(Psalms 5:8-9) (8) “Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.  (9)  For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.”

The only way to know who the enemy of the cross is to know the way of Christ. The child of God must pray as David did in verse 8, “…because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.” The way of God is the way of Righteousness, Holiness and Peace. Christ said He was the “Light of the world.” When Christ comes to dwell in the believer, the believer then becomes a child of the Light in his own experience of regeneration. The conclusion must be reached, if Christ is the Light (and He is); then all those that hate the ways of God are in the darkness, and therefore are the enemies of Christ. As the enemies of Christ; they are also the enemies of the child of God, whom Christ has chosen, called, and converted.

When God reveals to His child His way of love, righteousness, holiness and peace; because God gives His power to His child to perform His commandments – then, the child of God is led of the Spirit; walks in the Spirit; and lives in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 18, 25). Therefore, as a Light-walker, as one who walks by the Faith (Christ); as one who walks in the power of the Holy Spirit – the child of God is readily identified. And those not in the Light are also readily identified.

Every child of God needs to know the four things that David identified as the characteristics of his enemy:

1. “For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;” Or literally, there is no stedfastness, no truth in their mouth. If Christ, Who is the Truth, does not live in the person; then there is no truth abiding in the person’s heart; for the words spoken by the mouth reveal the condition of the heart (Mt. 15: 18-20; Mk. 12:37). A person is either a child of the devil, who is a liar from the beginning and the father of all lies and deceit; or the person is a child of God, Who is The Truth. All the child of God must do is listen to the person talk, and it will be revealed the condition of his heart. Once the condition of a person’s heart is revealed, then the child of God can discern if the person is a child of God or a child of the devil.
2. “…their inward part is very wickedness;” When the person is identified to be void of Christ dwelling in them; then the child of God knows that that person’s heart is dead in trespasses and sin. Child of God, be aware that this person has no ability to perceive the spiritual things of God (1 Cor. 2:10-14). This being revealed, the child of God must know the depth of the inward heart of the enemy. David said, “their inward part is very wickedness.” What does “very” wicked mean? It means (Jer. 17:9) “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” This means that it is exceeding sinful (Rom. 7:13); “not only wicked, and very wicked, but wickedness itself.” The core of the heart is rotten and depraved, and is set on evil continually. The sad thing about the enemy of the cross is that they many times wear an outward mask of words and deeds that is a lie, and is full of deception of who they really are, and what they really have lodged in the heart. Remember, the heart (or the spirit) of a person is the source, the fountain head, of either unrighteousness or righteousness. The problem in the enemy of the cross is: They have a spiritual heart problem.
3. “…their throat is an open sepulchre;” That is, the throat is an open grave. (Prov. 30:16) states the grave is one of the four things that is never satisfied. This is true of the throat, whether it be a tool of speech, or a pathway to satisfy the appetite. The enemies of the cross spew out of their mouth continually the stench of lies, deception and evil. The intake of lust and depravity is never satisfied. They feed upon the things of this world: “lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of life.” (1 Jn. 2:16). The smell of an open sepulchre is that of physical death; and so is the throat of the enemy of the cross.
4. “…. they flatter with their tongue.” Child of God do not be deceived by the flattery of the enemies’ words; allow not the hypocrisy of the words, and even the deeds, fool you; for many enemies of the Cross have “…a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away” (2 Tim. 3:5).

The hypocritical and deceiving enemy of the cross unfortunately has found a nest of hiding in the liberal church of the 21^st Century. It is easier for them to hide who they really are in the liberal church of today, because of the laxity of the standard followed by the church for its membership. Where a “works salvation” prevails, grace takes a back seat; and this is fertile ground for the enemy of the cross to hide and to perform the work of his father, the devil.

What is the true child of God to do?

Do as David did; he prayed to God:

 (Psa 5:10-12) (10) “Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee. (11) But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. (12) For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”