We live in a self-righteous generation who refuses to acknowledge sin. It is considered foolish or for the simple minded only. Man feels that he has evolved past the silly concept of sin. We have our psychologists of today who tell people that their problems are not the result of sin, but instead attempt to shift the blame, to our Mother or Father, or they might say our problems stem from a lack of self-esteem.
This present generation, I believe, is exceptional from previous generations in their attempt to reject the God of the Bible and our Lord Jesus Christ. Although, this generation is very religious, Yoga, meditation, and New Age thought have permeated this present generation. The mind set of today is very inclusive and accepting of all forms of religious thought except the narrow way of the Bible which declares that Jesus Christ is the only Mediator, the only Door, the only Saviour, and the only true God.
God declares the truth regarding the condition of man, as He revealingly states in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" God looks directly into man's heart and sees its utter depravity. God declares - who can know it? Only God can see into the heart of man. The scripture reveals the omniscience of our Lord Jesus Christ. When Christ was at the feast of the passover in John 2: 23-25, "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man." Amazing! Only God can know all men, this testifes of Christ's deity. Jesus Christ himself declares what is in the heart of man, as in Mark 7:21-23, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murderers, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things, come from within, and defile the man." We need only watch modern day television entertainment and all these things are glorified there and we can see what proceeds out of the heart of man.
The only answer to the condition of man's heart is given in the gospel of John 3:7, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again." Man needs a change of heart. first, he must see the condition of his own heart as Christ sees it and realize that he needs a spiritual rebirth. when we are born again of the Spirit of God, Christ comes to dwell within. all those who repent (turn from sin go in the opposite direction) and believe the Gospel are changed as the Scripture declares in II Corithians 5:l7, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
What a glorious experience to be born of the Spirit, to know the Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to walk with the living God. To let Him guide and control our lives, there really is no greater joy than to be sure of a home in heaven and to grab hold of the promises of God. To stand on a solid rock while the world is sinking into the quagmire of moral corruption. We who are born of the Spirit can say with Apostle Paul as in II Corinthians 5:8, "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from body, and to be present with the Lord." Death for the true believer is only the entrance into the glorious of heaven, to walk the streets of the heavenly Zion, the streets of pure gold, where there is no need of the light of the sun or moon for Christ is the light thereof (Revelation 21:23). What a blessed hope the believer has to be delivered from the fires of eternal damnation, no more compassed by the guilt of sin. Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Our God has cast our past sins behind His back never to be remembered again. Such a blessedness to be free from the guilt of sin. Christ must dwell in these fleshly tabernacles if we are to overcome sin and temptation. man made religion can never give what Christ can give, He alone has the answer to the sinner's misery if they will but turn to Him in humble repentance. Romans 8:9b states, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Christ must dwell in the believer if he is to overcome sin and temptation, only then can he overcome the world.
Much of the professing church of Christ, I am referring to evangelical Christians of this generation, know not Christ but have only embraced a form of religion and have not Christ dwelling in them nor have been born of the Spirit of God but only put on a cloak of religion. They more resemble the Laodicean church as in Revelation 3;14-22. They lust after the affections of this world. These churches have grown and increased with goods but have forgotten the purity and holiness of their God. They are neither cold nor hot and Christ will spue them out of His mouth if they refuse to repent. Christ stands at their door and knocks, but they are not answering His call. They are blind leaders of the blind, leading many a soul to destruction. Their leaders are ashamed of truth. They are, as it declares in Romans 16:18, "For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."
Christ is calling. He is knocking at the door of our heart that He may enter in and sup with us. Seek Christ and you shall find Him. He is near to those with a sincere seeking heart. He is near to the humble but far from the proud. Our Father in heaven is asking mankind, religious or unbeliever - What think ye of Christ, whose Son is he?
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Article: The Demas Lesson
II Timothy 4:17“For Demas has forsaken me having loved this present world.”
There is a very powerful lesson to consider from these few words. A powerfully convicting one for each one of us individually and for the professing church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The most important aspect is to examine ourselves very carefully and see if we are a “Demas”. Paul here says that Demas had forsaken him. Probably, the way was too hard, the path too difficult. The first reference to Demas is in Colossians 4:14, here it appears that Demas is laboring together with Paul, but at some point the temptation of the world drew Demas away. Demas was drawn away from the narrow way. He must have missed the comforts of this world. He went not to the work of the Lord.
When I considered this passage I asked myself, am I a Demas? Have I slowly, with the passage of time in almost imperceptible way, become a Demas without really realizing it?
It is so easy to do to slowly be deceived by our own flesh and not realize that we have become a Demas. Has our faith that hungering and thirsting for righteousness? Has it slowly waned without our fully realizing it? Have we become comfortable in the comforts of this world?
The scriptures give us some clear warnings of the dangers of this world. Let us consider in Luke 9:57-62. Here a certain man makes a profession, “Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” The Lord warns him that if he follows Him the way will be difficult; he may not have a comfortable house to live in; he may have no place to lay his head. He said to another follow me. Christ affirms here that no earthly obligation compares with doing the will of God. Jesus puts it very bluntly, “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God”. Set all aside to follow him. There is no higher calling than to preach the kingdom of God.:
Another said I will follow thee but he had to go home first to bid them farewell at his home. Jesus responds, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Here is the heart of Demas. He looked back. He saw the way was too difficult that he might lose all earthly possessions and maybe even his own life. He probably remembered his past comforts and turned back in his heart and forsook the Lord. How much have we looked back and forsook the Lord in our hearts. In Luke 17:32, we have a verse with three words, but such powerful words. Words of warning, they cry out to us “Remember Lot’s wife.” She also turned back. She loved the pleasures of Sodom that wicked city, and judgment fell upon her. In a moment she was turned into a pillar of salt. The pleasures of Sodom had turned her heart from the Lord God. She had forsaken Him for this present world.
How much have we waned since our profession of faith? How much has the passage of time caused us to slowly leave our first love? (Revelation 2: 4-5)
Maybe we have become cold and indifferent to our redeemer who paid such a high price to purchase our redemption. Can we truly say as Paul said to the Corinthian Church, “ye are our epistle written in our hearts known and read of all men?” What do men read in us, as the famous puritan preacher Thomas Watson put it, “Surely, were there no other Bible read but the lives of some professors, we should read but little scripture there.” As the Lord Jesus said if the salt lose its saltiness it is good for nothing.
We need to remember Paul’s words to Timothy in I Timothy 6:11-12, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; (worldly lusts) and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” And in II Timothy 2:4, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath called him to be a soldier.”
Let us remember the words of our Lord in Matthew 10:38-39, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
Let us examine ourselves to see if we have deviated from the narrow path that our Lord Jesus exhorts us to walk in. The Apostle Paul chose that narrow way. He put all aside for Christ, that he might win that crown of righteousness. He sold all for that pearl of great price. We ought to follow in his steps and flee from the way of Demas, who forsook that narrow path having loved this present world. The temptations of this world are like bubble, they seem bright and pretty for a short while but very quickly evaporate.Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt Hebrews 11:25-26. Do we esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches, are we willing to be reproached for his name sake. We should not be ashamed to associate our name with the name of Jesus Christ if we truly call Him our redeemer and Lord. Luke 9:25-26 “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angel’s.
Demas was ashamed to associate himself with the Lord Jesus Christ; he loved the treasures in Egypt more than the reproach of Christ. This present world is the symbolical Egypt or Sodom for us as believers today. We can learn from the examples of the people of faith of old, but we can also learn from the Demas’s, they are our warning we are not follow their example but instead the example of faith, without faith it is impossible to please God. As Hebrews 11:6 states, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” To conclude let us be the followers of the man of faith of old, and of the men of faith today, for the Lord will preserve a remnant who will walk in true faith, and will not bow their knees to Baal. Heb 10:39 says, “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”
There is a very powerful lesson to consider from these few words. A powerfully convicting one for each one of us individually and for the professing church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The most important aspect is to examine ourselves very carefully and see if we are a “Demas”. Paul here says that Demas had forsaken him. Probably, the way was too hard, the path too difficult. The first reference to Demas is in Colossians 4:14, here it appears that Demas is laboring together with Paul, but at some point the temptation of the world drew Demas away. Demas was drawn away from the narrow way. He must have missed the comforts of this world. He went not to the work of the Lord.
When I considered this passage I asked myself, am I a Demas? Have I slowly, with the passage of time in almost imperceptible way, become a Demas without really realizing it?
It is so easy to do to slowly be deceived by our own flesh and not realize that we have become a Demas. Has our faith that hungering and thirsting for righteousness? Has it slowly waned without our fully realizing it? Have we become comfortable in the comforts of this world?
The scriptures give us some clear warnings of the dangers of this world. Let us consider in Luke 9:57-62. Here a certain man makes a profession, “Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” The Lord warns him that if he follows Him the way will be difficult; he may not have a comfortable house to live in; he may have no place to lay his head. He said to another follow me. Christ affirms here that no earthly obligation compares with doing the will of God. Jesus puts it very bluntly, “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God”. Set all aside to follow him. There is no higher calling than to preach the kingdom of God.:
Another said I will follow thee but he had to go home first to bid them farewell at his home. Jesus responds, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Here is the heart of Demas. He looked back. He saw the way was too difficult that he might lose all earthly possessions and maybe even his own life. He probably remembered his past comforts and turned back in his heart and forsook the Lord. How much have we looked back and forsook the Lord in our hearts. In Luke 17:32, we have a verse with three words, but such powerful words. Words of warning, they cry out to us “Remember Lot’s wife.” She also turned back. She loved the pleasures of Sodom that wicked city, and judgment fell upon her. In a moment she was turned into a pillar of salt. The pleasures of Sodom had turned her heart from the Lord God. She had forsaken Him for this present world.
How much have we waned since our profession of faith? How much has the passage of time caused us to slowly leave our first love? (Revelation 2: 4-5)
Maybe we have become cold and indifferent to our redeemer who paid such a high price to purchase our redemption. Can we truly say as Paul said to the Corinthian Church, “ye are our epistle written in our hearts known and read of all men?” What do men read in us, as the famous puritan preacher Thomas Watson put it, “Surely, were there no other Bible read but the lives of some professors, we should read but little scripture there.” As the Lord Jesus said if the salt lose its saltiness it is good for nothing.
We need to remember Paul’s words to Timothy in I Timothy 6:11-12, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; (worldly lusts) and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” And in II Timothy 2:4, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath called him to be a soldier.”
Let us remember the words of our Lord in Matthew 10:38-39, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
Let us examine ourselves to see if we have deviated from the narrow path that our Lord Jesus exhorts us to walk in. The Apostle Paul chose that narrow way. He put all aside for Christ, that he might win that crown of righteousness. He sold all for that pearl of great price. We ought to follow in his steps and flee from the way of Demas, who forsook that narrow path having loved this present world. The temptations of this world are like bubble, they seem bright and pretty for a short while but very quickly evaporate.Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt Hebrews 11:25-26. Do we esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches, are we willing to be reproached for his name sake. We should not be ashamed to associate our name with the name of Jesus Christ if we truly call Him our redeemer and Lord. Luke 9:25-26 “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angel’s.
Demas was ashamed to associate himself with the Lord Jesus Christ; he loved the treasures in Egypt more than the reproach of Christ. This present world is the symbolical Egypt or Sodom for us as believers today. We can learn from the examples of the people of faith of old, but we can also learn from the Demas’s, they are our warning we are not follow their example but instead the example of faith, without faith it is impossible to please God. As Hebrews 11:6 states, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” To conclude let us be the followers of the man of faith of old, and of the men of faith today, for the Lord will preserve a remnant who will walk in true faith, and will not bow their knees to Baal. Heb 10:39 says, “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”
Article: Doctrine of Seperation
The doctrine of separation is one of the most neglected doctrines in the church today, but undoubtedly one of the most important, because the purity of the church is dependent upon it. It is the neglect of this doctrine that has brought the church of Christ in general to the worldly backslidden condition it is in today. Most of the professing Christian churches are blind to their condition. They go on thinking that they are vital and alive, when actually they are dead.
Christ said in Matthew 6:22-23, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness." This scripture is important in regards to our spiritual life. It is telling us we can be deceived into believing that we are full of light but actually we are full of darkness and if so, how great is that darkness?
In II Corinthians 6:14-18 we see a main text of scripture dealing with separation. It tells us not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols and in verse 17 we are called to come out from among them and not to touch the unclean thing.
The Old Testament also had a main theme of separation. Israel was warned many times not to join with the heathen in marriage or in faith. This was continuously Israel's downfall and it seems that the church of Christ tends to forget this message even as Israel did.
Leviticus 18:1-4 said, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God."
Israel continually fell into sin by disobeying this commandment. God gave ordinances to Israel that would separate them from the heathen surrounding them that they might be a holy nation and reflect the holiness of God to all nations.
God has also called the Church to be a separate nation as in I Peter 2:9, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:" We are to be Christ like ones living epistles of God's Word reflecting the reality of our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives, and to all people. The Church is not a nation with borders. The Church has a home in heaven as spoken in Hebrews 11:16, "But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city." This is the heavenly Zion as spoken in Revelation 21:1-3. This being the case, the Church is to preach the Holy Gospel to bring sinners out of Satan's clutches into God's marvellous light. The Church is not to become entangled with the affairs of this world, such as infiltrating governments. The Church's commission is to preach the Gospel. This is the cross of the Church. The governments of this world are sovereignly controlled by God and will fulfill the prophecies of Revelation. We are to be the salt of the earth by preaching the Gospel, living in righteousness, holiness and truth. This is what separates the Church from the world.
The Evangelical Churches, in general, have conformed themselves to the world instead of boldly standing on the clear Gospel, which is the bold preaching of the cross. They have assimilated the philosophies of this world especially in the areas of religious unity which we refer to as ecumenism, which is unity without truth, a rejection of doctrine which can be divisive.
The backslidden New Evangelical Churches have dressed the Cross with the garments of this world. The Cross used to be a place of repentance and humility, suffering, holiness, truth, and atonement but now it has become a place to improve our self esteem, to claim the riches of this world and the theories of psychology have been assimilated into it. The apostles and prophets preached the Word of God with power. They did not need this world's philosophies to make it acceptable or so their listeners would stop and hear.
As was said before the main reason for apostacy is lack of sound doctrine and sound Bible teaching. Many professing Christians when confronted with doctrine will say that you are legalistic and unloving or that doctrine divides. This last part is true, doctrine does divide. It divides truth form error, light form darkness. It separates the Christian form ungodly philosphies of this world. The early Church was concerned about doctrine such as in Acts 2:42, II Timothy 3:16-17, 4:2-4, Romans 6:17, to name just a few. The New Evangelical Churches have almost forgotten sound doctrine. They like to preach only that which is not divisive and that which brings unity, but in God's eyes this is not His kind of unity. God's true unity is among them that love His sayings. John 14:23-24 says, "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me."
I sincerely believe that this lack of sound doctrine is the direct result of all these new Bible perversions that have infiltrated the Church and have created doubt on the doctrines of God. In 1881, the Revised Standard Version (RSV) was brought out based on an new Greek text and since then we have gone downhill. Now there are many Bible versions. This has clearly created doubt regarding God's Word by adding and deleting scriptures and taking reverence for the Word of God away. These new versions have led us away from the old paths to a new, perverse and uncertain paths. Jeremiah 6:16 says, "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein." We need to get back on the old paths, to the old book, the Authorized Version of Scripture (King James Version) which gives our Lord the reverence due to Him, and has power, sealed with the blood of the martyrs.
The most deadliest error as a result of a departure from the doctrine of separation is unity with the Church of Rome (Roman Catholicism), the Mother of Harlots as spoken in Revelation 17. The Gospel of Rome is not the Bible Gospel. its gospel of sacraments, indulgences, idolatry, priesthood, confessionals, etc., do not agree at all with the Holy Scriptures. Paul said in Galatians 1:8, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." This is how Christ views the Church of Rome as "cursed" and is leading millions into hell. The early Church is full of martyrs who resisted the false gospel of Rome and paid for it with their lives, and Rome has not changed contrary to popular opinion. They say that approximately 68 million saints were martyred at the hands of Rome through the inquisition and other devices. God does not forget this. He curses this institution and warns us in Revelation 18:4, "And I heard another voice form heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Let us turn to Christ in repentance and seek the old paths and walk therein. The return of our Lord is near, the signs are everywhere. Let us be devoted to Christ and His Word, and be separated from this world.
Christ said in Matthew 6:22-23, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness." This scripture is important in regards to our spiritual life. It is telling us we can be deceived into believing that we are full of light but actually we are full of darkness and if so, how great is that darkness?
In II Corinthians 6:14-18 we see a main text of scripture dealing with separation. It tells us not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols and in verse 17 we are called to come out from among them and not to touch the unclean thing.
The Old Testament also had a main theme of separation. Israel was warned many times not to join with the heathen in marriage or in faith. This was continuously Israel's downfall and it seems that the church of Christ tends to forget this message even as Israel did.
Leviticus 18:1-4 said, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God."
Israel continually fell into sin by disobeying this commandment. God gave ordinances to Israel that would separate them from the heathen surrounding them that they might be a holy nation and reflect the holiness of God to all nations.
God has also called the Church to be a separate nation as in I Peter 2:9, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:" We are to be Christ like ones living epistles of God's Word reflecting the reality of our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives, and to all people. The Church is not a nation with borders. The Church has a home in heaven as spoken in Hebrews 11:16, "But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city." This is the heavenly Zion as spoken in Revelation 21:1-3. This being the case, the Church is to preach the Holy Gospel to bring sinners out of Satan's clutches into God's marvellous light. The Church is not to become entangled with the affairs of this world, such as infiltrating governments. The Church's commission is to preach the Gospel. This is the cross of the Church. The governments of this world are sovereignly controlled by God and will fulfill the prophecies of Revelation. We are to be the salt of the earth by preaching the Gospel, living in righteousness, holiness and truth. This is what separates the Church from the world.
The Evangelical Churches, in general, have conformed themselves to the world instead of boldly standing on the clear Gospel, which is the bold preaching of the cross. They have assimilated the philosophies of this world especially in the areas of religious unity which we refer to as ecumenism, which is unity without truth, a rejection of doctrine which can be divisive.
The backslidden New Evangelical Churches have dressed the Cross with the garments of this world. The Cross used to be a place of repentance and humility, suffering, holiness, truth, and atonement but now it has become a place to improve our self esteem, to claim the riches of this world and the theories of psychology have been assimilated into it. The apostles and prophets preached the Word of God with power. They did not need this world's philosophies to make it acceptable or so their listeners would stop and hear.
As was said before the main reason for apostacy is lack of sound doctrine and sound Bible teaching. Many professing Christians when confronted with doctrine will say that you are legalistic and unloving or that doctrine divides. This last part is true, doctrine does divide. It divides truth form error, light form darkness. It separates the Christian form ungodly philosphies of this world. The early Church was concerned about doctrine such as in Acts 2:42, II Timothy 3:16-17, 4:2-4, Romans 6:17, to name just a few. The New Evangelical Churches have almost forgotten sound doctrine. They like to preach only that which is not divisive and that which brings unity, but in God's eyes this is not His kind of unity. God's true unity is among them that love His sayings. John 14:23-24 says, "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me."
I sincerely believe that this lack of sound doctrine is the direct result of all these new Bible perversions that have infiltrated the Church and have created doubt on the doctrines of God. In 1881, the Revised Standard Version (RSV) was brought out based on an new Greek text and since then we have gone downhill. Now there are many Bible versions. This has clearly created doubt regarding God's Word by adding and deleting scriptures and taking reverence for the Word of God away. These new versions have led us away from the old paths to a new, perverse and uncertain paths. Jeremiah 6:16 says, "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein." We need to get back on the old paths, to the old book, the Authorized Version of Scripture (King James Version) which gives our Lord the reverence due to Him, and has power, sealed with the blood of the martyrs.
The most deadliest error as a result of a departure from the doctrine of separation is unity with the Church of Rome (Roman Catholicism), the Mother of Harlots as spoken in Revelation 17. The Gospel of Rome is not the Bible Gospel. its gospel of sacraments, indulgences, idolatry, priesthood, confessionals, etc., do not agree at all with the Holy Scriptures. Paul said in Galatians 1:8, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." This is how Christ views the Church of Rome as "cursed" and is leading millions into hell. The early Church is full of martyrs who resisted the false gospel of Rome and paid for it with their lives, and Rome has not changed contrary to popular opinion. They say that approximately 68 million saints were martyred at the hands of Rome through the inquisition and other devices. God does not forget this. He curses this institution and warns us in Revelation 18:4, "And I heard another voice form heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Let us turn to Christ in repentance and seek the old paths and walk therein. The return of our Lord is near, the signs are everywhere. Let us be devoted to Christ and His Word, and be separated from this world.
Article: Christian Warfare
When a soul turns to Christ for salvation and becomes “born again” he receives of the wonderful grace of God as revealed in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. He receives of all the blessings of salvation, joy, peace and the eternal truth of the living God.
But as soon as we are “born again” into the kingdom of God, it is the beginning of warfare and Christians are called to be spiritual soldiers. As soon as we come to Christ the battle begins, sometimes only a little at first. We must learn to crawl, walk, and then stand. There is a battle on and the Christian who does not have the mindset to do battle against the flesh, the world and the devil will be a defeated Christian. Some have greater levels of battle than others; nevertheless, there is a battle.
II Timothy 2: 3-5, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.”
The Christians’ battle is not physical. We do not take up earthly weapons to fight this battle. By no means, the battle of the Christian is strictly a spiritual warfare against the flesh, the world and the devil.
II Corinthians 10: 3-6, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. I believe that the scriptures describe three areas of battle that the Christian must confront: the FLESH, the WORLD, and the DEVIL. Each one of these is tied in, to some degree, with the other.
THE FLESH AND THE MIND:
The flesh and the mind is the first major area of battle and, possibly, the most difficult.
In Romans 8: 1-14, verse 1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” When a sinner comes to Christ in true repentance and is “born again” he is delivered from the condemnation that his sins brought upon him, but through Christ we receive forgiveness. We are at that time filled with the Spirit of God and are given the power through Christ alone and the work of the Holy Spirit to overcome the flesh and its corruption. Verse 5 says, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”
Before a sinner comes to Christ his world revolves around the flesh – how he can fulfill his worldly desires and obtain the pleasures of this world or how he may exalt himself. But repentance and true faith bring about a change of heart. At this time we begin to change our focus we begin to desire to please God and to exalt him. We begin to hunger and thirst after the things of God. This is one of the first evidences of true conversion. But there is a battle on and that old man is striving to become dominant and if you neglect spiritual things, he will, most certainly, get the advantage.
Galatians 5: 16-l7 says, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”
The old nature’s tendency is to resist the Spirit of God within us, but the Spirit of God is pressing us to war against the old nature and walk in the Spirit of God that we may be victorious.
The first and foremost way to walk in the Spirit is to fill our minds with the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, and spend time in communion with our heavenly Father. Christians who do not fill their mind with the Word of God will be carnal.
King David said in Psalm 119: 11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” In verse 2, “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.” And in verse 10, “With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.”
There must also be a spiritual resistance against the flesh, I mean an act of our will . I Corinthians 9: 24-27, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Paul is speaking here of a disciplined spiritual life in opposition to the sloppy worldly form of Christianity we see today, if indeed it is Christianity at all.
What we set our mind upon will determine our spiritual direction. As Paul said in Romans 8: 5, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” The Scriptures are not complicated. God gives simple instructions on victorious Christian living. The problem is with our will and obedience. It must be an act of our will to bring the mind and flesh into subjection.
Ephesians 4: 22-23 says, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”
Here we are to put off concerning the former conversation. This implies an act on our part. Colossians 3: 5 says, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth”. This also speaks of bringing our members, flesh and mind, into subjection.
I have found, in my personal experience, that the memorization of Scriptures and daily communion with our God are the best ways of bringing our minds and thoughts into agreement with the mind of God. This might seem to be obvious but the matter is applying it consistently. If we claim to love our God, there should be a desire to fill our minds with God’s Word and commune with Him.
Philippians 4: 8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be an virtue, and if there be any praise, thinks on these things.”
So how do we fare in the battlefield of the flesh and mind? Are we cultivating the graces of the Spirit of God? Or are we feeding the flesh?
I John 5: 3-5, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: And his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
THE WORLD
The ‘world’ is the second place of battle and is also a mighty antagonist, but if we have dealt properly with the flesh and the mind it will not seem so great an antagonist. But if we are feeding the flesh and subjecting our mind with carnal desires the world will seduce us and bring us into captivity.
How do we overcome the world? The Scriptures do not describe this world as a fun place for the Christian to dwell in but that it is full of wickedness and temptation.
I John 5:19 says, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”
James 4:4 states, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
The Scriptures teach that this world is lost and walks in darkness, that the whole world lies in wickedness and is ruled over by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Paul speaks to the Christians at Ephesus saying that in time past they walked according to the ways of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air (Lucifer) the spirit that works in the children of disobedience; and that in time past we had our conversation (way of life) in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath.
When we turn to Christ as our Saviour, we must see ourselves as children of disobedience that we’re only living to satisfy our carnal (fleshly) desires and we are being ruled over by Lucifer. Paul speaks to the Ephesians saying that all these wicked ways were in time past when we were dead to Christ because of our trespasses and sins but this should not be the testimony of a blood bought Christian. For we have, by the grace of God, been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son and we have become new creatures in Christ (Colossians 1: 13; II Corinthians 5:17).
When unbelievers look at your conversation and lifestyle, do they say this person is different? He or she is not like us. They appear to be walking in the opposite direction that we are going. If we are not the friends of the world, it will be noticeably obvious. A light set on a hill cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14). This will cause two possible reactions from an unbeliever. Usually they will despise you because a godly lifestyle exposes the sins of the wicked. This is why Christ said if they hated me how much more shall they hate you (John 15:19). The scriptures clearly teach that broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be that go in thereat. So the most common reaction will be to despise you. But there will be some who will see a godly lifestyle and the peace that the Christian has and will begin to ask of the hope that is in you (I Peter 3:15).
This is also an evidence that we have been born again, this is the fruit of repentance. Repentance means to turn away and go in the opposite direction. Salvation is a result of faith and repentance, true repentance will result in a zeal for righteousness. This will separate us from the world. We simply cannot confess to be Christian and be a friend of the world also. As Paul said we are in the world but not of the world. True repentance has conveniently been removed from modern day preaching. This is why we have churches full of religious people who know not God. We can see this by their conversation or lifestyle. It is a product of the ‘feel good’ gospel and is a direct result of the new translations of the scriptures. We see a watered down gospel, which actually is not the true gospel. It is another gospel as Paul warned in Galatians 1:6-9 and is leading people into hell.
So the first step to truly overcome the world is to be born again with the evidence of faith and repentance. Then we must exercise ourselves in godliness by filling our minds and hearts with the Word of God, that we might know the will of God. At the time of true conversion we are filled with the Spirit of God who gives us unction and power to live holy lives. We become temples of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
The Holy Spirit is the person who works in us the will of God, who reveals Christ to us that we might believe and we through faith in Christ have become temples of the Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 6: 19). The Holy Spirit is a gift given to us upon faith in Christ. First, the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us that we might believe, after we truly believe He indwells us.
Romans 15: 13, “Now the God of peace fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
I Corinthians 2: 12-13, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
Even though we have trials of our faith in the this world (I Peter 1:7) we have victory through Christ and His promises. He has given us all we need to overcome the world – redemption, the Word of God, and His Holy Spirit. Let us exercise ourselves in godliness by the power of the Holy Spirit that is given unto us. If we fall let us get up and continue on in the Lord, knowing in whom we have believed, we have a better hope that what this world has to offer.
I Corinthians 2:9, “But as it written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
I Corinthians 15:54, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
This present world has nothing to offer the redeemed. We need only spend our time here faithfully serving our God, looking toward that which is eternal.
THE DEVIL
Thirdly and last of all, we have the conflict with the devil. The first and foremost way of overcoming the devil is by trusting Jesus Christ as Lord, Master and Saviour. We are then translated out of Satan’s kingdom into the kingdom of Christ. As declared in Colossians 1: 13-14 that Christ “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” This translation is the point when we are ‘born again’(John 3:3) and acquire new life in Christ. For if we have not trusted Christ according to scriptural guidelines we are still by nature children of the devil.
I John 3: 8 and 10, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”(Verse 10), “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”
We know that the scriptures say that, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”(Romans 3:23). So all have sinned, therefore, all are the children of the devil. So if you are not one who has not trusted Christ for salvation God says you are a child of the devil by nature, but the good news is that Christ was manifest to destroy the works of the devil. The devil is still alive and well on planet earth. Because man rejects Christ and by his rejection serves the devil. If you are such a one then repent and turn to Christ. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Christ died to save sinners (Romans 5: 6-10). Be ye reconciled to God. For He would not that any should perish but that all should be saved. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”(Romans 6:23). The wages of sin is eternal separation from God in hell and then to the lake of fire (Revelation 20: 11-15). “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”(Revelation 20:15)
Once we have trusted Christ and received the free gift of eternal life we are translated from the kingdom of Satan into Christ’s kingdom. Our nature is changed. We have become the sons of God. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
But we must never forget that we being present in body in this world dwell in Satan’s kingdom for he is referred to as the god of this world (II Corinthians 4: 3-4). Satan is the god of this world because man serves him as god by rejecting the true God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who have trusted Christ now are in a position to resist the devil and actually get the victory over him. The devil may attack us with his fiery darts of sinful thoughts, temptations, spiritual lethargy, but we must resist him (James 4:7). How do we resist him? First, we resist him by the Word of God. When we confess the Word of God and His promises by faith the devil cannot endure this, but must flee from those who trust in the promises of God.
We must walk by simple faith. In some new evangelical circles too much emphasis is given to Satan’s realm. I went through it myself as a new Christian and when I was involved in charismatic Pentecostal circles in years past. There is much deception there, where Christians are binding Satan or claiming to. Satan will only be bound at the end of the tribulation, but until then he cannot be bound. If he could be bound, then who is that fool who keeps on loosing him? Another deception is the praying against demonic principalities over cities. There is no scriptural mandate for this. It just sounds exciting. As long as men choose to serve sin Satan will have power over them. Let us be careful of any unscriptural emphasis on Satan’s realm.
We can resist the devil and he will flee. Where true faith and love of God is, the devil takes no pleasure, but must flee. Let us not forget Satan will use his children to persecute the children of God.
Jesus said to his disciples in Luke 10: 19, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Many use these words of our Lord to claim full authority over Satan and his minions and indeed it is true, but only as we confront it in our work for the Lord in ministering the gospel. We cannot eradicate evil from the world. That is Christ’s business at His return. He is the avenger.
There is warfare against Satan and his host and we should not be side tracked by false spiritual warfare teachings that cannot be proved. Let us simply walk by faith and resist the devil. In Ephesians 6: 10-18 Paul exhorts us to put on the whole armour of God and to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
The armour of God consists of :
1. Loins gird about with truth
Word of God given to us. We must stand on it, for this is the truth of God revealed to man. First and foremost, we must have the truth for without it we can have no part in the rest.
2. Breastplate of righteousness
Which is Christ’s righteousness imputed to us upon salvation.
3. Our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
We must know and have faith to proclaim it. 4. Shield of faith
Which is what is necessary to please God. We must walk by faith and not by sight. This will quench Satan’s fiery darts.
5. Helmet of salvation
Which again represents our confidence in the saving grace of Christ, and our hope
6. The sword of the Spirit
The Word of God, the Holy Scriptures which if used properly is the strongest force on earth. For all the Word of God will be fulfilled. In these days we must make sure we have the true Word of God in the Authorized Version (KJV). For the devil has given many butter knives instead of swords in all the new perverted translations of the scriptures.
7. Prayer
Let us be people of prayer seeking God. For the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
In conclusion, a Christian need not fear the devil, for the Lord’s on his side. We need only humbly serve and obey until He comes again. The Lord said in Luke 18:8, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
When He comes will He find faith in me? This is my prayer, Lord increase my faith!
But as soon as we are “born again” into the kingdom of God, it is the beginning of warfare and Christians are called to be spiritual soldiers. As soon as we come to Christ the battle begins, sometimes only a little at first. We must learn to crawl, walk, and then stand. There is a battle on and the Christian who does not have the mindset to do battle against the flesh, the world and the devil will be a defeated Christian. Some have greater levels of battle than others; nevertheless, there is a battle.
II Timothy 2: 3-5, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.”
The Christians’ battle is not physical. We do not take up earthly weapons to fight this battle. By no means, the battle of the Christian is strictly a spiritual warfare against the flesh, the world and the devil.
II Corinthians 10: 3-6, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. I believe that the scriptures describe three areas of battle that the Christian must confront: the FLESH, the WORLD, and the DEVIL. Each one of these is tied in, to some degree, with the other.
THE FLESH AND THE MIND:
The flesh and the mind is the first major area of battle and, possibly, the most difficult.
In Romans 8: 1-14, verse 1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” When a sinner comes to Christ in true repentance and is “born again” he is delivered from the condemnation that his sins brought upon him, but through Christ we receive forgiveness. We are at that time filled with the Spirit of God and are given the power through Christ alone and the work of the Holy Spirit to overcome the flesh and its corruption. Verse 5 says, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”
Before a sinner comes to Christ his world revolves around the flesh – how he can fulfill his worldly desires and obtain the pleasures of this world or how he may exalt himself. But repentance and true faith bring about a change of heart. At this time we begin to change our focus we begin to desire to please God and to exalt him. We begin to hunger and thirst after the things of God. This is one of the first evidences of true conversion. But there is a battle on and that old man is striving to become dominant and if you neglect spiritual things, he will, most certainly, get the advantage.
Galatians 5: 16-l7 says, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”
The old nature’s tendency is to resist the Spirit of God within us, but the Spirit of God is pressing us to war against the old nature and walk in the Spirit of God that we may be victorious.
The first and foremost way to walk in the Spirit is to fill our minds with the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, and spend time in communion with our heavenly Father. Christians who do not fill their mind with the Word of God will be carnal.
King David said in Psalm 119: 11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” In verse 2, “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.” And in verse 10, “With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.”
There must also be a spiritual resistance against the flesh, I mean an act of our will . I Corinthians 9: 24-27, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Paul is speaking here of a disciplined spiritual life in opposition to the sloppy worldly form of Christianity we see today, if indeed it is Christianity at all.
What we set our mind upon will determine our spiritual direction. As Paul said in Romans 8: 5, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” The Scriptures are not complicated. God gives simple instructions on victorious Christian living. The problem is with our will and obedience. It must be an act of our will to bring the mind and flesh into subjection.
Ephesians 4: 22-23 says, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”
Here we are to put off concerning the former conversation. This implies an act on our part. Colossians 3: 5 says, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth”. This also speaks of bringing our members, flesh and mind, into subjection.
I have found, in my personal experience, that the memorization of Scriptures and daily communion with our God are the best ways of bringing our minds and thoughts into agreement with the mind of God. This might seem to be obvious but the matter is applying it consistently. If we claim to love our God, there should be a desire to fill our minds with God’s Word and commune with Him.
Philippians 4: 8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be an virtue, and if there be any praise, thinks on these things.”
So how do we fare in the battlefield of the flesh and mind? Are we cultivating the graces of the Spirit of God? Or are we feeding the flesh?
I John 5: 3-5, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: And his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
THE WORLD
The ‘world’ is the second place of battle and is also a mighty antagonist, but if we have dealt properly with the flesh and the mind it will not seem so great an antagonist. But if we are feeding the flesh and subjecting our mind with carnal desires the world will seduce us and bring us into captivity.
How do we overcome the world? The Scriptures do not describe this world as a fun place for the Christian to dwell in but that it is full of wickedness and temptation.
I John 5:19 says, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”
James 4:4 states, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
The Scriptures teach that this world is lost and walks in darkness, that the whole world lies in wickedness and is ruled over by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Paul speaks to the Christians at Ephesus saying that in time past they walked according to the ways of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air (Lucifer) the spirit that works in the children of disobedience; and that in time past we had our conversation (way of life) in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath.
When we turn to Christ as our Saviour, we must see ourselves as children of disobedience that we’re only living to satisfy our carnal (fleshly) desires and we are being ruled over by Lucifer. Paul speaks to the Ephesians saying that all these wicked ways were in time past when we were dead to Christ because of our trespasses and sins but this should not be the testimony of a blood bought Christian. For we have, by the grace of God, been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son and we have become new creatures in Christ (Colossians 1: 13; II Corinthians 5:17).
When unbelievers look at your conversation and lifestyle, do they say this person is different? He or she is not like us. They appear to be walking in the opposite direction that we are going. If we are not the friends of the world, it will be noticeably obvious. A light set on a hill cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14). This will cause two possible reactions from an unbeliever. Usually they will despise you because a godly lifestyle exposes the sins of the wicked. This is why Christ said if they hated me how much more shall they hate you (John 15:19). The scriptures clearly teach that broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be that go in thereat. So the most common reaction will be to despise you. But there will be some who will see a godly lifestyle and the peace that the Christian has and will begin to ask of the hope that is in you (I Peter 3:15).
This is also an evidence that we have been born again, this is the fruit of repentance. Repentance means to turn away and go in the opposite direction. Salvation is a result of faith and repentance, true repentance will result in a zeal for righteousness. This will separate us from the world. We simply cannot confess to be Christian and be a friend of the world also. As Paul said we are in the world but not of the world. True repentance has conveniently been removed from modern day preaching. This is why we have churches full of religious people who know not God. We can see this by their conversation or lifestyle. It is a product of the ‘feel good’ gospel and is a direct result of the new translations of the scriptures. We see a watered down gospel, which actually is not the true gospel. It is another gospel as Paul warned in Galatians 1:6-9 and is leading people into hell.
So the first step to truly overcome the world is to be born again with the evidence of faith and repentance. Then we must exercise ourselves in godliness by filling our minds and hearts with the Word of God, that we might know the will of God. At the time of true conversion we are filled with the Spirit of God who gives us unction and power to live holy lives. We become temples of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
The Holy Spirit is the person who works in us the will of God, who reveals Christ to us that we might believe and we through faith in Christ have become temples of the Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 6: 19). The Holy Spirit is a gift given to us upon faith in Christ. First, the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us that we might believe, after we truly believe He indwells us.
Romans 15: 13, “Now the God of peace fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
I Corinthians 2: 12-13, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
Even though we have trials of our faith in the this world (I Peter 1:7) we have victory through Christ and His promises. He has given us all we need to overcome the world – redemption, the Word of God, and His Holy Spirit. Let us exercise ourselves in godliness by the power of the Holy Spirit that is given unto us. If we fall let us get up and continue on in the Lord, knowing in whom we have believed, we have a better hope that what this world has to offer.
I Corinthians 2:9, “But as it written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
I Corinthians 15:54, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
This present world has nothing to offer the redeemed. We need only spend our time here faithfully serving our God, looking toward that which is eternal.
THE DEVIL
Thirdly and last of all, we have the conflict with the devil. The first and foremost way of overcoming the devil is by trusting Jesus Christ as Lord, Master and Saviour. We are then translated out of Satan’s kingdom into the kingdom of Christ. As declared in Colossians 1: 13-14 that Christ “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” This translation is the point when we are ‘born again’(John 3:3) and acquire new life in Christ. For if we have not trusted Christ according to scriptural guidelines we are still by nature children of the devil.
I John 3: 8 and 10, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”(Verse 10), “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”
We know that the scriptures say that, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”(Romans 3:23). So all have sinned, therefore, all are the children of the devil. So if you are not one who has not trusted Christ for salvation God says you are a child of the devil by nature, but the good news is that Christ was manifest to destroy the works of the devil. The devil is still alive and well on planet earth. Because man rejects Christ and by his rejection serves the devil. If you are such a one then repent and turn to Christ. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Christ died to save sinners (Romans 5: 6-10). Be ye reconciled to God. For He would not that any should perish but that all should be saved. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”(Romans 6:23). The wages of sin is eternal separation from God in hell and then to the lake of fire (Revelation 20: 11-15). “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”(Revelation 20:15)
Once we have trusted Christ and received the free gift of eternal life we are translated from the kingdom of Satan into Christ’s kingdom. Our nature is changed. We have become the sons of God. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
But we must never forget that we being present in body in this world dwell in Satan’s kingdom for he is referred to as the god of this world (II Corinthians 4: 3-4). Satan is the god of this world because man serves him as god by rejecting the true God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who have trusted Christ now are in a position to resist the devil and actually get the victory over him. The devil may attack us with his fiery darts of sinful thoughts, temptations, spiritual lethargy, but we must resist him (James 4:7). How do we resist him? First, we resist him by the Word of God. When we confess the Word of God and His promises by faith the devil cannot endure this, but must flee from those who trust in the promises of God.
We must walk by simple faith. In some new evangelical circles too much emphasis is given to Satan’s realm. I went through it myself as a new Christian and when I was involved in charismatic Pentecostal circles in years past. There is much deception there, where Christians are binding Satan or claiming to. Satan will only be bound at the end of the tribulation, but until then he cannot be bound. If he could be bound, then who is that fool who keeps on loosing him? Another deception is the praying against demonic principalities over cities. There is no scriptural mandate for this. It just sounds exciting. As long as men choose to serve sin Satan will have power over them. Let us be careful of any unscriptural emphasis on Satan’s realm.
We can resist the devil and he will flee. Where true faith and love of God is, the devil takes no pleasure, but must flee. Let us not forget Satan will use his children to persecute the children of God.
Jesus said to his disciples in Luke 10: 19, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Many use these words of our Lord to claim full authority over Satan and his minions and indeed it is true, but only as we confront it in our work for the Lord in ministering the gospel. We cannot eradicate evil from the world. That is Christ’s business at His return. He is the avenger.
There is warfare against Satan and his host and we should not be side tracked by false spiritual warfare teachings that cannot be proved. Let us simply walk by faith and resist the devil. In Ephesians 6: 10-18 Paul exhorts us to put on the whole armour of God and to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
The armour of God consists of :
1. Loins gird about with truth
Word of God given to us. We must stand on it, for this is the truth of God revealed to man. First and foremost, we must have the truth for without it we can have no part in the rest.
2. Breastplate of righteousness
Which is Christ’s righteousness imputed to us upon salvation.
3. Our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
We must know and have faith to proclaim it. 4. Shield of faith
Which is what is necessary to please God. We must walk by faith and not by sight. This will quench Satan’s fiery darts.
5. Helmet of salvation
Which again represents our confidence in the saving grace of Christ, and our hope
6. The sword of the Spirit
The Word of God, the Holy Scriptures which if used properly is the strongest force on earth. For all the Word of God will be fulfilled. In these days we must make sure we have the true Word of God in the Authorized Version (KJV). For the devil has given many butter knives instead of swords in all the new perverted translations of the scriptures.
7. Prayer
Let us be people of prayer seeking God. For the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
In conclusion, a Christian need not fear the devil, for the Lord’s on his side. We need only humbly serve and obey until He comes again. The Lord said in Luke 18:8, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
When He comes will He find faith in me? This is my prayer, Lord increase my faith!
Article: A Holy Church
From my own personal observations of new evangelicals, predominantly, and of most evangelicals, true holiness is not being sought after. The weakness of the flesh is one excuse that is used, that is, because we are weak in flesh we cannot attain to the standards of holiness, which are required in scripture.
Holiness is not just something that Christians strived for in days gone by. Christ demands it of His church as a reflection of our Lord, our Saviour, and redeemer. 1 Peter 1: 15-16 says, “But as ye which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in that manner of conversation because it is written, BE YE HOLY; FOR I AM HOLY.” This is no vain fanciful statement. Holiness is commanded by God to a blood-bought Christian. Certainly, we have been made holy, positionally, through our saving faith is Christ. But there is another form of holiness that can also be referred to as personal sanctification. This is why we are asked to perfect holiness, in the fear of God. In 2 Corinthians 7:1 Paul says, Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” So perfecting that holiness which has given to us freely.
It is because of Jesus Christ a Christian strives for perfection. A true love for Jesus Christ ought to generate an earnest desire for holiness to be pure, undefiled, and acceptable member of the Bride of Christ (Revelation 21:9). Even as a true and pure virgin bride keeps herself pure for her husband, that is the marriage be pure and undefiled.
Paul said we are not debtors to the flesh to live after the flesh. Paul admonishes us in Romans 8:13, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall died: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deed of the body, ye shall live.”
The scriptures give clear instruction that we are to sanctify ourselves. The Levitical priests kept themselves pure to perform their holy work in the tabernacle of Moses, where God dwelled in the Ark of the Covenant upon the mercy seat. This example also serves for the Christians for Christ says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God him shall God destroy; for the temple of God in holy which temple ye are.” This is a solemn warning in which we ought to take heed. Christ is in us and the Christian is part of a holy nation, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). The Isrealites had God’s word written in stone, but we have it upon the tables of our heart. (2 Corinthians 3:3). We really have no excuse for living carnal lives. We have the power of the Spirit of God dwelling in us. We have had our nature changed upon the true faith in Christ, that root of sin has been destroyed by Christ. We now have the resurrection life. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of him dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
The Christian holiness is not, “I can’t do this” or “I can’t do that” kind of holiness. On the contrary, it is a “Because I love my Savior and Redeemer so much and He has accomplished and suffered so much to obtain my redemption.” It is a “Oh how I love Him. Oh, how I want to please Him, because he first loved me and shed his blood, and his body was broken to deliver me from hell. He has forgiven me all my sins and is preparing a place for me in the glories of heaven.”
This is why we desire to walk in holiness before Him. If it is not for this reason then it is pharisaical vanity, a hypocritical self righteousness.
We need to strive to be able to say as Paul said to the Romans by the Holy Ghost in Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” We may fail but this should be no hindrance to us for we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1John2:1)
Christ is seeking a church without spot or wrinkle, a holy church walking in the fear of God (Ephesians 5:27), a holy church that is without blemish. Then sinners will be converted when they see that Christ is real and active in his peoples lives. Only then can we be a light set on a hill that cannot be hid. “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7) Why should not Christ expect his church to be Holy? We are exhorted to set our affections on things above not on things on the earth. The modern day professor of the Faith watches the same movies the unbelievers watch, is wrapped up in sports and their “gods”, following after their philosophies and deceptions of this world. 1 John 1:6 says, If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”
So let us go on unto perfection, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh (Judev.23). Let us examine ourselves and repent of our lack of holiness and from worldliness lest we be cursed as the Laodicean Church in Revelation 3:16, So than because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold not hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Sobering words indeed, but the Lord our God would desire to establish our hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:13)
Holiness is not just something that Christians strived for in days gone by. Christ demands it of His church as a reflection of our Lord, our Saviour, and redeemer. 1 Peter 1: 15-16 says, “But as ye which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in that manner of conversation because it is written, BE YE HOLY; FOR I AM HOLY.” This is no vain fanciful statement. Holiness is commanded by God to a blood-bought Christian. Certainly, we have been made holy, positionally, through our saving faith is Christ. But there is another form of holiness that can also be referred to as personal sanctification. This is why we are asked to perfect holiness, in the fear of God. In 2 Corinthians 7:1 Paul says, Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” So perfecting that holiness which has given to us freely.
It is because of Jesus Christ a Christian strives for perfection. A true love for Jesus Christ ought to generate an earnest desire for holiness to be pure, undefiled, and acceptable member of the Bride of Christ (Revelation 21:9). Even as a true and pure virgin bride keeps herself pure for her husband, that is the marriage be pure and undefiled.
Paul said we are not debtors to the flesh to live after the flesh. Paul admonishes us in Romans 8:13, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall died: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deed of the body, ye shall live.”
The scriptures give clear instruction that we are to sanctify ourselves. The Levitical priests kept themselves pure to perform their holy work in the tabernacle of Moses, where God dwelled in the Ark of the Covenant upon the mercy seat. This example also serves for the Christians for Christ says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God him shall God destroy; for the temple of God in holy which temple ye are.” This is a solemn warning in which we ought to take heed. Christ is in us and the Christian is part of a holy nation, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). The Isrealites had God’s word written in stone, but we have it upon the tables of our heart. (2 Corinthians 3:3). We really have no excuse for living carnal lives. We have the power of the Spirit of God dwelling in us. We have had our nature changed upon the true faith in Christ, that root of sin has been destroyed by Christ. We now have the resurrection life. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of him dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
The Christian holiness is not, “I can’t do this” or “I can’t do that” kind of holiness. On the contrary, it is a “Because I love my Savior and Redeemer so much and He has accomplished and suffered so much to obtain my redemption.” It is a “Oh how I love Him. Oh, how I want to please Him, because he first loved me and shed his blood, and his body was broken to deliver me from hell. He has forgiven me all my sins and is preparing a place for me in the glories of heaven.”
This is why we desire to walk in holiness before Him. If it is not for this reason then it is pharisaical vanity, a hypocritical self righteousness.
We need to strive to be able to say as Paul said to the Romans by the Holy Ghost in Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” We may fail but this should be no hindrance to us for we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1John2:1)
Christ is seeking a church without spot or wrinkle, a holy church walking in the fear of God (Ephesians 5:27), a holy church that is without blemish. Then sinners will be converted when they see that Christ is real and active in his peoples lives. Only then can we be a light set on a hill that cannot be hid. “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7) Why should not Christ expect his church to be Holy? We are exhorted to set our affections on things above not on things on the earth. The modern day professor of the Faith watches the same movies the unbelievers watch, is wrapped up in sports and their “gods”, following after their philosophies and deceptions of this world. 1 John 1:6 says, If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”
So let us go on unto perfection, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh (Judev.23). Let us examine ourselves and repent of our lack of holiness and from worldliness lest we be cursed as the Laodicean Church in Revelation 3:16, So than because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold not hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Sobering words indeed, but the Lord our God would desire to establish our hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints (1 Thessalonians 3:13)
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