three-legged stool to describe the true gospel:
The Gospel Story (Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration)
The Gospel Announcement (Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and exaltation)
The Gospel Community (the church embodying God’s kingdom together)
Take away one leg, and the stool collapses. False gospels do exactly that. They distort the story (e.g., sin redefined as low self-esteem), minimize the announcement (Jesus an example, but not Savior), or undercut the community (faith without the church).
Why is this so dangerous? Because when a church ingests a false gospel, it’s the spiritual equivalent of poison. It may look harmless—or even helpful—at first. But over time, it decimates spiritual health.
The Rise of Counterfeits in Our Culture
We live in a world primed for false teachings. Consider a few snapshots:
Declining Biblical literacy: A Barna study found that only 9% of U.S. adults hold a biblical worldview, even though 69% identify as Christian (Barna Group, 2020). That means the majority of churchgoers are vulnerable to “gospels” shaped more by culture than Scripture.
“Designer faith” on the rise: Pew Research Center (2018) found that nearly 6 in 10 U.S. adults mix Christian beliefs with ideas from Eastern religions, astrology, or secular self-help. In other words, people are curating spirituality like a buffet—picking and choosing what feels right.
Prosperity appeal: A 2017 Lifeway survey reported that 38% of U.S. Protestant churchgoers agreed with the statement: “God will grant material blessings to all believers who have enough faith.” The prosperity gospel—one of the most obvious counterfeits—remains mainstream.
These numbers aren’t abstract. They reflect what’s happening in pews, Bible studies, small groups, and homes. A great many counterfeits to the true gospel are alive and well in American Christianity.
The Antidote: A Return to the True Gospel
The only cure for poison is an antidote. And the antidote to false gospels is a continual, steady return to the real one. That’s why Paul urged the Galatians to reject “another gospel” (Gal. 1:6–9). It’s why Jude told believers to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
For churches today, that means more than preaching against error. It means cultivating deep discipleship, centering worship on Christ, and reminding one another of the true gospel story, announcement, and community.
Jesus didn’t come to make us feel better, safer, or richer. He came to make us new. And only the real gospel can do that.
False gospels don’t just distract us—they destroy us. And both identifying and rejecting them is essential for a healthy church. Over the next seven weeks, we’ll identify the most common ones, as well as how we can equip our churches to recognize them, reject them, and live in light of the true, good, and beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ.
Grace & Peace,
Mike Wrigglesworth
References
Barna Group. (2020). American Worldview Inventory 2020-21. Arizona Christian University, Cultural Research Center.
Lifeway Research. (2017). State of Theology Survey. Lifeway Christian Resources.
Pew Research Center. (2018). New Age Beliefs Common Among Both Religious and Nonreligious Americans.
Wax, T. (2011). Counterfeit Gospels: Rediscovering the Good News in a World of False Hope. Moody Publishers.
