Lying

The second work of the Devil is lying.  The Devil is utterly false; there is no truth in him at all (John 8:44).  Notice how, in the story of Adam and Eve, the Devil lied to Eve in the Garden of Eden by telling her that no harm would come to her if she disobeyed God.  God had told Adam and Eve, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die” (NRSV, Genesis 2:16,17).  So the Devil whispered in Eve’s mind, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?’ “.  And when Eve recalled God’s words, the Devil whispered again, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (NRSV, Genesis 3:1,4,5).

So today the Devil uses individuals to spread the lie that people need not be afraid to commit sin because no harm will come to them if they do.  Unrepented sin leads to Hell, to that place of endless misery where God is unfelt and unseen.  “The person who sins shall die” (NRSV, Ezekiel 18:20).  But the Devil speaks smoothly through individuals who say, “You needn’t worry.  There’s no such place as Hell.  You won’t die”.  And so in this way the Devil encourages people to draw themselves to him and away from God by doing on purpose what they know to be wrong.

Hating

The third work of the Devil is hating.  There is not a spark of love in the Devil.  He is utterly cold and heartless.  He hates us all and wants to separate us from God, the only source of true and lasting happiness.  The Devil, who is pure hatred, is exactly the opposite of God who is pure love.  If we have good will towards everybody, including our enemies, then we are acting like Jesus.  But if we hate anyone, then we are acting like the Devil, and if we go on acting like the Devil we shall become cold, heartless and loveless like him.

But, as Soldiers of Christ, we have promised to renounce the Devil and all his works: tempting, lying and hating.