The Church of Satan

I came across a disturbing quote this week that reminded me of the danger of hypocrisy.

Anton LaVey, who died in the late 1990's, was the founder of the Church of Satan and author of the Satanic Bible.  He received national attention for his Satanic funerals, Satanic weddings, and Satanic baptisms.  He even named his final child, born in 1993, Satan LaVey!

I don't know all the reasons that drove Anton LaVey to teach such wretched things.  But this quote, from the introduction to the Satanic Bible, gives us a shocking insight.  It refers to one of LaVey's first jobs, working as a musician and hired hand with a traveling circus in the late 1940's.

LaVey writes, "I would see men lusting after half-naked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing the organ for tent-show evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday night they’d be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. I knew then that the Christian church thrives on hypocrisy.”

The Christian church thrives on hypocrisy.

LaVey's words and his life story made me realize just how dangerous hypocrites are to the cause of Christ.  I'm not referring to those who have struggles in keeping God's commands.  We all wrestle with the sinful nature within us.  We have to fight to be faithful to God.  And sometimes we fail.  Sometimes we do end up on our knees, asking God to forgive the wretched things we've done.  We sprint to Jesus and depend completely on his mercy to make things right.

And, by God's grace, that's exactly what Jesus does.  "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins." (1 John 1:7)

And that's when the fight needs to continue.  Those who use God's forgiveness as an excuse to keep on sinning--to keep on getting wasted, to keep on stealing, to keep on looking at porn, to keep on lying, to keep on being greedy--are helping to create the next Anton LaVeys of the world.  We may think no one notices, but the world is watching.  The world is waiting to see if this Jesus-stuff is all talk or if it truly changes the way we live.

So keep fighting!  Keep repenting!  Confess your "hidden" sins and get help to walk well with God.  Read about his forgiveness in the Bible.  Get connected with fellow Christians.  Let's keep each other accountable so we can be a light to this world instead of a reason for darkness to spread.

Blessings,

Pastor Mike