A Word To Christians

After watching what took place over the Kavanaugh’s hearings, it is tempting to be angry at liberal Democrats.  Or, you may be angry at Republicans.  But remember what the Word says, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but. . .spiritual forces in high places” (Eph. 6:12). 

Let me share good example from the Bible.  Jesus often told His disciples that He must go to the cross.  This was the Father’s purpose and plan for bringing His Son into the world.  Peter took Jesus aside, rebuked Jesus and said, “God forbid it, Lord!  This shall never happen to You” (Matt. 16:22).  Jesus’ response is enlightening.  He said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (v. 23).

Did Jesus call Peter, Satan?  No. Jesus called Satan, Satan. Jesus rebuked the evil spirit behind’s Peter’s remarks to Jesus. The Lord went straight to the source. He saw that what prompted Peter to say what he did was the influence of Satan himself.

This is what the Bible means when it says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. It would be so easy to look at Democrats with disgust. But as Christians, we must remember that there is an evil spirit at work here (both among Democrats and Republicans) and we should be confronting and exposing it in prayer using the Word of God.

Now remember this:  Liberalism is an idea. You cannot destroy an idea with a bullet.  You cannot destroy an idea with something tangible and physical. The way to expose a bad idea and confront it head on is with a better idea. And a better idea is the gospel of Christ.

So it is true with the spiritual. Don’t think about all the bad things you want to happen to your enemies because they say and do things that you do not approve of. Go after the spirit behind the bad ideas of your enemies and confront it with spiritual weapons – prayer and the power of the Word.

Now this does not mean that people who allow demons to influence them with bad ideas are not responsible. They most certainly will be held accountable.  People are not forced to embrace bad ideas, they choose to and they want to for their own self purpose.

But never forget to attack the source of the bad ideas and bad behavior. Attack the supply. When you do this, God will come to your aid and fight for you, and in the process, using your prayers, will push back the forces of hell and save those who are at its gates.

Sins of the Flesh and Sins of the Spirit

If I were to ask you, “What was King David’s greatest sin?”  How would you respond?  You may respond by saying that his greatest sin was committing adultery with Bathsheba and then having her husband killed in battle in order to cover up his sin. Most certainly both adultery and murder along with deceit would be high on the list.

But actually, David committed another sin that had even greater consequences. Because of David’s adultery with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11), four person’s died – Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband), the baby that was born as a result of the adultery, Amnon (David’s son who raped his half sister, Tamar - 2 Sam. 13), and Absalom (David’s other son). These were tragic results stemming from David’s adultery with Bathsheba.

But checked this out: David’s other sin which was the numbering the people against the will of God (1 Chron. 21), which stemmed from pride, cost the life of 70,000 of his own people (v. 14)!  In fact, once David knew that he had done wrong, he confessed, “I have sinned greatly” (v. 8). 

Listen carefully.  How was it that God punished David for his sin of numbering the people greater than his sin of adultery and murder?

There are two types of sins we often commit:

1.   Sins of the flesh – adultery, murder, drunkenness, stealing, etc.

2.   Sins of the spirit – pride, envy, bitterness, rebellion, etc.

God laid a greater punishment on David’s sin of the spirit than He did on David’s sin of the flesh.

Now in our churches, where do we often place more emphasis on – the sins of the flesh or of the spirit?  We go after and looked down upon those who commit sins of the flesh because such sins are external. But we look the other way over sins of the spirit because such sins are internal.

Sins of the flesh are visible manifestations of sins of the spirit. Don’t just deal with the sins of the flesh and ignore the root cause – sins of the spirit. In God’s eyes, sins of the flesh reveal the spiritual and moral condition of the heart.  And while man’s look on the outward appearance, God examines the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).