Religion, which was supposed to be an instrument that would lead us to God, has sadly become an instrument of war in the hands of the devil.
Religion, which was meant to draw men closer to God, is now being used to divide, fight, and even destroy those who seek Him.
One would have thought that if other religions apart from Christianity are instruments of war in the hands of the devil, Christianity should be different. But sadly, Christianity too has become a great instrument of war—even against Christians—in the hands of the devil.
When I attended the Michigan School of Apologetics, I was surprised to discover that religion has produced more atheists in the world than many other things put together.
This is because religion helps people create rules for following a God they have no personal relationship with. Many get tired of following such rules because they do not produce results, and in the end, they conclude that there is no God.
I want to take you through the Bible and show you that religion has been used by the devil over the years to fight God’s man—a person with a personal relationship with God, a person anointed by God.
The Story of the Old and the Young Prophet
Once a man is anointed by God, the devil looks for people within the same circle to fight him. Most of these people are those who should be trusted, and people naturally lay down their guard because they trust them—not knowing that the devil may be using them.
God sent the young prophet to prophesy against the altar. God gave him clear instructions on what he should do and what he should not do.
The devil knew that if he used an idol worshipper to try to deceive the young prophet, it would not work. If he chose to use someone who was not a prophet, he would still not succeed.
So, he decided to use an old prophet who had backslidden.
You can see how dangerous it is to have a backslider in the church.
The devil then chose an old prophet, who deceived the young prophet to his death.
I believe the old prophet succeeded over the young prophet because the young prophet respected him and believed that he must have heard from God.
This is where we must all be careful about how we receive everything that comes from a spiritual father. Many times, when some of these spiritual leaders start backsliding, we may not know. Some have backslidden a long time ago but are still in their duty posts.
What they used to condemn, they no longer condemn.
The devil knows that he can use leaders who are no longer aligned with God’s Word as instruments against a true child of God. This is why we must learn to hear God for ourselves.
The trust the young prophet had for the old prophet made him lay down his guard and do what God asked him not to do. This is a big lesson for all of us.
When a man of God asks us to do something that is against the Word of God, we should not do it, because it could lead to destruction—just like the young prophet died.
The Story of Saul and David
Another story we should consider is the story of Saul and David. Saul was the first to be anointed, and the Spirit of God came and rested on him before David was anointed.
Normally, Saul should have been seen as a mentor to David. He was supposed to guide David in spiritual things if David ever needed guidance. But he backslid along the way, and the Spirit of God left him.
When he saw what God had started doing in the life of David, he became jealous and wanted to kill him. To him, holding on to his position by eliminating the one with the anointing became more important than keeping the law: “Thou shall not kill.”
He valued the throne more than obeying God.
Sadly, there are many in the church today with this mentality. Whatever they can do to keep their position in church, they will do—even if it includes destroying a brother.
Some will frame up a brother so that he will not be seen as qualified for the position anymore. Others will tell lies against those they think may take their place.
It is sad that Christians will even take themselves to court to be judged by unbelievers because of position. These are all things religious people can do.
Saul spent almost all his life chasing David simply because David was anointed to be the next king. Even when God delivered Saul into the hands of David twice and David refused to kill him, Saul still did not stop pursuing him.
When a man is bent on bringing another person down or removing a brother from a position, he stops seeing anything good in that person’s life. Whether the person does good or bad, he will still be criticized.
David had to hide in the camp of the Philistines before Saul finally stopped chasing him. This shows how deeply the devil can use religion to fight God’s man.
Jesus and the Religious Men
Another story we should look at is the story of Jesus and the religious men in His days.
Jesus came and began performing miracles, healing many people, and feeding the hungry. People loved Him for what He was doing.
But He encountered a group of religious men who did not understand what it meant to truly walk with God. They held on to patterns handed down to them by their forefathers without understanding why they were doing those things.
As far as they were concerned, anyone who did not follow their pattern was not a child of God.
I see this play out a lot today. There are many people who look down on or disdain others who do not belong to their local assembly.
As far as they are concerned, if you do not hear what they hear or do what they do, then you are not a Christian.
The religious men in Jesus’ days were ready to destroy anyone who went against their laid-down patterns without thinking twice.
They were no different from idol worshippers who kill anyone who goes against their beliefs.
Those religious leaders did not truly know God, so the devil saw them as useful instruments to carry out his plans against Jesus.
They plotted against Jesus, killed Him, and were even happy that He was dead—meanwhile, they were religious leaders who claimed to know God.
Are we not doing similar things today with our words? Are we not tearing people down because they do not believe what we believe?
When we do that, what differentiates us from idol worshippers or extremists who kill in the name of religion?
Thank God it was part of God’s plan for Jesus to die and save mankind. If not, they would have ended His ministry simply because they were holding on to the wrong form of religion.
My Own Story
The last story I will share here is my own story.
I went through an experience that left me wondering, even till today, whether some people in church are truly children of God.
I came into a department and worked my heart out. I gave it my best because it was God’s work. While I was giving my best, all the group members were my friends. I was not a threat to anyone because I was simply serving.
Later on, I became the assistant head of department. That was when all my troubles started.
All the people I thought were my friends suddenly turned against me. Many of them began reacting in strange ways, leaving me wondering what was really going on.
So many people value position to the point that they become unhappy when someone else holds it—especially if they believe the position should be theirs.
Later, I became the Head of Department, and everything escalated.
I was shocked at the things I began to experience. I would call meetings so we could discuss what needed to be done, but one of their ring leaders would only come to find fault.
After pointing out faults, I would ask, “How do we fix it?” and she would become angry and start insulting me.
She told lies about me to the leaders many times, and I often stood there not knowing what to do.
Everything I did was criticized, whether it was successful or not.
We were about seven active people in the department, including me, and three of them were strongly against me.
Those three wanted me to fail so it would be on record that I failed.
I would call meetings and plan programs together with everyone, yet I would later hear from the minister in charge that I liked doing everything alone.
Meanwhile, these were the same people who, when given responsibilities, would not carry them out—they would leave everything for me.
I faced the kind of situation that, if not for the fact that it was God’s work, I would have stopped going to church altogether.
After I left the department, one of them came and told me that it was the devil that had been using her.
In my mind, I said, “So you are just realizing it now?”
It was really a terrible experience.
I discovered that if they were left to do things their own way, whatever they planned would not work. But if another leader from a different department suggested something, they would obey.
However, if I planned anything, they would resist it and try as much as possible to frustrate it.
There were three of them, and they would always return to their group to discuss me and say things that would sabotage our progress.
This was how terrible it was.
Some Sundays, I did not even feel like going to church because of these people.
Final Thoughts
So, you can clearly see how religion has become a tool in the hands of the devil.
If you are God’s servant, working in the church or any religious organization, the devil will certainly come for you.
And when he comes, he will not use outsiders.
He will use people you trust—people you believe are Christians, people you think know the right things to do, people you believe have the love of God and would never harm anyone.
So, if you are God’s man, be prepared.
Because when these things begin to happen, you will understand what is going on—and you will not be discouraged.
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