In 2 Corinthians 6:17. You separate and He will receive you. The reverse is also true, if you do not separate, if you keep touching the unclean thing; He will not receive you. May that power fall upon us in the name of Jesus!

In Revelation 18:4. Listen very careful beloved, when we surrender our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ and we become Christians; we are no longer part of this world. We are from a different place. We cannot live for God and live for the devil at the same time. We cannot live for God and also live by the world at the same time.

Anything that draws you away from Christ is to be taken as an enemy.
Anything that draws you away from Christ should be taken as an enemy. Anything that draws us to the world is something we should separate from.

We are expected to talk differently, we are expected to dress differently, we are expected to behave differently, we are expected to act differently. We are peculiar people, we are to separate from sinful companions.

We are to separate from sinful occupations, we are to separate from sinful places, we are to separate from sinful practices, we are to separate from sinful association, we are to separate from sinful relationships.

Look at what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:14-17. This is a serious scripture which we must bear in mind.
Also if we look at Acts 2:40. Those belonging to Christ must refrain from intimate associations with the ungodly.

Those belonging to Christ must separate themselves from any intimate association with the ungodly.
We are forbidden by scripture to enter into alliances with the ungodly. The days in which we live unfortunately, is marked with a lot of compromise. But in each dispensation, no matter the compromise of that dispensation; there is a cry to be separate.

God is calling believers to separate themselves.
When we disregard this commandment to separate, we are looking for trouble. And disregard of this commandment is the one blindly responsible for our powerlessness.

This commandment applies to every phase of our lives and every department of our lives and every departments of our lives; individually and corporately. Whether it’s religious, whether it’s domestic, whether it’s social, whether it’s commercial, whether it’s business, whether it’s relationships; we are to separate ourselves.

No one can be a proper follower of Christ who is in anyway yoked with God’s enemies. And no matter how hard you try, you cannot bless whom God has cursed.
So joining somebody whom God has cursed cannot be a source of blessing to you.

The disastrous and tragic history of Samson, Solomon and Ahab in the Bible is due to unholy alliances. Unholy alliances through wedlock, unholy alliances through joining up with the enemies of God.
Disobedience to this simple command has wrecked many Christians destinies and has pierced them with so many sorrows when they disobey this.

We are not of the world, the Bible makes it clear. Even Jesus said ‘we are not of the world even as I’m not of the world’, that word of Jesus does not seem to have registered with so many Christians.

– Biblical separation refers to separating ourselves from the sinful things of this world.

– Biblical separation is not fellowshipping or having those connection with immoral and ungodly people.

– Biblical separation is avoiding anything that will make you appear to be involved in or approve any immoral or ungodly activity.

– Biblical separation is being in the world but not of the world.
‘Be ye separate’, the scripture cries out.

– Separation is God’s commandment to those who want His deliverance, to those who wants to move forward; it is a commandment of heaven.

– Separation is very powerful, it will give birth to revelation.

There are several things that separation does for you as a believer. As a believer, when you separate yourself:

It will lead to personal spiritual revival. You become revived inside of you when you separate.
When you separate, it gives you power to obtain divine acceleration.
When you separate, it gives you power to be in a position to receive divine approval.
When you separate, you key yourself into the power of divine encounter. Separation brings visitation of heaven to you. That’s what happened to Moses. Mose was separated, he got visitation from heaven. Jacob was separated, he got his visitation from heaven. Abraham was separated, he became a man with uncommon blessings. So separation gives you unforgettable encounter.
Separation helps you to reposition your destiny.
Separation makes you to have a clear vision of your life and where you’re going.
Separation makes you to engage in self discovery or self rediscovery.
Separation deepens your thought. You become a good thinker, a spiritual thinker, not just an ordinary thinker.
Separation will lead to destiny transformation. Just like the separation when Jacob was alone; he was transformed from Jacob to Israel because he separated. Separation will give you that destiny transformation.
Separation will make you to have a mandate renewal. God renews your mandate, God tells you what to do. God will sharpen your sword.
Separation will cause you to become a friend of God closely and it will place you in the arena of divine revelation.

Bottomline:

This is a very serious situation and all believers must take the issue of separation seriously. There is too much compromise these days and it’s getting worse.

We must take this opportunity to examine ourselves, to examine our Christian lives and root out areas where we are connected to the world in an ungodly manner.

If we begin to live a correct Christian life, if our lives begin to showcase what God wants to showcase; men and women will be crowding into our buildings. They will come rushing, they will be asking us ‘what is the secret of this?; they will come rushing into our compound if we are living the kind of life God wants us to live.

God is calling us into a place of separation. Separation is necessary for enlightenment,it is to prepare us for a task.

In Genesis 12, we read about Abraham. Abraham was asked to separate, to get away from his nation, to get away from his kindred, to get out from where he was to a place God prepared him and this man left. His leaving and his separation made him a father, a blessing.

If that time and money and effort we spent in trying to work up evangelism in all churches were spent in calling the churches themselves to repentance, confession, cleansing, empowering; the result will be evangelism.
If we separate ourselves and we are able to acquire the power that we need, evangelism will be a natural result.

The New Testament tries to build us up as Christians because when the Christian lives are healthy, it will naturally lead to soul winning when we are living healthy Christian life.

I pray that the Lord will help us in the name of Jesus!

Remember Moses too, Moses had to separate before he could have the encounter. Moses grew up in the house of Pharoah, he lived there for 40 years until he went to that flock, he separated and then God began to talk to Him.
Same thing with Jacob, Jacob separated himself and he was alone and heaven began to pour information to him. Heaven began to repair his destiny because of that separation.

Most likely, the popular book of revelation will not have been written if there was no island of Patmos. With separation at the island of patmos, that John the revelator was able to see what we are now reading in revelation.
We live in a generation that is in a hurry. In hurry to know where, overloaded with meaning less things, and we do a lot of meaningless activities.

The Bible says ‘and Jacob was left alone’. And when Jacob was left alone, his destiny changed, his life changed. God is calling us to Separation.

What do we do in this kind of situation? The Bible solution is very easy.

We need to be more serious with our God.
We need to decide that we must separate. There is no unity between light and darkness. There is no way light and darkness can dwell together. We need to know that we cannot be unequally yoked with unbelievers and expect heaven to answer our prayers.
We need to know that the power of God will work mightily in our lives if we separate ourselves.

May the Lord help you to take a solid decision to cut off ungodly associations, to cut off ungodly friends, to cut off ungodly talks, ungodly activities, so that you come out of the rut and of the stinking mess that the world has entered into.
God bless you in Jesus name!

Prayer Rain:

After Ministration prayers by Daddy G.O:

It is time to pray now. These are very very serious prayers and I want you to pray them from your heart; believing God that He will touch you even as you pray:

Oh God arise: give me the spirit of revelation and wisdom in the name of Jesus!
Oh God arise: let my eyes of understanding be enlightened in the name of Jesus!
Oh Lord, let me experience the fire of God that will burn away the power of darkness from my body in the name of Jesus!
Father, establish my heart blameless and in holiness before you in the name of Jesus!
Father, let me be enriched in all utterance and in all knowledge in the name of Jesus!
O God arise: and let the testimony of Christ be confirmed in me in the name of Jesus!
Father, let me be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ in the name of Jesus!
Oh God arise and fill me to the brim with spiritual understanding in the name of Jesus!
O God, grant me the boldness to speak your word in the name of Jesus!
Holy Ghost fire: incubate my body, soul and spirit in the name of Jesus!
Oh God arise, heal every department of my life and make me whole in the name of Jesus!
My Father, break all negative genetic ties that is upon my life in the name of Jesus!
Set me free oh Lord from any negative power transmitted to me from my mother’s womb in the name of Jesus!
Every idol of iniquity in my heart, be broken by fire in the name of Jesus!
Lord Jesus, walk back through every moment of my days and repair my life in the name of Jesus!
Oh Lord take away from me all fears that have reigned in my life in the name of Jesus!
O Lord, take your spiritual eraser and wipe away every pain from my mind in the name of Jesus!
Blood of Jesus, sanitize my heart in the name of Jesus!
Oh God arise and heal me from every disappointment in the name of Jesus!
My Father, my Father, my Father: arise in the thunder of your power and revive my life in the name of Jesus!
Every dirtiness of the world in my spirit, clear away by the blood of Jesus in the name of Jesus!
Fire of God, cleanse my spirit man in the name of Jesus!
Every arrow of iniquity fired against my heart, backfire in the name of Jesus!
Thou power of spiritual defilement, I’m not your candidate: die in the name of Jesus!
My Father, my Father, my Father: this is my life, appear in my life by fire in the name of Jesus!

Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

Separation from the world means a coming out from its ideas, theories, habits, practices, worldly associations and everything that is contrary to the word of God. John 17:15, 16; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17; Revelation 18:4.

"There is a distinct line drawn by God Himself between the world and the church, between commandment keepers, and commandment breakers. They do not blend together."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 602.

"God will test the fidelity of His people. Many of the mistakes that are made by the professed servants of God are in consequence of their self-love, their desire of approval, their thirst for popularity. Blinded in this manner, they do not realize that they are elements of darkness rather than of light. 'Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.' These are the conditions upon which we may be acknowledged as sons of God—separation from the world and renunciation of those things which delude, and fascinate, and ensnare." —Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 12-13.

"Christ's followers are required to come out from the world, and be separate, and touch not the unclean, and they have the promise of being the sons and daughters of the Most High, members of the royal family. But if the conditions are not complied with on their part, they will not, cannot, realize the fulfillment of the promise."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 441.

"As soon as any have a desire to imitate the fashions of the world, that they do not immediately subdue, just so soon God ceases to acknowledge them as His children. They are the children of the world and of darkness."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 137.

"Jesus is coming; and will He find a people conformed to the world? And will He acknowledge these as His people that He has purified unto Himself? Oh, no. None but the pure and holy will He acknowledge as His."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 133.

Dress Reform

One of the conditions on which God promises to accept us as His people is separation from the world. Matthew 6:24; James 4:4; 2 Peter 1:4. As the children of Israel were required to wear a ribbon of blue as a sign of distinction between themselves and the idolatrous nations around them, so God's church today is to observe the principles of dress reform. Numbers 15:37-41. Believers should dress modestly, healthfully, tastefully, and neatly, thus representing the principles of the heavenly kingdom.

"To protect the people of God from the corrupting influence of the world, as well as to promote physical and moral health, the dress reform was introduced among us. It was not intended to be a yoke of bondage, but a blessing; not to increase labor, but to save labor; not to add to the expense of dress, but to save expense. It would distinguish God's people from the world, and thus serve as a barrier against its fashions and follies. He who knows the end from the beginning, who understands our nature and our needs—our compassionate Redeemer—saw our dangers and difficulties, and condescended to give us timely warning and instruction concerning our habits of life, even in the proper selection of food and clothing."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 634.

"Our words, our actions, and our dress are daily, living preachers, gathering with Christ or scattering abroad. This is no trivial matter to be passed off with a jest. The subject of dress demands serious reflection and much prayer. Many unbelievers have felt that they were not doing right in permitting themselves to be slaves of fashion; but when they see some who make a high profession of godliness dressing as worldlings dress, enjoying frivolous society, they decide that there can be no wrong in such a course."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 641.

The Bible places emphasis on modesty and self-respect, forbidding the extravagant and immodest fashions and customs of the world in both men and women. Although in time past fashion was mostly a problem with women, unfortunately as we approach the end, Satan is even destroying the experience of some men on this point. Such designs as tight revealing clothing, slits, shorts, and see-through fabrics (exposing nakedness), unhealthful footwear, jewelry and following modern trends for the sake of fashion is detrimental to the Christian's experience and is prohibited in the word of God. Through these things we exert a negative influence upon others, and we would have to answer to God for leading souls to decide against the truth by thus living in contradiction with our profession of faith. Genesis 35:1-4; Isaiah 3:16-24; 1 Timothy 2:9, 10; 1 Peter 3:1-5.

Men and women are not to cause confusion of the sexes either by their conduct, by wearing their clothing or having their appearance (length of hair) resemble that of the opposite sex, for God pronounces it an abomination. "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God." Deuteronomy 22:5; 1 Corinthians 11:14, 15.

"There is an increasing tendency to have women in their dress and appearance as near like the other sex as possible, and to fashion their dress very much like that of men, but God pronounces it abomination. 'In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety.' 1 Timothy 2:9."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 421.

From the very beginning of the creation of mankind, God placed a difference between men and women and He wants this distinction to be maintained. Genesis 1:27. "God designed that there should be a plain distinction between the dress of men and women, and has considered the matter of sufficient importance to give explicit directions in regard to it; for the same dress worn by both sexes would cause confusion and great increase of crime. Were the apostle Paul alive, and should he behold women professing godliness with this style of dress, he would utter a rebuke. 'In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.' The mass of professed Christians utterly disregard the teachings of the apostles, and wear gold, pearls, and costly array."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 460.

Moreover, when they come into the presence of God for their worship services, there is yet to be a further distinction in their manner of dress. Exodus 3:5; 20:26; 28:42, 43. As a sign of reverence and respect, when we come to the house of worship we should wear appropriate attire. John 21:7; Genesis 3:7, 21; Isaiah 6:2; Psalm 89:7.

"I am often pained as I enter the house where God is worshiped, to see the untidy dress of both men and women. If the heart and character were indicated by the outward apparel, then certainly nothing could be heavenly about them. They have no true idea of the order, the neatness, and the refined deportment that God requires of all who come into His presence to worship Him. What impressions do these things give to unbelievers and to the youth, who are keen to discern and to draw their conclusions?

"In the minds of many there are no more sacred thoughts connected with the house of God than with the most common place. Some will enter the place of worship with their hats on, in soiled, dirty clothes. Such do not realize that they are to meet with God and holy angels. There should be a radical change in this matter all through our churches. Ministers themselves need to elevate their ideas, to have finer susceptibilities in regard to it. It is a feature of the work that has been sadly neglected. Because of the irreverence in attitude, dress, and deportment, and lack of a worshipful frame of mind, God has often turned His face away from those assembled for His worship."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 498-499.

The followers of Christ, knowing that God has taken garments as a type of righteousness (Revelation 19:8), cannot be disorderly and untidy in their dress.

Even things which are lawful in themselves, if practiced in a wrong way, with the wrong crowd, in the wrong place, and at the wrong time, may work as a snare of Satan. But, in the first place, we should shun the most evident evils, such as worldly associations, worldly music, worldly games, worldly amusements, worldly fashions, involvement in politics, and the corrupting influence of satanic "garbage" coming through the mass media, which generally appeals to weak minds.

"It should be understood whether those who profess to be converted are simply taking the name of Seventh‑day Adventists, or whether they are taking their stand on the Lord's side to come out from the world and be separate and touch not the unclean thing. When they give evidence that they fully understand their position, they are to be accepted. But when they show that they are following the customs and fashions and sentiments of the world, they are to be faithfully dealt with. If they feel no burden to change their course of action, they should not be retained as members of the church. The Lord wants those who compose His church to be true, faithful stewards of the grace of Christ."—Testimonies to Ministers, p. 128.

"Fashion is deteriorating the intellect and eating out the spirituality of our people. Obedience to fashion is pervading our Seventh-day Adventist churches and is doing more than any other power to separate our people from God. . . . Our church rules are very deficient. All exhibitions of pride in dress, which is forbidden in the word of God, should be sufficient reason for church discipline. If there is a continuance, in face of warnings and appeals and entreaties, to still follow the perverse will, it may be regarded as proof that the heart is in no way assimilated to Christ. Self, and only self, is the object of adoration, and one such professed Christian will lead many away from God."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 647.

"The words, the dress, the actions, should tell for God. Then a holy influence will be shed upon all around them, and even unbelievers will take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 634.

"There should be no carelessness in dress. For Christ's sake, whose witness we are, we should seek to make the best of our appearance."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 96.

Associations

God has made His people a light in this world. As such, they are to enter into social relations with the people around them with the purpose of bringing the gospel message to them. Matthew 5:13-16; John 17:15. But God has also made a definite distinction between His people and the world. If we want to be identified with Christ, we will shun the society of worldlings, which would be detrimental to our Christian experience. We cannot place ourselves where Christ cannot go with us. Ezekiel 44:23; Amos 3:3; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17.

Professed Christians who do not understand this principle, and who love that which they should abominate, will be classified with the evil servant. Matthew 24:48-51. Separation from the world also involves separation from secret societies, political parties, participation in labor unions, business partnerships with unbelievers and any other confederacy with the world. Isaiah 8:12; John 8:23; 18:36.

"Those only who deny self, and live a life of sobriety, humility, and holiness, are true followers of Jesus; and such cannot enjoy the society of the lovers of the world."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 633.

"There are persons with a diseased imagination to whom religion is a tyrant, ruling them as with a rod of iron. Such are constantly mourning over their depravity and groaning over supposed evil. Love does not exist in their hearts; a frown is ever upon their countenances. They are chilled by the innocent laugh from the youth or from anyone. They consider all recreation or amusement a sin and think that the mind must be constantly wrought up to just such a stern, severe pitch. This is one extreme. Others think that the mind must be ever on the stretch to invent new amusements and diversions in order to gain health. They learn to depend on excitement, and are uneasy without it. Such are not true Christians. They go to another extreme. The true principles of Christianity open before all a source of happiness, the height and depth, the length and breadth of which are immeasurable."—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 565.

"I do not condemn the simple exercise of playing ball; but even this, even in its simplicity, may be overdone."—The Adventist Home, p. 499

"Let several families living in a city or village unite and leave the occupations which have taxed them physically and mentally, and make an excursion into the country to the side of a fine lake or to a nice grove where the scenery of nature is beautiful. They should provide themselves with plain, hygienic food, the very best fruits and grains, and spread their table under the shade of some tree or under the canopy of heaven. The ride, the exercise, and the scenery will quicken the appetite, and they can enjoy a repast which kings might envy.

"On such occasions parents and children should feel free from care, labor, and perplexity. Parents should become children with their children, making everything as pleasant for them as possible. Let the whole day be given to recreation. Exercise in the open air for those whose employment has been withindoors and sedentary will be beneficial to health. All who can, should feel it a duty to pursue this course. Nothing will be lost, but much gained." —Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, pp. 514-515.

A. Separation is holiness.

B. I Peter 1:14-15 “As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.”

C. Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”

D. Many fail to experience an intimate relationship with God because they are unwilling to live an undivided life with the Lord.

E. Separation is not isolation from sinners. It is insulation as we reach them. It is like the fireman’s suit as we rescue people from the fire.

F. Separation is like marriage when a man and a woman leaves their father and mother so that they may begin a new life together.

G. God calls us to a new life with Him. It begins with separation.

II. Separation is the call of God

A. From your worldly heritage (family, land, possessions) (Genesis 12:1-3)

1. Matthew 10:37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

2. It is like a bride leaving the life of her upbringing to build a new identity and heritage with her groom.

B. From unbelievers

1. 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?”

a. Fellowship involves intimate relationship

b. Communion involves covenant

c. Accord has to do with unity

d. Part has to do with partnership

e. Agreement involves having the same opinion

C. From sinful practices

1. 2 Corinthians 6:17 “Touch not the unclean thing”

2. Sin involves uncleanness before God

3. Uncleanness meant separation from the worship of God

D. From worldly-minded believers

1. Genesis 13:10 “And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.”

2. People who have not made Christ their sole inheritance will follow a vision of their own.

3. You cannot serve Christ and follow the pursuits of those who are pursuing the world.

4. Lot’s decision led to captivity, the loss of all of his possessions, his wife, and his family being corrupted through incest.

II. Separation is the condition for God’s Promise

A. Genesis 12:1-3 “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation: I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

B. 2 Corinthians 6:17 “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch the unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord God Almighty.”

C. A bride must leave what she had to embrace all that the Bridegroom possesses. What is his does not become hers until she is willing to forsake all.

III. Separation activates the Promise of God

A. Genesis 13:14-16 “And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift up your eyes now and look from the place where you are---northward, southward, eastward, and westward: for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendents forever. And I will make your descendents as the dust of the earth.”

B. Abraham’s separation took place in stages

1. God told Abram to leave Ur of the Chaldeees

2. Abram went with his father and relatives to Haran and lived there

3. God told him to leave all. Abram left with Lot.

4. Finally Abraham and Lot separated.

C. Abram procrastinated the separation process with Lot and wandered around still searching for God’s will. Once he and Lot separated, God began to speak to him concerning land and descendents.

IV. Separation is a choice

A. 2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

B. We must choose to embrace God’s promise of blessing through separation

C. We must choose to cleanse ourselves

D. We must choose to perfect holiness (separation) in the fear of God.

We are to be separated unto the Lord.

The Bible tells us that Christ died for us that He might "purify unto Himself a peculiar people" (Titus 2:14). This peculiar people are to show forth the praises of Him "who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (I Peter 2:9). These called out ones are to be separated "unto the gospel of God" (Roman 1:1). The ultimate end of our separation is that we may have "fellowship ... with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ" (I John 1:3).

II. We are to separate from sin.

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was born into this world that he might "save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). In agreement with this, Paul wrote to Timothy, "the Lord knoweth them that are his, And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (II Timothy 2:19). Paul wrote, "Shall we continue in sin ... God forbid. How shall we ... live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:1,2). It is very clear that the saved are to be turning away from sin and growing into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29)

III. We are to be separate from the world system.

When our Lord prayed for us (see John 17) He said that we had been given to Him "out of the world" (vs. 6). Then He said that He was going to leave us "in the world" (vs. 11) and that we were not "of the world" (vs. 14). This clearly tells us that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20) and that we are pilgrims and strangers here (I Peter 2:11). In accordance with this the Apostle John said that we were not to "love...the world, neither the things that are in the world" (I John 2:15-17). The Apostle Paul said, "set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). Since we are going to depart in the Rapture ( I Thess. 4:13-18) and the world left behind will enter into the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21), we ought to be ready to leave this world. It is energized by Satan under the temporary permissive will of God and we ought to consciously separate ourselves from it. Our attitude toward it is best described by Paul when he said, "be not conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2). Remember that Lot thought he had gotten the best of the world, but in the end the world got the best of him.

IV. We are to be separate from unbelievers.

The Word of God tells us, "be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" and "come out from from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord" (II Corinthians 6:14-17). This passage is very plain and yet is perhaps the most disobeyed commandment of the Lord to Christians. We can find at least four areas where Christians are forbidden to join up with the lost person:

1. In seeking to further the Gospel testimony.

The New Evangelicals with their celebrated and honored by the world evangelist, Billy Graham, have wrought great havoc in the Church through their cooperative evangelism. Seeking to hold evangelistic crusades by coordinating the efforts of Modernists, Catholics, Cultists, and Evangelicals has worked unbelievable confusion to the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Religious unbelievers are still unbelievers and we are forbidden to join hands with them to do the work of the Lord. The debate concerning this has raged for twenty years but all the while the Word of God has not changed. This passage is so clear that the debate should have been shut off before it was started. However, the New Evangelicals have persisted in their ever enlarging disobedience, and we are now seeing the fruit of their compromise. The devil's business has been to fill the church with tares that look like wheat and he has had marvelous success. (see Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43) We are to do God's work in God's way in order to get God's results. It is never right to do evil that good may come.

2. In the lifelong covenant of marriage.

Marriage in the Bible is still until death parts. When we commit ourselves to marriage we enter into a covenant and two people become one. Despite what we are hearing from the Women's Libbers, a marriage does not consist of two people cohabiting while pursuing their own careers and selfish interests, but there is one goal and one purpose, and for a Christian that ought to be to serve the Lord. An unequal yoke in marriage where a saved person marries a lost person is forbidden by this passage. It is plain and there are no "BUTS" or "IFS". Those whose have refused to obey God have lived to see that He was right all along. The pathway of blessing is still the pathway of obedience.

3. In the pursuit of an education.

Christians should not be voluntarily submitting themselves at the feet of lost teachers where the best that can be gained is a worldly education. The educational process cannot be carried on without the morals (or immorality) of the teacher being imparted to the students. This is an area that has been surrendered by Christians [but because of] the Christian School movement ... more Christians are now sitting at the feet of believers to be educated. Those Christians who have attended the public school P.T.A. meetings have found it to be uncomfortable because it is an unequal yoke. The teaching of evolution in science class, the premarital sex teaching in Sex Education classes, the vulgarity in the required reading of English class, and the dating of the lost in high school should scare the life out of a Christian parent. The passage above is enough for me, What about you?

4. In compromising business arrangements.

The passage above teaches us that we ought not to embark on a private business venture with an unsaved partner. When a saved man has chosen to yoke up with a lost man in business he places himself in a position where God is offended. When the Israelites took the Moabites into their camp, God would not bless them. If a business venture needs a partner, we ought to seek out a saved partner, and together in Christ ask for God's blessing upon the business. The following note from the Scofield Bible is helpful: "The underlying principle is that in a moral universe it is impossible for God to fully bless and use his children who are in a compromise or complicity with evil." (p. 1234).

V. Sometimes we must separate from believers.

The Bible tells us that there are times when we must separate ourselves from other Christians. In the compromising age we are in it has become increasingly difficult to know who to have fellowship with and who to avoid. Therefore we ought to earnestly search the Scriptures for wisdom. There are four specific passage from the Bible that I would call to your attention.

1. II Thessalonians 3:6-14

Those who walked "disorderly" were to be shunned in order that they might be ashamed of their conduct. The word "disorderly" means to "set irregularly". These that Paul mentioned were refusing to work and support themselves. In addition to that they were "busybodies" or meddlesome. These people caused trouble in the church because they were not busy supporting themselves. Their business was to disrupt the body of Christ.

2. I Timothy 6:5

Here Paul tells us to withdraw from one who thinks that earthly gain is the proof of godliness. The man who is covetous and seeks to be rich is not fit companion to the Christian who has been exhorted to "set his affection on things above, not on things on the earth." (Colossians 3:20)

3. I Corinthians 5:11-13

In this passage the believer is told not to be a companion to one who is a brother (i.e. a child of God) and yet continues in the sins mentioned. That person is to be put out of the church fellowship. The sins which should move us to separation are given to us here. A fornicator is a person who commits unlawful sexual immorality, a whoremonger. To be covetous is to be so eager for earthly gain that he is not above defrauding others to get what he wants. To these Jesus said "ye cannot serve God and Mammon" (deified wealth) (Matthew 6:24). An idolater was one who worshipped images. The Lord had said in Exodus 20:4,5 "thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them". In professing Christendom today the Roman Catholic Church is the chief perpetrator of image worship. The Christian should have no fellowship with such. A railer is one who is uncontrollable in his use of abusive language. A drunkard is one who is intoxicated from strong drink. An extortioner is one who seizes or takes by force. The meaning is that he preys on others to obtain that which is not rightfully his. The Word of God tells us that we should not even share a meal with such a person. The testimony of the salvation which Christ has given us is greatly hindered by professing Christians with such evil works. We ought to avoid them so that our witnessing for Christ to the lost can be effective.

4. Romans 16:17

Paul tells us here that we are to avoid those who cause divisions and scandal in the church. Those who pervert the doctrines of God and His Word cause divisions among believers and place a stumbling block in the way of sinners coming to Christ for salvation. Errors in doctrine cause errors in living the Christian life. Errors in doctrine produce errors in preaching and the lost man soon has a distorted view of the Gospel.

To be happy and blessed it is necessary that we follow the teaching of the Word of God pertaining to Separation. Many today are drawing near to the Lord with their lips but their heart is far from Him. Many profess to be born-again but they do not separate from sin. The world is pouring many believers into its mold. Believers have mistakenly thought that they can change the lost by joining them, and few believers want to withdraw themselves from those who are "out of joint" in the body of Christ. The Word of God has not changed and we ought to obey God rather than men.

Complete Opposites: No Partnership, Fellowship, Accord, Portion, and Agreement (2 Cor 6:14-16b)

Paul gives a command to the believers in 2 Cor 6:14. He calls on the believers in Corinth to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. This is Paul’s main point for our passage tonight.

We might not be acquainted with a yoke these days but a yoke is a crosspiece that you fasten over the neck of two animals so that they can pull a plough or something. ESV Study Bible says that to be unequally yoked is then to be “hitched up” or even cross-bred with another animal who is not the same. The NLT says to not “team up” with unbelievers. Paul is therefore teaching the Corinthians how to relate to unbelievers of the gospel of Christ.

In Deut 22:10, it is said that the Israelites were not to plough with an ox and a donkey together. The point is that you can’t attach an ox to a donkey: they don’t have the same gait, they don’t have the same disposition, they don’t have the same strength, they don’t have the same instincts. It will be fruitless to do so, they are incompatible. Paul commands for believers not to be joined (as in yoked) with unbelievers, in situations where one’s life strongly influences or controls the other’s. Paul is telling us that we are not to be in partnerships that allow principles contrary to Christ to control us.

This command does not mean that we avoid and cut off all unbelievers since we are not to be “unequally yoked”. How then would evangelism ever take place? After all, we also have our mission from Jesus in Matt 28:18-19 is to go out and make disciples of all nations. We know that Paul’s life itself is one of missions for the gospel of Christ; so he cannot be possibly telling us to avoid unbelievers at all cost (2 Cor 2:14). This is not a command now to tell you, you should only hang with Christians, work with Christians, eat with Christians, etc. Therefore, there is a way for Christians to be amongst non-Christians, and yet not be unequally yoked.

Paul goes on to ask five rhetorical questions in 2 Cor 6:14b-16a.

“For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?“ (2 Cor 6:14b)

Righteousness is what pleases and honours God and here it is contrasted with lawlessness or sin. Lawlessness rebels against God and his commands. It has no regard for God’s commands. It tells God: “I know better”. This displeases and dishonours God. Believers are the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:21). The righteousness of Christ is counted as theirs by faith. Paul is telling them that there is no partnership between one who wants to please God and one who goes against God

“Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14c)

Jesus makes a clear distinction between light and darkness (c.f. John 8:12, 2 Cor 4:6). Jesus says that He is the light of the world. The darkness therefore stands for the absence of light and Christ. All who follow Jesus have the light of life. Thus, there are 2 ways to walk — in light vs darkness.

“What accord has Christ with Belial?” (2 Cor 6:15a)

Belial means “worthless” thus, what harmony does Christ, the Son of God have with Belial, or Satan who opposes God and tries to prevent whatever Christ wants? Christ seeks to please the Father but Satan does not!

“Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” (2 Cor 6:15b)

Believers enjoy all the new covenant realities that Paul has spoken about in the previous chapter access to God (2 Cor 3:7-18), hope of future glory (2 Cor 5:1-10), reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:18-21), new Creations in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). However, unbelievers enjoy none of the blessings of the new covenant; there is no future glory, there is no reconciliation, and they are blind to light of Christ.

“What agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Cor 6:16a)

God, the one and only God is to be worshipped in the temple. But the idols are false gods. In Mark 12:28-30, Jesus teaches on what is the most important commandment of all. He quotes Deut 6:4 and says that to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. That is the first of all commandments. We are to have no other idols for we cannot worship God and idols at the same time.

It is good for us to examine our lives right now. Today, worshipping an idol might not come in the formed of a carved image or statue like during the time of the Corinthians where pagan worship was common. Our idols can be anything we worship with our lives. Anything that we hold above God is an idol, even good things that are given by God. A good question to ask ourselves is what we are worried or anxious about? Usually that is very revealing as to what are our idols.

Paul’s main point here through the five rhetorical questions is to show that there are two distinct worlds or kingdoms. Paul here puts a sharp contrast between the two. One is associated with righteousness, light, Christ, faith, and worships God, the other is characterised by lawlessness, darkness, Satan, no-faith and presence of idols. The two realms don’t mix, they are completely different and incompatible. Some of the Corinthians were being led astray by false teaching, and they were trying to worship God and idols at the same time. It is not possible to live in these two worlds at the same time.

1 John 2:15 warns us against loving the world or the things in the world. For if we do so, the love of the Father is not in him. James 4:4 also tells us that friendship with the world is enmity or hostility with God. It is not neutral. Friendship with the world pits us against God!

Many of us would have read these verses in the context of marriage, but when we look at these poitns, we see that it isn’t just about marriage. These verses make it clear that Christian identity and community are very distinct from the world. In Singapore, our relationships could be built on pragmatism and shared experiences (e.g. the schools we went to). But Paul is also telling us that if we have come to Christ, the core things we have in common with people change. What do we have in common with people who don’t know Christ? It depends on what Christ means to you! Is what you have in Christ so precious and central that it shapes your identity and community!

The world could be trying to convince you and I that there is room in our hearts for both God and idols in our lives. False teachers would love to make the Christian faith less exclusive, less different, less demanding compared to the world, that it might become more popular and so they could gain from it (cf. 2:17 where Paul calls out the peddlers of God’s word). Maybe even we ourselves are sometimes tempted to blur the lines between our Christian faith and what other religions believe to seem agreeable with others.

Have you ever been caught up with conversations when you were tempted to just agree with the other person that Christ is really no different from the gods of other religions? Isn’t it better not to get into arguments? The Bible doesn’t allow us to do this. We cannot sit on the fence with regards to our worship: if you worship and love the things of this world, you will not be obeying the commandment laid out by Jesus to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. We must be clear that we are talking about opposites when speaking about these two kingdoms. That is why Paul calls believers to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.The two are ultimately worshipping different things and are opposites.

This does not mean that we cut out unbelievers from our lives: but we have to be clear about what we worship — the worship of believers and unbelievers are different.

In 2 Cor 6:16b, Paul calls believers the temple of the living God. This should not be new to them as Paul mentioned it in 1 Cor 3:16, where he says that the Corinthian believers are the God’s temple and God’s spirit dwells in them. Again, in 2 Cor 3:3, Paul says that the lives and hearts of believers are being changed by the Spirit of God. The heart in the Bible is the centre of every human: It represents our motivations, our desires, our affections, our worship. Paul says that the changed hearts and lives of the Corinthians is the letter of recommendation for Paul’s gospel ministry.

The heart, and therefore the life of a Christian is profoundly different from the life of an unbeliever. The believer has different thoughts, different values, different standards, different goals, different attitudes because they have a different God. Instead of living for themselves, Christians live to glorify God.

How is your life different in school?, in the way you relate to your teachers? In the way you relate to your classmates?
How is your life different at home?, in the way you treat your family?
How is your life different at the workplace?, with the way you treat your subordinates?, or relate to your boss, or with your colleagues?
How is your life different in your social life? How do you show love to your friends? Do you love them in way that leads them to godliness or do you conform to their worldliness?
Are our churches different from the world around us? Or do they operate like all other companies trying to make a profit?

Individually, and collectively as a church, Christians are not meant to be the same as the world. As incompatible as God and Idols, Christians are Non-Christians are not to be joined.

(B) God's Promises to His People: Presence, Relationship and Favour (2 Cor 6:16c-18)

In 2 Cor 6:16c-18, Paul quotes several OT passages and lists two promises and a command. The promise from Lev 26:11-12 For their obedience to God’s commandments, God promises to dwell with them, and be their God and take them to be His people. This is a promise of relationship and this is a God that is intensely personal. This is at the end of Leviticus, at the end of the Law. Their obedience to the Law means that a sinful people might dwell with a holy God. He is not a God that is far off, but one who desires relationship with his people.

What is the command? From Isa 52:11, we see that when God’s salvation comes, God’s people are to leave Babylon and all her associated idols. God’s people are not meant to remain in their idolatry of the gods of this world but they are to go out, depart, and be separate. That is what it means to be holy. The problem for Israel is that they tended to participate in idol worship as they mingled with the nations. They are not to defile themselves and touch unclean things, but purify themselves to be in God’s presence. That is the reason for this call to be separate.

The verses also end with a promise that draws from Eze 20:41, 2 Sam 7:14, Isa 43:6. God promises to accept/welcome his people after he has brought them out from the peoples, when they have left the idolatry. It is a picture of God’s favour upon his people. The relationship that God and his people will have is a Father-child relationship, as God had promised David in his covenant and spoke through Isaiah.

Do you see what Paul is doing here? Paul is applying all of these OT promises to the believers of a new covenant. In Christ, all of these promises of God’s presence, favour and relationship are fulfilled. Remember what Paul says in 2 Cor 1:20: “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him”. These promises are ours also by faith in Jesus Christ: God’s presence, relationship and favour.

(C) Our Response to God’s Promises: Bringing Holiness to Completion in the Fear of God (2 Cor 7:1)

Paul tries to convince the Corinthians to respond in gratitude. (2 Cor 7:1). He points to them all of the wonderful promises that God has given them to call them to respond. He is saying: “do you see all of these wonderful things that are yours in Christ”, “do you see what God has given you?” It is because of God’s new covenant promises that we do not partner with unbelievers and idols.

This is what grace is: we never earned God’s favour nor our righteousness before God. We have a saviour who died in our place, and lived the righteous life in our place. Our salvation is all by grace, and God’s promises to us are ours by His grace. See what Paul calls the believers in Corinth, they are beloved, loved by God.

And now, their response to these promises is to cleanse themselves from every defilement of body and spirit. This was to be done outwardly in their actions, and inwardly in their thoughts and in their affections and worship. Holiness involves purification of all aspects of life. By doing so, they bring to completion holiness in the fear of God. Another way of saying it is that they will make perfect/finish their holiness. This is what Christians call Sanctification, or being made holy. We read about this in 2 Cor 3:18, where believers are being transformed into the image of Christ as they behold his glory

That leads us to the last phrase: “in the fear of God”. This means to revere and worship God for who He truly is. As we see and behold his glory rightly and clearly with our faces unveiled, we are bringing our holiness and separate-ness from this world to completion, and being ever closer to God just as he has promised in Christ. How are we separate? Are we clinging on tightly to the things of the world, or are we holding on to Christ and holiness? Are we headed for holiness or away from it? What is the trajectory of your life?

In these verses, Paul here calls the Corinthian church to be separate from the world, presenting two kingdoms, one of the world, and one of God. Even as we consider our own lives and walk with God, may we hold on more closely to the promises of God than the things of the world, that we may grow closer and closer to God.

These scriptures will suffice to set forth the moral evil of an unequal yoke. It may with full confidence be asserted that no one can be an unshackled follower of Christ who is in any way “unequally yoked.” He may be a saved person—he may be a true child of God—a sincere believer, but he cannot be a thorough disciple; and not only so, but there is a positive hindrance to the full manifestation of that which he may really be notwithstanding his unequal yoke. “Come out... and I will receive you,... and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” That is to say, “Get your neck out of the unequal yoke, and I will receive you, and there shall be the full public practical manifestation of your relationship with the Lord Almighty.” The idea here is evidently different from that set forth in James: “Of His own will begat He us by the word of truth.” And also in Peter: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” And again in 1 John: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God.” So also in John’s gospel: “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: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” In all these passages the relationship of sons is founded upon the divine counsel and the divine operation, and is not set before us as the consequence of any acting of ours; whereas in 2 Corinthians 6 it is put as the result of our getting out of the unequal yoke. In other words, it is entirely a practical question.

Thus, in Matthew 5, we read: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; in order that [ὂπως] ye may be the sons of your Father which is in heaven: because He causeth His sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and sendeth rain upon the just and the unjust.” Here, too, it is the practical establishment and public declaration of the relationship, and its moral influence. It becomes the sons of such a Father to act in such a way. In short, we have the abstract position or relationship of sons founded upon God’s sovereign will and operation; and we have the moral character consequent upon and flowing out of this relationship, which affords just ground for God’s public acknowledgment thereof. God cannot fully and publicly own those who are unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for were He to do so it would be an acknowledgment of the unequal yoke. He cannot acknowledge “darkness,” “unrighteousness,” “Belial,” “idols,” and “an infidel.” How could He? Hence if I yoke myself with any of these I am morally and publicly identified with them, and not with God at all. I have put myself into a position which God cannot own, and as a consequence He cannot own me; but if I withdraw myself from that position—if I “come out and be separate”—if I take my neck out of the unequal yoke—then, but not until then, can I be publicly and fully received and owned as a “son or daughter of the Lord Almighty.”

This is a solemn and searching principle for all who feel that they have unhappily gotten themselves into such a yoke. They are not walking as disciples, nor are they publicly or morally on the ground of sons. God cannot own them. Their secret relationship is not the point; but they have put themselves thoroughly off God’s ground. They have foolishly thrust their neck into a yoke which, inasmuch as it is not Christ’s yoke, must be Belial’s yoke; and until they cast off that yoke, God cannot own them as His sons and daughters. God’s grace, no doubt, is infinite, and can meet us in all our failure and weakness; but if our souls aspire after a higher order of discipleship, we must at once cast off the unequal yoke, cost what it may; that is, if it can be cast off; but, if it cannot, we must only bow our heads beneath the shame and sorrow thereof, looking to God for full deliverance.

Now, there are four distinct phases in which “the unequal yoke” may be contemplated; namely, the domestic, the commercial, the religious, and the philanthropic. Some may be disposed to confine 2 Corinthians 6:14 to the first of these; but the apostle does not so confine it. The words are, “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” He does not specify the character or object of the yoke, and therefore we are warranted in giving the passage its widest application, by bringing its edge to bear directly upon every phase of the unequal yoke; and we shall see the importance of so doing, ere we close these remarks, if the Lord permit.

1. And first, then, let us consider the domestic or marriage yoke. What pen can portray the mental anguish, the moral misery, together with the ruinous consequences, as to spiritual life and testimony, flowing from a Christian’s marriage with an unconverted person? I suppose nothing can be more deplorable than the condition of one who discovers, when it is too late, that he has linked himself for life with one who cannot have a single thought or feeling in common with him. One desires to serve Christ; the other can only serve the devil: one breathes after the things of God; the other sighs for the things of this present world: the one earnestly seeks to mortify the flesh, with all its affections and desires; the other only seeks to minister to and gratify these very things. Like a sheep and a goat linked together, the sheep longs to feed on the green pasture in the field, while, on the other hand, the goat craves the brambles which grow in the ditch. The sad consequence is, that both are starved. One will not feed on the pasture, and the other cannot feed upon the brambles, and thus neither gets what his nature craves, unless the goat, by superior strength, succeeds in forcing his unequally-yoked companion to remain amongst the brambles, there to languish and die.

The moral of this is plain enough; and, moreover, it is, alas! of but too common occurrence. The goat generally succeeds in gaining his end. The worldly partner carries his or her point, in almost every instance. It will be found, almost without exception, that in cases of the unequal marriage yoke, the poor Christian is the sufferer, as is evidenced by the bitter fruits of a bad conscience, a depressed heart, a gloomy spirit, and a desponding mind. A heavy price, surely, to pay for the gratification of some natural affection, or the attainment, it may be, of some paltry worldly advantage. In fact, a marriage of this kind is the death-knell of practical Christianity, and of progress in the divine life. It is morally impossible that any one can be an unfettered disciple of Christ with his neck in the marriage yoke with an unbeliever. As well might a racer in the Olympic or Isthmian games have expected to gain the crown of victory by attaching a heavy weight or a dead body to his person. It is enough, surely, to have one dead body to sustain, without attaching another. There never was a true Christian yet who did not find that he had abundant work to do in endeavoring to grapple with the evils of one heart, without going to burden himself with the evils of two; and, without doubt, the man who, foolishly and disobediently, marries an unconverted woman, or the woman who marries an unconverted man, is burdened with the combined evils of two hearts; and who is sufficient for these things? One can most fully count upon the grace of Christ for the subjugation of his own evil nature; but he certainly cannot count, in the same way, upon that grace in reference to the evil nature of his unequal yoke-fellow. If he have yoked himself ignorantly, the Lord will meet him personally, on the ground of full confession, with entire restoration of soul, but in the matter of his discipleship, he will never recover it. Paul could say, “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disapproved of.” (αδοκιμος) And he said this, too, in immediate connection with “striving for the mastery.” “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one obtaineth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every one that striveth for the mastery is temperate [self-controlled—εγκαρατευται] 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,” (1 Cor. 9:24-27).

Here, it is not a question of life or salvation, but simply one of “running in a race,” and “so running that we obtain,” not life, but “an incorruptible crown.” The fact of being called to run assumes the possession of life; for no one would call upon dead men to run in a race. I have got life, evidently, before I begin to run at all, and hence, though I should fail in the race, I do not lose my life, but only the crown, for this and not that was the object proposed to be run for. We are not called to run for life, inasmuch as we get that, not by running, but “by faith of Jesus Christ,” who by His death has purchased life for us, and implants it in us by the mighty energy of the Holy Ghost. Now this life, being the life of a risen Christ, is eternal, for He is the eternal Son; as He says Himself, in His address to the Father, in John 17, “Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him.” This life is not conditional. He does not give us life as sinners, and then set us to run for it as saints, with the gloomy foreboding that we may lose the precious boon by failing in the race. This would be to “run uncertainly,” as many, alas! are trying to do, who profess to have entered upon the course, and yet know not whether they have life or not. Such persons are running for life, and not for a crown; but God does not set up life at the goal, as the reward of victory, but gives it at the starting-post, as the power by which we run. The power to run, and the object of running, are two very different things; yet they are constantly confounded by persons who are ignorant of the glorious gospel of the grace of God, in which Christ is set forth as the life and righteousness of all who believe on His name; and all this, moreover, as the free gift of God, and not as the reward of our running.

Now, in considering the terribly evil consequences of the unequal marriage yoke, it is mainly as bearing upon our discipleship that we are looking at them. I say mainly, because our entire character and experience are deeply affected thereby. I very much question if anyone can give a more effectual blow to his prosperity in the divine life, than by assuming an unequal yoke. Indeed, the very fact of so doing proves that spiritual decline has already set in, with most alarming symptoms; but as to his discipleship—and testimony, the lamp thereof may be regarded as all but gone out; or if it does give an occasional faint glimmer, it only serves to make manifest the awful gloom of his unhappy position, and the appalling consequences of being “unequally yoked together with an unbeliever.”

Thus much as to the question of the unequal yoke, in its influence upon the life, the character, the testimony, and the discipleship of a child of God. I would now say a word as to its moral effect, as exhibited in the domestic circle. Here, too, the consequences are truly melancholy. Nor could they possibly be otherwise. Two persons have come together in the closest and most intimate relationship, with tastes, habits, feelings, desires, tendencies, and objects diametrically opposite. They have nothing in common; so that, in every movement, they can but grate one against the other. The unbeliever cannot, in reality, go with the believer; and if there should, through excessive amiability, or downright hypocrisy, be a show of acquiescence, what is it worth in the sight of the Lord, who judges the true state of the heart in reference to Himself? But little indeed; yea, it is worse than worthless. Then, again, if the believer should, unhappily, go in any measure with his unequal yoke-fellow, it can only be at the expense of his discipleship, and the consequence is, a condemning conscience in the sight of the Lord; and this again leads to heaviness of spirit, and, it may be, sourness of temper, in the domestic circle, so that the grace of the gospel is by no means commended, and the unbeliever is not attracted or won. Thus it is in every way most sorrowful. It is dishonoring to God, destructive of spiritual prosperity, utterly subversive of discipleship and testimony, and entirely hostile to domestic peace and blessing. It produces estrangement, coldness, distance, and misunderstanding; or, if it does not produce these, it will doubtless lead, on the part of the Christian, to a forfeiture of his discipleship and his good conscience, both of which he may be tempted to offer as a sacrifice upon the altar of domestic peace. Thus, whatever way we look at it, an unequal yoke must load to the most deplorable consequences.

Then, as to its effect upon children, it is equally sad. These are almost sure to flow in the current with the unconverted parent. “Their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people.” There can be no union of heart in the training of the children; no joint and mutual confidence in reference to them. One desires to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; the other desires to bring them up in the principles of the world, the flesh, and the devil: and as all the sympathies of the children as they grow up are likely to be ranged on the side of the latter, it is easy to see how it will end. In short, it is an unseemly, unscriptural, and vain effort to plow with an “unequal yoke,” or to “sow the ground with mingled seed;” and all must end in sorrow and confusion.1

I shall, ere turning from this branch of our subject, offer a remark as to the reasons which generally actuate Christians in the matter of entering into the unequal marriage yoke. We all know, alas! how easily the poor heart persuades itself of the rightness of any step which it desires to take, and how the devil furnishes plausible arguments to convince us of its rightness—arguments which the moral condition of the soul causes us to regard as clear, forcible, and satisfactory. The very fact of our thinking of such a thing, proves our unfitness to weigh, with a well-balanced mind and spiritually-adjusted conscience, the solemn consequences of such a step.

If the eye were single (that is, if we were governed but by one object—namely, the glory and honor of the Lord Jesus Christ) we should never entertain the idea of putting our necks into an unequal yoke; and consequently we should have no difficulty or perplexity about the matter. A racer, whose eye was resting on the crown, would not be troubled with any perplexity as to whether he ought to stop and tie a hundred weight round his neck. Such a thought would never cross his mind; and not only so, but a thorough racer would have a distinct and almost intuitive perception of everything which would be likely to prove a hindrance to him in running the race; and of course with such a one, to perceive would be to reject with decision.2

Now were it thus with Christians in the matter of unscriptural marriage, it would save them a world of sorrow and perplexity; but it is not thus. The heart gets out of communion, and is morally incompetent to “try the things that differ;” and when in this condition, the devil gains an easy conquest, and speedy success in his wicked effort to induce the believer to yoke himself with “Belial,” with “unrighteousness,” with “darkness,” with “an infidel” When the soul is in full communion with God, it is entirely subject to His Word; it sees things as He sees them, calls them what He calls them, and not what the devil or his own carnal heart would call them. In this way the believer escapes the ensnaring influence of a deception which is very frequently brought to bear upon him in this matter—namely, a false profession of religion on the part of the person whom he desires to marry. This is a very common case. It is easy to show symptoms of leaning towards the things of God; and the heart is treacherous and base enough to make a profession of religion in order to gain its end; and not only so, but the devil, who is “transformed into an angel of light,” will lead to this false profession, in order thereby the more effectually to entrap the feet of a child of God. Thus it comes to pass that Christians in this matter suffer themselves to be satisfied, or at least profess themselves satisfied, with evidence of conversion, which, under any other circumstances, they would regard as utterly lame and flimsy.

But, alas! experience soon opens the eyes to the reality. It is speedily discovered that the profession was all a vain show, that the heart is entirely in and of the world. Terrible discovery! Who can detail the bitter consequences of such a discovery—the anguish of heart—the bitter reproaches and cuttings of conscience—the shame and confusion—the loss of power and blessing-the forfeiture of spiritual peace and joy—the sacrifice of a life of usefulness? Who can describe all these things? The man awakes from his delusive dream, and opens his eyes upon the tremendous reality, that he is yoked for life with “Belial?” Yes, this is what the Spirit calls it. It is not an inference, or a deduction arrived at by a process of reasoning; but a plain and positive statement of Holy Scripture, that thus the matter stands in reference to one who, from whatever motive, or under the influence of whatever reasons, or deceived by whatever false pretenses, has entered into an unequal marriage-yoke.

Oh, my beloved Christian reader, if you are in danger of entering into such a yoke, let me earnestly, solemnly, and affectionately entreat of you to pause first, and weigh the matter in the balances of the sanctuary, are you move forward a single hair’s breadth on such a fatal path! You may rest assured that you will no sooner have taken the step, than your heart will be assailed by hopeless regrets, and your life embittered by unnumbered sorrows. LET NOTHING INDUCE YOU TO YOKE YOURSELF WITH AN UNBELIEVER. Are your affections engaged? Then remember, they cannot be the affections of your new man; they are, be assured of it, those of the old or carnal nature, which you are called upon to mortify and set aside. Wherefore you should cry to God for spiritual power to rise above the influence of such affections; yea, to sacrifice them to Him. Again, are your interests concerned? Then remember that they are only your interests; and if they are promoted, Christ’s interests are sacrificed by your yoking yourself with “Belial.” Furthermore, they are only your temporal, and not your eternal interests. In point of fact, the interests of the believer and those of Christ ought to be identical; and it is plain that His interests, His honor, His truth, His glory, must inevitably be sacrificed, if a member of His body is linked with “Belial.” This is the true way to look at the question. What are a few hundreds, or a few thousands, to an heir of heaven? “God is able to give thee much more than this.” Are you going to sacrifice the truth of God, as well as your own spiritual peace, prosperity, and happiness, for a paltry trifle of gold, which must perish in the using of it? Ah, no! God forbid Flee from it, as a bird from the snare, which it sees and knows. Stretch out the hand of genuine, well-braced, wholehearted discipleship, and take the knife and slay your affections and your interests on the altar of God; and then, even though there should not be an audible voice from heaven to approve your act, you will have the invaluable testimony of an approving conscience and an ungrieved Spirit—an ample reward surely for the most costly sacrifice which you can make. May the Spirit of God give power to resist Satan’s temptations!

It is hardly needful to remark here, that in cases where conversion takes place after marriage, the complexion of the matter is very materially altered. There will then be no smitings of conscience, for example; and the whole thing is modified in a variety of particulars. Still there will be difficulty, trial, and sorrow, unquestionably. The only thing is, that one can far more happily bring the trial and sorrow into the Lord’s presence when he has not deliberately and willfully plunged himself thereinto; and, blessed be God, we know how ready He is to forgive, restore, and cleanse from all unrighteousness the soul that makes full confession of its error and failure. This may comfort the heart of one who has been brought to the Lord after marriage. Moreover, to such an one the Spirit of God has given specific direction and blessed encouragement in the following passage: “If any brother have an unbelieving wife, and she think proper to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And if any woman have an unbelieving husband, and he think proper to dwell with her, let her not put him away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy ... For what knowest thou, O wife, if thou shalt save thy husband or what knowest thou, O husband, if thou shalt save thy wife?” (1 Cor. 7:12-16)

2. We shall now consider “the unequal yoke” in its commercial phase, as seen in cases of partnership in business. This, though not so serious an aspect of the yoke as that which we have just been considering, will, nevertheless, be found a very positive barrier to the believer’s testimony. When a Christian yokes himself for business purposes with an unbeliever—whether that unbeliever be a relative or not—or when he becomes a member of a worldly firm, he virtually surrenders his individual responsibility. Henceforth the acts of the firm become his acts, and it is perfectly out of the question to think of getting a worldly firm to act on heavenly principles. They would laugh at such a notion, inasmuch as it would be an effectual ‘barrier to the success of their commercial schemes. They will feel perfectly free to adopt a number of expedients in carrying on their business, which would be quite opposed to the spirit and principles of the kingdom in which he is, and of the church of which he forms a part. Thus he will find himself constantly in a most trying position. He may use his influence to christianize the mode of conducting affairs; but they will compel him to do business as others do, and he has no remedy save to mourn in secret over his anomalous and difficult position, or else to go out at great pecuniary loss to himself and his family. Where the eye is single, there will be no hesitation as to which of these alternatives to adopt; but, alas! the very fact of getting into such a position proves the lack of a single eye; and the fact of being in it argues the lack of spiritual capacity to appreciate the value and power of the divine principles which would infallibly bring a man out of it. A man whose eye was single could not possibly yoke himself with an unbeliever for the purpose of making money. Such an one could only set, as an object before his mind, the direct glory of Christ; and this object could never be gained by a positive transgression of divine principle.

This makes it very simple. If it does not glorify Christ for a Christian to become a partner in a worldly firm, it must, without doubt, further the designs of the devil. There is no middle ground; but that it does not glorify Christ is manifest, for His Word says, “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” Such is the principle, which cannot be infringed without damage to the testimony, and forfeiture of spiritual blessing. True, the conscience of a Christian, who transgresses in this matter, may seek relief in various ways—may have recourse to various subterfuges—may set forth various arguments to persuade itself that all is right. It will be said that, “We can be very devoted and very spiritual, so far as we are personally concerned, even though we are yoked for business purposes with an unbeliever.” This will be found fallacious when brought to the test of the actual practice. A servant of Christ will find himself hampered in a hundred ways by his worldly partnership. If in matters of service to Christ he is not met with open hostility, he will have to encounter the enemy’s secret and constant effort to damp his ardor, and throw cold water on all his schemes. He will be laughed at and despised—he will be continually reminded of the effect which his enthusiasm and fanaticism will produce in reference to the business prospects of the firm. If he uses his time, his talents, or his pecuniary resources in what he believes to be the Lord’s service, he will be pronounced a fool or a madman, and reminded that the true, the proper way for a commercial man to serve the Lord is to “attend to business, and nothing but business;” and that it is the exclusive business of clergymen and ministers to attend to religious matters, inasmuch as they are set apart and paid for so doing.

Now, although the Christian’s renewed mind may be thoroughly convinced of the fallacy of all this reasoning—although he may see that this worldly wisdom is but a flimsy, threadbare cloak, thrown over the heart’s covetous practices—yet who can tell how far the heart may be influenced by such things? We get weary of constant resistance. The current becomes too strong for us, and we gradually yield ourselves to its action, and are carried along on its surface. Conscience may have some death-struggles; but the spiritual energies are paralyzed, and the sensibilities of the new nature are blunted, so that there is no response to the cries of conscience, and no effectual effort to withstand the enemy; the worldliness of the Christian’s heart leagues itself with the opposing influences from without—the outworks are stormed, and the citadel of the soul’s affections vigorously assaulted; and finally the man settles down in thorough worldliness, exemplifying in his own person the prophet’s touching lament, “Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick” (Lam. 4:7,8). The man who was once known as a servant of Christ—a fellow-helper unto the kingdom of God—making use of his resources only to further the interests of the gospel of Christ, is now, alas! settled down upon his lees, only known as a plodding, keen, bargain-making man of business, of whom the apostle might well say, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present age.” (τον νυν αιωνα)

But perhaps nothing so operates on the hearts of Christians, in inducing them to yoke themselves commercially with unbelievers, as the habit of seeking to maintain the two characters of a Christian and a man of business. This is a grievous snare. In point of fact there can be no such thing. A man must be either the one or the other. If I am a Christian, my Christianity must show itself as a living reality in that in which I am; and if it cannot show itself there, I ought not to be there; for if I continue in a sphere or position in which the life of Christ cannot be manifested, I shall speedily possess naught of Christianity but the name, without the reality—the outward form without the inward power—the shell without the kernel. I should be the servant of Christ not merely on Sunday, but from Monday morning to Saturday night. I should not only be a servant of Christ in the public assembly, but also in my place of business, whatever it may happen to be. But I cannot be a proper servant of Christ with my neck in the yoke with an unbeliever; for how could the servants of two hostile masters work in the same yoke? It is utterly impossible; as well might one attempt to link the sun’s meridian beams with the profound darkness of midnight. It cannot be done; and I do, therefore, most solemnly appeal to my reader’s conscience, in the presence of Almighty God, who shall judge the secrets of men’s hearts by Jesus Christ, as to this important matter. I would say to him, if he is thinking of getting into partnership with an unbeliever, FLEE FROM IT! yes, flee from it, though it promises you the gain of thousands. You will plunge yourself into a mass of trouble and sorrow. You are going to “plow” with one whose feelings, instincts, and tendencies are diametrically opposed to your own. “An ox and an ass” are not so unlike in every respect as a believer and an unbeliever. How will you ever get on? He wants to make money—to profit himself—to get on in the world; you want (at least you ought to want) to grow in grace and holiness—to advance the interests of Christ and His gospel on the earth, and to push onward to the everlasting kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. His object is money; yours, I trust, is Christ; he lives for this world; you for the world to come; he is engrossed with the things of time; you with those of eternity. How, then, can you ever take common ground with him? Your principles, your motives, your objects, your hopes, are all opposed. How is it possible you can get on? How can you have aught in common? Surely all this needs only to be looked at with a single eye in order to be seen in its true light. It is impossible that any one whose eye is filled, and whose heart is occupied with Christ, could ever yoke himself with a worldly partner for any object whatsoever. Wherefore, my beloved Christian reader, let me once more entreat you, ere you take such a tremendous step—a step fraught with such awful consequences—so pregnant with danger to your best interests, as well as to the testimony of Christ, with which you are honored—to take the whole matter with an honest heart into the sanctuary of God, and weigh it in His sacred balance. Ask Him what He thinks of it, and hearken with a subject will and a well-adjusted conscience to His reply. It is plain and powerful—yea, as plain and as powerful as though it fell from the open heavens—Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

But if unhappily my reader is already in the yoke, I would say to him, Disentangle yourself as speedily as you can. I am much mistaken if you have not already found the yoke a burdensome one. To you it were superfluous to detail the sad consequences of being in such a position; you doubtless know them all. It is needless to print them on paper, or paint them on canvas, to one who has entered into all their reality. My beloved brother in Christ, lose not a moment in seeking to throw off the yoke. This must be done before the Lord, on His principles, and by His grace. It is easier to get into a wrong position than to get out of it. A partnership of ten or twenty years’ standing cannot be dissolved in a moment. It must be done calmly, humbly, and prayerfully as in the sight of the Lord, and with entire reference to His glory. I may dishonor the Lord as much in my way of getting out of a wrong position, as by getting into it at the first. Hence if I find myself in partnership with an unbeliever, and my conscience tells me I am wrong, let me honestly and frankly state to my partner that I can no longer go on with him; and having done that, my place is to use every exertion to wind up the affairs of the firm in an upright, a straightforward, and business-like manner, so as to give no possible occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully, and that my good may not be evil spoken of. We must avoid rashness, headiness, and high-mindedness, when apparently acting for the Lord and in defense of His holy principles. If a man gets entangled in a net, or involved in a labyrinth, it is not by bold and violent plunging he will extricate himself. No; he must humble himself, confess his sins before the Lord, and then retrace his steps in patient dependence upon that grace which can not only pardon him for being in a wrong position, but lead him forth into a right one.

Moreover, as in the case of the marriage yoke, the matter is very much modified by the fact of the partnership having been entered into previous to conversion. Not that this would in the slightest degree justify a continuance in it. By no means; but it does away with much of the sorrow of heart and defilement of conscience connected with such a position, and will also very materially affect the mode of escape therefrom. Besides, the Lord is glorified by, and He assuredly accepts, the moral bent of the heart and conscience in the right direction. If I judge myself for being wrong, and that the moral bent of my heart and conscience is to get right, God will accept of that, and surely set me right. But if He sets me right, He will not suffer me to do violence to one truth while seeking to act in obedience to another. The same Word that says: “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” says also, “Render therefore to all their due.... Owe no man anything;” “Provide things honest in the sight of all;” “Walk honestly toward them that are without.” If I have wronged God by getting into partnership with an unbeliever, I must not wrong man in my way of getting out of it. Profound subjection to the Word of God, by the power of the Holy Ghost, will set all to rights, will lead us into straight paths, and enable us to avoid all dangerous extremes.

3. In glancing for a moment at the religious phase of the unequal yoke, I would assure my reader that it is by no means my desire to hurt the feelings of any one by canvassing the claims of the various denominations around me. Such is not my purpose. The subject of this paper is one of quite sufficient importance to prevent its being encumbered by the introduction of other matters. Moreover, it is too definite to warrant any such introduction. “The unequal yoke” is our theme, and to it we must confine our attention.

In looking through Scripture, we find almost numberless passages setting forth the intense spirit of separation which ought ever to characterize the people of God. Whether we direct our attention to the Old Testament, in which we have God’s relationship and dealings with His earthly people, Israel; or to the New Testament, in which we have His relationship and dealings with His heavenly people, the church; we find the same truth prominently set forth, namely, the entire separation of those who belong to God. Israel’s position is thus stated in Balaam’s parable, “Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned amongst the nations.” Their place was outside the range of all the nations of the earth; and they were responsible to maintain that separation. Throughout the entire Pentateuch they were instructed, warned, and admonished as to this; and throughout the Psalms and the prophets we have the record of their failure in the maintenance of this separation, which failure, as we know, has brought down upon them the heavy judgments of the hand of God. It would swell this little paper into a volume, were I to attempt a quotation of all the passages in which this point is put forward. I take it for granted that my reader is sufficiently acquainted with his Bible to render such quotation unnecessary. Should he not be so, however, a reference in his Concordance to the words “separate,” “separated,” and “separation” will suffice to lay before him at a glance the body of Scripture evidence on this subject. The passage just quoted from the book of Numbers is the expression of God’s thoughts about His people Israel: “The people shall dwell ALONE.”

The same is true, only upon a much higher ground, in reference to God’s heavenly people, the church—the body of Christ—composed of all true believers. They too are a separated people.

We shall now proceed to examine the ground of this separation. There is a great difference between being separate on the ground of what we are, and of what God is. The former makes a man a Pharisee; the latter makes him a saint. If I say to a poor fellow-sinner, “Stand by thyself; I am holier than thou,” I am a detestable Pharisee and a hypocrite; but if God, in His infinite condescension and perfect grace, says to me, “I have brought you into relationship with Myself in the person of My Son Jesus Christ, therefore be holy and separate from all evil; come out from among them and be separate; “I am bound to obey, and my obedience is the practical manifestation of my character as a saint—a character which I have, not because of anything in myself, but simply because God has brought me near unto Himself through the precious blood of Christ.

It is well to be clear as to this. Pharisaism and divine sanctification are two very different things; and yet they are often confounded. Those who contend for the maintenance of that place of separation which belongs to the people of God, are constantly accused of setting themselves up above their fellow-men, and of laying claim to a higher degree of personal sanctity than is ordinarily possessed. This accusation arises from not attending to the distinction just referred to. When God calls upon men to be separate, it is on the ground of what He has done for them upon the cross, and where He has set them, in eternal association with Himself, in the person of Christ. But if I separate myself on the ground of what I am in myself, it is the most senseless and vapid assumption, which will sooner or later be made manifest. God commands His people to be holy on the ground of what He is: “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” This is evidently a very different thing from “Stand by thyself; I am holier than thou.” If God brings people into association with Himself, He has a right to prescribe what their moral character ought to be, and they are responsible to answer thereto. Thus we see that the most profound humility lies at the bottom of a saint’s separation. There is nothing so calculated to put one in the dust as the understanding of the real nature of divine holiness. It is an utterly false humility which springs from looking at ourselves—yea, it is in reality based upon pride, which has never yet seen to the bottom of its own perfect worthlessness. Some imagine that they can reach the truest and deepest humility by looking at self; whereas it can only be reached by looking at Christ. “The more Thy glories strike mine eye, the humbler I shall be.” This is a just sentiment founded upon divine principle. The soul that loses itself in the blaze of Christ’s moral glory is truly humble, and none other. No doubt we have a right to be humble, when we think of what poor creatures we are; but it only needs a moment’s just reflection to see the fallacy of seeking to produce any practical result by looking at self. It is only when we find ourselves in the presence of infinite excellence that we are really humble.

Hence therefore a child of God should refuse to be yoked with an unbeliever, whether for a domestic, a commercial, or a religious object, simply because God tells him to be separate, and not because of his own personal holiness. The carrying out of this principle in matters of religion will necessarily involve much trial and sorrow; it will be termed intolerance, bigotry, narrow-mindedness, exclusiveness, and such like; but we cannot help all this. Provided we keep ourselves separate upon a right principle and in a right spirit, we may safely leave all results with God. No doubt the remnant, in the days of Ezra, must have appeared excessively intolerant in refusing the co-operation of the surrounding people in building the house of God; but they acted upon divine principle in the refusal. “Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity budded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel; then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.” This might seem a very attractive proposal—a proposal evidencing a very decided leaning toward the God of Israel; yet the remnant refused, because the people, notwithstanding their fair profession, were at heart uncircumcised and hostile. “But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel.” (Ezra 4:1-3) They would not yoke themselves with the uncircumcised; they would not “plow with an ox and ass;” they would not “sow their field with mingled seed;” they kept themselves separate, even though by so doing they exposed themselves to the charge of being a bigoted, narrow-minded, illiberal, uncharitable set of people.

So also in Nehemiah we read: “And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.” (Chapter 9:2) This was not sectarianism, but positive obedience. Their separation was essential to their existence as a people. They could not have enjoyed the divine presence on any other ground. Thus it must ever be with God’s people on the earth. They must be separate, or else they are not only useless, but mischievous. God cannot own or accompany them if they yoke themselves with unbelievers, upon any ground, or for any object whatsoever. The grand difficulty is to combine a spirit of intense separation with a spirit of grace, gentleness, and forbearance; or as another has said, “to maintain a narrow circle with a wide heart.” This is really a difficulty. As the strict and uncompromising maintenance of truth tends to narrow the circle around us, we shall need the expansive power of grace to keep the heart wide, and the affections warm. If we contend for truth otherwise than in grace, we shall only yield a one-sided and most unattractive testimony. And, on the other hand, if we try to exhibit grace at the expense of truth, it will prove in the end to be only the manifestation of a popular liberality at God’s expense—a most worthless thing.

Then, as to the object for which real Christians usually yoke themselves with those who, even on their own confession, and in the judgment of charity itself, are not Christians at all, it will be found in the end that no really divine and heavenly object can be gained by an infringement of God’s truth. Per fas aut nefas can never be a divine motto. The means are not sanctified by the end; but both means and end must be according to the principles of God’s holy Word, else all must eventuate in confusion and dishonor. It might have appeared to Jehoshaphat a very worthy object to recover Ramoth-gilead out of the hand of the enemy; and, moreover, he might have appeared a very liberal, gracious, popular, large-hearted man, when, in reply to Ahab’s proposal, he said, “I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will he with thee in the war.” It is easy to be liberal and large-hearted at the expense of divine principle; but how did it end? Ahab was killed, and Jehoshaphat narrowly escaped with his life, having made total shipwreck of his testimony.

Thus we see that Jehoshaphat did not even gain the object for which he unequally yoked himself with an unbeliever; and even had he gained it, it would have been no justification of his course.3 Nothing can ever warrant a believer’s yoking himself with an unbeliever; and therefore, however fair, attractive, and plausible the Ramoth expedition might seem in the eye of man, it was, in the judgment of God, “helping the ungodly, and loving them that hate the Lord” (2 Chron. 19:2). The truth of God strips men and things of the false colors with which the spirit of expediency would deck them, and presents them in their proper light; and it is an unspeakable mercy to have the clear judgment of God about all that is going on around us: it imparts calmness to the spirit, and stability to the course and character, and saves one from that unhappy fluctuation of thought, feeling, and principle which so entirely unfits him for the place of a steady and consistent witness for Christ. We shall surely err, if we attempt to form our judgment by the thoughts and opinions of men; for they will always judge according to the outward appearances, and not according to the intrinsic character and principle of things. Provided men can gain what they conceive to be a right object, they care not about the mode of gaining it. But the true servant of Christ knows that he must do his Master’s work upon his Master’s principles and in his Master’s spirit. It will not satisfy such an one to reach the most praiseworthy end, unless he can reach it by a divinely-appointed road. The means and the end must both be divine. I admit it, for example, to be a most desirable end to circulate the Scriptures—God’s own pure, eternal Word; but if I could not circulate them save by yoking myself with an unbeliever, I should refrain, inasmuch as I am not to do evil that good may come.

But, blessed be God, His servant can circulate His precious book without violating the precepts contained in that book. He can upon his own individual responsibility, or in fellowship with those who are really on the Lord’s side, scatter the precious seed everywhere, without leaguing himself with those whose whole course and conduct prove them to be of the world. The same may be said in reference to every object of a religious nature. It can and should be gained on God’s principles, and only thus. It may be argued, in reply, that we are told not to judge, that we cannot read the heart, and that we are bound to hope that all who would engage in such good works as the translation of the Bible, the distribution of tracts, and the aiding of missionary labors, must be Christians; and that therefore it cannot be wrong to link ourselves with them. To all this I reply, that there is hardly a passage in the New Testament so misunderstood and misapplied as Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” In the very same chapter we read, “Beware of false prophets; ... by their fruits ye shall know them.” Now, how are we to “beware,” if we do not exercise judgment? Again, in 1 Corinthians 5 we read, “For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” Here we are distinctly taught that those “within” come within the immediate range of the church’s judgment; and yet, according to the common interpretation of Matthew 7:1, we ought not to judge anybody; that interpretation, therefore, must needs be unsound. If people take, even in profession, the ground of being “within,” we are commanded to judge them. “Do not ye judge them that are within?” As to those “without,” we have naught to do with them, save to present the pure and perfect, the rich, illimitable, and unfathomable grace which shines with unclouded effulgence in the death and resurrection of the Son of God.

All this is plain enough. The people of God are told to exercise judgment as to all who profess to be “within;” they are told to “beware of false prophets;” they are commanded to “try the spirits;” and how can they do all this if they are not to judge at all? What then does our Lord mean when He says: “Judge not”? I believe He means just what Paul, by the Holy Ghost, says when he commands us to “judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (1 Cor. 4:5). We have nothing to do with judging motives, but we have to judge conduct and principles; that is to say, the conduct and principles of all who profess to be “within.” And, in point of fact, the very persons who say, “We must not judge,” do themselves constantly exercise judgment. There is no true Christian in whom the moral instincts of the divine nature do not virtually pronounce judgment as to character, conduct, and doctrine; and these are the very points which are placed within the believer’s range of judgment.

All therefore that I would press upon the Christian reader is, that he should exercise judgment as to those with whom he yokes himself in matters of religion. If he is at this moment working in yoke or in harness with an unbeliever, he is positively violating the command of the Holy Ghost. He may be ignorantly doing so up to this, and if so, the Lord’s grace is ready to pardon and restore; but if he persist in disobedience after having been warned, he cannot possibly expect God’s blessing and presence with him, no matter how valuable or important the object which he may seek to attain. “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

THE BIBLE TELLS BELIEVERS to be separate from unbelievers. However some believers isolate themselves, thinking it is separation. But there is a vast difference between the two.

2 Corinthians 6:14–17
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

This passage of scripture is talking about separation, not withdrawing ourselves from the world. People often think they can't have anything to do with the world or with anyone in it. They sometimes even think they are supposed to separate themselves from other Christians, if those Christians don't believe just like they do.

But Jesus didn't say that. He said, "Ye are the salt of the earth . . . Ye are the light of the world" (Matt. 5:13–14). Believers are in the world, but they are not of the world (John 17:16).

Believers are not to cut themselves off from unbelievers. If they did, how could they be the salt of the earth and the light of the world? On the other hand, they are to be separate from the world and not adopt the world's standards (2 Cor. 6:17). They are to be like Jesus.

A man once asked me to pray for him. "I work in a certain company," he said. "And I am the only Christian in my department. Please pray that God will move me out of there."

"Oh, no," I replied. "Why the whole department would putrefy if you were gone. You stay right there. You're the salt of the earth, so stay right there and salt it."

Go Ahead and Shine!

Notice in Second Corinthians 6:14 that the believer is called righteousness, and the unbeliever is called unrighteousness: "For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"

Did you ever think of yourself as being righteous? If you are a believer, the Bible says you are! The believer is also called light, and the unbeliever is called darkness.

Believers are not to cut themselves off from unbelievers. If they did, how could they be the salt of the earth and the light of the world?Kenneth E. Haginnone

Believers are not righteous in themselves, of course. But we are righteous in Christ: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:21).

If you are a Christian, you are a believer. You are righteousness; and you are light! Think on that and let it soak into your spirit!

There are people who think that righteousness is some kind of state they have to attain to by right living. This isn't true at all. Of course believers are to live right. "Righteousness" means rightness or right standing. And righteousness is a gift (Rom. 5:17).

Other scriptures in the Bible do talk about "the fruits of our righteousness." But these verses are referring to the fruit that is a product of our rightstanding with God (Phil. 1:11; 2 Cor. 9:10). Righteousness as a fruit of the born-again human spirit is a result of our being connected to the Vine (John 15:1–8).

Every one of God's dear children has the same righteousness and the same standing with God. This is so because we are in Christ, and He is our righteousness.

God doesn't love one of His children more than He loves another. And He won't listen to one praying more than He will listen to another. Once you know this, your faith will abound, and your prayers will work.

Self-Condemnation and Righteousness

Many people struggle in the realm of self-condemnation, and in the process, let the enemy rob them. They believe their prayers won't work and that God won't hear them. They think if they could just find a righteous man to pray, his prayers would work because James 5:16 says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

They don't know that they are righteous! But God the Father became our righteousness when He imparted to us His nature—eternal life—when we were born again in the new birth. Jesus became our righteousness the moment we took Him as our Savior and confessed Him as our Lord. (See 2 Cor. 5:17–21.)

God did not make any unrighteous or unworthy children. That would be an insult to Him. No, Jesus Who knew no sin was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). Therefore, in Christ, believers are the righteousness of God.

Thank God for this great revelation. Thank God we are who God says we are. We have what God says we have. And we can do what God says we can do.

We can stand in God's presence without any sense of guilt, condemnation, or inferiority. That means the prayer problem is settled. Our righteousness in Christ settles it.

In the new birth God made us who we are. We didn't make ourselves God's righteousness in Christ. Jesus did that for us through His death, burial, and resurrection.

Since we know we are in Christ, the problem is not if we feel righteous. It is not even a problem of faith. It is a problem of knowing our rights and privileges in Christ.

It is with this gift of righteousness that we are in the world as salt and light. Because of this righteousness, we are not of the world nor adopting its standards. Instead, we are heeding Jesus' words to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).

[Editor's Note: This article was adapted from Kenneth E. Hagin's book Bible Faith Study Course.]

Make This Confession!

"God Himself has become my righteousness when He imparted to me His nature in the new birth. Jesus became my righteousness the moment I took Him as my Savior and confessed Him as my Lord. As a Christian I am a believer; because I am in Christ, the Bible says I am righteousness; and I am light."

While there is no single, exhaustive definition of a toxic person, here are common signs of a toxic person:

Being ruled by selfishness and spite.
They are usually draining instead of encouraging.
They use people instead of loving them.
They are often seemingly addicted to self righteousnessand rash judgments.
They frequently fight with people instead of enjoying and appreciating people.
They may be jealous of healthy people’s peace, family and friendships.
Seek to bring people down to their level of misery rather than blessing others.
They seek to control you (want you to stop being you).

Thomas says that although not every toxic person will exhibit all three of these areas, a toxic person usually excels in at least one of these areas:

A murderous spirit
A controlling nature
A heart that loves hate

What "Toxic" doesn't mean

To understand what “toxic” means, it is also important to understand what “toxic” does not mean.

Sometimes we use the label “toxic” too broadly.

Some people are just difficult or different, but not necessarily toxic.

We have to be careful that we don’t use the term “toxic” as an excuse to avoid people who are hurting.

As followers of Christ we need to minister to these people and not cut them out of our lives.

To gauge whether someone is truly toxic or not, reference the traits and signs listed above.

Why do we need to protect ourselves from toxic people?

It is good to protect ourselves from toxic people, but perhaps not for the reasons one would expect.

Gary Thomas says,

“Learning how to deal with toxic people isn’t first and foremost about protecting our joy, our peace, our reputation, or even our sanity (though these are good aims) It’s primarily about protecting our mission.”

The truth is, all Christians have a God-given mission as we see in 2 Corinthians 5:20:

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Just as an ambassador to a foreign country must know the mission of the sending country, he must also know the audience of the country to where he goes.

As believers, God calls us to know our mission (to help in the ministry of reconciliation by sharing the gospel) as well as knowing our audience we are serving.

Knowing our audience entails us to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

We should expect our audience, the world, to be toxic sometimes!

Many people are hostile to the message of Christ.

Being as wise as serpents means we should be prepared for toxicity to be one way people respond to Christians faithfully being ambassadors for Christ.

Did Jesus ever walk away?

When Jesus came to earth, he had a mission.

As a part of that mission, he exposed himself to many toxic people.

But did Jesus ever separate himself from these people?

Yes, he actually did.

One example of Christ walking away is found in Matthew 15:39 which says,

“And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.”

It is interesting that previously in verse 15:32 he had compassion on the crowd because they had been with him for three days with nothing to eat.

Jesus said, “I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

It appears Christ took responsibility for these people, despite the fact that they had been coming to him for their needs for three days already.

Jesus cared for their physical needs and fed them before sending them away.

In Matthew 16:4 it states that Jesus left the pharisees and sadducees because “an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign”.

Christ was able to recognize those who were trying to trap him out of malicious intent and his response was to leave.

Even in Jesus' ministry we see there are legitimate times to walk away.

However, if we look at the whole of his life, Jesus consistently ministered to the needy, sinners, and even his own disciples.

Three Biblical ways to deal with toxic or difficult people

1) Look at them with the eyes of Jesus

It is very easy to become frustrated and irritated by toxic people.

The things they say can hurt and hurt very bad.

The manipulative actions they take can take the joy right out of your day.

You can easily fixate on how they treat you and fail to see why they treat you the way they do.

But what did Jesus do?

Jesus didn’t focus on Himself.

He came to this earth with a purpose, to redeem a sinfully lost world.

Jesus looked at people, not as a personal irritant, but as sheep without a shepherd.

He looked at them and loved them.

He looked at them and recognized that without Him, they would be eternally lost in Hell.

In a word, Jesus looked upon them in LOVE.

You must look at all people this way.

Including the one who brings toxicity to your life.

Have a measure of compassion with them.

Why do they act the way they do?

Are they mean because they are hurting inside?

Are they trying to manipulate me because they are lacking something in their life?

It doesn’t excuse or justify their behavior, but it does help you understand them and not become bitter.

After all, Jesus came to save toxic people too!

2) Offer them the other cheek

Jesus declares that the believer, when struck on the face, is to offer the other cheek for another strike (Matthew 5:38-40).

This seems so harsh!

So should I just be a doormat and let people treat me however they want and I’m supposed to just take it?

No, I don’t think that is what Jesus means here.

The principle Jesus is sharing is that there are times when we are to give up our rights, even when it is painful, for the sake of the other person who may only be thinking of themselves!

This act of self-denial could be the impetus for repentance on behalf of the toxic person (See Romans 12:9-21).

Again, we must be careful that we are not enabling the toxic person to continue in their sinful behavior, but sometimes, “blessing those who curse you” instead of reciprocating, is just the action that shows them their pride and arrogance.

3) Stand strong and let them walk away

However, there comes a time when nothing is getting through to the toxic person and it is time to distance yourself from them.

You should still “love your enemies and pray for them that persecute you,” but you do not need to continue to receive their abuse.

Even the church exercises the right to exit someone from their membership for their lack of repentance in order to preserve the holiness and health of the body (Matthew 18:15-19).

So stand strong in your faith.

Speak the truth in love to them.

Tell them that they are sinning against God and you when they are being abusive in their language or their actions.

It is not only for their good that they have someone stand up to them, it is for your good as well.

Toxic people prey on weak-willed people.

So instead of being a push-over that allows their sinful behavior to flourish, “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of might" (Ephesians 6:10).

Jesus came to save toxic people, of whom I am chief
There are many things I appreciate about the Apostle Paul but one of the most appealing characteristics he possesses is a brutal self-awareness.

Paul is not simply self-deprecating to feign humility.

No, he understands that he is as sinful as they come.

He says in 1 Timothy 1:15,

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

As Christians, we are wise to share this perspective.

When we realize just how wicked we are as individuals, we begin to have a humble perspective of ourselves.

We recognize our desperate need for redemption.

We see that, while we may not be as bad as the toxic person our lives, we are bad enough to need the reconciling work of Christ on our behalf.

And, hopefully, this realization will motivate us to share the life-giving gospel to that toxic person who so desperately needs Jesus.

1. The Spirit Gives Life

Obviously, since the Spirit is divine, the Spirit is omnipresent. As the apostle Paul wrote, God is “over all, and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:6), and God “fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:23).

The Spirit is present throughout all of creation giving life and breath to every human being. The Bible says that “every creature … has the breath/ruach/Spirit of life in it” (Genesis 6:17) and that God “gives breath/ruach/Spirit…and life” to all people (Isaiah 42:5).

On account of this, if God “withdrew his ruach/Spirit and breath, all people would perish together and would return to the dust” (Job 34:14-15; also Psalm 104:29-30).

As Wilf Hildebrandt observes (another Pentecostal Prof), the Bible presents “the Spirit of God as the animating principle of life …When the Spirit is removed from a human being the body returns to its lifeless, inanimate state.”[1]

2. The Spirit Leads and Guides All People

Of course, the Spirit draws unbelievers to Christ, but the Spirit does much more than this.

This thought might make you feel uncomfortable, but the Church has always had a doctrine of common grace, which affirms just this. The problem (for some) is that when we move from a generic term like “grace” and put the name “Holy Spirit” on it, it becomes more real.

How do we know where and how the Spirit is at work among non-Christians? The difficulty of answering this question might seem to suggest that the Spirit isn’t at work in unbelievers.

But the question would be just as difficult to answer if we were talking about Christians.

Wherever the character of Christ is present, there the Spirit is at work. Even more broadly, wherever we see actions that are consistent with the ways that the Spirit works throughout the Scripture, there the Spirit is at work.

So, if my non-Christian neighbor brings me a casserole when my dog dies (I don’t have a dog 🙂 ), I would thank God for working by the Spirit through my neighbor. I also see the Spirit at work inspiring great creativity in works of art and music.

3. The Holy Spirit Reconciles People

I also appreciate the guidance of the Latino theologian José Comblin: “The signs of the action of the Spirit in the world are clear: the Spirit is present wherever the poor are awakening to action, to freedom, to speaking out, to community, to life.”[2]

This makes me think that as messy as the whole process is, the Spirit is at work in Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation movement (concerning the relationships of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians), similar to how the Spirit was uniting black and white Christians at the Azusa Street Revival (1906) and the “Memphis Miracle” (1994).

Some people may want to limit the Spirit to the Church, but I prefer what Jesus had to say: “The pneuma/Spirit/wind blows wherever it pleases” (John 3.8). As a result, I affirm that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:17).

The Spirit’s work may indeed be ambiguous in the world, not often being recognized by those in whom or around whom he works, but his work is also ambiguous in the Church” (Hendrikus Berkhof).[3

First, we learn from 1 John 2:15–17 and 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1 that love for the world is in direct conflict with love for God: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Physical indulgence, visual indulgence, and the arrogance of ungodly self-reliance are spiritual adultery (1 John 2:16; James 4:4). Can we love that which hates Christ (John 15:18)? Just as the Lord is not of this world, neither should we be (John 17:16). Indeed, we are commanded, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16). Because your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, your most intimate fellowship is to be with Christ (2 Cor. 6:15–16a), not with the harlot of worldliness.

Second, we learn from Romans 16:17–18, Galatians 1:8–9, and 2 John 9–11that separation from false teachers is clearly taught in the Bible. Unquestionably, doctrinal modification of the gospel is an intolerable offense. Apostolic doctrine admits no alteration. “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” (Gal. 1:8). Paul instructed Timothy to withdraw himself from those who taught perverse applications of doctrine (1 Tim. 6:3–5). Giving aid and comfort to false teachers, or even wishing them well in their efforts, makes one a “partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 9–11). The biblical mandate is to “mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Rom. 16:17).

Third, we learn from Matthew 18:15–18that separation from blatantly disobedient brethren is clearly taught in the Bible. A similar command is given in 1 Timothy 5:22 regarding the public rebuke of spiritual leaders, lest he who fails to do so “be partaker of other men’s sins.” Even if we were to grant (which we do not) that these passages may only be applied within a specific local church, they certainly refute the false claim that it is never right to separate from a brother. Biblically, disobedience must be lovingly confronted, with separation following if no repentance is forthcoming. In the case of spiritual leaders, when sin is properly in evidence, public rebuke is required. In fact, unrepentant disobedience is an indication of a false profession of salvation.

Thus, the Bible provides a process of restoration that changes fellowship into evangelism (Matt. 18:17) in the spirit of Galatians 6:1. To reiterate, unrepentant disobedience is a practice of rebellion that contradicts the claim of salvation (1 John 2:19; 3:6–10). Further, refusal to separate from blatant disobedience is disobedience itself, leading to eventual separation from new disobedience. Some call this “secondary separation,” an unhelpful term because it implies that levels of contamination require degrees of separation, whereas biblical separation is always for a direct cause. Obviously, discipline of members in local churches is biblical separation. Churches that will not discipline the blatantly disobedient are not scriptural churches. Therefore, worldly churches and those who teach false doctrine as well as those who refuse to practice separation in necessary church discipline are themselves appropriate objects of biblical separation. The biblical language tells us to “put away” (1 Cor. 5:13), “withdraw . . . from” (2 Thess. 3:6, 14–15) and “reject” (Titus 3:9–11).

In addition to these passages that provide a biblical mandate for separation, we find primary support in the classic text on the doctrine of separation, 2 Corinthians 6:1–7:1. There we find not only what to do but why we are to do it. As Christians we are the subjects of a spiritual kingdom; we are to be ambassadors representing that kingdom while living in hostile territory (2 Cor. 5:20–21). Our role as ambassadors is stated after the explanation that we persuade men to be reconciled to God because “the love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Cor. 5:11–19). The command and promise of 2 Corinthians 6:17–18 are unequivocal: “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” The reason we are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers is that there is to be no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness (2 Cor. 6:14). Christ’s love for us must produce within us love for and loyalty to Christ. Thus, the supreme motive for separation from all unrighteousness is love for and loyalty to Christ.

If you truly love Christ, you must be working to win souls (2 Cor. 6:1–2). That expression of love for Christ has been called “evangelistic unction.” Men are saved to glorify God, and salvation is God’s gift to men through Christ. In that context, Paul’s motive is our example: we are “workers together” in cooperation with God! Paul’s appeal is critical; he implores us to “receive not the grace of God in vain.” Quoting Isaiah 49:8, Paul explains that now is the time for us to concentrate on offering salvation to others through Christ, just as Christ offered salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. Biblical separation occurs within the mindset that we are not here merely to enjoy the world but to reach the world. The young theologian who seeks purity of doctrine must employ the power of doctrine, using “”evangelistic unction to make orthodoxy function.”

It follows that the one who is working to win souls will be willing to make sacrifices (2 Cor. 6:3–10). He will focus not on what he has the right to do for his own enjoyment but on what he has the responsibility to do for God’s glory. He will do nothing that could cause anyone to reject the ministry of the gospel but will demonstrate that he is an ambassador of Christ. He will not succumb to mental or physical pressures but will work hard, at times losing sleep or nourishment, enduring every kind of hardship, to serve as a loyal, faithful servant. To be in the world but not of the world requires discipline. The minister who would excuse himself from the rigorous discipline and great sacrifice required may argue, “I can’t be like Christ!” Then be like Paul.

If you truly love Christ, you will discern and maintain wise motives in biblical separation (2 Cor. 6:11–7:1). You will have a right attitude toward those who are sincerely trying to help you, listening to the earnest pleas of those whose hearts overflow with concern for you (2 Cor. 6:11– 13). You will love those who love you by loving what they love. As well, you will have a right attitude toward those who are trying to corrupt you. You cannot cooperate with God while cooperating with His enemies. You cannot be an ambassador for Christ while living like an idolater (2 Cor. 6:14–16a). Finally, you will have a right attitude toward the One who paid the price to save you, standing in awe of His promises to you and in obedience to His command to you (2 Cor. 16b–7:1). The effective ambassador is to stand up, clean up, and grow up!

In summary, the Bible clearly presents a mandate for separation. The mandate requires us to separate from the world, from false teachers, and from blatantly disobedient brethren. In doing so, we are to maintain the biblical motive for separation: love for and loyalty to Christ.

A helpful illustration of biblical separation is observed in the medical practice of a surgeon vigorously scrubbing his hands before a life-saving surgical procedure. He does not scrub so that he may parade through the hospital halls holding his clean hands up for all to admire. He scrubs to protect the one whose life he is committed to saving. He separates himself from every contaminant, enabling him to fulfill his critical mission. Separation is to the ministry as sterilization is to surgery. Of course, questions remain regarding when, how, and from whom, exactly, but there can be no doubt that the mandate and motive are in the Bible.

Separation

Separation

[2Cor.6:17]

The Biblical doctrine of Separation is probably one of the most important doctrines for a Christian. The God we serve is not tolerant of any form of sin, so why would he allow us to be? Our Father expects us to be holy just as he is holy [1Pet.1:15-16]. Our connection with sin and ungodliness must affect our fellowship with God. Separation from, and not connection to, is the only way to possible to please God. Let us look at a few Biblical commands as pertains to separation.

Separate from False Teachers (Non-believers)

[2Pet.2:1-2] Peter says that they are among us! Radio, Television, internet, and in your church! [Lk.10:3] [Acts 20:29] Be careful. [Gal.1:6-10] They fell for another Gospel, [2Cor.11:4] Mormons, JW’s etc. [2Cor.6:14-18] Fellowship, Communion, Concord, Agreement with God

Separate from Worldliness (places, people, and things)

[1Jn.2:15-16] Love not the World, [James 4:4] Enemy of God! [Tim.3:4] You become a lover of pleasures more than a lover of God. [Col.3:1-3] Your Affections should be above!

Separate from Wayward Brethren(may be a close friend or family member)

[2Thes.3:6-7] 11 & 14-15 A very hard thing to do, They will pull you down [1Cor.5:6-13] You are not to keep company with them.

Keys to Biblical Separation:

Separation must be based on the Word of God [Neh.13:3] You have the word of God to define good and evil, and the Holy Spirit to guide you unto all truth, [Jn.16:13]
Separation must be from something and to something else [Rom.1:1]If the void is not filled with something good, you will return to old ways [Luke 11:24-26] Empty spaces will be filled.
Separation must have a purpose or goal that Glorifies God [Acts 13:2]Some people don’t come to church because they say that they are separating from hypocrites. Not coming to church does not please or glorify God.
Separation will cause others to separate from you [Lk.6:22] You won’t need to worry about how to lose sinful friends, they will lose you.

1. The Foundational Principle

The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:15–16, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Peter was quoting from Leviticus 11:45–46. The Hebrew word for holy essentially meant to be set apart or separated from that which is impure. Therefore, the concept of separation is inherent in the greater principle of holiness. We have been called to be holy in our lives even as our heavenly Father is holy. That requires a separated life.

2. The Scriptural Precepts

The concept of separation is found throughout God’s Word. It is the practical outworking of being holy. Consider these four passages of Scripture:

Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” The magnificent book of Psalms begins with three negatives: walking not in the counsel of the ungodly, standing not in the way of sinners, and sitting not in the seat of the scornful. In essence, God has promised blessing for those who get out of the world. This can be simply summarized in the word separation.

Romans 12:2 also says, “And be not conformed to this world.” The thought is to not allow the world to shape our thoughts, values, philosophies, morals, entertainment, or lifestyle. Separation from the world is clearly in view. Moreover, it is a New Testament mandate. This directive is in the imperative mode. If there is one area of life which Christians are often in violation of New Testament commands, it is in allowing themselves to be conformed to this world.

Second Corinthians 6:17 says, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” Once again, here is a New Testament imperative—a command, orders from headquarters. The word them in the immediate context refers to unbelievers. Unbelievers are the essence of the world system. Notice further that it is the Lord Himself who so ordered this. We are directly commanded by our Lord Himself to be separate from the world and all its impurity.

First John 2:15–16 says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Once again we find a clear imperative to distance ourselves from the world. Where Christian people have problems not so much in loving the world itself as they do in loving the things of the world. Those things often are the entertainments of the world, the music of the world, and the “cool” factor of the world.

The principle and imperative of separation are thus clearly and forcefully set forth in Scripture. Separation from the world, therefore, becomes an issue of obedience to Christ. God has clearly ordered us to separate from the world. Our duty is to obey that commandment.

3. Israel’s Precedent

From the perspective of hindsight, the Old Testament is one long history of Israel ignoring God’s command to separate from the culture and influence of the world of that day. In Exodus 33:16, Moses said to God, “For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” From day one, Israel was to be a people who were separated from their ungodly neighbors.

Sadly, Israel ignored God’s mandate to separate. For centuries they rubbed shoulders with the Moabites, Amorites, Hittites, assorted Canaanites, Ammonites, Zidonians, and other people groups of the world in that era.

We know that God ultimately dispersed Israel and Judah out of their land for idolatry. But where did they pick up the idolatry of Baal or Ashtoreth worship, not to mention the abomination of Molech? They picked it up because of their lack of separation from their idolatrous neighbors. The history of Israel across the Old Testament era is that of their compromise of separation and the idolatry which followed. God then pled, warned, and threatened judgment for their sin. But it all started when Israel compromised the principle and command to separate from the world of their day. There is a profound example left for us in their precedent.

4. Day-to-Day Practice

My father was a pastor for approximately fifty years. Over the years, I heard him use the illustration of a stagecoach company in the American West advertising for drivers.

Men came from everywhere to apply for the job. The foreman asked the first man, “How close to the edge of the cliff can you drive the stagecoach as you go around the mountain?

The applicant replied, “I believe I can drive the stagecoach within three feet of the edge of the cliff and still be in control of the horses.” The foreman said he would consider his application.

The next man replied, “I can drive within eighteen inches of the cliff without losing control.”

The third man replied, “I would drive as far from the edge of the cliff as I could.”

He got the job.

The application is obvious. We ought to keep as far from the world as we can in our everyday life. Separation is very practical.

The world’s allure is enticing. Romans 12:2 directs us not to be “conformed to this world.” As a pastor for forty-eight years, I have watched numerous parents have one foot in the world and the other foot in the church. They allowed the entertainments, attractions, and dress of the world to influence their family. Sadly, in most cases, their children wound up actively pursuing the world by the time they were young adults. In some cases, the adolescent or young-adult children from these families became involved in deep moral sin and some even in trouble with the law.

On the other hand, I have observed Christian families who were very consistent in seeking to be separated from the world and keeping it as far as possible from their children. Their children tended to grow up to serve the Lord and were godly examples. There are practical considerations for living a separated life.

The world’s music is alluring. Music is spiritual in nature; it is the universal language of the human spirit. The music of the world “syncs” with our old nature. Nothing will keep a born-again Christian in the flesh more than listening to the world’s music. And as a Christian walks in the flesh, the gateway for any kind of sin is open. But it feeds our sin nature—the flesh. It does not really matter if we happen to like music in the world. What does matter is doing what is right rather than doing what we want. That is the essence of Christian character. “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19).

5. The Way of Sinners

Carnal Christians like to look the way people in the world do. Years ago when it was the style for men to wear long hair, many Christian young men let their hair grow long, ignoring the instruction of 1 Corinthians 11:14. They wanted to look the way popular characters in the world looked.

Some Christians condone social drinking; the neo-reformed movement even encourages it. I can think of nothing which is more quintessential of the world than drinking alcoholic beverages. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise”(Proverbs 20:1). “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

I began my college career in a secular university. One day in a college-level chemistry class, the professor was discussing various types of alcohol, strictly on their chemical properties. He discussed the chemical property of methyl alcohol versus ethyl alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is the type found in beverage alcohol, but methyl alcohol (or wood alcohol) is a deadly poison. Should one drink methyl alcohol, he will be dead or blind by morning. A student raised his hand and asked the professor why methyl alcohol was a poison and ethyl alcohol was not. The professor replied, “They are both poisons. One just works faster than the other.”

More crime, accidents, immorality, and sin in general take place when someone is “under the influence.” “Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine” (Proverbs 23:29–30a) But apart from this, there is an even more basic principle of separation from the world. With whom do you want to identify?

Perhaps the most subtle influence upon Christians is the way we think. Many Christians know better than to drink alcohol or commit adultery, but few consider their mind as a portal for worldliness. What we allow to enter our minds will determine the decisions we make.

Are we more like the world or less like it? Separation has never been popular. The injunction of 1 Peter 1:16 still remains: “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” A major avenue toward that end is separation from the world and from its influences.

Separation is a Bible doctrine. In fact, the word holiness means set apart. The emphasis in Scripture is being set apart to God, and this necessarily demands being set apart from anything that hinders your separation unto God. There is a “separation to” that requires a “separation from,” but focusing on “separation from” misses the point of being “separated unto.”

Generally, separation falls into two categories: ecclesiastical and personal. Ecclesiastical separation involves organizational cooperation in church and Christian endeavors while the personal element has to do with worldliness (separation from the world). Some matters of separation are absolutes based on the clarity of the written Word. I often liken these to the high ground of a plateau. Other matters are variables dependent on the leading of the Holy Spirit within the plateau of absolutes. This distinction is often overlooked and can easily lead to confusion, offences affecting fellow Christians, and a hindering of the cause of Christ.

In today’s Christian world, what is labeled primary separation is absolute, and secondary separation, I believe, is variable. Typically, both terms apply to ecclesiastical separation, but there is also the matter of what we might term secondary-issue separation.

Primary ecclesiastical separation is the biblical demand to refuse association and cooperation with unbelievers. When an individual or a group promotes “another gospel,” we are not to officially join hands with them and thereby condone the false message—even if our aim would be to leverage the association to gain a greater audience for hearing the true gospel. Rather, the Scripture says of such a one, “let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8-9). This is primary separation, a separation from unbelievers in religious cooperation, a biblical absolute which all believers must obey.

Beyond this, secondary separation engages in separation from those who do not apply primary separation. Some take it a step further and separate from anyone who doesn’t separate from those who don’t apply primary separation. Others take it yet another step out. Usually, most people stop three or four steps removed from the primary separation issue. Studies reveal that if you go six steps out, you would have to separate from yourself! This indicates the fallacious logic of secondary separation, leaving it without biblical warrant in an absolute sense. Secondary separation is not black and white like primary separation.

There are times when the Spirit may lead you not to associate with a given situation, but it’s not an absolute for all or necessarily for all times. Beyond the primary level, lack of association must be motivated by obedience to the Spirit and not be a matter of fearing man lest you find yourself “kicked out of the synagogue.” When the Spirit leads in a given situation, just obey.

Personal separation from the world is vital for a healthy walk with God. What the Scripture makes absolute must be practiced. As the Spirit leads regarding variable applications within the plateau of absolutes, again, we must respond in obedience.

Then, there is the danger of secondary-issue separation. This involves taking a lesser issue of personal separation (something not unimportant but less important) and elevating it to the level of the fundamentals, thereby making it a matter of separation. Practice this and say “only” where God doesn’t and insist on it being universal for all and you will find the separation that follows unnecessarily splinters the cause of Christ. In the variables of application within the absolutes, each of us must follow the Holy Spirit’s individual leading, and allow others to do the same.

Former generations of Fundamentalists seem to have understood this far better than many today. They unified around the essentials of the faith—the fundamentals—and then fussed about everything else!Afterward, they ate together, fellowshipped, and found no room for angry separation. They were able to distinguish ideas that could be legitimately debated from those that the clarity of Scripture made absolute. Thus, when arguing and supporting respective sides in discussions, they didn’t take matters personally. They understood the issues were not personal and that the debated concepts would rise or fall on their own merits.

We can learn from them. We know from Scripture that primary separation must be embraced by all of God’s people. Beyond that, we must follow the Spirit’s leading—and afford others the opportunity to do the same.

Unity is also to be held with those who avoid worldliness as taught in the Bible. Young Christians need to be built up in the faith, to strengthen them against returning to their old sinful lifestyles. You can know how much an individual seeks to be holy, without being a fruit inspector. It will be self-evident in their attitudes, what they watch on TV, what music they listen to, and with whom they associate the most. Worldly Christians need to be exhorted to live in a manner pleasing to God. If a Christian falls into sin, and refuses to repent, the body may need to cut him off for a time, that they repent. Therefore, full unity and fellowship is to be held with all Christians holding the doctrine of Christ, and seeking to follow the whole Bible as the final authority over their lives. (As “Christian” means “Christ-like one,” how can one truly be called a Christian if they observe not these things.) Also, we are to maintain this unity without regard for race, national origin, gender, former religion, and former lifestyle.

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. (Romans 10:12)

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13).

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5:11

There are those with whom we are called to unite, there are also those who we are told to avoid and not keep company with. We are to separate ourselves, generally speaking, from all who with we are not to unite, those tho do not uphold the doctrine of Christ and do not constantly seek to be more like Him. However, of course, it is obvious that we cannot isolate these people. How are we to carry out the Great Commission, if we cannot associate with the lost? How are we to bring back the backslider, if we must separate ourselves from them? Separation, like unity, has it’s limits. However, the Bible spells out some individuals to separate from. Some of these are quite obvious, such as the evil man:

Proverbs 24:1-21. Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.2. For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.

Proverbs 23:6-76. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:7. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

It is not good to be around those whose hearts are set to do evil, who constantly sin, and who repeatedly try to get you to join them in their sin. These must be reached with much prayer. “My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:” (Proverbs 24:21). We are also to avoid those who are constantly changing, those who always seek for change, those who want to remove the old landmarks, and who constantly change their minds. This instability is confusion. We are to bring the sinner in while keeping ourselves pure from the sinner’s sin. We should reach out to these people, but be prayed up when we do. We need to contact them, but separate ourselves from their sin. We need to reach them, yet we need to avoid from all appearance of evil. “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thess 5:22). We should not be going to bars and brothels to witness to drunks and prostitutes. We are to separate ourselves from this sin. If an unbeliever sees you there, what will he think? That Christians are no different than him? If a weak believer sees you, he will be emboldened to fall back into his old sins. So even if you are not partaking in their sins, being there with them is not expedient for the gospel’s sake. Therefore, we must separate ourselves from worldly, sinful behavior. We are to separate from sin, yet reach out to sinners. We are not to go out of the world, but to go into the world to reach lost sinners:

1 Corinthians 5:9-119. I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:10. Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.11. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

However, if a Christian is caught up in these sins, it is a different matter. If one calling themselves a brother in Christ is living in sin, and refuses to repent after being called out, then the body is not to keep company with him, but separate themselves that he may be ashamed. “…have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.” (2 Thess 3:14).

Matthew 18:15-19

15. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.16. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.17. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

The Apostle Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for not expelling an individual engaged in grievous sin:

1 Corinthians 5:1-21. It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.2. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

These are to be turned over to “…Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Cor 5:5). “Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.” (1 Tim 1:20). This may seem harsh, but the only way for some to see the error of their ways is to let them experience the full temporal consequences of their actions.

Also, we are commanded to separate ourselves from heretics and false teachers. We are to avoid false doctrine and those who bring it.

Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. (Hebrews 13:9

)For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:4)

However, we are to give them a chance to get their teaching right. We are to give them pure doctrine, and exhort them to “teach no other doctrine.” (1 Tim 1:3). When Apollos came preaching only the baptism of John, he was not rejected, but the gospel was fully explained to him. He went forth preaching the gospel of Christ, and the brethren received him everywhere.

Acts 18:24-28

24. And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.25. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.26. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.27. And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:28. For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

A heretic is to be given two admonitions before being rejected (Titus 3:10). If a person is truly accepting the Bible as the final authority over their lives, they will consent to Scriptural correction. If they will not consent to wholesome doctrine, separate yourself from them.

1 Timothy 6:3-53. If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;4. He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,5. Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

We are also to separate ourselves from those who create unbiblical separation. For some seek to create divisions, drawing men to themselves for sake of heresy, or love of money, or love of position. We are to identify and avoid them.

Romans 16:17-1817. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.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.

Love of prestige is another cause of unbiblical separation: “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.” (3 John 1:9). The Nicolaitanes also loved prestige:

Revelation 2:6,156. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.15. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

The Nicolaitanes separated the clergy from the laity, with the clergy lording over the laity. This false doctrine has been carried over into many denominations, but it is directly contrary to the words of Christ, who preached servant leadership (see Mk 10:42-45). People who bring unscriptural separation are to be avoided. A paradox yes, but yet the individuals causing the unbiblical division are not submissive to the whole Word of God. Therefore, we are to separate from worldliness (as defined by the Bible), from sinful Christians, and from those who cause unscriptural division.

Conclusion

The Bible calls for both unity and separation. Unity with fellow believers, but separation from the world and worldly people. Separation is emphasized against false doctrines and worldly practices. If an individual refuses to give up such, we are not to keep company with him as with a brother, but let him be as a heathen. However, we are not to refuse full fellowship to those who have repent of their sin, and are constantly seeking to live by the Word of God. Individuals professing Christ are to be given the benefit of the doubt with regard to both doctrine and morals. Unity and separation are both Bible doctrines. We need to unite with those who accept the Bible as the final authority, and go out to reach the lost, while separating ourselves from their sin.

The doctrine of separation is one of the most prominent doctrines of the entire Bible. It is difficult to distinguish the concept of the church from the doctrine of separation. The words “church” and “separation” are in some important ways interchangeable. The New Testament Greek word ecclesia, translated as church, means “to summon forth,” to show the church as the “called out” (or separated) assembly. The church is called out not in a restricted sense, but rather we position ourselves to be blessed and receive the promises of God by coming out from the world system.

The concept of being called out goes as far back as Genesis 11 where God called Terah out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan. (See Genesis 11:31.) Terah partially obeyed, going as far as Haran. God turned to Terah’s son, Abram (Abraham), calling him to fulfill what his father had left undone, namely to separate himself from family and friends and dwell in the land of Canaan. (See Genesis 12:1.) God promised Abram that he would form a new “great nation” whose people would be separated unto God.

In Genesis 13, after Abram separated himself from his nephew Lot, God again visited him with renewed promises of blessing. Although Lot had journeyed from Ur with Abram, strife between their respective herdsmen led Abram to propose that they go their separate ways. Lot chose the cities of the plain, pitching his tent toward Sodom (a symbol of corruption, immorality, and worldliness), while Abram remained apart from the cities. Immediately after they separated, God visited Abram and renewed those promises of blessings, land, and posterity to him.

Separation is even more clearly taught in God’s dealings with Israel, His chosen people, especially in the record of the Exodus. Israel had suffered for generations under Egyptian bondage after the death of Joseph. Their cries of distress ascended to God, who called Moses to miraculously lead them out of Egypt to a land of their own so they could freely worship the one true living God. An analogy can be drawn in the divine way God brought them out—through the Red Sea by way of the pillar of a cloud and fire—to the New Testament church as referenced by the apostle Paul in his writings: “Our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (I Corinthians 10:1-2). The way out of Egypt (a biblical representation or “type” of sin and the world system) in the New Testament church is by our baptism in water and Spirit.

After God miraculously delivered Israel through the Red Sea, they arrived at Mount Sinai. Moses ascended to the top of the mountain to receive commandments and instructions from God as to how His people were to live and worship. The Lord’s directions were detailed and specific; they affected not only their mode and place of worship, but their property rights, how they ate, their manner of dress, personal relationships, and crime. These instructions were not simply burdensome requirements and regulations; instead they positioned Israel to receive multitudes of blessings from God. God told them if they would diligently live and worship according to the law given to Moses, He would set them on high above all nations of the earth and bless every part of their lives. Consider the vast and abundant blessings promised to those who live in obedience and separation to the Lord as outlined in Deuteronomy 28:1-14.

The church, as we know it, is first mentioned in Matthew 16:18. Jesus Himself announced the beginning of the church: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” While Old Testament prophets had spoken about the concept, none of them used the word “church” before Jesus did. The only possible exception is the way Stephen referred to Israel as the church in the wilderness because they were the people God called out of Egypt (Acts 7:38). The church is not called out of a nation, country, or land as Israel was called out of Egypt; instead we are called out as a distinct people. God has called us out of a life of sin and unrighteousness; He has empowered us by His Spirit to live acceptably before Him. So many today in Christianity want us to believe that separation is no longer a relevant message; however if we are part of God’s church, we are a part of this called-out people, and we have separated ourselves from this world’s values, customs, and ideas.

It is the intent of the enemy of our souls to spread the mistaken idea that disciplines will cause the gospel to be less attractive, and consequently, less people will desire to belong to our fellowship. The enemy would like for us to think that people do not want to be part of anything that teaches a difference in lifestyle from that of contemporary society The enemy would try to convince us that there would be great resistance to such a message, and therefore, silence the pulpit from preaching messages about coming out and being separate from the world. If he could cause us to believe that, he will, in reality, cause us to miss out on the favor and blessing of God. The New Testament, as well as the Old Testament, is clear about the blessing and favor of God being conditional upon a life of separation.

So many honest and good ministers struggle daily with how to obtain the blessing and favor of God upon their churches. They hunger for the magnetism that draws people and seek desperately for what can be done to enhance the growth of the church. Sometimes they spend thousands of dollars and travel hundreds of miles attempting to learn a new approach to church growth or to obtain a new program that will create a revival spirit in the congregation, but often what is really missing is the clear teaching and preaching of separation.

The preaching of coming out from the world, following God, obeying His voice, and forsaking previous lifestyles and habits does not discourage people from coming to church. There is an anointing, blessing, and favor of God that comes when this message is clearly taught. There is an intensity of the Spirit, a vibrant spiritual climate that cannot be realized when worldliness prevails. The flow of the Holy Ghost cannot be present when the prevailing atmosphere of the church is worldly. There is something about a people who have truly separated themselves from this world and unto God that causes others to be drawn to believe they too can be changed and their lives made different. The doctrine of separation is not a hindrance to church growth, but rather it is the answer. I do not believe that if the church is full of world-loving people, it can experience true New Testament apostolic revival.

Many times in my years of pastoring in Modesto I have had visiting pastors ask me what the key to great revival is. I think they are expecting me to give them some kind of agenda, calendar, or outline that they can go back to their churches and follow in order to obtain the same intensity of God’s power and presence. I sincerely believe the spiritual climate we enjoy has been due to my efforts to consistently teach and maintain a clear message of separation.

It troubles me when I hear people talk about our doctrine as only referring to our belief and convictions on the new birth. They call the “Acts 2:38 message” our doctrine. They call separation “holiness standards” to distinguish it from our salvation doctrine. In reality, the Bible has a whole lot more to say about the doctrine of separation than it does about the new-birth experience. This does not mean I believe less than anyone else in the necessity of the new birth, but I point this out to say that distinguishing between the salvation doctrine and holiness standards is erroneous. The word doctrine simply means teaching, and if so, our standards are as much a doctrine as baptism in Jesus’ name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost with speaking in tongues. Our standards are not simply men’s ideas and philosophies, but they are acts of separation, which again I emphasize is a prominent theme of the Bible.

Most new converts are not resistant to lifestyle changes. In my experience, new converts are so thankful for their salvation experience that they are anxious to learn whatever they can do that might please God the most. If they need to dress differently, when it is explained to them appropriately, they receive it gladly. When they are taught from God’s Word in such a way that they understand, they are willing to make any adjustments because they desire the blessing and favor of God. More than anything else, they want to be the recipient of His promises. Unfortunately, the resistance to separation from the world seems to come from those who have been in the church for a substantial amount of time. Over the years some have become neglectful in their prayer life and church attendance, or forgotten the pit from which they were saved, and they find themselves looking back to the things of this world and somehow these things become attractive to them. Consequently, they resist admonition to live a life that distinguishes them as the children of God. Others attack separation as nothing but legalistic, rigid, and artificial rules. However, holiness and separation have nothing to do with attaining salvation by slavishly adhering to a set of rules. We who love God want to please Him in all ways through purity of heart, thought, spirit, and lifestyle.

Let me pause here for a word on how standards should be communicated to the congregation. Many times new converts ignorantly continue to engage in their previous lifestyles and dress, and others may transfer from churches in our fellowship whose standards deviate from our own. No one should ever be threatened or publicly embarrassed, but instead they should be instructed from the Word of God in a loving, redemptive manner. “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing …” (II Timothy 2:24). We should never behave as Pharisees or policemen, “neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock” (I Peter: 5:3). We do not condemn or pass harsh judgment on any brother or sister who is disobedient or weak in the matter of separation, but pray that by our loving example and patient instruction, he or she will be led to repentance and change.

The concept of holiness is a basic tenet of Scripture from the Old Testament to the New Testament. (See Leviticus 19:2; I Peter 1:15.) The seraphim Isaiah saw in his vision cried one to another about the Lord: “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3). The word for holy in Hebrew is qadash, which is translated “set apart, separated.” So God, whose very nature is holy, is Himself separated from all sin, unrighteousness, and uncleanness, and commands us to follow His example. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you … and ye shall be my sons and daughters” (II Corinthians 6:17-18). Therefore, the foundation of our very relationship with God as His children is hindered and weakened if we do not practice holiness.

The Bible repeatedly instructs us to avoid loving the world. Jesus said to His disciples, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19). The apostle John told the first-century Christians, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (I John 2:15).

What does the Bible mean by “the world”? For clearly, if “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16), a contradiction might seem to exist. But the Bible is not talking about the inhabitants of the world. God does not intend that we should isolate ourselves from society. We are to be the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) and “ambassadors for Christ” (II Corinthians 5:20) and “walk in wisdom toward them that are without” (Colossians 4:5). The apostle John explained what he meant by the world: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (I John 2:16). Separation from the world, therefore, is a recognition of its lustful, prideful nature and a commitment not to participate in it, nor desire approval from it. Our actions and appearance should make clear to all who observe us that we belong to God, and it is upon His commandments that we base our lives. “Ye are our epistle … known and read of all men” (II Corinthians 3:2).

The world is constantly trying to squeeze us into its mold and pressure us to conform to its standards, dictated by Hollywood, foreign fashion editors, music superstars, and other ungodly influences. While I understand there are some passages of Scripture that might be interpreted by one differently than another, the great majority of our standards are very clear Bible doctrines.

Modest apparel is a clear doctrinal teaching: “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel” (I Timothy 2:9). The distinction between the apparel of a man and a woman is a very clear Bible doctrine: “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God” (Deuteronomy 22:5). The fact that a woman is to have long uncut hair is a very clear Bible doctrine: “But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering” (I Corinthians 11:15). It saddens me that some who object so strenuously to church dress standards do not find it strange to spend time, money, and great effort to conform to the latest fad and fashion pronounced by models on a runway in Paris.

Separation also extends to our thought lives and recreational habits. In order for the old nature to stay dead—and so that sin cannot regain a foothold—we should be careful about what things we allow to enter our eyes and ears through television, music, reading material, movies, and the like. David said, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes” (Psalm 101:3). David had personal and painful experience with how the eye can fall on the wrong thing, causing the carnal nature to be tempted to lust, resulting in a fall into sin. (See II Samuel 11.)

Separation also extends to our social lives, friendships, and marriages. We are not to fellowship with people who are indulging in lascivious lifestyles. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (II Corinthians 6:14). “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (I Corinthians 15:33). “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11). “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

Indeed, separation can be summarized by this simple statement: “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (I Thessalonians 5:22).

In order for the church to have revival in these last days, we must remain a beacon of light in the darkness. We who are separated from the world, and its lusts and prideful system, are walking in light. When the world looks at us, what do they see? We cannot weaken our standards and dilute our separation or we will become part of the darkness. Let us continue to communicate the love and holy nature of God to a lost and dying world by our words, deeds, behavior, and appearance. A “light … set on an hill cannot be hid” (Matthew 5:14).

The above article, “The Separated Church” was written by Randy Keyes. The article was excerpted from Kenneth F. Haney’s book, Turning the World Upside Down.

The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.

Persecution may be a foreign experience for most of us, but it has been the norm for most Christians throughout church history. In a culture that seems increasingly hostile to the biblical worldview, we should not fear or panic. We can find the joy, comfort, and courage that God has provided for us in His Word. This series, first published in October, 2015, works to that end. —ed.

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians is one of the greatest challenges facing believers today. In a world bombarding us with temptation, God’s people need to keep clear the spiritual lines of demarcation, both for the sake of the gospel and our own testimonies. As John MacArthur explains in his sermon “Separating from Unbelievers, Part 1,” Paul’s words mean “we cannot overindulge ourselves in their world to the detriment of our testimony within the body of Christ.”

Highlighting the inherent conflict between believers and sinners, John says:

The pure and the polluted share nothing in common ultimately. And the people of God cannot form intimate relationships with those who don’t belong to God. All relationships like that are superficial. You cannot make a meaningful relationship with an enemy of the gospel. They live in a different world with a different and completely hostile and antagonistic leader.

That does not mean we are to cut off all contact with the world—that’s hardly feasible. And even if it were, such isolation would violate the Lord’s instruction to go into the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). But Scripture is likewise clear that we need to avoid the lawlessness and darkness of this corrupt world.

As we approach the conclusion of our series on what it means to be in the world but not of it, we need to consider separation from the world and how it can enhance or hinder the progress of the gospel and the development of our individual testimonies.

Gospel Purity

In the context of 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, Paul is discussing the purity of the church, and rebuking those who had attempted to blend God’s truth with paganism. Religious syncretism was rampant in the first-century world, and the New Testament church was not immune to its influence. From the founding of the church, false teachers immediately married God’s truth to elements of pagan culture and practice.

And while the paganism of today looks different than that of Paul’s day, Satan’s agenda has not changed at all. In his sermon “Separating from Unbelievers, Part 2,” John MacArthur explains how our enemy still seeks to gain a foothold in the church:

It’s very much like modern Christianity today, by the way, that seeks to blend Christianity with popular culture, wants to make Christianity more popular, less different, more palatable, less offensive, less narrow, less exclusive. And the result of it is that true Christianity and the purity of God’s Word gets corrupted by compromise, and the church can become useless and shameful and blasphemous in mocking the truth.

Throughout Scripture, the Lord consistently makes clear His command to keep His people pure from worldly influences and blasphemous corruption. Paul’s exhortation expanded on commands God had issued to Israel through the prophet Isaiah: “‘Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,’ says the Lord, ‘and do not touch what is unclean’” (2 Corinthians 6:17).

In his commentary on 2 Corinthians, John MacArthur explains the urgency behind Paul’s exhortation:

To be bound together with unbelievers is not only foolish and irreverent, but it also disobeys God’s explicit command, expressed in the two imperative verbs translated “come out” and “be separate.” “Therefore” links the command in this verse with the principle expressed in verse 16. As those personally indwelt by the living God, believers are to avoid any joint spiritual effort with unbelievers. As the temple of the living God, they must not be linked for the cause of the advancement of divine truth with any form of false religion.
The thought in this verse hearkens back to Isaiah 52, where God commanded His people, “Depart, depart, go out from there, touch nothing unclean; go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the Lord” (Isaiah 52:11). Christians, like Israel at the time of her salvation (Isaiah 52:7-10), must make a clean break with all false religion to avoid its contaminating influence (cf. 2 Timothy 2:16-17). . . .
It has always been God’s will for His people to be distinct from unbelievers. In Leviticus 20:24, 26 God said to Israel, “I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. . . . Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.” In the New Testament Peter reiterated that principle, exhorting believers, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14-16). [1]

The church cannot be an effective lighthouse for the truth if it insists on cloaking itself in the trappings of worldliness and ecumenical capitulation. For the sake of our worship, evangelism, and spiritual stability, we need to reject the corrupting influence of the world and protect the purity of God’s people.

Personal Purity

But if Paul’s words about being unequally yoked with unbelievers are directed at the church, how does the principle apply to individuals? If the prohibitions of 2 Corinthians 6 are directed to the church, how do we determine the appropriate level of interaction—if any—with the world on a personal level?

In his commentary on a parallel passage (Hebrews 13:10-13), John MacArthur explains that the need for separation from the world is not merely a matter of physical proximity:

Separation from the system does not mean separation from unbelievers in the sense of never having contact with them. If this were so, we could never witness to them or be hospitable to them. Nor does it mean we try to escape the world by becoming monastics. As far as separation is concerned, the world is an attitude, an orientation, not a place. As long as we are in the flesh, we take some of the world with us wherever we go. Paradoxically, a holier-than-thou attitude is the essence of worldliness, because it is centered in pride. It is worldly attitudes and habits from which we are to separate ourselves. And we can participate in many worldly things just as easily with Christians as with non-Christians.
In His high priestly prayer, Jesus describes our proper relationship to the world. “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth. As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (John 17:15-18). God sends us into the physical world, the world where people live. What we are to be separate from is the world system, the way the world’s people live (cf. 1 John 2:15-17).
You do not have to participate actively in the system to be a part of it. It is just as worldly to want to do the things of the world as to do them. [2]

In that sense, the degree to which you are of the world is not measured merely by your contact with it, but by how much it has taken up residence and influence in your heart. You might not outwardly display a love for the trends and tastes of the world, but a haughty attitude is no less worldly.

As believers, we need to guard ourselves from the kind of relationships that will entangle us with the world’s system. But just as important, we need to guard our hearts from following the prideful, selfish lead of this worldly, sinful culture. And we need to remember that God has sent us into the world for the work of the gospel, and that we must keep ourselves unstained by the world (James 1:27) if we’re going to fulfill that work.

Our blessed Lord Jesus Christ caused division (Matt 13:57; John 7:43; 9:16; 10:19; Acts 14:4; 19:9).
Consider the factors of His life that caused men offence (Matt 11:16-19; 13:55; 21:23; John 1:46).
Jesus is precious to believers, but He is an offensive rock and stumbling stone to rebels (I Pet 2:6-8).
Jesus promised men would cast His disciples out for their relation to Him (John 15:18-25; 16:1-4).
When crowds came to Him, He quickly divided them down to the sincere by cost (Luke 14:25-32).
1. Few ministers tell about the cost, as their religious system is based on numbers and/or comfort.
2. Very few will pay the cost, as their hearts are truly not dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
3. Jesus Christ will arrange the situations where we must choose, to see who truly loves Him alone.

1. The value of a thing is determined by what you will exchange for it. What will you lose for Him?
2. You cannot be His disciple – you are not worthy of Him – if you are infatuated with any human.
When men said they would follow Him, He quickly pointed out to them the cost (Luke 9:57-62).
Jesus Christ promised to bring heresies in the churches in order to approve His own (I Cor 11:19).
The early church had many going out from them, who had never truly been of them (I John 2:19).
Even our brother Paul reported that Demas – a belly worshipper – had forsaken him (II Tim 4:10).
He will divide at the last day between sheep and goats (Matt 7:21-23; 25:31-46: Rev 20:11-15).

JESUS CHRIST REQUIRES DIVISION

Jesus Christ requires obvious separation and division from the world of idolaters (II Cor 6:14-17).
1. He requires separation and division from the great whore of Roman Catholicism (Rev 18:4).
2. He condemns any conformation or friendship with the world as adultery (Rom 12:1-2; Jas 4:4).
Jesus Christ commands strict identification and avoidance of belly-worshippers (Romans 16:17-18).
1. There is no difficulty with understanding this text: it is very plain. Where is the difficulty? Why?
2. What is a belly worshipper? Any one minding earthly things over Christ (Philippians 3:18-19).
3. Any one causing division or offences contrary to the doctrine of Jesus Christ (Romans 16:17-18).
4. Their good words, fair speeches, bright smiles, warm hugs, and tearful eyes are bait for a snare!
5. Simple people, like young children, like weak lambs, must be protected from such evil wolves.
6. These are not disciples of Christ, regardless of what they say, sing, cry, or put on their bumpers.
True saints, pressing for God’s highest, are to mark and react to the perfect and belly-worshippers.
1. Godliness and repentance are visible; ungodliness and worldliness are visible. Be not deceived.
2. Paul and other saints like him, whose lives are heaven centered, are examples (Phil 3:17,20).
3. Others, who mind earthly things, are dangerous enemies of Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:18-19).
  1. Paul warned often of these people, and he did it tearfully; he said there were many of them.
  2. Their end is destruction. Most were never saved; and the others will be destroyed in this life.
  3. Their glory is in their shame. What they enjoy and boast about, are things shameful to saints.
  4. Their glorying, as if everything is just fine, and their smiling hugs, is just so much vanity!
We must withdraw from the disorderly and reject friendship, but for admonishing (II Thess 3:6,14).
1. Here are brethren not living according to apostolic tradition, the example being busy bodies.
2. We cannot have company with them – friendly social interaction. We must rather shame them.
3. If you encounter disorderly brethren who have been excluded from your church, or from whom you have withdrawn, your conduct should leave them ashamed, if you are an obedient saint.
4. The only limitation is to maintain enough admonition to show we still desire their conversion.
5. Simple questions like “Where are you going to church?” “Are you living for the Lord Jesus Christ?” “How are your children’s souls?” are weak efforts at admonition, but they are a start. If you cannot even pull those off, then you have no right even with infrequent socializing.
6. The body of Christ, or general assembly of all the elect, will assemble in heaven; but it does not have any function here in this world, such as creating a big lovey-dovey body of Christ concept.
We purge our membership and create a new lump as often as needed to please Christ (I Cor 5:6-8).
We are not to have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (Eph 5:7-12).
To perpetuate separation and division, saints can only marry in the Lord (I Corinthians 7:39; 11:11).
Paul told Timothy and Titus to avoid carnal Christian ministers (I Tim 6:5; II Tim 3:5; Tit 3:10-11).
Paul explained preaching should not be polished to attract any but the faithful (I Cor 1:17-24; 2:1-5).

DIVISION IS GOOD

It brings the great blessing of God, so rejoice and be glad at separation and persecution (Luke 6:22).
Evil communications corrupt good manners, so we reject false talkers (I Cor 15:33; II Tim 2:16-18).
The prosperity of a church is dependent on deliverance from strange children (Psalm 144:11-15).
Good men have nothing to do at all with sinners or compromisers (Psalm 1:1-3; 101:1-8; 119:63).
When you perceive folly in a man’s mouth or life, you are to separate from him (Prov 9:6; 14:7).
It was the “mixt multitude” that provoked God’s judgment upon Israel with quail (Numbers 11:1-4).
Compromise is deceitfully dangerous, for it occurs one step at a time and does not appear dangerous.
Modification of God’s intent and rules will create a church with insincere and wicked members.
Only an unleavened church, without known, public sin, can be pleasing to Jesus Christ (I Cor 5:6-8).
There is a blessing for us, if we are not by offended in Jesus Christ and His requirements (Mat 11:6).
If we are reproached for the name of Christ, even if for our division, we are blessed (I Peter 4:14).

MOST WON’T DIVIDE

Unity is far more important to most than truth. Look for “let’s agree to disagree,” which is from hell.
Peace is more important to most than purity. Look for “can’t we just get along,” which is from hell.
Fundamentalists pick essentials, to compromise on everything else; but every word of God is pure!
1. By this method, each group allows themselves freedom to do as they will and still have numbers.
2. If you ask these people about marriage in the Lord, grunting the name of Jesus is good enough.
3. They will happily compromise the doctrine of baptism in order to “take a stand” against wine.
Love freaks think love should cover all differences, and they define love as sentimental mush.
1. Godly love rejoices in truth and abounds in knowledge and judgment (I Cor 13:4-7; Phil 1:9-11).
2. Proof of His disciples is love to one another, not to those in error or outside Christ (John 13:35).
3. What happened to hating those who hate the Lord and His truth (II Chron 19:1-3; Ps 139:21-22)?
4. Affection was shown to the fornicator at Corinth only after repentance (II Cor 2:6-8; 7:10-11).
Politicians don’t want to offend anyone, ever! But Jesus did want to offend them (Matt 15:12-14)!
1. When preaching sanctification, the good religious people could not handle it; but He didn’t care.
2. If men don’t like the plain truth of God’s Word, God is going to root them up for destruction.
3. He accused them of being blind leaders of the blind, and their whole church could fall in a ditch!
Friendly frauds think differences can be ignored, but true friendship is based on truth (Ps 119:63).
Sissies cannot take persecution, but it is prophesied for us in the last days (II Tim 3:12; Matt 13:21).
Galatia’s belly-worshipping preachers taught circumcision to avoid persecution (Gal 5:11; 6:12).
Find the missing phrase in I Tim 6:5. What do you think it might be? “From such withdraw thyself”!
Joseph was a just man and did not make her a public example? But he did intend to put her away!

WE MUST DIVIDE

Paul spent much of his ministry warning against false brethren within and without (Acts 20:29-31).
If they are not with us, it is because they are against us (Luke 11:23). Jesus didn’t care for words.
We want mercy and truth to meet in us, as it did in Jesus Christ; but His mercy always served truth.
The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable; and it is this order we will honor (Jas 3:17-18).
True Christianity and true discipleship is very rare and very pure without compromise (Ezek 22:30).
Most Christians, and even most Baptists, do not understand the strict Bible mandate to be separate.
Friendship does not win converts; it never has, and it never will; truth is the only means of converts.
Every man is responsible to divide by his own conscience, and Jesus Christ will honor it (Rev 2:24).

Conclusion:

A pastor is like a good father, always concerned about danger, and not very interested in risking the family.
There should be no divisions within the local churches of Christ, as we endeavor to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, based on ONE baptism, faith, etc. (Eph 4:1-6; I Cor 1:10; 3:3; 11:18; Matt 12:25).
Separation is costly and painful, but not very costly and painful, if you truly love Christ and sound doctrine, for the preservation of your own soul and those of your children.

When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer. Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter…
Nehemiah 6

What are common tactics that the enemy uses to hinder the work of God?

In this story, the Jews have been living in Israel without walls around the city of Jerusalem. Because they rebelled against God during the reign of the kings, the Lord judged them and sent them to exile in Babylon. After 70 years in exile, small remnants started to return to the land of Israel. In chapter 1, the Lord stirred Nehemiah, a man serving under the king of Persia, to come back to Jerusalem and inspire the remnant to rebuild the wall of the capital city and to help restore the worship of Israel.

In chapter 6, Nehemiah had completed the walls but had not added the gates. Because of the progress and the certainty of completion, the attacks of the enemy increased.

From the beginning of this restoration project, Nehemiah and the Israelites had enemies trying to stop the work. Sanballat and other Samaritans had been trying to discourage Israel. In chapter 2, they became angry and incensed that somebody had come to “promote the welfare of the Israelites” (2:10). In chapter 4, when Israel began to build, they mocked them saying that even if a fox went on the wall it would fall (4:10). However, when they saw that the building of the wall was progressing, they decided to secretly form an army and come against Israel (Neh 4:8). When Nehemiah heard about this, he warned Israel and set up guards to fight in case of invasion. The building continued as they worked with a brick in one hand and a weapon in the other (Neh 4:17), and now all that remained was adding the gates (6:1).

Because of this, the enemies of Israel make one last major assault, specifically targeting Nehemiah. If they can stop Nehemiah, they can discourage the people and finally stop this work. This is important for us to see and consider.

The contents of this chapter, I believe, apply specifically to the spiritual warfare of a believer and especially to leaders. In Ephesians 6, we are called to prepare for this warfare. Paul said, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).

Some commentators have said we always live in “the evil day,” the time between Christ’s first and second coming in which we are always under the attack of Satan. However, Paul is clearly referring to times when the enemy increases assaults for the purpose of discouraging God’s people and hindering his work. He said “when the day of evil comes.” We mentioned this briefly in chapter 4.

I think we get a picture of the evil day when Satan attacks Job. He loses his family, his wealth, and his health, all in a very short time period. There is an all-out attack on Job that he must stand against. Similarly, here in chapter 6, we see many different types of attacks that the enemy brings against Nehemiah. Nehemiah is going through an “evil day,” an evil season of assault on his life and ministry.

We also are called to do the work of the Lord. You may be a student, a teacher, a businessman, or a mom, but you should not be mistaken, you are doing the Lord’s work. Nehemiah’s building of the wall wasn’t preaching the gospel, but it was something that everybody eventually realized was “accomplished by God” (Neh 6:16). It was a work of the Lord. In the same way, when we are doing the will of the Lord, wherever he has called us, we are working for him and, therefore, will incur the attacks of the enemy in various forms.

How do we prepare for the attacks, and how do we defeat these attacks?

Yes, we must put on the armor of God, which is primarily a righteous life. But along with that, we must be aware of the enemy’s tactics. Satan wants to immobilize us and keep us from progressing in our spiritual lives, and therefore, he will come with many different attacks. He wants to keep us from building and completing the work that God has called us to. Because our enemy is both wise and relentless, we must be aware of his tricks and schemes. Second Corinthians 2:11 says this: “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”

One of the reasons many Christians become immobilized and ineffective in their callings is because they are unaware of the enemy’s tactics. We will see many of these tactics as we study this text. This will be especially important for those in leadership roles just as Nehemiah was. If Satan had one bullet, he would take out the leader because it would affect more people.

Big Question: What were the attacks on Nehemiah in chapter 6? How does our enemy similarly attack our lives, those in leadership, and God’s work through his people?

The Enemy’s Tactic of Deception

When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates—Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”
Nehemiah 6:1-3

In verse 2, Tobiah contacted Nehemiah to ask him to meet at a neutral site. The implication is that the enemies of Judah were seeking peace and wanted a meeting in order to accomplish this.

Nehemiah, the governor of Israel, realized it was probably politically wise for him to make peace. In fact, as we see at the end of the chapter, many Jewish nobles were putting pressure on him to make peace (v. 16-19). It would not be a good political move to ignore the pleas of the enemy to have a meeting.

However, the text says that Nehemiah discerned that they were trying to hurt him (v. 2), and Nehemiah, in response, said that he was doing a great project and could not go down (v. 3).

How did Nehemiah protect himself against the attacks of the enemy?

First, he did it by discerning the lies of the enemy. This is important for believers as well. Consider what Jesus said about Satan:

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44

Jesus spoke this to the Pharisees who were also trying to set him up so they could kill him. He told them that they were of their father the devil, who was a liar and the father of lies.

This is important for us to understand because Satan is always trying to deceive us as well. He lies to many Christians about their identity. He lies about their future. He lies about how they should think and what they should wear.

Many Christians struggle with great insecurities and fears because they have been listening to the lies of the devil. He makes them insecure about their body, their wealth, the car they drive, and the job they have. He says they must have this and that to be successful and accepted.

We have a whole society built on lies. We have lies about what is beautiful, lies about what it means to be successful, lies about God, lies about creation, etc. Scripture says the evil one is the prince of this world (John 14:30).

Why does he lie?

He lies because he ultimately wants to harm us and keep us from walking in the calling that God has for us. These lies sometimes come from people who love us, sometimes it may come from our family, sometimes it comes from our churches or friends. Certainly, it comes from the media that we entertain ourselves with.

This is important for us to understand as leaders, not only because the enemy will attack us with lies, but also, because we will be constantly ministering to people who have been lied to. They have accepted the lies of the enemy and are stuck in a spiritual trap (cf. 2 Tim 2:26). We will have to identify the lie and impart the truth of God’s Word to minister to them. Like Nehemiah, we must be able to identify the lies of the devil.

Application Question: How can we develop discernment like Nehemiah so we won’t be deceived by the enemy and also so we can better minister to others?

1. Discernment comes from knowing the Word of God.

Listen to what Hebrews says:

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:13-14

The writer of Hebrews is describing the church as spiritual infants because they lived on “milk” and not the solid food of the Word. He said that the believers had not matured because they did not constantly “use” Scripture and therefore struggled with distinguishing between good and evil, just like an infant.

In the context of Hebrews, they were being tempted to go back to the Jewish law, and he writes to show them that the New Covenant is so much better. Christ is better than Moses; Christ is better than angels; Christ is better than the High Priest. They couldn’t discern this because of their lack of spiritual maturity and therefore were being drawn back into the Old Covenant.

With that said, numerous Christians are like this because they don’t constantly use the Word of God. They use it on Sundays when somebody preaches it and maybe they read it on occasion, but they don’t know how to apply it because they don’t constantly use it. Therefore, they lack discernment and are prone to be deceived by Satan’s lies.

They have no discernment in their dating relationships. They have no discernment about how to respond when mistreated. They can’t discern what’s best for their future or their career because they haven’t developed a mature understanding of the Word of God. This opens the door for many deceptions from the enemy.

In the context of spiritual warfare, Paul calls for believers to put on the belt of truth, which is probably referring to the truths of Scripture. Ephesians 6:14says, “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.”

In ancient armor, it was the belt that held all the other pieces together. Therefore, in knowing the Word of God—God’s truth—one will be protected from many of the enemy’s attacks. This is true primarily because one wouldn’t be fooled by many of the enemy’s lies.

Are you keeping on the belt of truth? By constant use of it, you will be able to discern the lies of the devil.

What else will help us gain discernment?

2. Discernment comes from understanding human nature.

Consider what was said about Christ in John 2:23-25:

Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

This text says many people believed in Christ but that he did not entrust himself to them because he knew all men. In verse 25, the apostle John is telling us why Christ did not entrust himself to them. The reason was not based on his “omniscience” but his “doctrine of man.” He said it was because Christ knew what was in a man.

Jesus understood that even though the crowds were following him, the heart of man is deceitfully wicked. He knew people were following him for food and for healing but not really for who he was. He knew that men were prone to run after a person who did something sensational, though they were not truly committed. Christ didn’t entrust himself to these crowds because he understood the nature of man.

This is something that we need to understand as well to develop discernment. We need to understand the nature of man, the fickleness of man. Certainly, we learn this from looking at our own hearts and how we are tossed to and fro in our passions and our dreams. The person who seeks to understand himself will have a great understanding of man. But, it is also developed through studying the nature of man in Scripture. Men are like sheep that are constantly prone to go astray (cf. Isaiah 53:6). Man is prone to rebel against God and the things of God (cf. Rom 8:7).

This may seem cynical, but it is true. Christ didn’t commit to the crowds because he knew the nature of man. We are prone to go astray. I have no doubt that Nehemiah’s understanding of the Scriptural teachings about mankind, as well as his personal experience, gave him great discernment as he contemplated Tobiah and Sanballat’s request. I think he understood the nature of man, like Jesus did, and as we should as well.

If we better understood the nature of man, it would keep us from disappointment when friends, family, or church members fail us. This understanding would also help us put our hope all the more in God.

While in seminary, I asked my professor how he kept from discouragement when people in his congregation fell away from God or when friends he served with in ministry stumbled into sin. I asked how he stayed strong. At that time, the church where I was youth pastoring was going through a split, and I was very discouraged. He responded with this, “I have a strong theology of sin.” Essentially, he said, “I understand man’s sin nature, and I also understand Satan and temptation. This helps me minister to people and not become discouraged.” He understood man.

If we are going to have discernment like Nehemiah, we need to start to develop a doctrine of man as well.

3. Discernment comes from prayer.

This is what Paul prayed, for the church of Philippi:

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.
Philippians 1:9-10

He prays for their love to abound in knowledge and depth of insight, so that they could discern what was best. The word “discern” is used of a metallurgist testing a metal to see if it was real. God wants us to have wisdom to test and see what is genuine and what is best. This comes through prayer.

Many Christians have an unwise, undiscerning love, which gets them in all kinds of trouble. They love lots of things which actually keep them from what is best. Paul is teaching that we need discernment with our love. “Following our heart” can actually get us in a lot of trouble. We often see people on TV say, “Just follow your heart.” I want to say, “No! Don’t follow your heart.” Get wisdom for your heart, and one of the ways we do this is by praying for wisdom (cf. James 1:5, Phil 1:9-10).

Many Christians commonly fall to the lies of the devil because they lack discernment.

Are you a discerning Christian? Are you seeking to grow in discernment? We need it because we have an enemy who, from the beginning, has used the weapon of deception. We need it to protect ourselves and also to help minister to those who are trapped in some deception of the enemy.

Application Question: What are some common lies that trip up Christians in their spiritual life and keep them from progressing in the work God has called them to? What lies does Satan commonly use to trip you up?

The Enemy’s Tactic of Persistence

so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.
Nehemiah 6:3-4

Next, Tobiah sent four requests to meet with Nehemiah and each time Nehemiah turned him down. The enemy in this narrative demonstrated tremendous persistence. It seems like he was trying to wear Nehemiah down so that he would eventually give in.

Interpretation Question: Can you think of other times the enemy used persistence in Scripture?

We see this all the time in the attacks of the enemy.

1. The enemy used persistence in the story of Samson and Delilah.

Do you remember? It said that she constantly harassed him, seeking the secret of his strength, and he eventually gave in. Look at the text below:

Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death. So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
Judges 16:15-17

She nagged and nagged and nagged until he relented and gave her the secret to his power. Satan is persistent in his attacks.

2. The enemy used persistence in the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.

Genesis 39:5 says that “day after day” she kept asking him to lie with her. The enemy was persistent in seeking to draw Joseph into adultery.

3. The enemy used persistence in the story of Christ being tempted by Satan in the wilderness.

In Matthew 4, when Satan tempted Jesus, he came to him three times with three different temptations until he eventually left Jesus alone.

4. The enemy used persistence in Peter’s temptation to deny Christ.

Several people approached Peter and said, “Weren’t you following Christ?” and with each question there was a temptation to deny Christ. In response, Peter denied him three times.

We have all experienced this, whether it was with lust, depression, anxiety, foul language, or some conflict. Satan is persistent and the purpose of being persistent in warfare is to wear down the other side into compromise and eventually giving up.

This persistence is also used to create deeper strongholds of sin. The more we compromise with the world, the more we give into a particular sin, the greater and deeper its roots become and the harder it becomes to break it and follow Christ.

Satan uses persistence. We see this as Tobiah sends a letter four times to Nehemiah. The hope is that Nehemiah would be worn down, which would open the door to harm him.

How does Nehemiah reply to the four attacks?

He gave them the same answer each time. I am busy with a great work; I cannot come down. He made a stand and would not compromise. In the same way, when the enemy attacks us, God’s desire for us is to stand and not give in.

Application Question: What can we learn from Nehemiah’s reply about how to stand against persistent temptation?

We can stand against Satan’s persistence by realizing the magnitude of the work God has given us. If you don’t realize the magnitude of God’s work and plan for your life, it will be easy to compromise.

Paul taught Timothy something with similar ramifications. Listen to what he said: “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer” (2 Timothy 2:3-4).

Paul told Timothy that he should consider himself a soldier for Christ. In understanding this, he should keep himself from becoming entangled with the things of this world. Practically, when our soldiers go to battle, they are fighting not just to protect themselves, but to protect what is behind them. A soldier fights for something greater than himself. He fights because the cause is more important than his life, his family, his country, and his home. And, ultimately, the attacker is not really after the soldier, he is trying to destroy or gain what the soldier protects.

Similarly, Satan’s attacks on us aren’t so much about us. The attacks are primarily about the kingdom of God and the things God is concerned about. It was the same with Nehemiah. Tobiah and Sanballat were not really after Nehemiah. They were after Nehemiah’s work.

That’s why Satan’s attacks are so persistent. He attacks all day long through the TV, the Internet, music, through teachings in the classroom, family, friends, etc., and by these attacks many lose their God-given convictions and give up ground to the enemy. They give up ground on what a biblical marriage is, between a man and woman. They give up ground on the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture. Satan constantly says, “Did God really say?” “Is this really true?” He persistently attacks the inerrancy of Scripture, just as he has done from the beginning of time with Adam and Eve.

Like Nehemiah, we must know that what we are fighting for is too big to compromise. It’s too great of a work. Compromise in sin will not only affect us, but it affects friends, family, our church, and even the lost. You must realize how important your battle is and what you are fighting for. If you don’t, you will be prone to compromise. Scripture says, “Where there is no revelation [no vision], people cast off restraint” (Prov 29:18).

When a person doesn’t realize God’s purpose for his life, he will constantly accept the lies of the devil or give up when attacked. This is because he doesn’t realize how important his battle is.

Nehemiah said, “I am carrying on a great project. I cannot come down.” If we are going to stand against the tactics of the devil, we must not only have discernment but we must realize how important our battle is.

Application Question: What are some of the ways you have experienced the enemy’s persistence? How can we better understand how great our work is so we will not be prone to compromise or be deceived?

The Enemy’s Tactic of Slander and Gossip

Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter in which was written: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us confer together.” I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.” They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”
Nehemiah 6:5-9

We see that the enemy also attacked Nehemiah through slander. Initially, he sent four personal messages to Nehemiah, but on the last one, he sent an open letter. Typically, when sending a letter to a government official, it would be a closed letter so that no one else could see the contents. However, Sanballat sought to pressure Nehemiah to respond to this meeting by slandering his name. Therefore, this open letter would not only have been read before Nehemiah but, probably, all along the way till it reached Nehemiah.

Sanballat lied about Nehemiah by saying he was trying to become king (v. 6-7). If this had gotten back to Artaxerxes, it could have potentially meant Nehemiah’s life, as Persian kings were known for quickly getting rid of any resistance.

Similarly with believers, when Satan is trying to stop the work of God, slander and gossip are common tactics. The very name “devil” means “slanderer” or “accuser.” That is what he does, he slanders God; he slanders people. He speaks slander to anyone who will listen. He will even slander us to our own ears—offering an array of condemnation. Consider the heavenly description of Satan in Revelation 12:10:

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

Interpretation Question: In what ways do we see Satan’s slander throughout Scripture?

1. Satan slandered Job before God.

In the book of Job, he told God that Job only followed him because God blessed him. He said, “Touch his family, his riches, his body and you’ll see that he doesn’t love you.” He slandered Job before God.

2. Satan slandered God before Eve.

In the Garden of Eden, Satan said, “you will not die but you will become like God.” Satan slandered God before Eve, implying that God was keeping the best from her and Adam.

3. Satan slandered Jesus through the Pharisees.

Christ was slandered and accused by the Pharisees. They trumped up many false witnesses against him to lie about him.

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward.
Matthew 26:59-60

Satan commonly uses slander. He brings discord and problems to individual Christians and the church by bringing false accusations. That is the devil’s character; he is a slanderer.

Application Question: Why does the enemy use slander?

1. Slander is meant to discourage the Christian.

Listen to what Nehemiah said: “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed’” (Nehemiah 6:9).

A discouraged, depressed Christian isn’t very productive in serving the kingdom of God. Often they become so focused on their problems that it weakens their hands in serving the Lord. Therefore, Satan works relentlessly to weaken and discourage the Christian, especially through slander.

2. Slander is meant to change the focus of the Christian.

Many times in seeking to defend our own reputation, we will find ourselves drawn away from focusing on God and the work of God. Satan slanders in order to distract the Christian.

3. Slander is meant to bring division.

Solomon said, “a whisperer separates friends” (Prov 16:28). The enemy will divide the church through slander, as he sends his whisperers around the church.

Observation Question: How does Nehemiah respond to the slander? How should we respond to gossip and slander?

1. Confront slander by telling the truth.

Nehemiah 6:8 says, “I sent him this reply: ‘Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.’”

Nehemiah resisted the devil with the truth. He simply told them it was not true. Many times we cannot do much more than that.

2. Confront slander by trusting in God.

We see this by the fact that Nehemiah prays and puts the situation in God’s hands. Nehemiah 6:9 says, “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.’ But I prayed, ‘Now strengthen my hands.’”

It should be said that at times, in entrusting things to God, it might be best to just remain silent and not defend ourselves. Because rumors are false, many times the truth will become evident. There were times when Christ was accused falsely, but instead of defending himself, he chose to remain silent and entrusted the situation to God. Consider Matthew 26:61-63:

This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent.

Certainly, we should confront lies with truth, but sometimes, in trusting God, we should allow him to be our defense (cf. Rom 12:19).

3. Confront slander by living a life that is above reproach.

The lies about Nehemiah seemed to have had very little traction. This was because Nehemiah was a man who was above reproach in the way he lived. As governor of Israel, he brought reform to the previous administration’s corruptness; he never even used his food allotment but instead paid out of his own pocket to meet his needs and others’ (cf. Neh 5:14-18). He had a reputation for being upright.

It becomes hard for anyone to lie about you if you consistently live a life that is above reproach. We see nothing in this text about the Jews or the king of Persia responding to this gossip, and we can have no doubt that it was because of Nehemiah’s chaste and holy behavior.

Listen to what Peter commanded of the Christians being persecuted in the Roman Empire: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12). Let this be true of us as well.

Application Question: Why does the enemy use slander in the lives of believers? Have you experienced slander or gossip? How did you handle the situation?

The Enemy’s Tactic of Infiltration through False Teaching

One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.” But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me.
Nehemiah 6:10-14

The next tactic of the enemy was to intimidate Nehemiah through false teaching. In this scenario, Tobiah and Sanballat hired a prophet named Shemaiah to deceive Nehemiah. His intent was to get Nehemiah to protect himself from the enemy by hiding in the temple (v. 10).

It seems that Shemaiah was trying to give the illusion of a “prophet utterance.” When we see the prophet “shut in at his home,” he probably was acting out the prophecy. This was common for prophets in the Old Testament. For example, we see Isaiah prophesy naked against Egypt and Cush to demonstrate how Assyria would conquer them, take them captive, and lead them naked in order to shame them (Isaiah 20). We also see that Hosea was called to marry a prostitute to represent how Israel was adulterous in her relationship with God (Hosea 1).

Shemaiah said, “let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you, by night they are coming to kill you” (v. 10). This utterance seemed to be written in the form of a poetic couplet in order to trick Nehemiah into sin.¹ However, Nehemiah realized that this prophet had been sent by Sanballat to make him commit sin and to give him a bad name.

This is important because one of the common tactics Satan uses to try to lure people away from God and their callings is through false teaching and false prophets. Listen to what Christ said:

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Matthew 7:15-16

Jesus said to beware of false prophets. They are deceptive; they come to us in sheep’s clothing. However, they are really wolves trying to destroy. We will be able to recognize them by their fruits.

The enemy has led many astray through his false teachers. In fact, Paul said this:

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15

Paul said that these people are in the church masquerading as servants of righteousness. This is still happening today, and we must be aware of it. Consider what Paul taught Timothy about the last days:

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
1 Timothy 4:1-2

Paul said that false teachers and false teachings will be common in the last days. Essentially a new cult of Christianity pops up every day, and many people from the church are often led into them. If this will continue to increase in these last days, how much do Christians need discernment more than previous generations?

Interpretation Question: How did Nehemiah know this was a false prophecy? How can we know?

1. He tested it by Scripture.

Nehemiah knew this was a false prophesy because he knew it would be sin for him to enter into the temple and close the doors. The fact that the prophet talked about closing the door indicates that the prophet was calling him to enter the Holy Place, which was only for priests (Num 18:7).² For him to enter would have been sin and possibly led to his death.

He, no doubt, tested this prophecy by knowing Scripture. God would never tell him to enter a forbidden area of the temple. A king in the Old Testament actually entered the Holy place to offer a sacrifice and God struck him with leprosy (cf. 2 Chr 26:19).

The best protection from false teachers and false doctrine is through diligent study of the Word of God. Listen to the story of the Bereans:

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Acts 17:11

We need Christians who are diligent in the study of the Bible and test everything that comes out of the teacher’s mouth. God is calling all of us to be “noble” Christians.

2. He knew his identity.

Nehemiah said, “Should a man like me hide?” Nehemiah knew his identity as governor, but more than that, as a servant of God and the people of Israel. In serving God and man, he could not sin against them.

In the New Testament, this reality is also true of us. Part of the reason many of us fall to the deceptions of Satan is because we really don’t know who we are in Christ. When people don’t know their identity, then they will run around trying to find it in everything.

You will find your identity in wealth, education, relationships, or even sin, if you don’t know who you are in Christ.

For example, Christ taught his disciples about their identity as children of God in order that they would not struggle with fear and worry about future provisions. Listen to what he says:

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:31-33

Jesus essentially said, “The world runs after what they will eat, drink or wear, but you have a Father who takes care of you. Stop living for food, drink and clothing. The world does that, but you don’t have to because your Father will provide.” Knowing your identity will help free us from the lies of the enemy.

One of the ways we will be kept from the myriads of false teachings that will continue to increase as we get closer to the end times is by knowing the Word of God. Nehemiah knew it would be sin to enter the holy place in the temple. It was only for priests. But Nehemiah also knew his identity as a leader of Israel and servant of God. Knowing who we are will protect us from much of Satan’s tactics.

Application Question: In what ways has knowing your identity in Christ helped set you free from various sins and temptations?

The Enemy’s Tactic of Psychological Warfare

I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me…. Moreover, they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.
Nehemiah 6:12-14, 19

We have already dealt with this a little previously, but since it happens twice in this passage, I think it needs a separate point. One of the enemy’s primary tactics against Nehemiah was psychological warfare, more specifically, fear. We just read it in Nehemiah 6:13-14 and again in verse 19. In bringing a false prophet, Tobiah and Sanballat were ultimately trying to make Nehemiah intimidated or it can be translated frightened, which would have led him to sin. Tobiah also tried to intimidate him through the sending of letters (v. 19).

It’s important to see the enemy’s intent of bringing fear behind the tactic of false teaching and the letters because it was also the same intent behind the tactic of slander. Nehemiah 6:9 said, “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”‘

Behind the tactic of slander, false teaching, and the letters, the enemy was ultimately trying to make Nehemiah afraid. Satan also constantly tries to do that with us. He is always trying to promote fear, anxiety, and worry in those who follow God. In fact, Peter compares Satan to a roaring lion seeking whomever he may devour. First Peter 5:8 says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Why does a lion roar? The roar is strategic to paralyze his prey with fear, so he can attack and devour it. In the same way, Satan commonly uses fear to try to devour believers.

Tobiah and Sanballat were trying to use fear to immobilize and paralyze Nehemiah. They tried to frighten him with gossip, which could have led to the king of Persia’s wrath. The enemy tried to attack him with the threat of killing him. The enemy was trying to use fear to hinder the work of God. Our enemy, Satan, uses fear for similar purposes with us.

Interpretation Question: Why does Satan use fear as a tactic with believers and leaders specifically?

1. Satan uses fear to stop believers from doing God’s work.

We see this in the Parable of the Talents. Matthew 25:24-25 says,

“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”

In Matthew 25, the person with one talent never used his talent. His reason was fear; he was afraid. We see this same excuse all the time with believers. They are afraid of failure; they are afraid of success; they are insecure about their abilities. Many are paralyzed and kept from doing God’s work because of fear. They won’t serve in the leadership of a ministry; they won’t evangelize; they won’t pray. Fear keeps them from doing the work of God.

In fact, we commonly see this tendency with many God called for service. We saw this with Moses and Gideon. Both struggled with fear when God called them to serve. Similarly, many Christians are paralyzed by some type of fear which limits their usefulness. The enemy uses psychological warfare.

2. Satan uses fear to hinder the work of God in believers.

We see this in the Parable of the Sowers. Matthew 13:22 says, “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”

The worries of this life (fear) kept the Word from ever producing fruit in the thorny ground. The Word of God is ineffective in many Christians because of the thorn of worry. Maybe they hear the Word and agree with it, but their fears keep the Word of God from producing fruit. They are worried about the future, about the past, about family, about career, etc. These worries hinder the work of God in them. It chokes the power of the Word of God.

3. Satan uses fear to lead believers into sin.

That was the enemy’s plan with Nehemiah. He was tempting Nehemiah to fear with the hope that he would run into the temple and sin against God, weakening the people and causing them to doubt his leadership.

It’s the same thing in our daily lives. A person’s fear and insecurities will often lead them to sin. Abraham was afraid of losing his life because of his beautiful wife, so he lied to Pharaoh and said she was his sister. Abraham was afraid to not have a child, so he married a second wife, Hagar, and sinned against God. Fear led him into sin, and it is the same for us.

4. Satan uses fear to lead a believer into discouragement.

Nehemiah 6:9 says, “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.’”

Tobiah’s and Sanballat’s desire was to make Nehemiah too weak to complete the work. Similarly, as mentioned before, a discouraged, depressed Christian won’t be very productive in serving the kingdom of God. Their fear weakens their hands in the work. Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in the heart of a man brings depression.” Because of this, Satan works hard in sowing seeds of fear to weaken and discourage the Christian.

Application Question: How do we combat the tactic of fear?

1. In order to defeat fear, we must recognize that fear is not of God.

Listen to what Paul told Timothy: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Paul tells Timothy, God has not given you that spirit of fear. He is calling Timothy to recognize that his insecurities, probably in ministry, were not from God. Paul said to the Philippians, “Be anxious for nothing” (4:6). We should not accept fear as from God. Certainly, there are healthy fears, such as the fear of the Lord, but fear that keeps us from serving God or trusting him is not from the Lord. In fact, Paul commands us to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts (Col 3:15).

2. In order to defeat fear, we must recognize our resources in God.

Paul did not simply tell Timothy to reject fear, he also gave him reasons. Look again at what he said: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Paul said, “Timothy you don’t need to be afraid because God has given you power for whatever task he has called you to. He has given you love for people who are difficult. He has given you discipline to get the task done. Timothy, there is no reason to be afraid. Look at the resources God has given you.” God has given us these resources as well: power, love, and self-discipline.

3. In order to defeat fear, we must pray.

In two of the times that Nehemiah was tempted to be afraid, both the open letter and the false prophet, how did he respond? He prayed.

They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”
Nehemiah 6:9

Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me.
Nehemiah 6:14

Aren’t we encouraged to battle fear similarly in the New Testament? Remember what Paul told the Philippians:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

We combat it by: (a) choosing not to fear, (b) choosing to pray about everything, and by (c) giving thanks in everything.

This is the reason so many are crippled by fear and kept from doing the work God has called them to do. They have chosen to be anxious, chosen to be afraid. They have chosen to not pray about everything. And finally, most Christians don’t give thanks in everything. They complain, they get mad, they get angry, and therefore, the enemy still wins the victory. The promise of peace only comes to those who practice all these disciplines. Nehemiah battled fear through prayer and we must as well.

Do you realize you have an enemy just like Nehemiah?

There are events that are happening to you and your family through which the enemy wants to immobilize you with fear; he wants to cripple you with worries. However, God wants you to have peace so that you can continue serving him. Do you recognize the enemy’s tactics?

Application Question: What are common fears that the enemy attacks you with? How do these fears immobilize or affect you? How is God calling you to get free from these fears in order to better serve him?

The Enemy’s Tactic of Attacking Immediately after Victory

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. Also, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and replies from Tobiah kept coming to them. For many in Judah were under oath to him, since he was son-in-law to Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. Moreover, they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.
Nehemiah 6:15-19

It says in verse 15 that the wall was completed in fifty-two days and all the surrounding nations were afraid because they realized God had helped. You might expect an end to the memoirs of Nehemiah or a “They lived happily ever after” because the wall was completed, but that doesn’t happen. The enemy attacked again immediately.

The next attack came through the nobles of Judah, who would have been very influential, as Judah was the royal line. They were bound to Tobiah through marriage and were sharing everything Nehemiah said with him. At the same time, they continually spoke good words about Tobiah. However, these good words were ingenuous, as Tobiah kept sending intimidating letters to Nehemiah (v. 19).

Attacking immediately after a victory is a common tactic of Satan. We get a picture of Satan’s opportunistic nature in Luke 2:13, right after Satan’s temptation of Jesus. Look at what it says: “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time” (Luke 2:13).

The devil is always looking for an opportune time. Though Jesus had won the victory, Satan was still looking and ready to attack. I think a good picture of attacking after victory is seen with Jesus and Peter in Matthew 16:15-23. Jesus said, “Who do men say that I am?” and Peter responded, “The Christ, the Son of God.” Christ blessed him and said, “Blessed are you for man has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven” and he also said, “On this rock I will build my church.”

Peter had been blessed by God; this was a great victory. Maybe, Peter felt really special after Christ’s blessing. However, only minutes later, he would stumble greatly. Christ told the disciples that he would be crucified and raised from the dead. Peter immediately rebuked Jesus saying that he would not die. Christ responded by saying, “Get behind me Satan for you are an offense to me.” Right after Peter’s victory, the enemy found a door to speak through him.

Similarly, in 1 Kings 18, Elijah had a tremendous victory over the priests of Baal, as God sent fire down on the altar, and Elijah had all the priests killed. However, in 1 Kings 19, Queen Jezebel promised to, likewise, kill Elijah, and he ran for his life. He became depressed and even asked for God to take his life. Right after his greatest victory came his greatest defeat.

Satan is always looking for an opportune time and typically that comes very shortly after a victory. Many Christians go to the mountain top only to stumble quickly down to the valley. This is a common tactic of the enemy.

As one who worked with youth over seven years, I saw this many times. The students would go to a retreat and get on fire for God, and it was right after the high that they would come stumbling down. It was right after the mountain top experience that they had a valley experience. They would have a major fight with a friend or family member, stumble on the Internet, start dealing with depression, etc. It was common.

Satan likes to attack right after a victory. Many couples stumble into an argument right after leaving a Spirit-filled service. Many are tempted right after getting out of their devotions and going to work. Satan attacks right after a victory. I think part of the reason this is common is because it is right after a victory that we have a tendency to let down our guard and relax.

Scottish minister Andrew A. Bonar said this, “Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle.”³ We must be as watchful after the victory as before the battle, especially because we know our enemy’s tactics.

Application Question: In what ways have you experienced the enemy’s tactic of attacking right after a victory or spiritual high? How can we more wisely protect ourselves from this tactic?

The Enemy’s Tactic of Infiltration through Compromise

The last tactic the enemy used against Nehemiah was infiltration through compromise. As mentioned, the nobles of Judah were under oath to Tobiah through marriage. Like other Samaritans, Tobiah was ethnically mixed. He was part Jewish and part Ammonite (cf. Neh 2:9). His name in Hebrew meant “God is good.” He had married a daughter of Judah, and the tribe of Judah had great influence in Israel.

It is obvious that the nobles were compromising. This is not only seen in the fact that they gave their daughter to someone from the surrounding nations, which was forbidden by God, but also in that they were praising Tobiah who had been antagonistic to Israel from the beginning. Proverbs 28:4 says this: “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.”

I think we see this in the church all the time, especially amongst our youth. It’s common to find them pumping certain music stars that teach anti-God messages. They will be watching shows that dishonor God’s design for man and woman or teach other forms of corrupt living. But not only do they watch and listen, they praise it. They boast about it. They honor those who dishonor God. Those who forsake the law praise the wicked.

Of all the attacks Nehemiah shared, compromise was probably the most dangerous because he doesn’t share a resolution. It just says that the nobles kept reporting the good Tobiah had done and sharing what Nehemiah said. In fact, Nehemiah later shares that this compromise was still happening many years after the completion of the wall, even after all the reform in chapters 8-12. When we get to Nehemiah 13:7, we see that Tobiah had moved into the temple. Israel had given a room in the temple to a person who was not a priest which was clearly forbidden.

In addition, in chapter 13, the Israelites again started to marry foreign women, which was also forbidden by God. It was the same compromise Solomon committed, which eventually led Israel away from God and into judgment.

Compromise is one of the enemy’s most dangerous tactics; it commonly destroys individual Christians, churches, and Christian organizations. It’s like a weed that is hard to pluck out. It can stay rooted for years, causing havoc amongst an otherwise healthy harvest.

Interpretation Question: Why does the enemy work so hard to bring compromise amongst believers?

1. Compromise spreads very fast like yeast.

Look at what Paul says: “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6).

Compromise and sin quickly spread throughout a congregation or ministry. It will open the door for more sin and deeper strongholds in a person’s life and a community’s life. Paul said that it must be removed because it will spread.

2. Compromise removes the blessing of God.

David said this: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers” (Psalm 1:1).

David said that those who compromise lose the blessing of God on their lives. Only the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked is blessed.

What is the counsel of the wicked? It is anything that proclaims the opposite of God’s revelation. This includes things we read, watch, listen to, or meditate on. James says that friendship with the world is enmity with God (4:4).

Many Christians miss the blessing of God on their lives because of compromise.

3. Compromise hinders intimacy of God.

Consider what Paul said about being yoked with unbelievers:

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?… ”Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” ”I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
2 Corinthians 6:14, 17-18

Now this Scripture is often used for not marrying unbelievers, but its applications are much deeper than that. Paul gives a promise to those who separate from the world, “I will be a Father to you, you will be my sons and daughters” (v.18).

This seems like a weird promise since he is writing to Christians. Paul is writing to the Corinthian church. What does he mean by the promise, “I will be a Father to you”? It is a promise of intimacy with God. Many Christians lack the intimacy God wants to give them because of compromise. They say, “God where are you; I can’t hear your voice?” They find their time in the Word and worship as dull. The problem may be that they are compromised and, therefore, can’t hear the voice of the Father or truly experience his love. Paul says that we must separate from the world in order to have this promise.

Compromise spreads quickly. It removes the blessing of God and hinders intimacy with him. One of Satan’s greatest tactics is infiltration through compromise. Many Christians’ lives have been destroyed by a little compromise. Churches have been destroyed by compromise. They compromise their teaching because the doctrine is unpopular in the culture. Christian universities have been destroyed when they have allowed liberalism to creep in; they compromised the gospel by focusing on grants, money from the government, and the approval of the world.

Even today, there are many Tobiahs in the house of God, and we often have welcomed them in to our demise. Nehemiah clearly ends the chapter saying, “The problems are not yet over. The enemy is still attacking.”

In what ways are we compromising? A little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Cor 5:6). Sin will keep spreading. Satan only needs a little room to destroy a harvest—to make a Christian or a Christian community ineffective.

Application Question: In what ways have you seen compromise harm Christians and Christian communities? What temptations to compromise does the enemy constantly attack you with?

Conclusion

As godly leaders we must be aware of our enemy’s tactics both to protect ourselves and also our communities. What are Satan’s tactics to stop the work of God?

The enemy’s tactic of deception: He is a liar and the father of lies.
The enemy’s tactic of persistence: He wants to wear believers down with his attacks and temptations.
The enemy’s tactic of slander and gossip: He will slander God, slander others, and he will slander us.
The enemy’s tactic of psychological warfare: He works through fear and discouragement.
The enemy’s tactic of infiltration through false teaching: We must know the Word and our identity to not be deceived.
The enemy’s tactic of attacking right after a victory: We must be as alert after victory, as before.
The enemy’s tactic of infiltration through compromise: This might be the most dangerous tactic. It spreads; it removes the blessing of God and hinders intimacy with him.

The World

The present world-system that tries to bring us down.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17).

2.The Flesh

The flesh is our old sinful nature. It is the nature we inherit at birth. The Bible says that Adam and Eve had sons and daughters in their own likeness:

When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters (Genesis 5:3,4).

The likeness was in their own nature-a nature that was sinful.

3.The Devil

The devil is a personal being who attempts to brings Christians away from Christ. He is an enemy that we all face.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

Summary

Believers have three main enemies to deal with-the world, the flesh, and the devil.

God will eventually expose the enemies of His people. This is a promise that He makes throughout the Bible, from the Old Testament [1] to the New Testament. The idea of God and the Holy Spirit exposing our enemies can be a comforting thought in times of distress, as we know that justice will prevail and God will protect us from those who wish to harm us.

However, the Bible also contains stories of God exposing his enemies in a way that seems cruel and unfair. God often punished the Israelites for their disobedience, but He did not always take action against those who oppressed them. Instead, He sometimes used Assyria as an instrument of His wrath on Israel’s enemies, even though they had nothing to do with the sins of the Israelites.

Does God Expose Our Enemies?

The Bible is clear that God does expose our enemies, though this may not always be in the way we expect. Throughout the Bible, it is evident that God Almighty will bring justice to those who have wronged us and that He will protect those who are loyal to Him.

In Romans 12:19–20, Paul encourages believers to “never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” This teaches us that when people wrong us or hurt us in any way, if we trust God, He will take care of getting revenge on our behalf.

Our Heavenly Father knows what has been done to us, and He has the power to act on it. Psalm 37:7–8 says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” This passage shows us that God is aware of our enemies’ actions and will take action against them in His own time.

The Bible also tells us that God will protect those who trust Him. In Proverbs 2:8, we read, “He guards the paths of justice and preserves the way of His saints.” This promises that if we persevere in our faith, God will protect us from harm caused by our enemies and bring about justice for us.

God will often use our enemies to accomplish His will. In Proverbs 16:4, it says, “The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked, for the day of trouble.” This passage teaches us that God treats our enemies to further His plans and bring justice in ways we may not expect.

God and Lucifer Statue and god will expose your enemies

Is Exposing Our Enemies Hard For God To Do?

When we consider the power of God—His infinite wisdom and knowledge—it becomes abundantly clear that there is nothing hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:17). In other words, exposing our enemies would be no trouble at all for God. After all, He knows their every thought, plan, and action before they even make them (Psalm 139:2–4).

However, God is patient and long-suffering with all of us (2 Peter 3:9), so He is willing to give our enemies time to repent and turn away from their wickedness. This means that exposing them might require more patience and mercy than a quick “judgment” would allow. After all, His ultimate goal is always redemption (Romans 5:10) rather than punishment.

4 Ways God Promises To Deal With Our Enemies

God has a plan for dealing with our enemies, and it is outlined in several places throughout the Bible. According to scripture, God promises to deal with our enemies in four different ways.

Peace

First, God promises to bring us peace. Isaiah 54:17 states that “no weapon formed against you shall prosper.” This means that despite the adversities we face from those who oppose us, when we love God, He will grant us peace if we trust Him.

He will protect us from harm and provide comfort where necessary. In addition, Romans 8:37 reminds us that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” The love of Jesus Christ gives us victory over every enemy and allows us to remain at peace.

Justice

Second, God promises to bring justice. Exodus 23:7 states that “the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.” This means that God will make sure that those who wrongfully oppose us are justly punished for their actions. He will ensure that justice is served in all cases and nothing goes unaccounted for.

Furthermore, Romans 12:19 reminds us to “leave room for God’s wrath” while we pursue our own vengeance so that God can deal with them according to His will. This allows us to trust in Him to bring justice instead of taking matters into our own hands.

Deliverance

Third, God promises to provide deliverance. Psalm 37:39–40 encourages us to “take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. He satisfies your desires with good things, so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

God promises to deliver us from our enemies if we trust Him and give Him all the glory. He will provide us with the strength and courage to overcome any challenges.

Mercy

Finally, God promises to grant mercy. Hebrews 4:16 tells us, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

This encourages us to turn away from vengeance and instead seek out God’s mercy for our enemies. In doing so, we can have faith that He will forgive them in His own time and grant us mercy as well.

7 God Will Expose Your Enemies Bible Verses We Can Pray

For those times when we are feeling overwhelmed by our enemies and their schemes, the Bible tells us to take comfort in knowing that God will expose them. Seven specific Bible verses remind us of this truth.

These scriptures from God’s word can be prayed over during difficult or uncertain circumstances, reminding us that God has the power to bring justice and protect His people from harm.

Psalm 64:7–8: “But God will shoot his arrows at them; they will be suddenly struck down. He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.”
Proverbs 21:30: “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.”
Psalm 10:12–13: “Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, ‘He won’t call me to account?'” These verses remind us that while we may feel defenseless in the face of our enemies, God sees them and will hold them accountable for their words and deeds.
Isaiah 55:8–9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Job 12:17: “He leads counselors away stripped and makes fools of judges.”
Psalm 37:12–15: “The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.”
Psalm 37:36: “Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”

What Does The Enemy Look Like And How Does He Work?

The Bible gives us a vivid description of what the real enemy looks like and how he works. In Genesis 3, we read about a serpent speaking to Eve in the Garden of Eden. This was Satan taking on the form of a snake, an image used throughout Scripture to depict him. He is also referred to as “the father of lies” (John 8:44), demonstrating his deceptive nature and how he is always talking nonsense, and Jesus calls him a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44).

The enemy’s plans seek to distort our view of God’s goodness by deceiving us with lies. He continually tempts us away from the right paths and encourages sinfulness, such as sexual immorality. His ultimate goal is always destruction. He wants nothing more than for us to die violent deaths and destroy humanity—spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

The enemy works in numerous ways to plan evil, including through deception, accusation, manipulation, and lies. He is always working to steal our joy, peace, and relationships with God. He uses temptation by offering us false promises or appealing to our appetites for danger or pleasure (2 Corinthians 11:3).

He also works subtly by swaying our thoughts away from the truth—making us doubt God’s goodness, love, and power. We are warned against being ignorant of his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11); he will use any method available to distract us from following Christ’s example.

3 Ways To Protect Yourself From The Enemy’s Schemes

We are not powerless against the enemy’s schemes, but we must take specific steps to protect ourselves. The Bible outlines three steps for protecting yourself from the enemy.

Put On Spiritual Armor (Ephesians 6:10–20)

This armor is necessary to stand firm against Satan’s schemes. It consists of truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, and the Word of God—all of which are essential in defending us against the enemy’s attacks. We must be prepared spiritually and mentally, with our hearts focused on God at all times.

Pray Without Ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Prayer is a powerful protection against temptation and destruction. Praying to God for wisdom, strength, and guidance will help you stand firm against the enemy’s schemes. It is important to remember that God hears your prayers and can give you direction in times of distress.

Live A Life Of Integrity (Psalm 15:1–5)

Living a life of honesty and integrity is an effective way to protect yourself from the enemy’s tricks. Obeying God’s commands must be our primary focus; it will allow us to discern between truth and lies, good and evil spirits, helping us avoid or recover from any deceptions we may encounter along the way.

bible verses with a cross on it - God will expose your enemies

Conclusion

God is our protector and has given us the tools to protect ourselves from the Enemy’s schemes. By putting on spiritual armor, praying without ceasing, and living a life of integrity, we can defend ourselves against Satan’s deceptions and live a godly life.

We must never forget that God will expose our enemies; His plans are always greater than ours, even when we cannot see them. Therefore, let us put our trust in Him and seek His guidance as we stand against the Enemy’s schemes to seek eternal life.

Taking courage to pursue our God-inspired futures requires us to starve our enemies. It sounds harsh, but it’s solid, biblical advice. Keep reading.

Paul’s enemies tried to control the outcome by vowing to either get their way or starve. Paul didn’t waver. Their oath and determination had nothing to do with the God-dreamed future he was given, nor did it diminish his courage-taking.

We can starve our enemies with a variety of methods. Here are three ways to starve your enemies:

1. Have good intelligence. You have to know that you will encounter enemies.

Paul was able to thwart his enemies’ schemes to kill him because he was made aware of their plans, sought help, and took action to continue moving towards his preferred future.

You need to know that you will have enemies. Some enemies are human beings, and others are spiritual forces behind human beings. Most any worthy change for someone, a business, or an organization brings opposition. The safeguard is to be prepared for inevitable opposition or enemies, and don’t be discouraged when forces or circumstances around you conspire to distract you from your God- dreamed future.

2. Learn how to fight when necessary.

The way we fight enemies, however, is not through physical means, but through spiritual power. When people or circumstances oppose you, do not retaliate against them. I encourage you to fight against the spiritual influences behind these forces. Learn to be strong in the Spirit. Learn to be strong in the Scriptures. Learn to be strong in prayer, praise, and purpose. When you learn these things, the enemy is disarmed.

3. Get up every day and do good, especially to those who hate you. (Luke 6:27-28)

For many years, our church moved through the process of getting approval to build and eventually expand our facility into another part of town. I chose to get up every day and “fight” by leading our congregation in our God-dreamed future, and I did it with excitement and faith, even when it was difficult. As I outline in my book, Live Ten:

“Our church has gone through lengthy and difficult battles in front of zoning and planning boards...In each instance, we were making an application regarding our need to expand or relocate our facilities to serve more people. Though we ultimately won overwhelming approval in each instance, these victories never came without tremendous resistance from some in our community who have a different picture than ours of the future of our township and our church’s role in it.”

Occasionally, things would get ugly. Sometimes a person would publish and distribute lies about our church and about me as the leader; or individuals attending the zoning meetings would grill me with erroneous questions; or anonymous people would contact a local reporter to spread lies as we tried to expand to another side of town.

At the time of the final vote for the planning board, one board member—who was previously opposed to our development—made a point to compliment the way we had fulfilled our promises made to the community with our first project, and how we made a positive impact on the neighborhood. He said he had every reason to expect a similar outcome with the new development, and so he voted yes. And so did all of the other members. It was a unanimous decision. We starved our enemies by getting up every day and doing good.

Check out Jesus’ words found in the Gospel of Luke:

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27 – 28 NIV

Jesus knew enemies would be part of the story—the fact is that your attempts to bring about positive change will lead to opposition. But we are implored to love, and thankfully He gives us some instruction on how to accomplish this.

Do not be disheartened when you have a vision, a sense of calling, an awareness of your destiny, and enemies or opposition seem to find you. You have been equipped with the knowledge to starve your enemies, whether they come from outside sources or forces within.

I Over the years I have seen, and in quite a few instances been, the recipient of many types of antagonistic behavior maliciously unleashed in the workplace; some of you probably have too.

I have seen persons:

Ignore others as if they do not exist just because they don’t like them
Purposefully spread gossip about others to damage their reputations
Craftily hinder others from effectively carrying out their duties
Unnecessarily report others to their superiors in an effort to get them reprimanded or fired
Place others on difficult shifts in order to frustrate them to the point of leaving a job
Deny persons favor or help that could easily be given to them
Belittle others
Accost others
Needlessly embarrass others
Physically fight others

I wish that I could say that Believers were never perpetrators and or active participants in such behavior, but unfortunately to our shame, this has not been the case.

It is not always easy to deal with enemies in the workplace. When someone attacks us in some manner at work, no matter how saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost we may be, if the situation gets “hot” enough, at some point our flesh wants to spring into action and retaliate.

It will tell us things like, “Don’t get mad, get even”, “Fix their business”, “Give them a piece of your mind”, “Don’t take that, cuss them out”, “Punch him”, “Slap her”, “Slam down the phone”, “Get him fired”, “Don’t even look her way anymore”, etc.

To make matters more difficult, sometimes others who are privy to situations often add fuel to the fire by making comments or suggestions like, “I noticed how Mr. Seymour put you down in the meeting again; if I were you I’d deny his vacation when he comes to request it” or “Every time you say good morning to Ms. Brown she ignores you, I don’t know why you waste your time speaking to disgusting people like her.”

If we are honest, sometimes these types of responses are very tempting, but all the while somewhere inside, we can sense the Holy Spirit warning us against such a path, and urging us to take the higher road.

So the question is, as Kingdom Ambassadors, what are we to do when we encounter enemies in the workplace? How are we to handle them? How have you been handling them?

As with any other situation that we may face in any area of our lives, when we encounter an enemy in the workplace, the first thing to do is to pray. Pray for strength and guidance and then search the Bible to see what the Word, the constitution of God’s Kingdom, has to say about the situation.

Once we find the relevant scriptures, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we need to read, study, meditate on (which Biblically, actually means to murmur and mutter to oneself), verbalize, memorize, and apply them to our situation daily.

When it comes to dealing with enemies in the workplace, there are many relevant and helpful scriptures with powerful Kingdom principles.

Today we will just look at three, which in and of themselves, if applied would tremendously impact our lives, our enemies lives, as well as the lives of others who may be observing the situation, all to the glory of God.

In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus, our King admonishes us to handle our enemies in a specific way. Jesus states,

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” (The Message Bible)

In Matthew 6:14, 15, Jesus states,

“For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.” (Amplifed Bible).

In Romans 12:19, the Apostle Paul writes,

“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” (New King James Version)

Hold on a minute now. Are you are saying that I am supposed to love, forgive, pray for, give and be kind to Marilyn, the woman who keeps undermining me and to Gary, the man who keeps insulting me at every meeting?

Are you saying that I am not to get back at them or treat them as I think they deserve to be treated because of their actions toward me? Yes! Based on the authority of the above scriptures, that’s exactly what I am saying.

Jesus set the ultimate example of how to deal with an enemy in the way that he dealt with Judas. From before the foundation of the world was laid He knew that Judas’ would betray Him, yet he still discipled Judas, fellowshipped with him, fed him, washed his feet, and ultimately called him his friend.

Wow! What a way to treat an enemy!

How could Jesus do all of that for the man who would betray him? How could He call him “friend”?

He could call him friend because in carrying out his role as an enemy and betraying Jesus, he was actually carrying out God’s purpose.

Hmm…..could it be that the enemy you are encountering at work is a part of God’s purpose for your life?

Could it be that God is allowing the situation in order to stimulate changes in your character? Could it be that He is endeavoring to cultivate a higher level of spiritual maturity in you in some area; perhaps to further develop patience, kindness, gentleness, and/or self control? Could it be that the person is in your life as a “fruit cultivating tool”?

Selah!

When you encounter an enemy in the workplace, be encouraged to meditate on relevant scriptures and prayerfully look at your situation. Ask yourself,

What may God be trying to work out of me?
What aspect of Christ’s character might He be seeking to develop in me?
What has been coming to the surface from within me as a result of the person’s actions toward me?
Is it God-like or flesh-like?
Is there a spirit of retaliation and vengeance dominating my thoughts, words, and/or actions toward this person, or is there love, forgiveness and a sense of peace in spite of their actions, knowing that vengeance belongs to the Lord?

To be effective Kingdom Ambassadors in the workplace, to be effective representatives of Jesus Christ and of the Kingdom of God, we must agape our enemies; we must love them with the God-kind of love.

Remember, according to Ephesians 6:12, it is not flesh and blood that we are fight against but spirits so if we must war, let’s use the weapons of prayer and praise. If we must fight, let’s fight the good fight of faith. If we must do something, let’s by the power of the Holy Spirit, let our actions be governed by the Word of God.

Be encouraged!

To be against the Devil and all his works is another way to say that we are now in Christ. So we should act like Christ: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). And we can do so by a sort of imitation when we denounce his works And if we want to know what the works of the devil are, John tells us: “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning” (1 John 3:8).

The devil sins, and we do his work when we sin. Being against the devil is being against sin since the devil tempts us to sin.

Consider the Lord’s prayer. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Scripture records his reply so that we might pray for the right things. If we want to know what the Word of God values, we should look to this prayer. At the end of it, Jesus says, “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one” (Matt 6:13 KJV).

Here, the word “the evil one” could be translated as “evil,” which some modern translations do. However, other modern translations agree with the KJV and so translate the text with “evil one.” Given that Jesus had earlier resisted the devil’s temptations (Matt 4:1–11), it seems entirely possible—even probable—to see Jesus also praying for us to be delivered from the evil one.

The Devil as Our Enemy

Elsewhere, we see the devil identified as our particular enemy. But don’t take my word for it. Listen to what the Bible says:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph 6:11).
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Pet 5:8)
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7).
And give no opportunity to the devil. (Eph 4:27)
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:19)
For some have already strayed after Satan. (1 Tim 5:15)
Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (1 Tim 3:7)
I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. (1 Thess 3:5)
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? (Acts 5:3)
Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1 Cor 7:5)
Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. (1 Chron 21:1)
Because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. (1 Thess 2:18)
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat.” (Luke 22:31)
But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Cor 11:3).
So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. (2 Cor 2:11)
He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. (1 Tim 3:6)
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. (Col 1:13)
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. (Matt 13:19)
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Heb 2:14–15)
Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (Matt 4:10)
Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (Rev 12:17; see also Rev 13 and elsewhere in the book).
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (Rom 16:20).
By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:10)
And they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (2 Tim 2:26)
The weeds are the sons of the evil one (Matt 13:38).

These verses are only a sample of what the Bible says about our enemy. Have we forgotten that we battle not flesh and blood but the devil and dark powers? The Bible hasn’t.

Jesus commands his disciples to love their human enemies (Matt 5:44). We should not treat people like the world treats its enemies (even if they view us as enemies). The Bible is more than clear on who our ultimate enemy is—and these verses are only a sample. Read through the Bible with a mind to spot such things. The dark powers play a major role throughout the Bible.

Our ultimate enemy is the devil. Jesus says so. He calls Satan “the enemy” (Luke 10:19). He tempted the first parents. He continues to do so. He does so by enticing our passions and desires so that we choose to sin. That’s his work: sin.

The devil is a liar (John 8:44). And it’s been said that the devil’s greatest lie was convincing people he didn’t exist. Maybe. Or maybe his greatest lie is thinking that people, our neighbours, are our ultimate enemy and not him.

A point of clarification: I do not mean enemy in the sense of human war, and I also know that people may hate us in this life and call us an enemy. After all, Jesus says “love your enemies” (Mat 5:44) which implies people will view us as enemies just as we had at one point viewed God as an enemy (Rom 8:7). So there is an obvious sense that we will have enemies in this life.

My point is that whether someone is our enemy or not, we should view people as those whom God loves and whom we should love too. The god of this world has blinded many (2 Cor 4:4). Our response? Be like Jesus and pray: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Our ultimate enemy is the devil.

For the Gospel

In John, an angel preaches the “eternal gospel” (Rev 14:6). It is eternal because the Gospel of God is the Gospel of the immortal king of ages (1 Tim 1:17). For this reason, it is entirely possible to be for the Gospel forever. And so an alliance for the Gospel does not end—ever. The good news will remain good even in heaven, and there we will have the reality of its promise before our eyes.

Some have found the idea of Gospel-centeredness as too limiting. One might argue that it prevents Christians from engaging in larger societal movements—important ones at that. Others might argue that being Gospel-centred is a recipe for tolerating mischief. So the list might go with its objections.

Here is the thing. In a technological society, full of scientific description, we sometimes overcomplicate the Gospel. But I find the simplicity of the Gospel delightful. So that when the Philippian jailor asks, what must I do to be saved, Paul and Silas answer simply: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:21). That does not mean we stop there. We make disciples and teach all that Jesus taught (Matt 28:19–20).

For this reason, theology can be and should be deep and sometimes complex given the kind of God we worship. But orthodoxy is a hand on a shoulder and an open gate that directs one unto the path, not a club or a fence. We use theology as an arm around a shoulder to show our love for one another, and we open the gate unto the righteous path for others to walk.

How does this answer the Gospel-centred critiques above? Indirectly. So let me be more direct. The Bible has a lot to say about how we live the Christian life and it focuses on being in Christ (Gal 2:20). That Christ-centered mode of life amounts to living a Gospel-centred life since the good news basically amounts to the Father sending the Son to redeem the world and the Spirit to unite the church to Christ.

That is what the early Christians thought, and so the earliest creeds and Rule of Faith summed up the Gospel under four heath: Father, Son, Spirit, and Church. And the church could really be subsumed under the article of the Spirit. God is the Gospel; Christ is God revealed; the Gospel means we unite to Christ.

It is actually quite important to be Gospel-centred since the church—to one degree or another—has emphasized the Gospel at the centre.

Tim Keller recently said:

The gospel is not just the ABCs but the A to Z of the Christian life. It is inaccurate to think the gospel is what saves non-Christians, and then Christians mature by trying hard to live according to biblical principles.

It is more accurate to say that we are saved by believing the gospel, and then we are transformed in every part of our minds, hearts, and lives by believing the gospel more and more deeply as life goes on.

Moreover, the argument that Gospel-centred Christians cannot engage culture or change society amounts to a misunderstanding of grace and nature. Grace perfects but does not destroy nature. So the Gospel perfects without reducing or demolishing what is a natural good. That means: go into civil government since that is good; go into farming because that is beneficial; stop injustice for that is just.

There may be a priority of importance, but helping the orphan in distress is always naturally good. Christians with the Spirit should not become less willing to do natural good but more willing.

Love Your Neighbour

Love your neighbour. Love your enemy. Love sinners. God did: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). And no, you don’t show love by railing against a person. You show love when you speak the truth lovingly (Eph 4:15). And you speak to people like Jesus did.

It is true that Jesus spoke hard words to religious leaders who should have believed him but didn’t. They had willingly rejected the truth that they ought to have known, being teachers of Israel. But those average folk that Jesus met—he loved and spoke tenderly too.

Jesus spoke gently to the woman at the well who was open to following him and the rich young ruler who was not. He gave time to each, and he spoke words of life. One received them, the other did not.

Jesus is meek and lowly. He loves everyone. He loves the world—even if we call God our enemy (John 3:16; Rom 8:7). Out of love for humanity or what early Christians called God’s attribute of philanthropy, God sent him into the world to save it. Jesus makes this very point in the Gospel of John: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Paul too explains, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).

In the end, love along with faith and hope are cardinal virtues. The greatest of these virtues is love (1 Cor 13:13).

By setting ourselves up against other people, we misunderstand the real enemy. The devil likes this division, and he also likes when we do not resist him. Give into hate of neighbour, give in to the devil’s schemes. He’s a liar. He wants you to find excuses.

You may think you are speaking the truth which is love or you might claim that it is righteous indignation. That is possible, of course. And yet: “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). And speaking the truth might be loving but it does not excuse from also lovingly telling the truth: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful” (1 Cor 13:4–5).

Any husband talking to his wife (or vice versa) knows that telling the truth to a spouse means much more when done tenderly and kindly. On the other hand, if your first reaction to being challenged for your irritability is, “You are being the tone police,” then might I just say that this is probably a defensive knee-jerk reaction. You are likely being irritable. And so repent and move on.

So in this divided world where we live, find friends to unite around a common and eternal cause: the Gospel. Be against the devil and his works (sin). And love your neighbour as yourself. The Bible is clear on these things, but the world draws us into squabbles and battles over almost everything. Resist the devil. He will flee. Then accept one another as Christ accepted us (Rom 15:7).

In the warnings of possible costs in Luke 9:57-62; 14:25-30, He says we must expect the loss of the respect and association with those we feel the most affection for, family members. They are not going to appreciate the changes we have made in our lives. They are yet blinded because God has not removed the veil covering their spiritual perceptions. This happens to many of us. It occurred in my relationship with my parents.

Jesus warns that our lives may become seriously unstable, as outsiders might judge it. He suggests that the convert may become somewhat itinerant, seeming to have an unsettled existence. He also suggests that following Him would put demands on our lives and time that might cut close family members to the quick, perhaps even turning them into enemies. Christ makes plain that, despite God's well-known mercy, He wants our wholehearted, unreserved loyalty with no yearning ever to turn back to our former lives. It is in meeting challenges like these that the potential costs become realities.

Though not mentioned directly here, Hebrews 11 reminds us of those who were tortured by mocking and scourging, by imprisonment, by stoning, and even by being sawn in two. Others were forced to flee for their lives, wandering destitute and tormented, barely able to clothe themselves. This may not happen to many of us now, but as matters intensify, Jesus warns that people will eventually kill Christians, thinking that they are glorifying God.

uses our ignorance to his advantage – Hosea 4:6

There was a recent study done concerning those who proclaim to be Christians and them reading their bibles. The study revealed that only nine percent of those professing to be Christian read their bibles. I can only assume the number goes even lower in regards to those who actually study their bibles. Therefore, there are certain topics in the bible that many simply don’t know about. This ignorance gives the enemy an advantage. By not knowing what the scriptures say about him, his cohorts and tactics, it’s easy to set traps and influence people because they have little biblical frame of references to recognize or qualify them. So his activities go unchecked by many. Please understand that God’s word is the number one thing the enemy wars and fights against people learning and being exposed to. We should be continually learning God’s word. 1^st Timothy 4:13-16

As we learn, we are better able to identify the enemy’s tactics from a biblical perspective to avoid them as well as engage them appropriately. I do encourage you, if this teaching has enlightened you or encouraged you to study the subject further, share it with someone else.

He uses anonymity to his advantage; using and hiding behind others to do his will - 2nd Corinthians 11:14

Even today, there are a number of people who do not believe that Satan exists and is an actual real being. This gives the enemy an advantage because he can set up influences and influence people anonymously. People will not attribute concepts, ideologies and pyridines to him. Moreover, they may think that it is coming from their own thought life. If the enemy can infiltrate peoples thoughts, and convince them that the thoughts that they are having are their own, they will never see his influence. The more people don’t believe the enemy exist and is behind many of our social and moral problems, the greater advantage and edge he has. The devil is real and he is behind many of the problems we are experiencing in the world today. Many of the concepts that drive society comes from him. Racism, hate, social and immoral ills come from the enemy. Yet, people think that it’s their ideas. Therefore, and often we perceive ourselves as the enemy towards one another. When in reality, the enemy and his concepts are the real enemy. But he is hidden in anonymity , therefore undetected. The enemy uses anonymity to his advantage. Jesus knew who was behind Peter’s actions and dealt with it. Matthew 16:21-23

Look at Isaiah 14:16. This text is speaking about the enemy being revealed as the instigator of many of humanities problems. The inference here also is understood that his influence was clandestine and anonymous. People are born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Therefore there is a natural propensity to sin and make certain choices. However, this does not release people for being responsible for their actions. As mentioned earlier, the enemy cannot make us do anything. I remember years ago, a comedian name Flip Wilson would say “the devil made me do it”. Well, that’s simply not true. Yes, the enemy’s concepts, wiles and schemes may have unknowingly influenced you, but the choice was yours to make. He cannot make anyone do anything. We are responsible for our choices.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 / Deuteronomy 30:19. However, this does not eliminate the influence of the enemy. He purposely remains anonymous to his advantage.

The enemies wiles – Ephesians 6:11

The word wiles used is the Greek word is methodiah. Cleary associated with a method of trickery. The enemy uses different kinds of wiles. A wile is a method, plan, scheme or machination used to deceive, entrap and ruin the souls of men. A wile is a deceptive cunning trick to manipulate someone into believing or doing something with the assumption of an end result. When in reality, the end result turns out to be something else. Often, the end result makes things worst.

One of the more notable wile is found in the temptation of Jesus. Matthew 4:8-10

The devil is presenting the kingdoms of the world to Jesus as the end result of Him bowing down to him. While knowing that once He goes after it, the end result will be something else. The Lord would be separated from God, aborting His purpose, giving up humanity and serving the enemy. Clearly He didn’t fall for it. He rebuked the enemy and declared God’s word. We overcome this wile by staying focused on God’s will and word, preferring God’s will and riches above the worlds.

A wile of the enemy is the age old trick of bait and switch.

The enemy presents what appears to be something good and desirable. Once you take the bait, it’s switched to vanity, deception or bondage. When given the opportunity, the devil will make it appear worth your while to violate the statutes of God; only to switch and enslave you to sin. This method is used to deceive and enslave people to sin.

Look at Numbers 25:16-18. This is why it’s so important to obey God’s word and be led by His Spirit. The enemy is crafty. We do well to obey God and His word.

Understanding the enemies devices - 2nd Corinthians 2:11

The word device used in this text is the Greek word noaymah, it means a mental thought or concept.

A device is a deceptive lie or concept. They could be a concept about how we view life, religious practices or societal standards. The enemy uses devices to deceive, trap and influence people. Devices blind and deceive people through its concepts and ideologies. 2nd Corinthians 4:3-4. The enemy’s devices or concepts undermine God's truth, standards and position as Almighty God, creator and sovereign ruler of all. The answer to a wile is God’s truth understood and spoken by love. Devices develop into strongholds. Strongholds are citadels occupied by the enemy. This occupation can exist in the heart or soul as in oppression possession. Or it can be maintained by a concept, ideology or mental paradigm. They are pulled down and dislodged by truth instructed and spoken in love. 2nd Corinthians 10:4-5 / Ephesians 4:15

Here are a few of his devices or concepts that influence our culture, society and our world views.

The device of deceptive religious concepts - Matthew 13:24-30 / Matthew 13:36-43

God has placed in every human a void or desire to know and understand Him. In an attempt to satisfy that void, humanity looks to the ends of the world to find God. The enemy knows this and he presents devices of perverted truths and false religions to deceive and hold people captive. He sows them in the world as error, cults and false religious organizations. He uses leaders to implement and teach them.

Acts 8:9-24 / Acts 13:6-12 / the Judaizers in Acts 15:1 and Galatians 3:1-2

The device of secular Humanism – Psalm 14:1

Secular Humanism is a concept that humanity determines its own standards opposed to God. It is principled in the belief that humanity evolved, therefore it sets the bar for its standards and morality without God. This is a worldwide concept planted by the enemy to exalt man and eliminate the principles of creation and the existence of God. We find this concept impacting our laws and education systems attempting to eliminate biblical concepts. Secular Humanism dismisses God's position as the creator of all things and the King James Bible as the inspired word of God. Therefore, humanity determines right and wrong and life’s standards. This sets humanity up to live without accountability to God and opens them to His judgments. The answer to a device is the truth of God’s word spoken in love.

The device of evolution - Genesis 1:1/ Colossians 1:16 / Revelation 4:11

Evolution is a theory that creation was random. It is a Charles Darwin theory that believes that creation is the result of organisms changing and evolving from a certain species into another one. It is described as a change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It is the thinking that people evolved and came from particles, to another form of animal life, then to humans. I imagine that most evolutionists believe in evolution because they want to. As this concept have so many holes in it. It is a lie of the enemy to cause people to believe that creation occurred without an intentional intelligent Creator. The desire of the enemy is to discount the biblical facts of creation to dismiss God in our lives. Actually, science knows this is not true. Once they discovered that cell DNA were already programmed it became clear that creation had intelligence and intent. (Stephen Myer – Signature in the cell). Evolution simply is a lie and a device of the enemy to separate people from God. Again, the answer is God’s truth, spoken in love.

The device of neophilia - Acts 17:15-21 / Proverbs 22:28

The word is a combination of the Greek-derived combining forms neo-, meaning "new," and -philia, meaning "liking for." Neophilia simply means “love of the new.” Those who suffer from this insatiable love of new things are referred to as neophiliacs or neophiles. There is nothing wrong with new things or technology. The problem is enemy’s desire for us to dismiss those land marks, standards and biblical tenants and principles in favor of the new adjusted watered down carnal version. The inference is that the old no longer applies or has relevance and thus rejected. This leads people to dismiss biblical standards and concepts to except the enemy’s new worldly concepts and philosophies. This impacts what we determine as pillars in the faith as well as in our society and how we live.

The device of individualism - Romans 14:7

Individualism in the concept that speaks to a person’s focus and actions centered only on them. Individualism plays in place with secular humanism. In that they both have man at the center of life. This concept drives a great part of our social structure and how some behave. It promotes a self-centered selfish life style without any consideration of others. Everything is about you. It challenges the team concept or the bigger picture in favor of how it impacts me only. Its make all relationships transactional, looking for what you can get out of it or them. This concept is the opposite of biblical thinking that speak to us serving and being considerate of others. This impacts relationship and the family community dynamics. This impacts our young people greatly. In that it encourages them to think only about themselves and it hinders their social development. Fact is; God’s way of serving considering others, teams and contributing to groups and family brings the most fulfillments in our lives.

The device of materialism - Luke 12:15-21

It is the concept that material possessions and physical comforts as more valuable and important than spiritual values. This can lead people to equate their self worth with the things that they possess. This can cause people to attempt to get as much as they can to present an outward declaration of self worth. And because it does not work, people go to great extents to feed into this black hole of a lie, setting themselves up for vanity discontent and disappointment. Our lives are valued by God in regards to what it cost to redeem us. The answer is that Jesus was the cost, as He is our redeemer. 1st Peter 1:18-20

The device of relativism – John 17:17

Relativism is the view that a belief or philosophy of life can be true for one person but not for another. This is a doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to ones culture, society, or historical context, not from God and are not absolute. This means that all moral positions, religious systems, art forms, political movements, etc., are truths that are fluent and relative to the individual. Unfortunately, the philosophy of relativism is huge in our culture today. Some typical expressions that reveal an underlying presupposition of relativism are comments such as: "That is your truth, not mine;" "It is true for you, but not for me;" "There are no absolute truths." “Who are you to say that someone else is wrong?” And because this concept makes truth subjective it becomes self serving. The enemy is a sneaky rat. This device and diabolical lie tries to dismiss God's absolutes and truths.

Numbers 23:19 / Hebrews 13:8 / Isaiah 40:8 / Psalm 119:89

As we look at these devices, we find at their core an attack on the word of God.

It matters not the deceptive concepts or philosophies the enemy employs. The desire of the enemy is to separate people from the truth of God’s word. This can impact how they determine their moral compass, treat others, behave and live life. The enemy desires that we choose his ways and reject God’s, bringing corrosion to our families, communities, social system, and separation from God and eventual death.

The answer is to bring these devices in subject to the truth of God’s word. 2^nd Corinthians 10:3-6

This is not easy as many of them appeal to our egos and flesh. We are to reject these devices and walk in God’s word. And when given the opportunity, pull down these concepts with the truth of God’s word. Not argumentative, but in love. This war is not won by winning an arguments. It’s won by displacing lies with truth. We present God’s word with love, having their best interest at heart Ephesians 4:15. And we are to pray that God would open their hearts and minds to receive His word. 2^ndCorinthians 4:3

ESV).

“Love your enemies.”

This may be the most difficult thing Jesus ever said. Even when we hear it in church, it is extremely difficult to believe that Jesus really means what he says. But in case we have any doubts about this, consider the way this command is explained:

Do good to those who hate you.

Bless those who curse you.

Pray for those who abuse you.

But even if that is not enough, Jesus gives us some examples so we can’t weasel our way out of the truth. We can ignore what he says if we want to, but we can’t deny that he said it.

If someone strikes you, turn the other cheek.

If they take your shirt, give them your jacket too.

If a beggar comes to you, give him something.

If someone steals your money, do not demand it back.

Then we have Luke’s version of the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. But if that’s not enough, Jesus anticipates our major objection: “I love people who love me.” As Frank Burns said on the TV show MASH, “It’s nice to be nice to nice people.” Sure it is, but that doesn’t win any points with the Lord. Even sinners are nice to nice people.

Then like any good preacher, Jesus repeats his main point just in case we haven’t gotten it yet: “Love your enemies.” And do good even to people who you know will treat you rudely in return. Be willing for others to take advantage of you. Don’t go around thinking that you deserve something in return. That’s not why you forgive others and that’s not why you love your enemies. After all, you may forgive someone who was a jerk and they may still be a jerk after you forgive them. And you may love your enemies and they may still be your enemies tomorrow morning.

Why Live Like This?

Let’s stop for a moment and observe these are truly radical sayings by Jesus. After the first service on Sunday, a man commented to me that everything the world teaches us about human relationships is wrong. Compared to what most of us have heard, the words of Jesus are (literally) out-of-this-world. That is, they come from another place altogether. If we take these words seriously (as we should), we will often find ourselves at odds with the conventional wisdom most people take for granted. Why, then, should we live this way? What’s in it for us? Jesus gives us two answers to those questions:

1) You will receive a great reward. I think he primarily means a great reward in heaven. But there are also great rewards even in this life when we love our enemies. Perhaps the greatest reward is that by loving our enemies, we are set free from bitterness and anger. Love and hate cannot coexist in the same place at the same time. If we love our enemies, we will not hate them. It’s really as simple as that.

2) You will demonstrate that you are a true child of God. God specializes in being kind to the unkind and showing mercy to mean people. He specializes in showering grace upon sinners and he loves to turn enemies into friends. When we love our enemies, we’re showing forth the character of God to the world and proving that we are part of God’s family. There ought to be a family resemblance that even the unsaved can spot.

That’s why the text ends with these words: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36 ESV). Did you get that? “Your Father.” If we say that God is our Father, then we have obligation to show forth his character to the world. And what better way to do it than by the way we treat our enemies?

Who Are My Enemies?

That leads to a very practical question: Who are my enemies? In the broadest sense, an enemy is anyone who turns against me. The dictionary defines an enemy as “one who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another.” It’s important as we think about what Jesus said that we not restrict the term “enemy” to people like Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. They are enemies of our nation but those two men are not my personal enemies. My personal enemies tend to be much closer to home. In fact, home is the first place to look for your enemies. Jesus himself said, “A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household” (Matthew 10:36 NIV). In that very passage he specified three very close relationships that go sour:

A father and his son,

A mother and her daughter,

A mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law.

We can easily extrapolate from that list to other close relationships, including parent-child, husband-wife, and on out to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and then to various distant relatives. The enemies we are told to love usually are not people in Iraq or North Korea. Most of us will never visit those two countries. But we do have to go home every day to face people who may or may not be glad to see us. Every week we work with people who may dislike us. We may even come to church and see people we would rather not see. So let’s just think on those three categories: home, work, church. That’s where many of our enemies will be found.

“God is calling me to forgive”

This week I received a very honest e-mail from someone who read the printed version of last week’s sermon. I have never met this person and as far as I know, the writer has never attended Calvary. Here is part of the e-mail:

“I am in the depths of unrelenting and what appeared to be immovable unforgiveness due to serious wrongs and abuse committed against me by a very close believer. I have read anew the “forgiveness” scriptures. I have been receiving counsel. I have bought ALL of the forgiveness books. But nothing has touched my heart, spirit, and understanding like this message. Even as I write, I am crying, as I know God is calling me to forgive this person FOR HIS sake, even as He has forgiven me. And as I do, as I stop dwelling on the pain and hurt of it all, the years of anger, bitterness, and resentment will subside in me.”

Those words have the ring of truth about them. Christians can hurt each other deeply and repeatedly. Sometimes we do it deliberately. Our feet are made of clay because we are sinners too. In a fallen world the people we thought we could trust will often let us down. Sometimes the people we love the most will turn against us. And sometimes it will happen over and over again and we will discover that our loved ones have become our enemies.

Let me be more specific:

Your children could be your enemies.

Your husband could be your enemy.

Your wife could be your enemy.

Your parents could be your enemies.

Certainly your ex-wife or your ex-husband could be your enemy. It isn’t just people “out there”— somewhere, nameless, faceless, anonymous evil people who are our enemies. Sooner or later people we love will hurt us deeply and at that point, and for at least that moment, they have become our enemies. And if we are honest enough to admit it, we have become their enemies too.

That’s why the words of Jesus are so difficult to obey. We are being instructed to love people very close to us who have hurt us deeply. We are to love those who despitefully use us and abuse us and victimize us again and again. It’s not easy to do this in any case but it is much harder to love when we feel deeply and repeatedly violated and our trust has been destroyed.

Yet the command remains: “Love your enemies.” We cannot escape it. This is the final step in forgiveness. We have not totally forgiven until we can bless those who have hurt us so deeply. To say it another way, we cannot be set free until we set them free to be blessed by the Lord.

Seven Suggestions

So the question then becomes both personal and practical. How do we love our enemies? I have a few suggestions to make:

1) Greet them. Greet your enemies. This is a simple step we often overlook. One part of loving our enemies is to greet them graciously when we see them. Sometimes (often, perhaps) instead of turning the other cheek, we turn our whole body away so we won’t have to say hello to someone who has hurt us. Some of us have been quite adept at looking the other way, ducking into a room, crossing the street, or even using Caller ID to keep from greeting those who have hurt us. But if we only greet our friends, what benefit is that? Do not even sinners greet each other? One part of loving your enemies is to greet them instead of avoiding them.

2) Disarm them. That’s what you do when you turn the other cheek or go the second mile. You disarm them by doing the very thing they least expect.

3) Do Good to Them. It’s fascinating that both times in this passage when Jesus says, “Love your enemies,” he follows it immediately by saying, “Do good to them,” so that we won’t miss the point. Doing good to your enemies means seeing beyond your pain and their meanness to their humanity. It means seeing them as people made in the image of God and understanding that there is something twisted inside that causes them to do what they do. “Doing good” means that you do what will promote their healing despite the way they have treated you. The idea is, you make the first move. You send the e-mail. You pick up the phone. You make the contact. You bridge the gap. You set up the appointment. This week I spoke with a businessman who is greatly gifted in sharing Christ with others. He has a knack for saying the right thing at the right time so that people are eager to know Jesus. What’s his secret? He said there are four keys to being used by God to help others: Show up, hang loose, trust God, stay alert. Those four keys will work for you if you want to help those who have hurt you.

4) Refuse to speak evil of them. That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “Bless those who curse you.” It means you refuse to think evil thoughts and you refuse to speak evil words against those who have wronged you. Proverbs has a great deal to say about the power of words. “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21 NIV). Every time we open our mouth, life or death comes out. I am increasingly impressed with this thought: Forgiveness in many cases is not possible because we will not stop talking. As long as we talk over and over again about how others have hurt us, we will never find the strength to forgive. At some point, we have to stop talking and start forgiving.

5) Thank God for them. If you have an honest-to-goodness enemy, you should frame their picture and thank God for them every day. If you believe in the sovereignty of God, you must believe that your enemy is sent to you by God’s design and with God’s approval. Your enemy could not torment you apart from God’s permission. Behind your enemy stands the hand of God. And God would never permit it if he did not intend to bring something good out of it. You should take a picture of your enemy, frame it, put it where you can see it, and thank God for your enemy every time you look at the picture.

6) Pray for them. When Martin Niemoller, a German pastor, was arrested by the Nazis in World War II, he prayed daily from his prison cell for his captors. Other prisoners asked why he prayed for those who were his enemies. “Do you know anyone who needs your prayers more than your enemies?” he replied. But what if you hate the person you are praying for? Tell that to the Lord. He won’t be surprised. Then say something like this, “Lord, I hate this person, but you already know that. I ask you to love this person through me because I can’t do it in my own power. I ask you for a love I don’t have and can’t begin to produce.” God will not turn you away when you come with an honest heart, admitting you need his love to flow through you.

7) Ask God to bless them. Here’s a simple way to do that. When faced with someone who has mistreated you, ask God to do for them what you want God to do for you. Seek the blessing for them that you want God to do for you. Think of it this way: The greater the hurt, the greater the potential blessing that will come when we totally forgive and by God’s grace, bless those who curse us.

Let me offer one final word: Your enemy is a gift from God to you. Though you don’t know it and often can’t see it, the person who has hurt you so deeply is a gift from God to you. To say that is not to excuse evil or to condone mistreatment. It is to say exactly what Joseph meant when he said to his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20 ESV). Our enemies humble us, they keep us on our knees, they reveal our weakness, and they expose our total need for God. Just as David needed King Saul to pursue him, to persecute him and repeatedly attempt to kill him, we need the enemies God sends to us. If we didn’t need them, he wouldn’t send them. Therefore, we thank God who knows best, and we love our enemies the best way we can. Often God raises up an enemy to see if we really want to be like Jesus. He will keep our enemies alive and well as long as we need them.

“I would rather die than hate you.”

In 1957 Martin Luther King, Jr. preached on “Loving Your Enemies” at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. As he came to the end of his sermon he said there is a little tree planted on a little hill and on that tree hangs the most influential person who ever came into this world. In the cross of Christ, the love of God has broken through into human history. Now we know what love looks like in a world filled with hatred, distrust, bitterness, pain, mistreatment and abuse. As the hymn writer said, “See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down.” It is a message from God that love is the only way. It’s the only way to heaven and it’s the only way to live on the earth. If we believe in Jesus at all, we must say to our enemies, “I love you. I would rather die than hate you.” When Jesus walks with us, we will find the strength to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who despitefully use us.

I come now to the close of this sermon series on “Total Forgiveness.” It has been a healing experience for many in our congregation and it has been a cleansing experience for me personally. When R. T. Kendall wrote the book Total Forgiveness, he mentioned a song called, “Let the past be past at last.” That’s the beauty of forgiveness. When we learn to forgive and be forgiven, the past can be past at last. Last night at my son Nick’s graduation party, someone came up to me and said, “I took a walk this evening with two friends.” She meant that during the party she and two friends took a walk half a block from where we live in Oak Park. “We walked to the place where your van was wrecked and we stood there looking at the tree the van hit.” That was almost ten years ago. I hadn’t thought about the wreck in a long time. So much has happened since then. That night four people got in our van and took a joy ride. Less than a block from our house, it went out of control and hit a tree at a speed of approximately 55 miles an hour. All four people were injured and the van was totally destroyed. Looking back now, I see clearly that hitting the tree was a mercy from God. If the van had not hit the tree, it would have hit a house 50 feet further and someone would likely have been killed. The person who spoke with me was in the van that night as were the other two people. She said they stood and talked about the wreck for a while. Then she said, “I asked them to forgive me for my part in it. And they said, ‘We forgave you for that a long time ago.’” Then they spontaneously hugged her. “This is going to help me in so many ways,” she told me. My friend is right. Forgiveness always helps us because it sets us free from fear and guilt and it sets us free from anger and bitterness so that we can get on with life. It is a transforming gift from God. May God who has forgiven us in Christ now teach us to walk in forgiving love toward each other. Let the past be past at last. Amen.

Why the everlasting hatred? A glimpse into the believer's future!

1Pe 5:8-9 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (9) But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

The reality of the unseen enemy is perfectly clear. We have, as Peter tells us, an adversary that prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour³. But have you asked yourself why?... Why does Satan hate me so much? A.W Tozer wrote really well on this stating:

As we move farther on and mount higher up in the Christian life we may expect to encounter greater difficulties in the way and meet increased hostility from the enemy of our souls. Though this is seldom presented to Christians as a fact of life it is a very solid fact indeed as every experienced Christian knows, and one we shall learn how to handle or stumble over to our own undoing. Satan hates the true Christian for several reasons. One is that God loves him, and whatever is loved by God is sure to be hated by the devil. Another is that the Christian, being a child of God, bears a family resemblance to the Father and to the household of faith. Satan's ancient jealousy has not abated nor his hatred for God diminished in the slightest. Whatever reminds him of God is without other reason the object of his malignant hate. A third reason is that a true Christian is a former slave who has escaped from the galley, and Satan cannot forgive him for this affront. A fourth reason is that a praying Christian is a constant threat to the stability of Satan's government. The Christian is a holy rebel loose in the world with access to the throne of God. Satan never knows from what direction the danger will come. Who knows when another Elijah will arise, or another Daniel? or a Luther or a Booth? Who knows when an Edwards or a Finney may go in and liberate a whole town or countryside by the preaching of the Word and prayer? Such a danger is too great to tolerate, so Satan gets to the new convert as early as possible to prevent his becoming too formidable a foe.
A.W Tozer

I really like that and it is so true. You may not see yourself as an Elijah or Daniel, but the Lord can use you in ways you haven't even thought of to bring the light of the gospel to those around you and beyond! But I want to add something else as to why Satan hates believers.

As a clue, it relates to his fall and your coming exaltation.

I shall pause to give you time to think. . . . . . . . . His fall and the believers coming exaltation. . . . . . . Got anything? Can you remember Satan's five 'I wills' that we mentioned above? What was it that Satan desired and tried to take for himself? He desired to be enthroned on high. He desired to be above and rule the entire angelic realm. He desired to be like the Most High himself! And he thought he could take it for himself... yet through exalting himself, he fell... eternally.

Isa 14:14-15 I will ascend... I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

So what has that got to do with the believer's coming exaltation you ask? Everything. You see the very things that Satan, through pride, tried to take for himself are exactly what God offers the lowliest of humanity who come to Him by grace.

The throne that Satan wanted to take for himself... is offered to believers:
Rev 3:21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
The rule over the angelic realm that Satan desired... will be a reality for believers in the coming age:
1Co 6:2-3 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?... Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!
The desire that Satan had to be like the Most High, clothed with His glory... is our coming destiny!
1Jn 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Col 3:3-4 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Satan hates the believer because through humbly receiving the gift of God's salvation we will be given that which he tried to take in pride. But do you remember Ephesians 3:10-11?

Eph 3:10-11 His (God's) intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is that phrase again - rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,,, God making His wisdom, grace and glory known to these fallen angelic beings, through each member of His Church. Every single believer testifies into the heavenly realms of the grace of this God who was willing to grant them a position of glory, freely and without reserve... and Satan hates it.

There is SUCH a bigger picture going on in the Heavenly realms that we mostly fail to see!

Conclusion

Well, we have only began to scratch the surface. We've concentrated more on the truth of this unseen enemy in this study. The next will focus more of the practicalities of our fight and our need to be strong in the Lord. As we conclude remember this believer - that the Lord HAS won the victory and we live and fight from this position of victory. Some Christians ignore the reality that we have an unseen enemy. Some become overly fascinated to the point of becoming fearful. Neither is helpful. The Bible does not tell us to be fearful of Satan but to be alert, watchful and to understand his ways. But fear is not of God and greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4) So we neither downplay his power or ability to deceive, or become so focused on him that we become fearful and anxious.

We understand the reality of the battle we are in, we understand the ways of the enemy... and most of all, we walk in the strong position that the Lord has given us.

All of this will be focused on and hopefully become clearer as we move on in this part in Ephesians. God Bless.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when your enemies are at your mercy:

Let God fight for you. When God handles our situations and fights our battles, the results are fail-proof. Our Playbook says in Exodus 14:14, “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”
Shut up! Sorry if it seems harsh, but sometimes that’s the only way to win – to keep our mouths closed and off of the situation. Just as our previous point’s Playbook reference says, “ye shall hold your peace.”
Watch your temper! For some of us, we are like a remote… all of our buttons are on display. But for some, only certain people know the passcode to our anger. Either way, be careful not to give others that kind of power over you. Had David let his temper and the thought of what Saul set out to do get the best of him, he would have had Saul’s blood on his hands, and God angry with him. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” James 1:19
When God handles it, there is no need for revenge. If you’d just allow God the space to handle that enemy, He’ll do it. He’s just waiting on you to step aside and out of His way. “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Trust God! Seems simple enough, but at times, it may seem easier to just handle “them” yourself. If you truly trust the Lord, you will let Him take care of that enemy. And He will do it, no matter how unfavorable it looks. Our Playbook says to “Trust the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

Let God fight those battles for you! Know that as long as you allow Him to be on your front lines, no enemy can come against you and win.

But glory be to God Almighty who has not allowed the river of the enemy to drown us. He has always made a way of escape for us from the hands of the enemy.

Pharaoh tried resisting God but God in His power disgraced him. So shall He disgrace your evil pursuers. As many trouble as the enemy has projected into your life that is resisting solution, I pray for you, all of them shall collide with the mighty hand of the Lord.

AFFLICTIONS OF STUBBORN PROBLEMS

Incurable sickness
Consistent lack
Persistence setback
Untold hardship
Constant failure
Constant rejection
Constant disgrace

Etc.

SOURCES OF STUBBORN PROBLEMS

Evil foundation
Curses
Wicked Activities
Evil Covenant

SOME IMPORTANT SCRIPTURAL VERSES YOU NEED TO CONSULT FOR DEALING WITH SUCH PROBLEMS

Exodus 14:14: The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

Isaiah 50:7-9: [7]“For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. [8]He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me. [9]Surely the Lord God will help Me; Who is he who will condemn Me? Indeed they will all grow old like a garment; The moth will eat them up.

Isaiah 54:17: [17]No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.

Jeremiah 1:8: [8]Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

Zechariah 4:7: [7]‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”

3 John 1:2: [2]Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

Numbers 23:23: [23]“For there is no sorcery against Jacob, Nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’

PRAYER BULLETS:

O Lord I thank you for paying the price of my total victory
I thank you Lord for frustrating the tokens of liar for my sake
I declare in the name of Jesus that the devices of the crafty shall not prosper over my life
I command according to the word of God every diviner against my life to run mad
I break the stronghold of stubborn problems in my life in the name of Jesus
I command the solution I need for the yoke of stubborn problem to be broken in my life to manifest
I release confusion upon every demonic priest on any altar making demonic sacrifice to see that I remain in problems
Let the backbone of every evil sponsor in my life be destroyed in the name of Jesus.
I destabilize the power of every strongman in my life in the name of Jesus.
O Lord, enlarge my coasts beyond my wildest dream in Jesus name
Holy Ghost, seal all pockets that have demonic holes in my life in the name of Jesus.
Let the fire of disgrace fall upon demonic prophets assigned against my life, in the name of Jesus.
Every evil meeting held on my behalf shall not prosper, in Jesus’ name.
I claim back my goods presently residing in wrong hands, in the name of Jesus.
Let the resources of stubborn oppressors in my life dry up, in the name of Jesus.
Let the head of every serpent power fashioned against me be broken, in the name of Jesus.
Let the head of every marine power fashioned against me be broken, in the name of Jesus.
Let every evil trend directing my affairs be reversed, in the name of Jesus.
O Lord, uproot evil things from my life in the name of Jesus.
O Lord, plant good things in my life in the name of Jesus.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over” (Psalm 23:5). Of all the wonderful promises God gives us in the 23rd Psalm, this is one of the most glorious. He is pledging to set a table for us, spread wonderful food on it and serve us a feast. And he does it all in front of our enemies!
We all need guidance for decisions in life. Yet in a world as chaotic as ours, the word for table in this verse means “spread.” God isn’t speaking of just a little plate of food but a vast, massive feast. And it is no ordinary meal. He sets before us row upon row of heavenly delights. There is only one guest at this meal: you.
To set the atmosphere, God declares this feast a time for joy: “A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry” (Ecclesiastes 10:19). As you dine on the sumptuous foods, God anoints you with gladness: “Thou anointest my head with oil” (45:7). “God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (45:7).
Meanwhile, as God prepares and serves your feast, he makes your enemies sit on the outer fringe of the scene and watch everything unfold. They see the Lord himself spreading your table with food, escorting you to your seat and waiting on you. Then they watch as you fill up your soul with heaven’s delightful fare.
Your enemies are in shock. No demon power, including the devil himself, could ever comprehend this kind of love, mercy and grace. All were sure God was going to strike you down for your failures. They were ready to gloat as you fell into despair. Now they have been ordered to watch as you feast on food served by God himself.
Christ tells us the Father does this for all of his children: “Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching...he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them” (Luke 12:37).
Who are these enemies? In biblical terms, there are two kinds of enemies: the demonic kind and the human kind. In the 23rd Psalm, David is referring to demonic enemies. These represent the devil and all his hellish principalities and powers.
Jesus tells us, “The enemy...is the devil” (Matthew 13:39). When David speaks of his “strong enemy” in Psalm 18, he is talking about demonic hordes who hate him because of his strong walk with the Lord: “He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me” (Psalm 18:17).
Yet many of our enemies are not from hell. When Jesus tells us to “love your enemies,” he is talking about people in our life who have become tools used by Satan to make us miserable. David’s fleshly enemies caused him to cry, “Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me” (Psalm 143:9).
You may have only a few human enemies because you move in a small circle. You may have an abundance of them because your sphere of influence is broader. In any case, if you have set your heart to follow Jesus, you will be an offense to many, including fleshly Christians. You will also be marked as a target by the devil. He will attack you physically and spiritually and stir up trouble for you among your human enemies.
In this sense, the Lord’s supernatural feast becomes even more amazing. Both classes of enemies have to sit by and watch as the Lord serves you! On one side are the devil and his hordes, while on the other side are your earthly enemies — and all watch as the Lord pours out his oil of gladness on you.
On the demonic side, the devil rages because he thought he surely had you. On the human side, God heaps your enemies with shame. His word says of the righteous, “His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish” (Psalm 132:18). As you dig into the glorious food before you, the Lord whispers in your ear, “You don’t have to worry about any of these enemies. They aren’t able to do anything against you.” “They intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform” (21:11).
You are able to sing, “Now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord” (27:6).
God spreads this table for you not just in your times of victory but especially in your times of failure.
The Puritans often used the phrase “surprised by sin.” They meant those times when you don’t expect to sin, but suddenly the enemy comes in like a flood and you are overwhelmed. Something overcomes you, an old lust or habit you thought you had conquered, and you end up falling. You grieve and sorrow over your sin, and you get down on yourself, confused and wondering, “How could I allow this to happen again?”
That’s when your accuser, Satan, pounces on you like a hungry lion. He brings to mind every biblical warning about sinning against the light, whispering, “Look at how God lifted his Spirit from all of those in Scripture who fell. You’ve sinned in the same way. You’re a phony, a hypocrite. God has removed his Spirit from your life.” Satan does everything in his power to blind you to God’s covenant promises. Satan wants to bring you back under the law, where your conscience will condemn you.
That is never what the Lord intends for any repentant heart. Just when you think you deserve God’s wrath and chastening, the Lord calls you to a feast. And as your enemies stand ready to watch you suffer under judgment, God surprises them — and you — by feeding you from his table. That is how God treats his repentant children!
But, like Adam, we want to hide from God. We think he is angry with us and that Satan has gained a foothold in our lives. In our confusion, we fall into the rut of Romans 7: “That which I hate, I did. And that which I hoped to do, I failed to carry out.” That is the very moment the Lord beckons us, “Come, sit down and taste of my mercy. I want you feasting at my table in the presence of your enemies.”
What is God’s attitude toward us when we are overtaken by sin?
Jesus answers this question in the parable of the prodigal son. The runaway young man was overcome by sin and spent all his resources on his lusts. He ended up in virtual bondage, having to eat swine’s food. He thought, “I’ve sinned so badly I can never be accepted by my father as before. Surely I have to pay for this somehow.”
The prodigal’s fears kept him from returning to his father. Yet, in truth, his father was never angry with him. That godly man simply yearned for his son’s return. Finally, when the prodigal was in the pit of despair, feeling the full impact of his failure, he thought of the abundance of his father’s house. In desperation he returned home.
What was the father’s response? He ran out to meet his son, embracing him, kissing his neck and forgiving him, with no questions asked. Scripture tells us, “The father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry” (Luke 15:22-23).
Here, in Jesus’ own words, we see the heavenly Father’s attitude toward his children. Immediately after we fail, our Lord serves us a feast and anoints us with the oil of gladness. The very moment he hears our heart cry out for forgiveness, he spreads the table before us saying, “Don’t run from me. And don’t remain in the devil’s pigpen listening to his lies about you. I love you. Come and see what I have prepared for you.”
The first blessing you will find on your plate is immediate and unconditional forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). As soon as we repent, God ends the whole matter of our sin. He casts our transgression out of his sight completely.
Furthermore, he doesn’t want to hear any more about our sin. He says, in essence, “I’m over it. Now you get over it. Rejoice in my salvation, mercy and grace. Be glad in it all!” “Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee” (Psalm 86:5). “Great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (verse 13).
Once we have accepted the Father’s forgiveness, he invites us to feast on every item on his menu: grace, mercy, kindness, tenderheartedness, compassion, unmerited love, peace, rest, joy, happiness. Fresh springs of Holy Ghost renewal sweep over our soul, and tears of rejoicing wash away all our guilt, fears and anxieties. As this incredible blessing takes place, our enemies are forced to watch, utterly defeated. Finally they whisper, “He has learned the secret. He’s trusting in God’s promises. Let’s move on.”
What does it mean to feast in the presence of our human enemies? The Lord also wants us to feast even before those people who have become tools of Satan to harass us. Maybe you are enduring a stressful situation on your job. Perhaps your coworkers have betrayed you, gossiping about you to your boss. You grieve over the cruel ways they have hurt you.
I tell you, Jesus is calling you to feast in the presence of your enemies. He is reminding you that even in the worst situation you can run to God’s covenant promise, “No weapon formed against you will prosper.” Your Father is already spreading a table for you, wanting to fill you up with his grace and compassion.
Do you feel burdened down, living one day at a time, ever fearful, never truly enjoying your walk with the Lord? Do you ever say to yourself, “I know Jesus saved me and that I’ve been changed. Why don’t I enjoy his feast? Where is my oil of gladness?”
Do not stagger at God’s promises to you. Lay hold of them; be fully persuaded that what he has promised he is able to perform. The Holy Ghost responds only to faith. He does not respond to your river of tears or your promises to do better. Only faith brings the Lord’s response. Faith moves him to action, bringing to your life his very glory.
Accept your Father’s love and forgiveness. You have a right to the feast, and no demon in hell can rob you of it. Believe God’s Word to you — and let him seat you at his heavenly table.

not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. Psalms 36:11 NKJV

In life, we are faced with two kinds of enemies – those from within and those from without. Pride comes from within and the wicked man comes from without. The way that this particular verse of scripture is rendered in certain other translations of the Bible, is to the effect that the foot of pride – or arrogance – belongs to another person coming from without. However, pride and arrogance will seek to claim your life whether coming from the inside or the outside – whether it is in your heart or your enemy’s heart. Most of the time - the outside influences are less potent against us than inside influences. Because God has promised to protect us from without – and He always does a good job - but we are responsible to guard our own heart and unfortunately we don’t always do such a good job.

And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." Mark 7:20-23 NKJV

Pride is an evil thing that comes from the heart of man, defiling him. It is as evil, in God’s eyes, as any other sin that man can commit. Proverbs 16:5 says, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD.” Proverbs 6:16-17 says, that of the seven things that are an abomination to the LORD and that He hates, one of them is a proud look. Psalms 101:5 says, “The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure.” Proverbs 28:25-26 says, “He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.”

When you trust in yourself you are proud and you are foolish. The Lord will not tolerate pride in your heart or in your look or in your actions. Pride is destructive. Pride will destroy your own life. Pride causes division between man and man - and man and God. Pride will separate you from the presence of God. The pride in your life will not allow God’s grace to reach you and without God’s grace, you are lost. If you wish to please God and preserve your soul, you must walk in humility.

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. Proverbs 16:17-19 NKJV

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. Proverbs 8:13 NKJV

If you have any fear or respect for God – you will deal with any prideful attitude that you have. You will treat pride like the sin that it is and you will humble your own heart before the Lord. You must lose your life – lay down your pride and your selfishness - to honor the Lord in your life.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to savehis life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:24-26 NIV

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Therefore humbleyourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 1 Peter 5:5-9 NKJV

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God.Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humbleyourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:4-10 NKJV

The Bible tells us to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12). There wouldn’t be a fight if there were no enemies! The enemies of faith aren’t what most people think they are. Many look for enemies in the natural realm, but that’s not where they are!

1) Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The greatest hindrance to faith is a lack of knowledge of God’s Word. Because faith comes by hearing the Word, all enemies of faith are connected in some way with our lack of knowledge.

When you know God’s Word, faith comes. As soon as the light of the Word comes, faith is there. It accompanies knowledge. Knowledge of what God has said comes first. Then faith automatically accompanies it.

People often pray for faith saying, “What I need is faith.” But what they need is knowledge of God’s Word. People who pray for faith are attempting to get through prayer what the Word alone can give.

2) One of the most prominent enemies of faith is a sense of unworthiness. All of us have battled it. Feelings of unworthiness and a sense of lack of faith go hand in hand. These two are perhaps the most subtle, dangerous weapons of the devil. But we can find the answer to these feelings in God’s Word: Your worthiness is Jesus Christ!

God does not heal your body or baptize you in the Holy Spirit based on your worthiness. If He did, no one would ever receive these blessings from God because no one is worthy in themselves.

By not knowing the Word, many Christians allow feelings of unworthiness to defeat them. People have told me they were sure they wouldn’t be filled with the Holy Spirit because they weren’t good enough—they were unworthy. Praying with people for healing, I ran into the same situation many times.

The trouble is that Christians are acquainted with all their shortcomings, mistakes, faults, and failures. They look at themselves from a natural standpoint rather than from a biblical perspective—the way God looks at them.

People who pray for faith are attempting to get through prayer what the Word alone can give.

The Word Brings Light

I struggled with unworthiness when I was a teenage invalid and thought I was being humble! I didn’t know I was just being stupid. “I’m weak and unworthy,” I thought. From the natural standpoint that may have been true, but it wasn’t from the biblical standpoint.

Psalm 119:130 says, “The entrance of thy words giveth light.” Once the light is in your spirit, it can’t be removed, even though the devil will do his best to confuse you. He will try to keep you from walking in the light by saying, “The prayer of faith works, but you can’t pray it because you aren’t good enough. You are too unworthy.” He did that with me while I was bedfast. Not knowing any better, I agreed with him and remained an invalid several months longer.

I came to a different conclusion after reading Second Corinthians 5:17,“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Paul said, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:10). We did not make ourselves new—He did.

I asked myself, “Did God make an unworthy new creature? Would He make a new creature that wasn’t good enough to stand in His Presence?”

Then I saw where I made my mistake. Instead of believing what the Bible said about me—the real me, the man on the inside—I looked at the outward man and my physical shortcomings. I passed judgment on my situation when I should have accepted God’s estimation of it. I knew He did not make any unworthy new creature. If He did, that would have belittled His work.

Our worthiness is in Christ Jesus. I look a lot better in Him than I do any other way! And that is how God sees me: in Him. He doesn’t really see me; He looks at Jesus and sees me in Jesus. When I learned this truth, it was a giant step toward releasing my faith and having faith to receive physical healing.

The Word of God will help you rid yourself of this sense of unworthiness; and when it is gone, the sense of a lack of faith will leave. They are tormenting twins of the enemy that rob you of the blessings Christ secured for you!

Accept No Substitutes

3) Another enemy of faith is substituting either hope or mental agreement for real faith. That is why so many people are defeated. They say, “Well, I’m hoping and praying . . . .” The Bible does not say that God hears the prayer of hope! “The prayer of faithshall save the sick” (James 5:15). If James had said the prayer of hope would do it, we would all automatically have results!

Jesus taught, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”(Mark 11:24). Believe—not hope—that you receive. Hope is a human reaction. You may call it believing, but that doesn’t make it so, any more than calling a Model-T Ford an airplane would make it a plane.

You may say, “I believe God is going to do something for me. I believe He is going to heal me. I believe God is going to hear and answer my prayer someday.” That isn’t faith! It is hope because you are postponing what you want to the future.

Faith is present tense. Blessings are already provided for us in Jesus. The Bible tells us that God “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). God doesn’t have to do one thing more; it is already done.

Get your believing in line with what the Bible says. Quit hoping. Start believing—not because you feel like it or see it, but because God’s Word says it!

In Summary

Faith Enemy #1—Lack of Knowledge of God’s Word

Solution: Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God.

Faith Enemy #2—A Sense of Unworthiness

Solution: Your worthiness is Jesus Christ.

Faith Enemy #3—Substituting Hope or Mental Agreement for Faith

Solution: Keep faith in the present tense—faith believes now!

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over” (Psalm 23:5).

Study Help: The Great Controversy, 505–510.

Introduction

“There is help for us only in God. We should not flatter ourselves that we have any strength in wisdom of our own, for our strength is weakness, our judgment foolishness. Christ conquered the foe in our behalf because He pitied our weakness and knew that we would be overcome and would perish if He did not come to our help.” That I May Know Him, 269.

Sunday

OUR GREAT ADVERSARY

Who is our greatest enemy, and how does he manifest himself? 1 Peter 5:8.

Note: “The more nearly the Christian imitates the divine Pattern, the more surely will he make himself a mark for the attacks of Satan.” The Great Controversy, 510.

“Men under the influence of evil spirits will work miracles. They will make people sick by casting their spell upon them, and will then remove the spell, leading others to say that those who were sick have been miraculously healed. This Satan has done again and again.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 53.

Why is he working so hard against us? Revelation 12:12.

Note: “Satan is a diligent Bible student. He knows that his time is short, and he seeks at every point to counterwork the work of the Lord upon this earth.” Testimonies, vol. 9, 16.

“The great conflict that Satan created in the heavenly courts is soon, very soon, to be forever decided. … Now, as never before, Satan is exercising his deceiving power to mislead and to destroy every unguarded soul.” Ibid., vol. 7, 141.

Monday

PROTECTION FROM OUR ENEMIES

When we are overwhelmed by the work of the enemy, what can give us courage? Psalm 61:1–3; Isaiah 59:19, second part.

Note: “The enemy cannot overcome the humble learner of Christ, the one who walks prayerfully before the Lord. Christ interposes Himself as a shelter, a retreat, from the assaults of the wicked one. …

“There is no power in the whole satanic force that can disable the soul that trusts, in simple confidence, in the wisdom that comes from God.

“Christ is our tower of strength, and Satan can have no power over the soul that walks with God in humility of mind. … In Christ there is perfect and complete help for every tempted soul. Dangers beset every path, but the whole universe of heaven is standing on guard, that none may be tempted above that which he is able to bear. … If we will give ourselves unselfishly to the work, never swerving in the least from principle, the Lord will throw about us the everlasting arms, and will prove a mighty helper. If we will look to Jesus as the One in whom we may trust, He will never fail us in any emergency.” My Life Today, 316.

“In the daily life you will meet with sudden surprises, disappointments, and temptations. … Look unto Jesus at all times and in all places, offering a silent prayer from a sincere heart that you may know how to do His will. Then when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard for you against the enemy.” The Adventist Home, 214.

How can we rise above our enemies? Psalm 119:98; Proverbs 16:7.

Note: “Could our spiritual vision be quickened, we should see souls bowed under oppression and burdened with grief, pressed as a cart beneath sheaves and ready to die in discouragement. We should see angels flying swiftly to aid these tempted ones, who are standing as on the brink of a precipice. The angels from heaven force back the hosts of evil that encompass these souls, and guide them to plant their feet on the sure foundation. The battles waging between the two armies are as real as those fought by the armies of this world, and on the issue of the spiritual conflict eternal destinies depend.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 119.

Tuesday

ENEMIES WHICH CAUSE DEEP WOUNDS

From where do our “enemies” sometimes come? Micah 7:6. Why? Amos 3:3.

Note: “Between the believer and the unbeliever there is a radical difference of tastes, inclinations, and purposes. They are serving two masters, between whom there can be no concord.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 174.

Who turned against David? Psalm 41:9. As David sought comfort from the Lord, what assurance was he given? Verses 11, 12.

Note: “When your names are cast out as evil, and friends turn against you, remember how Jesus was treated on earth. Spies were constantly upon His track, seeking to catch Him in His words, that they might find accusation against Him. Can His followers expect better treatment than He received?” Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 234.

Tell how Jesus had a similar experience. Luke 22:48.

Note: “Judas the betrayer did not forget the part he was to act. When the mob entered the garden, he had led the way, closely followed by the high priest. To the pursuers of Jesus he had given a sign, saying, ‘Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He: hold Him fast’ (Matthew 26:48). Now he pretends to have no part with them. Coming close to Jesus, he takes His hand as a familiar friend. With the words, ‘Hail, Master’ (Matthew 26:49), he kisses Him repeatedly, and appears to weep as if in sympathy with Him in His peril.

“Jesus said to him, ‘Friend, wherefore art thou come’ (verse 50)? His voice trembled with sorrow as He added, ‘Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss’ (Luke 22:48)? This appeal should have aroused the conscience of the betrayer, and touched his stubborn heart; but honor, fidelity, and human tenderness had forsaken him. He stood bold and defiant, showing no disposition to relent. He had given himself up to Satan, and he had no power to resist him. Jesus did not refuse the traitor’s kiss.” The Desire of Ages, 695, 696.

Wednesday

DELIVERANCE THROUGH LOVE AND KINDNESS

How should we treat those who hurt us? How did Jesus give us an example of this? Matthew 5:43–47; Romans 5:6–8.

Note: “Not because we first loved Him did Christ love us; but ‘while we were yet sinners’ (Romans 5:8) He died for us. He does not treat us according to our desert. Although our sins have merited condemnation, He does not condemn us. Year after year He has borne with our weakness and ignorance, with our ingratitude and waywardness. Notwithstanding our wanderings, our hardness of heart, our neglect of His Holy word, His hand is stretched out still.” The Ministry of Healing, 161.

“Even sinners whose hearts are not utterly closed to God’s Spirit, will respond to kindness; while they may give hate for hate, they will also give love for love. But it is only the Spirit of God that gives love for hatred. To be kind to the unthankful and to the evil, to do good hoping for nothing again, is the insignia of the royalty of heaven, the sure token by which the children of the Highest reveal their high estate.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 75.

How can we practically love our enemies? Romans 12:20, 21.

Note: “We may never know until the judgment the influence of a kind, considerate course of action to the inconsistent, the unreasonable, and unworthy. If, after a course of provocation and injustice on their part, you treat them as you would an innocent person, you even take pains to show them special acts of kindness, then you have acted the part of a Christian; and they become surprised and ashamed, and see their course of action and meanness more clearly than if you plainly stated their aggravated acts to rebuke them.” Medical Ministry, 209, 210.

Tell of a time where this spirit was practiced. What were the results? 2 Kings 6:18–23.

Note: “Every word of love, every act of kindness—even the cup of cold water that has been given in the name of Christ—is recognized and rewarded.” The Signs of the Times, February 10, 1888.

Thursday

GOD GIVES THE VICTORY

How can we have victory over our great enemy, the devil? James 4:7–10.

Note: “To us, as to Peter, the word is spoken, ‘Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not’ (Luke 22:31, 32). Thank God, we are not left alone. He who ‘so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16), will not desert us in the battle with the adversary of God and man.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 119.

When does God promise to deliver us? Psalm 50:15.

Note: “Sweet and abiding will be the influence emanating from Him who seeth in secret, whose ear is open to hear the prayer arising from the heart. By calm, simple faith the soul holds communion with God and gathers to itself rays of divine light to strengthen and sustain it in the conflict with Satan.” Steps to Christ, 98.

“Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name.” In Heavenly Places, 256.

“When it becomes the habit of the soul to converse with God, the power of the evil one is broken, for Satan cannot abide near the soul that draws nigh unto God. If Christ is your companion, you will not cherish vain and impure thoughts; you will not indulge in trifling words.” That I May Know Him, 250.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 What should we consider if we find life easy, without any struggles with the enemy?

2 What makes the soul invincible to the attacks of the enemy?

3 Why do we sometimes clash with relatives and supposed friends? Who else had this experience?

4 What works most effectively in dealing with the inconsistent and unreasonable?

5 How does prayer give us the victory over our enemies?

1. Paul was clearly accomplishing the will of God.

When Paul increased in strength, He was preaching about Jesus. This is clearly God’s will as revealed in the Bible. And God has a habit of blessing people who are devoted to obeying His Word and His will.

If you will devote yourself to obeying God’s Word and doing His will as outlined in that Word, God can increase you in strength too. Why? Because:

It pleases Him to reward your obedience; and
When He blesses your obedience and expands your life, He’s expanding His Kingdom on earth… which pleases Him too.

So follow Jesus’ command in Matthew 6:33:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

2. Paul was risking humiliation and persecution in order to accomplish God’s will.

I’ve heard various sermons from the folks out at Bethel Church (Redding, California), saying, “Faith is spelled R-I-S-K.” And that is so true. Paul was taking a huge risk by preaching Jesus:

He was risking humiliation, because he was known as being a Pharisee. He was totally switching teams here. (Adios, reputation. Adios, friends…)
He was risking persecution, because he hadn’t been the only one devoted to persecuting Christians–and here, suddenly, he was a Christian.
He was literally risking his life. Jesus was not exactly popular among the Jews, so he ran the risk of being killed any moment. (And subsequent verses tell us that the Jews did actually try to kill him.)

Why did he take such a risk?

Because he had gone all-in for Christ. He suddenly became humble, submitted to Jesus. He was willing to do whatever God told him to do.

What has God told you to do that requires you to risk humiliation or even persecution?

Has He told you to go against the grain of other people’s opinions?
Has He asked you to quit doing something that others think you should continue doing?
Has He asked you to implement a new idea that other people scoff at?
Has He asked you to sacrifice your party reputation so you can live holy and pure?
Has He asked you to chase a dream that nobody else thinks you can achieve?

Whatever God has commanded you to do, do it. Even if it involves risk.

You will always have to take a risk in order to reach your destiny. But when you do, if you’re obeying God, He will come up under you and reward your effort. He will increase you in ways you never dreamed.

3. Paul deflected the attention to Jesus.

Paul was not building his own kingdom. He was helping to increase the Kingdom of God by preaching about Jesus.

God can and will bless and increase people who are devoted to His Kingdom, rather than their own. So if you want to increase in strength and confound your enemies, again… SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM. It’s all about Jesus.

4. Paul had prepared for his call through years of study.

Philippians 3:5 tells us that Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, well-learned and zealous for God.

It’s true that his zeal was definitely turned the wrong direction before his conversion; however, after he was converted, all that preparation and all those years of study were crucial to his call in life. He was able to prove from the Scriptures how and why Jesus was the Son of God.

Maybe that’s why he was able to exhort Timothy to work hard to prepare for his call:

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

When we prepare for God’s call on our lives, He can increase and bless us when our moment arrives.

Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14); and the ones that are chosen are the ones who are ready for the call.

When Paul went all in for Jesus, God increased him in strength. He gave him such strength that his enemies were confounded. No one could stand up to him. No one could get in the way of God’s purpose for his life.

Do you want strength like that too? Do you want to confound your enemies?

Do you want to walk in such anointing and power that no one can come against you? That every attack is deflected? Do you want to see God give you such strength that you have victory before the fight even begins?

You can. Obey God’s Word. Take Spirit-led risks in faith. Deflect the attention on Jesus by being devoted to His Kingdom. And prepare for your call.

If you will do that, you will be a person whom God can increase in strength, and He will confound your enemies.

Does this word resonate with you? If so, please leave a comment and share your thoughts! I’d love to hear what you think!

Image courtesy of amareta kelly on Flickr via Creative Commons license. Image has been edited and graphics added.

The second part of this verse then gives you secret #2 to true spiritual warfare in the Lord – and that secret is to “resist the devil.”

Notice the verse says to first resist the devil, and then he will flee. Resist means you fight, you engage, you take your enemy head on. You do not sit passively by while he continues to attack and beat you down.

If there is one major secret I feel the Lord has given to me in the area of spiritual warfare – it has to be the strategy of going on the offensive against whatever enemy is coming against you – just like David did with Goliath.

If you will notice when reading the stories in our Testimonies Section – we had each person go on the offensive in their battle prayers to the Lord and take their enemy head on operating under God’s power and anointing to be able to do so.

It was only when that person took the initiative and went on the offensive against their enemy did God move in with His healing and deliverance power to set them completely free.

Some of these people had been bound up for quite some time in their predicaments before they were given this battle advice to go on the offensive. Once they went on the offensive against their enemy, it completely turned the tide for them, and many of these people were set completely free within a day or two! This is how powerful this type of battle strategy can be.

The verse in part 1, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) should be committed to full memory by all Christians, as it is the number one foundational verse in which all true spiritual warfare in the Lord is based on.

This is part 2 of our series on the Battle Verses of the Bible. Here are the other sections.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies

notice, when God brings you through the opposition, He’s not going to do it in private, He’s going to do it where all of those enemies can see it. maybe today, you’re facing some kind of enemy; not just a person, an enemy in your health, your finances, in a relationship, doesn’t look like it’s ever going to work out. have this new perspective; right now, God is preparing the table. the angels are taking the food out of the oven, Gabriel is putting his finishing touches on that meal. any moment, you’re going to hear the dinner bell ringing. God’s going to say, “it’s your time. Here’s the table, here is the meal I prepared for you.” it’s not going to be a little fast food meal, hidden over in the corner, nobody notices; no, God is preparing a table like He did for David, to where not just all of your friends see it, but even those enemies, the doubters, the discouragers, the ones that said you couldn’t do it; they’re going to see you blessed, promoted, vindicated, living your dreams, in a place of honor and influence.

in one sense, God used Judas more than He used the other disciples; Judas was ordained to betray Jesus, that was his purpose, to try to stop him. and it wasn’t just his idea, it was the plan of God. at the time, it seemed like a bad break, but if he had not betrayed Jesus, there wouldn’t have been a crucifixion. without the cross, there wouldn’t have been a resurrection. without the resurrection, we wouldn’t have redemption, no salvation. we celebrate Mary, the mother of Jesus, giving birth in the manger. we celebrate John baptizing Jesus, the dove coming down from heaven. but the man who betrayed Jesus, the one who sold him for 30 pieces of silver, was just as critical a part of his destiny, if not more so, than the others. what am I saying? don’t complain about the person that betrayed you; if they walked away, they didn’t set you back, they set you up for the fullness of your destiny. if they lied about you, tried to push you down, overlooked you, it may not have been fair, but if God allowed it, He knows how to use it for your good.

what if Jesus would’ve gotten upset, said, “God, I’m your son, how could You let this man betray me, he’s one of my disciples?” no, Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him, but he didn’t try to stop him, he didn’t try to to talk him out of it. he knew that that betrayal was a part of his divine destiny. too often, we fight against everything that doesn’t go our way, get upset, bitter, “why is this happening?” the longer I live, the more I realize, nothing happens by accident. even the opposition, if you’ll keep the right attitude, God will use it to your advantage. some of the things that we don’t like, that we’re asking God to get rid of, if He removed them right now, we wouldn’t reach our highest potential. that opposition is making you stronger. those people trying to stop you, the betrayal, the disappointment, that cannot keep from your destiny. God has the final say. if He hasn’t removed it yet, that means He’s going to use it for your good; He strategically places the Goliaths, the Judases, the opposition. without Goliath, you can’t take your throne. without Judas, you won’t reach your highest potential. without the naysayers, you wouldn’t become all you were created to be.

Mark 2:3-9 (NIV)

3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.

I’m sure those naysayers, when they saw him standing there, they nearly passed out. here’s my point; if they had not been murmuring, complaining, criticizing, this man may not have been healed. Jesus could’ve just forgiven his sins and moved on, but because of their murmuring, Jesus healed the man. so, when people are talking about you, trying to make you look bad, push you down, don’t worry, God hears them; they are putting you in position for God to bless you in a greater way. you don’t have to straighten them out, don’t fight battles that don’t matter, stay in peace, and like with this man, God will use your enemies to bless you. some of the favor that you’re seeing, some of the good breaks you’ve had, it didn’t happen because of you, it happened because of those people that tried to stop you. they put you in position for promotion. I always thank God for my friends, but I’ve learned to thank God for my enemies as well.

without the murmuring, that man might not have been healed; without Goliath, David would’ve never taken his throne. without Judas, Jesus would never have resurrected from the grave. you need to see every enemy, so to speak, every disappointment, every betrayal, in this new light. it’s not sent to defeat you, it’s sent to increase you. God can use your critics to promote you. God has all kinds of ways to get you to where you’re supposed to be. He knows how to take what was meant for your harm and turn it around and use it to your advantage. God works in mysterious ways; stay in faith, what you think is a setback is really God setting you up to do something new. don’t complain about the coworker that did you wrong, what didn’t work out; it looks like it was meant to destroy you, but in fact God’s going to use it to take you to the next level. that person at work that’s always trying to push you down, always trying to make you look bad, when you see them this week, have a new attitude; you’re trying to stop me, but I know a secret, God is going to use you to push me forward. scripture says:

Matthew 22:44 (NKJV)

44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’

that means anything that comes against you: the persecution, the betrayal, the disappointment, if you’ll stay in faith, instead of being a stumbling block to take you down, God will use it as a steppingstone to take you higher. the enemy will come against you in your thoughts; he’ll tell you things like, “you’ll never get well, break that addiction, accomplish your dreams. you’re too small, you don’t have what it takes.” you can either believe those lies, and let him talk you into mediocrity, or you can say, “no, I don’t think so, you don’t set the limits for my life, you don’t determine my destiny, you didn’t give me breath. I may look small, but I know I’m full of resurrection power.” the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives on the inside of us. when you rise up in faith like that, those enemies won’t defeat you, those enemies will promote you. you do that a few times, he’ll tell his forces, “back up, back up, they’re more powerful than they look, don’t mess with them, they know they’re highly favored, they know they’re victors, not victims.” the scripture says:

Philippians 1:28 (NLT)

28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies

don’t be intimidated by what somebody said, by a negative medical report; you and God are a majority, and when Jesus came out of the grave, he took the keys of death and hell. he said, “all power has been given unto me in heaven and in Earth, now I’m giving you that power.” you are not weak, you are not lacking, you are full of can-do power. the greatest force in the universe is on your side.

in the scripture:

Exodus 1:9-11 (NLT)

9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.”

11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.

then something interesting happened:

Exodus 1:12

12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread

Pharaoh thought that he was stopping them, but in fact he was increasing them. sometimes, when God wants to promote you, He doesn’t send you a good break, He sends you an enemy. He’ll cause someone to turn up to heat, make things more difficult. but don’t worry; the more the opposition, the more you’re going to increase. the truth is, we grow in the difficult times; that’s when our character is developed. that’s when we discover talent, confidence, courage that we didn’t even know we had. when Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites, he was trying to restrict the people, squeeze them, put them under pressure.

have you ever been washing your car at home, you have your water hose, turn the valve on, the water comes out maybe 3 to 4 feet? when you really want to spray your car off, you need it to go further. if you’re like me, and you don’t have a nozzle on the end, you put your thumb on the end of the hose, and you restrict the water. you would think when you restrict it, it would come out less, but it’s just the opposite; when you restrict that water, because it’s under more pressure, it shoots out 15 or 20 feet. it goes many times further than when it had no pressure. in the same way, when the enemy puts you under pressure, he thinks that’s going to stop you; what he doesn’t realize is all that’s going to do is cause you to shoot out further. when you feel restricted, when you face opposition, don’t be discouraged, get ready to shoot out. get ready for new levels, promotion. that pressure is not going to stop you, it’s going to increase you.

when Jesus was about to be crucified, he stopped by the garden of Gethsemane; literally translated, that means, “the place of pressing.” it was an olive garden; the only way you can get the oil out of the olive is to press it. without the pressing, you’ll never get the valuable oil. if you’re never under pressure, you never have to stretch your faith, endure, persevere; you’ll never discover the valuable treasures that God put on the inside. on Friday, they nailed Jesus to the cross; incredible pressure. on Saturday, he went down to the grave and fought the forces of darkness, restricted. but on Sunday morning, he came shooting up out of that grave; death couldn’t hold him down. one message of the resurrection; God will use your enemies to bless you.

maybe today you feel restricted, under pressure, like you’re being squeezed. it’s Friday; don’t worry, Sunday is coming. you’re about to shoot out. when you see where God takes you, the favor, promotion, blessing, you’re going to look back and say, like the Psalmist:

Psalm 119:71 (ESV)

71 It is good for me that I was afflicted

if David were here, he would tell you that it was good that Goliath showed up. Jesus would say, “it was good that Judas betrayed me.” it may have been uncomfortable at the time, but one day you’ll say, “this enemy didn’t defeat me, this enemy promoted me.” now stay in faith; God has your back. He wouldn’t have allowed the pressure unless it was going to work for your good. it may feel like Friday right now, but Sunday is coming; you’re about to shoot out stronger, healthier, promoted, vindicated, into the fullness of your destiny.

The first step to overcoming struggles is identifying them! The Word of God concludes that subsequent to the fall and corruption of the world, Satan was given the authority and capability to attack us externally (through the world), internally (through our flesh) and infernally (through the work of himself and his demons). All throughout the bible Satan is referred to as " the ruler of this world", "the prince of the power of the air", and “the god of this world” (John 12:31, Ephesians 2:2, 2 Corinthians 4:4) Beware!

1Peter 5:8 "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Galatians 5:19-21 "The acts of theflesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
1John 2:16 "For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world."
John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..."

But let us also remember:

Matthew 28:18 Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth on belongs to me."

Even Satan must bow submissive to our Lord's will!

Below I have chosen to share with you just a few of the enemy's schemes in which I have been tripped up by recently. I was really tempted to tack on "when you are in your 20's" to the title of this blog post. I only have 26 years worth of experience in this world but it seems to me as though these specific tactics of the enemy have hit me hard within the past couple of years. Once I had highlighted these issues in my life and was able to recognize Satan, the mastermind behind it all, I was able to take heart and be better prepared to combat these spiritual attacks that plagued my soul, and I hope now you can too!

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

ONE. The lie of loneliness. Being single doesn't help. It is amazing, cliche, sad, and true that sometimes in a big crowd of people, loneliness can seem to be my only friend. In times of discouragement and insecurity, it is easy to find myself vulnerable to believing the enemy when he taunts me with lies that I am unloved, unappreciated, and not valuable to the people around me. Sometimes this loneliness is legitimate, living out a set-apart life, being 'in the world, not of the world'. Instead of drawing closer to the Lord in times like these like Jesus did, we allow Satan to use this against us. At other times, the problem procures due to the fact that I fail to value the relationships I do have with all my Christian brothers and sisters around me. I fail to see the proper function of the Body of Christ and what a blessing it can be. If you struggle with loneliness be sure to check out this outstanding article by Dr. Ken Matto HERE.

Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

TWO. Discouraged in my uniqueness.Perhaps better described as an identity crisis, if you will. I become unconfident in myself and in who I am feeling worthless. I become unable to recognize my value and purpose in the body of Christ. I doubt the value of my own unique abilities, talents and giftings that the Lord has given me and get caught up in ~~comparing~~ myself with other people's abilities, talents and giftings, which is no bueno.

1 Corinthians 12:14-25 "Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other."
2 Corinthians 10:12-18 "We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends."
1Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

THREE. Consumed with people-pleasing. In doubting my unique abilities, talents and giftings, I become overly concerned with how other people view me and if I am being accepted by them, craving their love, affection, and approval. Almost as if doing whatever I have to do to please others, is more important than pleasing God and being accepted by Him. The truth is humans are just human and it is impossible to make everyone happy.

Galatians 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."
Ephesians 1:4-6 "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves."

FOUR. Condemnation. Satan tries to convince me that I am not good enough and condemns me for it.

Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
2Corinthians 7:10-11 "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done."

FIVE. Exhaustion/Sleepiness/ Physical ailments and indulging in slothfulness. Sometimes Satan plagues us physically as he did to Job, but still we must lift our eyes unto the mountains, to our Helper. And despite sadness, depression, or discouragement we must choose not to give into slothfulness.

Job 1:21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”
Proverbs 20:6 "Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer, and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man."
Hebrews 6:10-12 "For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

SIX. Being distracted and neglecting the Word. Satan tries deceiving me into believing that I have better things to do with my time rather then reading my bible. Consequently, reading the Word of God less and less will slowly cause us to drift further and further away from soundness, truth, and our Lord, which is what Satan wants.

Mark 4:19 "But the worries of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."

Matthew 4:4 “But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Romans 10:17 "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

SEVEN. Discouragement to change. The concept of this scheme has to do with the times when one is convicted of a certain sin or sins in one's life, and after repentance, has an inward heart change; desires to have an outward change in lifestyle and paradigm but faces adverse opposition among people around that aren't expecting the change. do you know what I mean? It seems as if people (intentionally or unintentionally) impose on you what you once were, not relenting, nor accepting or allowing you to change. This manipulation of Satan can bring about discouragement easily, perhaps simply through the form of a joke or sarcastic statement made by another individual (words have weight). Or maybe one just grows weary of the natural resistance of the world, and all the effort it takes in pursuing righteousness.

the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, no event has been so potent, consequential and efficacious as the Sacrifice of JESUS on the Cross.

The Cross of Calvary is the transforming catalyst, the game changer and the antidote to all human syndrome of sin, poverty, disease, wretchedness, sickness and death. The Cross is the GREAT DIVIDE between the Old and New Testaments.

It sets the partition for the Old and New Wine Covenants. The Cross puts the New Testament believer in a different class of being the POST CROSS Saint.

All the Old Testament believers were the PRE-CROSS but today, the believer is the POST CROSS Covenant Royal Priesthood.

At the cross, the most powerful Lamb of God was sacrificed for the emancipation of mankind. All that God has and owns were hidden in CHRIST JESUS, the Lamb of God.

Colossians 2:3 “In Him all the treasures of Divine wisdom, comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God and all the riches of spiritual knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidde.” (AMP). So when God sacrificed JESUS, He sacrificed all His Treasures, Riches and Resources to PAY for the redemption of mankind.

The life of every living is in the blood and when God sacrificed JESUS, He sacrificed all His Riches, Treasures and Life for the Redemption of the fallen man. The Treasure of Heaven has been crucified.

The sacrifice of JESUS on the Cross was GREATER than the sin committed by Adam in the Garden of Eden. The Supreme Price paid by JESUS has nullified all the demonic claims and activities in the life of the fallen Adam.

The Holy life and Blood shed on the Cross of Calvary has outlawed all the legal and illegal claims of the Devil against the believer. 1 John 3: 8a “For this purpose the SON OF GOD WAS MANIFESTED, that He might destroy the WORKS OF THE DEVIL”.

Poverty, Sickness, Disease, Wretchedness, failure and Death are now illegal and should not operate in the life of the POST CROSS believer.

JESUS was manifested on earth to destroy the works of the enemy on behalf of the believer. Galatians 3:13 “CHRIST hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree”.

Bible scholars have established the FIVE POWERFUL VICTORIES THAT HAPPENED at the Cross, which they call the five Ds.

• FIRST – At the Cross – Satan was DISARMED. Jesus spoiled the Principalities and Powers of their subsisting Powers. JESUS the Anointed One broke the power of the enemies and stripped them of their armour. Colossians 2:15 “And having spoiled Principalities and Powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

• SECOND – At the Cross – Satan was totally DEFEATED. He was defeated in his own wickedness. The Holy Blood of JESUS, which was shed on the Cross, kept the devil and his cohorts completely DEFEATED.

• THIRD – At the Cross, Satan and his cohorts were DETHRONED. By shedding His Innocent, Spotless, Sinless Blood, JESUS DETHRONED the wicked demonic spirits of Satan and evil. The Price for man’s emancipation and redemption has been paid through death and shed Blood of JESUS on the Cross. Satan has no claim anymore on earth.

• FOUR – At the Cross – JESUS DISPOSSESSED the Devil of all the stolen goods of the believer. Luke 11:22 “But WHEN ONE STRONGER THAN he shall come upon him, and OVERCOME him, HE TAKETH FROM HIM all his armour wherein he trusted, and DIVIDETH HIS SPOILS”. All Power in Heaven and on Earth resides permanently in the LORD JESUS.

• FIVE – At the Cross – JESUS DESTROYED Satan who (Hebrews 2:14) “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that THROUGH DEATH He might DESTROY HIM that had the power of death, THAT IS, THE DEVIL”. Through the Sacrifice of JESUS on the Cross – Satan has been DISARMED, DEFEATED, DETHRONED, DISPOSSESSED and DESTROYED in your life. You are victorious through the BLOOD from the Cross of JESUS CHRIST.

Romans 8:31 "If God is for us, who can be against us."
Galatians 6:7-10 "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..."

And the GRAND FINALLY of Scripture:"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."~1Timothy 6:11-12

"I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." ~Philippians 3:10-11

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”~John 16:33

Philippians 3:17-21: “Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so live as you have an example in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

1. Paul immeasurably extols the Philippians for having made a good beginning in the holy Gospel and for having acquitted themselves commendably, like men in earnest, as manifest by their fruits of faith. The reason he shows this sincere and strong concern for them is his desire that they remain steadfast, not being led astray by false teachers among the roaming Jews. For at that time many Jews went about with the intent of perverting Paul’s converts, pretending they taught something far better; while they drew the people away from Christ and back to the Law, for the purpose of establishing and extending their Jewish doctrines. Paul, contemplating with special interest and pleasure his Church of the Philippians, is moved by parental care to admonish them—lest they sometime be misled by such teachers—to hold steadily to what they have received, not seeking anything else and not imagining, like self-secure, besotted souls who allow themselves to be deceived by the devil—not imagining themselves perfect and with complete understanding in all things. In the verses just preceding our text he speaks of himself as having not yet attained to full knowledge.

Purity of Doctrine Enjoined

2. He particularly admonishes them to follow him and to mark those ministers who walk as he does; also to shape their belief and conduct by the pattern they have received from him. Not only of himself does he make an example, but introduces them who similarly walk, several of whom he mentions in this letter to the Philippians. The individuals whom be bids them observe and follow must have been persons of special eminence. But it is particularly the doctrine the apostle would have the Philippians pattern after. Therefore we should be chiefly concerned about preserving the purity of the office of the ministry and the genuineness of faith. When these are kept unsullied, doctrine will be right, and good works spontaneous. Later on, in chapter 4, verse 8 [Phl 4:8], Paul admonishes, with reference to the same subject: “If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

3. Apparently Paul is a rash man to dare boast himself a pattern for all. Other ministers might well accuse him of desiring to exalt his individual self above others. “Think you,” our wise ones would say to him, “that you alone have the Holy Spirit, or that no one else is as eager for honor as yourself?” Just so did Miriam and Aaron murmur against Moses, their own brother, saying: “Hath Jehovah indeed spoken only with Moses, hath he not spoken also with us?” (Num. 12:2). And it would seem as if Paul had too high an appreciation of his own character did he hold up his individual self as a pattern, intimating that no one was to be noted as worthy unless he walked as he did; though there might be some who apparently gave greater evidence of the Spirit, of holiness, humility and other graces, than himself, and yet walked not in his way.

4. But he does not say “I, Paul, alone.” He says, “as ye have us for an example,” that does not exclude other true apostles and teachers. He is admonishing his Church, as he everywhere does, to hold fast to the one true doctrine received from him in the beginning. They are not to be too confident of their own wisdom in the matter, or to presume they have independent authority; but rather to guard against pretenders to a superior doctrine, for so had some been misled.

Righteousness of the Law is Vain

5. In what respect he was a pattern or example to them, he has made plain; for instance, in the beginning of this chapter, in the third verse and following [Phl 3:9], he says: “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh: though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh: if any other man thinketh to have confidence in the flesh, I yet more: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews.” That is, he commands the highest honor a Jew can boast. “As touching the law,” he goes on, “a Pharisee; as touching zeal, persecuting the Church, as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless. Howbeit what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for who I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.”

6. “Behold, this is the picture or pattern,” he would say, “which we hold up for you to follow, that remembering how you obtained righteousness you may hold to it—a righteousness not of the Law.” So far as the righteousness of the Law is concerned, Paul dares to say he regards it as filth and refuse (that proceeds from the human body); notwithstanding in its beautiful and blameless form it may be unsurpassed by anything in the world—such righteousness as was manifest in sincere Jews, and in Paul himself before his conversion; for these in their great holiness, regarded Christians as knaves and meriting damnation, and consequently took delight in being party to the persecution and murder of Christians.

7. “Yet,” Paul would say, “I who am a Jew by birth have counted all this merit as simply loss that I might be found in the righteousness which is from God by faith.” Only the righteousness of faith teaches us how to apprehend God—how to confidently console ourselves with his grace and await a future life, expecting to approach Christ in the resurrection. By “approaching” him we mean to meet him in death and at the judgment day without terror, not fleeing but gladly drawing near and hailing him with joy as one waited for with intense longing.

Now, the righteousness of the Law cannot effect such confidence of mind. Hence, for me it avails nothing before God; rather it is a detriment. What does avail is God’s imputation of righteousness for Christ’s sake, through faith. God declares to us in his Word that the believer in his Son shall, for Christ’s own sake, have God’s grace and eternal life. He who knows this is able to wait in hope for the last day, having no fear, no disposition to flee.

8. But is it not treating the righteousness of the Law with irreverence and contempt to regard it—and so teach as something not only useless and even obstructive, but injurious, loathsome and abominable? Who would have been able to make such a bold statement, and to censure a life so faultless and conforming so closely to the Law as Paul’s, without being pronounced by all men a minion of the devil, had not the apostle made that estimation of it himself? And who is to have any more respect for the righteousness of the Law if we are to preach in that strain?

9. Had Paul confined his denunciations to the righteousness of the world or of the heathen—the righteousness dependent upon reason and controlled by secular government, by laws and regulations—his teaching would not have seemed so irreverent. But he distinctly specifies the righteousness of God’s Law, or the Ten Commandments, to which we owe an obligation far above what is due temporal powers, for they teach how to live before God—something no heathenish court of justice, no temporal authority, knows anything about. Should we not condemn as a heretic this preacher who goes beyond his prerogative and dares find fault with the Law of God? who also warns us to shun such as observe it, such as trust in its righteousness, and exalts to sainthood “enemies of the cross of Christ whose God is the belly”—who serve the appetites instead of God?

10. Paul would say of himself: “I, too, was such a one. In my most perfect righteousness of the Law I was an enemy to and persecutor of the congregation, or Church, of Christ. It was the legitimate fruit of my righteousness that I though I must be party to the most horrible persecution of Christ and his Christians. Thus my holiness made me an actual enemy of Christ and a murderer of his followers.” The disposition to injure is a natural result of the righteousness of the Law, as all Scripture history from Cain down testifies, and as we see even in the best of the world who have not come to the knowledge of Christ. Princes, civil authorities in proportion to their wisdom, their godliness and honor are the bitter and intolerant enemies of the Gospel.

11. Of the sensual papistical dolts at Rome, cardinals, bishops, priests and the like, it is not necessary to speak here. Their works are manifest. All honorable secular authorities must confess they are simply abandoned knaves, living shameless lives of open scandal, avarice, arrogance, unchastity, vanity, robbery and wickedness of every kind. Not only are they guilty of such living, but shamelessly endeavor to defend their conduct. They must, then, be regarded enemies of Christ and of all honesty and virtue. Hence every respectable man is justly antagonistic toward them. But, as before said, Paul is not here referring to this class, but to eminent, godly individuals, whose lives are beyond reproach. These very ones, when Christians are encountered, are hostile and heinous enough to be able to forget all their own faults in the sight of God, and to magnify to huge beams the motes we Christians have. In fact, they must style the Gospel heresy and satanic doctrine for the purpose of exalting their own holiness and zeal for God.

Righteousness of the Law Opposes the Cross

12. The thing seems incredible, and I would not have believed it myself, nor have understood Paul’s words here, had I not witnessed it with my own eyes and experienced it. Were the apostle to repeat the charge today, who could conceive that our first, noblest, most respectable, godly and holy people, those whom we might expect, above all others, to accept the Word of God—that they, I say, should be enemies to the Christian doctrine? But the examples before us testify very plainly that the “enemies” the apostle refers to must be the individuals styled godly and worthy princes and noblemen, honorable citizens, learned, wise, intelligent individuals. Yet if these could devour at one bite the “Evangelicals,” as they are now called, they would do it.

13. If you ask, Whence such a disposition? I answer, it naturally springs from human righteousness. For every individual who professes human righteousness, and knows nothing of Christ, holds that efficacious before God. He relies upon it and gratifies himself with it, presuming thereby to present a flattering appearance in God’s sight and to render himself peculiarly acceptable to him. From being proud and arrogant toward God, he comes to reject them who are not righteous according to the Law; as illustrated in the instance of the Pharisee (Luk. 18:11-12). But greater is his enmity and more bitter his hatred toward the preaching that dares to censure such righteousness and assert its futility to merit God’s grace and eternal life.

14. I myself, and others with me, were dominated by such feelings when, under popery, we claimed to be holy and pious; we must confess the fact. If thirty years ago, when I was a devout, holy monk, holding mass every day and having no thought but that I was in the road leading directly to heaven—if then anyone had accused me—had preached to me the things of this text and pronounced our righteousness—which accorded not strictly with the Law of God, but conformed to human doctrine and was manifestly idolatrous—pronounced it without efficacy and said I was an enemy to the cross of Christ, serving my own sensual appetites, I would immediately have at least helped to find stones for putting to death such a Stephen, or to gather wood for the burning of this worst of heretics.

15. So human nature ever does. The world cannot conduct itself in any other way, when the declaration comes from heaven saying: “True you are a holy man, a great and learned jurist, a conscientious regent, a worthy prince, an honorable citizen, and so on, but with all your authority and your upright character you are going to hell; your every act is offensive and condemned in God’s sight. If you would be saved you must become an altogether different man; your mind and heart must be changed.” Let this be announced and the fire rises, the Rhine is all ablaze; for the self-righteous regard it an intolerable idea that lives so beautiful, lives devoted to praiseworthy callings, should be publicly censured and condemned by the objectionable preaching of a few insignificant individuals regarded as even pernicious, and according to Paul, as filthy refuse, actual obstacles to eternal life.

16. But you may say: “What? Do you forbid good works? Is it not right to lead an honorable, virtuous life? Do you not acknowledge the necessity of political laws, of civil governments? that upon obedience to them depends the maintenance of discipline, peace and honor? Indeed, do you not admit that God himself commands such institutions and wills their observance, punishing where they are disregarded? Much more would he have his own Law and the Ten Commandments honored, not rejected. How dare you then assert that such righteousness is misleading, and obstructive to eternal life? What consistence is there in teaching people to observe the things of the Law, to be righteous in that respect, and at the same time censuring those things as condemned before God? How can the works of the Law be good and precious, and yet repulsive and productive of evil?”

17. I answer, Paul well knows the world takes its stand on this point of righteousness by the Law, and hence would contradict him. But let him who will, consult the apostle as to why he makes such bold assertions here. For indeed the words of the text are not our words, but his. True, law and government are essential in temporal life, as Paul himself confesses, and God would have everyone honor and obey them. Indeed, he has ordained their observance among Turks and heathen. Yet it is a fact that these people, even the best and most upright of them, they who lead honorable lives, are naturally in their hearts enemies to Christ, and devote their intellectual powers to exterminating God’s people.

It must be universally admitted that the Turks, with all the restrictions and austerity of life imposed upon them by the Koran, a life more rigorous even than that of Christians—it must be admitted they belong to the devil. In other words, we adjudge them condemned with all their righteousness, but at the same time say they do right in punishing thieves, robbers, murderers, drunkards and other offenders; more, that Christians living within their jurisdiction are under obligation to pay tribute, and to serve them with person and property. Precisely the same thing is true respecting our princes who persecute the Gospel and are open enemies to Christ: we must be obedient to them, paying the tribute and rendering the service imposed; yet they, and all obedient followers willingly consenting to the persecution of the Gospel, must be looked upon as condemned before God.

18. Similarly does Paul speak concerning the righteousness of all the Jews and pious saints who are not Christians. His utterance is bold and of certain sound. He censures them and, weeping, deprecatingly refers to certain who direct the people to the righteousness of the law with the sole result of making “enemies to the cross of Christ.”

19. Again, all the praise he has for them is to say that their “end is perdition”; they are condemned in spite of strenuous efforts all their lives to teach and enforce the righteousness of works. Here on earth it is truly a priceless distinction, an admirable and noble treasure, a praiseworthy honor, to have the name of being a godly and upright prince, ruler or citizen; a pious, virtuous wife or virgin. Who would not praise and exalt such virtue? It is indeed a rare and valuable thing in the world. But however beautiful, priceless and admirable an honor it is, Paul tells us, it is ultimately condemned and pertains not to heaven.

Human Righteousness: Idolatrous

20. The apostle makes his accusation yet more galling with the words “whose god is their belly.” Thus you hear how human righteousness, even at its best, extends no higher than to service of the sensual appetites. Take all the wisdom, justice, jurisprudence, artifice, even the highest virtues the world affords, and what are they? They minister only to that god, carnal appetite. They can go no farther than the needs of this life, their whole purpose being to satisfy physical cravings. When the physical appetites of the worldly pass, they pass likewise, and the gifts and virtues we have mentioned can no longer serve them. All perish and go to destruction together—righteousness, virtues, laws and physical appetites which they have served as their god. For they are wholly ignorant of the true and eternal God; they know not how to serve him and receive eternal life. So then in its essential features such a life is merely idolatrous, having no greater object than the preservation of this perishable body and its enjoyment of peace and honor.

21. The fourth accusation is, “whose glory is in their shame.” That is all their glory amounts to. Let wise philosophers, scrupulous heathen, keen jurists, receive the acme of praise and honor—it is yet but shame. True, their motto is “Love of Virtue”; they boast strong love of virtue and righteousness and may even think themselves sincere. But judged by final results, their boast is without foundation and ends in shame. For the utmost their righteousness can effect is the applause of the world—here on earth. Before God it avails nothing. It cannot touch the life to come. Ultimately it leaves its possessor a captive in shame. Death devours and hell clutches him.

22. You may again object, “If what you say it true, why observe temporal restrictions? Let us live in indulgent carelessness following our inclinations. Let pass the godly, honorable man; the virtuous, upright wife or virgin.” I answer, By no means; that is not the design. You have heard it is God’s command and will that there be temporal righteousness even among Turks and heathen. And later on (Phl 4:8) Paul admonishes Christians to “think on these things,” that is, on what is true. He says: “Whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” And continuing, in verse 9 [Phl 4:9], he refers them to his own example, saying, “which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me.”

Fruits of Faith

23. With the believers in Christ, them who have their righteousness in him, there should follow in this life on earth the fruits of upright living, in obedience to God. These fruits constitute the good works acceptable to God, which, being works of faith and wrought in Christ, will be rewarded in the life to come. But Paul has in mind the individuals who, rejecting faith in Christ, regard their self-directed lives, their humanly-wrought works, which conform to the Law, as righteousness availing in the sight of God. His reference is to them who so trust, though wholly ignorant of Christ, for whose sake, without any merit on our part, righteousness is imputed to us by God. The only condition is we must believe in Christ; for he became man, died for our sins and rose from the dead, for the very purpose of liberating us from our sins and granting us his resurrection and life. Toward the heavenly life we should tend, in our life here walking in harmony with it; as Paul says in conclusion: “Our citizenship is in heaven [not earthly and not confined to this temporal life only]; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

If we have no knowledge, no consciousness, of this fact, it matters not how beautiful and praiseworthy our human, earthly righteousness may be, it is merely a hindrance and an injury. For flesh and blood cannot help relying on its own righteousness and arrogantly boasting in this strain: “We are better, more honorable, more godly, than others. We Jews are the people of God and keep his Law.” Even Christians are not wholly free from the pernicious influence of human holiness. They ever seek to bring their own works and merits before God. I know for myself what pains are inflicted by this godless wisdom, this figment of righteousness, and what effort must be made before the serpent’s head is bruised.

24. Now, this is the situation and there is no alternative: Either suffer hell or regard your human righteousness as loss and filth and endeavor not to be found relying on it at your last hour, in the presence of God and judgment, but rather stand in the righteousness of Christ. In the garment of Christ’s righteousness and reared in him you may, in the resurrection from sin and death, meet Christ and exclaim: “Hail, beloved Lord and Saviour, thou who hast redeemed me from the wretched body of sin and death, and fashioned me like unto thy holy, pure and glorious body!”

God’s Patience with Human Righteousness

25. Meantime, while we walk in the faith of his righteousness, he has patience with the poor, frail righteousness of this earthly life, which otherwise is but filth in his sight. He honors our human holiness by supporting and protecting it during the time we live on earth; just as we honor our corrupt, filthy bodies, adorning them with beautiful, costly garments and golden ornaments, and reposing them on cushions and beds of luxury. Though but stench and filth encased in flesh, they are honored above everything else on earth. For their sake are all things performed—the ordering and ruling, building and laboring; and God himself permits sun and moon to shine that they may receive light and heat, and everything to grow on earth for their benefit. What is the human body but a beautiful pyx containing that filthy, repulsive object of reverence, the digestive organs, which the body must always patiently carry about; yes, which we must even nourish and minister to, glad if only they perform their functions properly?

26. Similarly God deals with us. Because he would confer eternal life upon man, he patiently endures the filthy righteousness of this life wherein we must dwell until the last day, for the sake of his chosen people and until the number is complete. For so long as the final day is deferred, not all to have eternal life are yet born. When the time shall be fulfilled, the number completed, God will suddenly bring to an end the world with its governments, its jurists and authorities, its conditions of life; in short, he will utterly abolish earthly righteousness, destroying physical appetites and all else together. For every form of human holiness is condemned to destruction; yet for the sake of Christians, to whom eternal life is appointed, and for their sake only, all these must be perpetuated until the last saint is born and has attained life everlasting. Were there but one saint yet to be born, for the sake of that one the world must remain. For God regards not the world nor has he need for it, except for the sake of his Christians.

27. Therefore, when God enjoins upon us obedience to the emperor, and godly, honest lives on earth, it is no warrant that our subjection to temporal authority is to continue forever. Instead, God necessarily will minister to, adorn and honor this wretched body—vile body, as Paul here has it—with power and dominion. Yet the apostle terms human righteousness “filth,” and says it is not necessary to God’s kingdom; indeed, that it is condemned in the sight of God with all its honor and glory, and all the world must be ashamed of it in his presence, confessing themselves guilty. Paul in Romans 3:27 and Romans 4:2 testifies to this fact when he tells how even the exalted, holy fathers—Abraham, and others—though having glory before the world because of their righteous works, could not make them serve to obtain honor before God. Much less will worldly honor avail with God in the case of individuals who, being called honorable, pious, honest, virtuous—lords and princes, wives and husbands—boast of such righteousness.

28. Outwardly, then, though your righteousness may appear dazzlingly beautiful before the world, inwardly you are but filth. Illustrative of this point is the story told of a certain nun regarded holy above all others. She would not fellowship with anyone else, but sat alone in her cell in wrapt devotion, praying unceasingly. She boasted special revelations and visions and had no consciousness of anything but that beloved angels hovered about and adorned her with a golden crown. But some outside, ardently desiring to behold such sights, peeped through holes and crevices, and seeing her head but defiled with filth, laughed at her.

29. Notice, the reason Paul calls the righteousness of the Law filth and pollution, is his desire to denounce the honor and glory claimed for it in God’s sight; notwithstanding he honors before the world the observance of the Law by styling it “righteousness.” But if you ostentatiously boast of such righteousness to him, he pronounces his sentence of judgment making you an abomination, an enemy of the cross of Christ, and shaming your boasted honor and finally casting you into hell. Concerning the righteousness of faith, however, which in Christ avails before God, he says: “Our citizenship [conversation] is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” (ch. 3:20 [Phl 3:20]).

30. We who are baptized and believe in Christ, Paul’s thought is, do not base our works and our hope on the righteouness of this temporal life. Through faith in Christ, we have a righteousness that holds in heaven. It abides in Christ alone; otherwise it would avail naught before God. And our whole concern is to be eternally in Christ; to have our earthly existence culminate in yonder life when Christ shall come and change this life into another, altogether new, pure, holy and like unto his own, with a life and a body having the nature of his.

The Christian: A Citizen of Heaven

31. Therefore we are no longer citizens of earth. The baptized Christian is born a citizen of heaven through baptism. We should be mindful of this fact and walk here as if native there. We are to console ourselves with the fact that God thus accepts us and will transplant us there. Meantime we must await the coming again of the Saviour, who is to bring from heaven to us eternal righteousness, life, honor and glory.

32. We are baptized and made Christians, not to the end that we may have great honor, or renown of righteousness, or earthly dominion, power and possessions. Notwithstanding we do have these because they are requisite to our physical life, yet we are to regard them as mere filth, wherewith we minister to our bodily welfare as best we can for the benefit of posterity. We Christians, however, are expectantly to await the coming of the Saviour. His coming will not be to our injury or shame as it may be in the case of others. He comes for the salvation of our unprofitable, impotent bodies. Wretchedly worthless as they are in this life, they are much more unprofitable when lifeless and perishing in the earth.

33. But, however miserable, powerless and contemptible in life and death, Christ will at his coming render our bodies beautiful, pure, shining and worthy of honor, until they correspond to his own immortal, glorious body. Not like it as it hung on the cross or lay in the grave, bloodstained, livid and disgraced; but as it is now, glorified at the Father’s right hand. We need not, then, be alarmed at the necessity of laying aside our earthly bodies; at being despoiled of the honor, righteousness and life adhering in them, to deliver it to the devouring power of death and the grave—something well calculated to terrify the enemies of Christ: but we may joyfully hope for and await his speedy coming to deliver us from this miserable, filthy pollution.

“According to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (Philippians 3:21)

The Glorified Body of the Christian

34. Think of the honor and the glory Christ’s righteousness brings even to our bodies! How can this poor, sinful, miserable, filthy, polluted body become like unto that of the Son of God, the Lord of Glory? What are you—your powers and abilities, or those of all men, to effect this glorious thing? But Paul says human righteousness, merit, glory and power have nothing to do with it. They are mere filth and pollution, and condemned as well. Another force intervenes, the power of Christ the Lord, who is able to bring all things into subjection to himself. Now, if he has power to subject all things unto himself at will, he is also able to glorify the pollution and filth of this wretched body, even when it has become worms and dust. In his hands it is as clay in the hands of the potter, and from the polluted lump of clay he can make a vessel that shall be a beautiful, new, pure, glorious body, surpassing the sun in its brilliance and beauty.

35. Through baptism Christ has taken us into his hands, actually that he may exchange our sinful, condemned, perishable, physical lives for the new, imperishable righteousness and life he prepares for body and soul. Such is the power and the agency exalting us to marvelous glory—something no earthly righteousness of the Law could accomplish. The righteousness of the Law leaves our bodies to shame and destruction; it reaches not beyond physical existence. But the righteousness of Christ inspires with power, making evident that we worship not the body but the true and living God, who does not leave us to shame and destruction, but delivers from sin, death and condemnation, and exalts this perishable body to eternal honor and glory.

Living in sin

There is a second way you can be an enemy of the cross of Christ as a church member. The Bible teaches that if you believe in Christ, you are crucified with Him. Your old life died with Him on the cross. Through the cross of Christ you die to sin. So if you still love sin, you hate the cross of Christ.

Prioritizing your own desires

In Philippians 3:19, three things are said about those people who love sin: “their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” Their god is their belly, that is, their own desires come first. This can be done in all sorts of ways. You can damage your body with alcohol or cigarettes. You can indulge your sexual desires outside the safe boundaries of marriage. Your beautiful car or your beautiful house or your beautiful clothes can come first in life. Then your belly is your god. Your life can also revolve around doing business or making a career. Those are good activities. You can improve the world by them, you can take care of your family, and you can offer employment to others. But when it comes to money or prestige, your belly has become your god.

There is a popular thought that insidiously makes your belly your god. That is this one: “Christ fulfills your deepest desires”. In a sense, that is true. The deepest desire of every human being is to be happy, to have peace, and to reach your destiny. That happens through faith in Christ. But there is a danger in that we think we will find the ultimate happiness in a love affair; that we will have peace when we have reached our career goals; that we will reach our destination when we have enough money to take vacation forever. When you think like that, and then hear “Christ fulfills your deepest desires”, there is the danger of making Christ the servant of your own desires. Then your belly is still your god.

The biblical way is the other way round. We should not start with our desires, and find out how Christ fulfills them. We must seek Christ, and find out how He is the fulfillment of our desires.

It does matter how you live

Then it says about the enemies of the cross, “they glory in their shame”. In other words, what they are proud of is, in the eyes of God, precisely what they should be ashamed of. Perhaps what Paul means is that they say: because Christ forgives all our sins, we can live the way we want. It doesn’t matter what we do! They are proud of that. But it is their shame. We won’t say today that it doesn’t matter how you live. But in a slightly weaker form, it’s also a danger for us. It’s a danger that we’re not taking sin seriously. But every sin is a shame! Are you aware of that? Do you hate sin? Do you do everything to avoid sin?

Prioritizing earthly things

Finally, it says here about the enemies of the cross that their minds are “set on earthly things”. What does Paul mean by that phrase? After all, if you live on earth, it is quite obvious to think of earthly things. This even has to be. If no one makes sure there is food on the table, you’ll be hungry. We live on earth and we have to be occupied with earthly things.

But what Paul means here is: they only think of earthly things. They think earthly things are more important than heavenly things. If you do that, you are an enemy of the cross. For the cross is a reminder that the Lord Jesus was willing to give up earthly things in order to win heavenly things for us. The cross reminds us that Christ did not stay on this earth because He said His Kingdom is not of this world. The cross reminds us that there is a way to heaven. You cannot be a friend of the cross and at the same time find earthly things more important than heavenly things.

When you read it like this, this phrase comes to you as a serious warning, even as a church member: do not be an enemy of the cross of Christ!

For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the Cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.”
— Philippians 3:18, 19

During the Apostle Paul’s visits to Europe he had frequently warned the Philippians about those who were nothing more than deceivers. It is apparent that the problem in the assembly had greatly intensified for Paul writes, “I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping.” These men are labeled by the apostle as “the enemies of the Cross of Christ.” They may have appeared outwardly religious but in reality they were ungodly, self-seeking, arrogant, sensual men who were destitute of faith.

There are three indictments that are handed down against these workers of iniquity: First, in the order of enumeration is the statement, “whose end is destruction.” Surely this cannot be said of the saved. On the other hand the unsaved will experience everlasting destruction as foretold in II Thessalonians 1:7-9. Secondly, notice the object of their worship. Were they worshipping the true and living God? No! their god was their belly — sensuality, which produced the insatiable desire to satisfy the appetites of the flesh. Thirdly, we are told they set their affections solely on worldly things such as: philosophy, intellectualism, power, popularity, fortune, etc.

Little wonder Paul calls them enemies of the Cross, “they had a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof.” These emissaries of Satan had no desire to understand the preaching of the Cross, whereby they could be justified from all things. Things haven’t changed very much, today these imposters brazenly substitute the gospel message with the doctrine of positive thinking, which has led many to a false sense of security in thinking that they are right with God. Sad to say, that even some believers have fallen under the spell of this insidious teaching. Sir Walter Scott said of those who are given to deception:

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave,
when first we practice to deceive.”

Thankfully, even though the gospel is sometimes hindered, it continues to be the “power of God unto salvation.” Beware of the enemies of the Cross, they are among us even at this hour.

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

The Bible teaches that you have three enemies that will be warring against you as long as you live. You must be prepared. They must be warded off.

First, let’s look at these enemies we must face. Let’s unmask them and see what they are, and who they are, and how they operate.

The devil

First — the devil. We have already seen that the devil is a mighty being who opposes God and tempts God’s people. We have found that even though he was beaten at the cross by Christ, he still has power to influence men for evil. The Bible calls him “the wicked one,” “the devil,” “a murderer,” “a liar, and the father of lies,” “an adversary” who seeks to devour, “that old serpent,” and “accuser of our brethren” (Matthew 13:19; Luke 4:33; John 8:44; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9-10).

The moment you made your decision for Christ, Satan suffered a tremendous defeat. He is angry now. From now on he is going to tempt you and try to lead you into sin. Don’t be alarmed. He cannot rob you of your salvation, and he need not rob you of your assurance and victory. He will do everything in his power to sow seeds of doubt in your mind as to whether your conversion is a reality or not. You cannot argue with him, for he is the greatest debater of all time.

The moment of test has come with the first temptation. Remember to refuse any reliance upon your feelings; they will change like a weather vane in a whirlwind. His next approach probably will be to make you feel proud and important — to make you confident of your own powers, ambitions, desires, and aims. On another occasion he will put hatred in your heart. He will tempt you to say unkind and ungenerous things about others. He will put envy, discontent, and malice in your heart. Then, on another occasion, he will tempt you to lie, and you could easily find yourself being a hypocrite. Lying is one of the worst of all sins and can be committed by a thought, word, or deed. Anything that is intended to deceive another person is lying. The devil will do his best to make a liar of you. He also will try to get you to work for him to tempt others to sin — to try to lead other Christian friends astray. If you are not careful, you will find yourself actually in the employ of the devil. He is powerful, slick, crafty, wily, and subtle. He is called the “god of this world,” “the prince of this world,” “the prince of the power of the air” (2 Corinthians 4:4; John 12:31; Ephesians 2:2).

The devil will try to discourage you, to divert you; he will seek to dilute your testimony; he will attempt anything to destroy your relationship to Christ and your influence upon others.

You ask, “How can I overcome him? What can I do? Which way can I turn? Is there any escape?”

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. — 1 Corinthians 10:13

Years ago I heard my friend J. Edwin Orr compare the Christian attacked by Satan to a mouse being attacked by a housewife wielding a broom. The mouse does not sit there contemplating the housewife or the broom. It is busy looking for a hole — a way to escape. So we Christians under satanic attack should look for our “way of escape.”

God says in this verse that He has made a way of escape.

Now remember this: Temptation of the devil is not a sign that your life is not right with God. It is actually a sign that you are right with God. Temptation is not sin. Also remember that God never tempts His own children. It never causes His children to doubt.

All doubts and temptations come from the devil. And remember that Satan can only tempt. He can never compel you to yield to the temptation. Remember also that Satan has already been conquered by Christ. His power is made inoperative in the life of a fully trusting and yielded Christian who is completely dependent upon God.

The poet put it this way: The devil trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.

To say that Satan will be defeated when we read or quote Scripture and will run like a scalded dog when we resist him is an oversimplification. But we can depend upon the blood of Christ when we are under attack. There are times when we simply must hide behind the person of Christ and ask Him to handle our problems. Jude says,

Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. — Jude 9

That’s what we need to do — call upon God.

Now the Bible says that we are to “resist the devil, and he will flee” from us (James 4:7). But before that, God says, “Submit yourselves… to God.” If you have fully submitted, 100 percent yielded and surrendered yourself to Christ, then you can “resist the devil,” and the Bible promises he will flee from you. The devil will tremble when you pray. He will be defeated when you quote or read a passage of Scripture to him, and will leave you when you resist him.

The World

Your second enemy is the world. The world means the cosmos, this world system. The world has a tendency to lead us into sin — evil companions, pleasures, fashions, opinions, and aims.

You will find in your born-again experience that your pleasures have been lifted into an entirely new and glorious realm. Many non-Christians have accused the Christian life as being a set of rules, taboos, vetoes, and prohibitions. This is another lie of the devil. It is not a series of “don’ts,” but a series of “dos.” You become so busy in the work of Christ and so completely satisfied with the things of Christ that you do not have time for the things of the world.

Suppose someone should offer me a hamburger after I had eaten a T-bone steak. I would say, “No, thank you, I am already satisfied.” Young Christian, that is the secret. You are so filled with the things of Christ, so enamored of the things of God, that you do not have time or taste for sinful pleasures of this world. The Bible says,

The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. — Proverbs 27:7

The Bible says,

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. — 1 John 2:15

The Bible also warns that the world and the “lust thereof” shall pass away, “but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:17). However, under certain conditions these can become perplexing problems in our modern-day living. Many young people come to me and ask, “Is this wrong?” or “Is that wrong?” “Is this sinful?” or “Is that sinful?” One simple question, earnestly and prayerfully asked, will settle about 90 percent of your problems along this line. Just ask this question to yourself every time: “What would Christ have me to do?” Another question you can ask is, “Can I ask His blessing upon this particular thing for me?” “What would Christ think about my amusements, recreation, books, companions, and tele- vision programs?” “Could I ask Christ to go along with me to this particular event?” Being omnipresent, He’ll be there anyway. The point is, should you?

It does not mean that in society we are snobs or have a superiority complex, lest we be in danger of spiritual pride — which would be far worse than any worldliness. But today there are so many professing Christians who are walking hand in hand with the world that you cannot tell the difference between the Christian and the unbeliever. This should never be.

The Christian should stand out like a sparkling diamond against a rough background.

He should be more wholesome than anyone else. He should be poised, cultured, courteous, gracious, but firm in the things that he does and does not do. He should laugh and be radiant, but he should refuse to allow the world to pull him down to its level.

The Bible says that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23), and the Bible again says that he who doubts is condemned if he does it. In other words, we are never to do anything of which we are not perfectly clear and certain. If you have a doubt about that particular thing that is bothering you, as to whether it is worldly or not, the best policy is “don’t do it.”

The Flesh

The third enemy that you will face immediately is the lust of the flesh. The flesh is that evil tendency of your inward self. Even after you are converted, sometimes your old, sinful cravings will return. You become startled and wonder where they come from. The Bible teaches that the old nature, with all its corruption, is still there and that these evil temptations come from nowhere else. In other words, “a traitor is living within.” “That wretched bent toward sin is ever present to drag you down.” War has been declared! You now have two natures in conflict, and each one is striving for dominance.

The Bible teaches:

The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. — Galatians 5:17

It is the battle of the self-life and the Christ-life. This old nature cannot please God. It cannot be converted, or even patched up. Thank God, when Jesus died He took you with Him, and the old nature can be made inoperative and you can “reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin” (Romans 6:11). This is done by faith.

However, you must distinguish very carefully again between use and abuse — between that which is lawful and that which is unlawful. Some of these things that will be cropping up may be sinful lusts, or they may not be.

Paul said he had no confidence in the flesh. On another occasion he said, “Make not provision for the flesh” (Romans 13:14). On another occasion he said, “I keep under my body” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

We are so to re-yield and re-surrender ourselves to God that we can, by faith, reckon the old nature dead indeed unto sin.

Excerpted with permission from Peace with God by Billy Graham, copyright Billy Graham.

* * *

Your Turn

Do you have enemies? If he or she is a person, that’s not your enemy. Your enemies are the devil, the world, and the flesh. Let’s pray today against those enemies and ask the Lord for strength to fight the good fight of faith. Come share your thoughts on our blog! ~ Devotionals Daily

We know and believe that the rule of Jesus is manifested in the church among the people of God. We promote that thought and we want people to come to Christ and be a part of a worshiping community that demonstrates to the world what life is like in submission to Christ. But, how can Christ rule in the middle of his enemies? I think that it happens in a few different ways.
The rule of Christ is not dependent upon us. He is over and above all things – in Him, all things hold together (Colossians 3:17). He is ruling over all and every knee will one day bow whether we see it right now or not. As our culture runs away from God as fast as it can, denying His existence and rule in every way possible, the truth is that Jesus still rules over all. His Lordship is not deterred by our denials.
When the Christian lives among the enemies of Christ and he actually lives out the truth of the gospel in tangible ways, the rule of Christ shines even more brightly. In this way, the encroaching darkness around us is actually an opportunity for the light of Christ to shine even brighter and for the contrast to show even greater. So, we are not discouraged when evil seems to be growing – rather, we recognize that this is our opportunity as the hands and feet of Jesus to extend His rule into places that we had not thought of yet.
The apparent growth of evil will actually be an occasion to prepare people to be ready to hear the Gospel and turn to Christ because their need will become more known and apparent to them. In the midst of the enemies of God, Christ will rescue sinners.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “The Christian cannot simply take for granted the privilege of living among other Christians. Jesus Christ lived in the midst of His enemies. In the end all His disciples abandoned Him. On the cross He was all alone, surrounded by criminals and the jeering crowds. He had come for the express purpose of bringing peace to the enemies of God. So Christians, too, belong not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the midst of enemies. There they find their mission, their work.”
Bonhoeffer goes on to quote Martin Luther in his book, Life Together, “Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. ‘The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared’ (Luther).”
I think that we have had it all wrong. We, as Christians, have been trying to proclaim and express cultural dominance so that we can be in control. Of course, we want to witness to the ethics of Christ and the behavior that comes from being under the reign and rule of Jesus. But, we are to do that as servants – as slaves – without claiming power and trying to make life nice for ourselves. We witness to who Christ is through living in the midst of his enemies and when we live in relationship with Jesus surrounded by those who hate Him and want to kill Him and remove His name and influence from everything, then Christ is reigning in ways we cannot see.
Christ reigns in North India along the banks of the River Ganges when Christians are there loving and demonstrating the Kingdom in the proximity of a Hindu temple.
Christ reigns on a hillside in Southern Haiti along the coast where children are cared for and taught and shown the love of Jesus – right across the lane from a voodoo temple.
Christ reigns everywhere that he is cursed and mocked when his people tell a different story and even suffer for doing so – especially when they suffer, because His kingdom is not of this world – it is nothing like this world.
Christ rules in the midst of His enemies. Are we willing to join Him there?
He had come for the express purpose of bringing peace to the enemies of God.
So Christians, too, belong not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the midst of enemies.
There they find their mission, their work.

Romans 12:3-8, Paul urges us to offer our lives as living sacrifices through the exercise of our spiritual gifts within the context of the body of Christ. In verses 9-21, Paul calls on the Christian to exercise love by our response to both “good” and “evil.”⁶¹Verses 9-13 speak more of our love as expressed toward other Christians. Verses 14-21 describe the behavior of love toward our enemies.⁶²
Paul’s teaching in our text is not new. The same essential truths were taught in the Old Testament, and thus Paul cites texts from the Book of Proverbs (20:22; 24:29; 25:21ff.). Our Lord’s teaching calls for the same attitudes and actions (see Matthew 5:38-48; Luke 6:26-38). The teaching of the other apostles is the same (see 1 Peter 3:8-12; 4:7-12; James 3).
As clear, consistent, and emphatic as the teaching of our text may be, it is not popular for it runs contrary to the inclinations of our flesh. We are therefore tempted to try to find a way to excuse ourselves from simple obedience to the commands of the Word of God. Let us be on guard against this temptation as we study this text. Let us look to His Spirit to guide our interpretation and implementation as we seek to present our bodies to God as living sacrifices and as we love and serve Him through loving service to others.

Our Perspective Toward Our Persecutors
(12:14-16)

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Paul is very specific in these verses. Those whom we are to love appear to be primarily non-Christians who have persecuted⁶³ us because of our faith in Jesus Christ.⁶⁴ Old Testament saints, prophets in particular, knew persecution (see Matthew 5:12; Acts 7:52). Jesus told His disciples to expect the same treatment (John 15:19-21). Paul and the other apostles taught likewise (Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12). Peter probably has the most extensive teaching on suffering for Christ’s sake. For example, he writes:
Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you; but they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:1-5).
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God (1 Peter 4:12-16).
We should not forget that when Paul writes about our response to those who persecute us, he writes as an expert on this matter from both sides. Paul persecuted the church of our Lord with a vengeance (Acts 7:58–8:1; 9:1-5; 1 Timothy 1:13). Once he was saved and began to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, he became the target of opposition and persecution both from the Jews (Acts 9:22-23; 13:50; 14:2, 19; 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16) and the Gentiles (Acts 16:19f.; 19:23f.). Paul’s words come from a man not only inspired by the Holy Spirit but from one who is well acquainted with persecution from personal experience.
Paul tells us in verse 14 that the Christian should respond exactly the opposite from the natural man and the inclinations of the flesh. Instead of cursing, we are instructed to bless those who persecute us. Cursings and blessings are pronouncements of the mouth which address the future well-being of those to whom we are speaking. Cursing expresses our desire for harm to befall the one cursed. Blessing verbally expresses the desire for good to come to that person.
Blessing and cursing are mutually exclusive; we can do one or the other but not both (see James 3:9). We cannot seek blessing for someone and at the same time seek his harm. God is not content to allow the Christian to merely tolerate his persecutors. We must actively desire and seek to bless our adversaries. Jesus gave specific ways this should be done:
You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any one wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR, and hate your enemy,’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and theunrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:38-48).
The natural man seeks to pay back those who persecute him, plus interest. He would not be content with “an eye for an eye” but would seek two eyes for an eye.⁶⁵ This is revenge. The man of integrity seeks only that which is appropriate repayment or retribution. This is justice. The Christian must return blessing for cursing, good for evil. This is grace.
Verses 15 and 16 are puzzling at first and appear to be out of place. What does “weeping with those who weep” or “rejoicing with those who rejoice” have to do with persecution (verse 15)? What does pride have to do with persecution (verse 16)? Verses 15 and 16 almost seem to be misplaced as though they might better fit somewhere in verses 9-13.
Our consideration of these verses begins with an observation. Verses 15 and 16 apply to our response to both believers and unbelievers. In theological terms, the grace we are to show is “common grace.”⁶⁶ We are to weep with all who weep, and rejoice with all who rejoice. We are not to be proud but humble in mind, not showing partiality to some while discriminating against others.
Consider then, in this light, the command of verse 15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice” and “weep with those who weep.” We can safely say this text teaches us to empathize and identify with those around us, sharing the sorrows and joys of our fellow men.
We are a part of the body of Christ, and so we identify and participate in the sufferings and joys of our brothers and sisters in Christ because their experiences very much affect us:
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it (1 Cor. 12:26).
We are also a part of the human race. While the sufferings of an unbeliever may not affect us as personally, we are still to share in their sorrow and in their joy.
We should recognize this to be true and the teaching of Scripture. But what does this have to do with persecution? Suffering and persecution often turn men inward. They find their own suffering so great they feel unable to share in the sufferings of others.
Viktor Frankel, a well-known secular psychiatrist, wrote of his incarceration in a Jewish concentration camp, where he was confined to a small room. Through cracks in the boards, he could see the stairway immediately behind his wall. Hearing a thumping sound, he peered through the cracks and saw a German soldier dragging the dead body of his fellow-prisoner down the stairs. So great was his own suffering that Frankel confessed feeling nothing at all; in his own suffering, he had become isolated and emotionally uninvolved in the sufferings of his fellowmen.
Christians can do the same. We can become so caught up in our sufferings that we become isolated from our fellow men. If we would demonstrate the grace of God toward others, we must not sink in the mire of our own suffering and pain. We must identify with others and share their sorrows and joys. This empathy is vitally important for the unity of the body of Christ. It is also essential for ministry to unbelievers.
Paul could readily identify with the Jewish unbelievers who persecuted him, for he once was one of them. He was even better at persecution than they. Identifying with our persecutors enables us to forgive them and to desire to minister to them. Thus Paul and Silas were able to minister to the Philippian jailer even though he had played a significant role in their innocent sufferings. The jailer came to faith in Jesus, and great was the joy resulting from the salvation of his whole household. Great also was his gratitude as he ministered to some of the wounds he himself might have inflicted (see Acts 16:16-34).
The connection between verse 15 and its context is to be found in the relationship between revenge and love. If one’s attitude toward his persecutors is one of revenge, it will be difficult indeed to obey the instructions of verse 15. Revenge would rejoice over the weeping of our persecutor and would weep over his rejoicing. The only way we can weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice is to genuinely seek their good. Our ability to share in the joys or the sorrows of our persecutor is an evidence of our blessing and a test of our obedience to God’s Word.
In verse 16 we come to yet another puzzling statement. Here Paul warns us of the danger of pride. The outcome of obedience to Paul’s teaching should be humility and impartiality. But how does Paul link the danger of pride to the dilemma of persecution? What does persecution have to do with pride or pride with persecution?
Chapter 11 holds the key. In our text, Paul warns, “Do not be wise in your own estimation” (verse 16). An almost identical expression is found only in Romans 11:25:
For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in (emphasis mine).
In chapter 11, Paul identifies unbelieving Israel as an “enemy” with respect to the gospel (11:28). Due to much persecution from unbelieving Jews, it would be easy for Gentile saints to view the Jews as their enemies. So they are, in one sense. But one critical factor transforms Israel’s opposition into a source of blessing: the sovereignty of God. In His sovereignty, God causes all things to work together for the good of His saints (Romans 8:28). “All things” includes the unbelief and persecution of men. God therefore used a willful, hostile, Pharaoh to demonstrate His power and to proclaim His name (Romans 9:17). He also uses the unbelief of Israel to bring about the offer of the gospel to the Gentiles (11:12, 28, 31). The unbelieving Jews may be the enemy of the saints, but in spite of themselves, they have been used by God to perform a great service to the Gentiles. The Jews are an enemy, but a “beloved enemy.”
Why was Paul concerned that the Gentiles would become “wise in their own estimation”? Paul’s warning about Gentile pride (Romans 11) explains the instruction of Romans 12:16. As strange as it may seem, persecution can produce pride. By its very nature, persecution is unfounded and unjust. Because of this, the one persecuted feels a kind of righteous indignation. “I don’t deserve this,” the persecuted victim reasons, and rightly so. The victim is right; the persecutor is wrong. The victim begins to look down on the persecutor and is tempted to become proud. Paul thus warns the Gentiles about the danger of pride and of looking down on Israel.
Persecution is sin, based on pride and the misuse of power. Persecution can reproduce itself in the lives of those who are its victims. A feeling of superiority causes one to look down upon those who are not as blessed and to associate only with those who are as spiritual and worthy as ourselves. Pride results in a falsely based discrimination, the very evil which first caused the persecution.
Our salvation and the gospel have nothing to do with human merit or works but everything to do with God’s sovereign grace. His grace is bestowed upon us solely on the basis of faith, a faith He has given without merit. We have no reason for pride. In and of ourselves, we are no better than any other saved or lost sinner. Grace is given to the needy and the humble with whom we should associate. Those with whom Jesus associated caused the scribes and Pharisees to become jealous and angry (Luke 5:27-32; 6:20-26).
Grace is not bestowed on the basis of our status, worth, or performance. The grace we are to show toward men must be the same. We are not too good to associate with and serve the humble, and they are not too lowly to receive God’s grace. The gospel is the great equalizer of men turning the social structures of society upside down. If we would love our enemies, we will also cast off false pride and reject as evil any form of discrimination based upon human merit or external measurement.
Verses 14-16 command us to do no more than that which the Lord Jesus Himself did in His incarnation and earthly ministry. Consider how our Lord is our example in the things Paul has instructed us to do.
First, we have been commanded not to curse men but to bless them. Peter reminds us of our Lord’s response to the persecution of men when they nailed Him to the cross of Calvary:
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed (1 Peter 2:21-24).
Second, Paul instructs us to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. As Jesus approached Jerusalem, soon to be rejected by His people and to be nailed to His cross, He came to the grave of Lazarus where He wept, along with Mary:
Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. And so the Jews were saying, “Behold how He loved him!” (John 11:32-36).
Finally, Paul instructs us not to be proud but to have a humility of mind which enables us to associate with and minister to the unworthy:
If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do notmerely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, andbeing made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:1-8).
Verses 14-16 give us very clear instruction concerning our perspective, especially toward those who have unjustly persecuted us. We are to abhor cursing and bless our enemies, seeking their well-being. How better can this be accomplished than by their salvation? We are to have the kind of love for our enemies which enables us to rejoice with them in their joys and to weep with them in their sorrows. We are also to grasp that both sin and grace make all men equal in God’s sight. Being saved by grace means we have nothing for which to take credit or to be prideful. All men have sinned, without exception, and are deserving of God’s wrath. No man is worthy of His grace nor is anyone beyond the reach of His grace. The grace we manifest must therefore not discriminate as though some are unworthy of it.

Returning Good for Evil
(12:17-21)

17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
In verses 14-16, the response of the Christian to those who persecute him is more passive in nature. Our love toward our persecutors is to be manifested by blessing rather than cursing. The one who is persecuted wishes either good or evil on his persecutor. But in verses 17-21, the victim is now viewed as the one taking action. It is not just wishes for our enemy, or merely our words, but our works which are in view. If in verse 14, our response to ill-treatment is the pronouncement of a curse or a blessing, in verses 17-21 our response to our enemies is seen as either the doing of “good” or “evil” to our enemy.
The first statement in verse 17 is a general summary statement. Verses 17b-19 lay down a general principle governing our response to maltreatment by our enemies. Verse 20 illuminates the application of these principles with specific examples of how Christian love responds to one’s enemy. Verse 21 contains a summary statement which concludes the argument of verses 9-21.
If Christian love abhors what is evil and clings to what is good (verse 9), then Christian love can never reciprocate by responding to sin with sin. Christian love can never practice what is evil in order to pay back someone for the evil they have done to us. Paul is not talking about justice here, which is the duty of the state (to be discussed in the next chapter), but about revenge. Revenge is returning evil for evil. Revenge is but the perpetuation of sin. It is not overcoming sin but being overcome by it.
Revenge is categorically forbidden—never is it to be practiced nor done to anyone. No exceptions are named; no excuses are accepted. Why? Four answers are given in the verses which follow:
(1) Revenge runs contrary to what society deems to be right (verse 17b).
(2) Revenge does not promote peace but incites men to hostility (verse 18).
(3) Revenge usurps a task which belongs only to God (verse 19).
(4) Revenge succumbs to evil rather than overcoming evil with good (verse 21).
Consider now why revenge is wrong, categorically and without exception, for each of these reasons.
Revenge is contrary to righteousness and to the definition of right which society holds in common (verse 17b). God’s righteousness is higher than sinful men are willing to accept. It is also a higher standard than Christians can meet, apart from God’s grace through the enablement of His Spirit. Unsaved men may often reject the higher standard of righteousness which God has established and which the Law defines. Nevertheless, society has its own standards of right and wrong. Man-made laws define those standards and prescribe the consequences for all who refuse to abide by them.
The Christian has been saved not to continue in sin but to demonstrate the righteousness of God in his daily life (see Romans 6:1ff). We are to live by God’s standards and not those of men. God’s standards are perfect and almost always higher than those of men. We should not disregard human standards altogether. Revenge not only violates the standards God has laid down for us, but it violates the standards of society as well. Revenge takes the law into its own hands. This view is dangerous and unbiblical.
I remember the statement from my college political science class, “We are a nation of laws, and not men.” Vigilante rule is unacceptable. That is why we have police and law-enforcement agencies. Revenge almost always extends the punishment beyond the crime and often promotes further violence. Society forbids revenge and condemns it as an evil. If society views revenge as evil, as God does, we should have regard for its standards. Revenge should not be taken because God forbids it and because society does also. Our testimony as a Christian will be greatly tarnished if we fail to live up to those standards commonly agreed upon by men.⁶⁷ We dare not seek revenge.
Paul probably had another reason for instructing the Christian to have regard for society’s standards. Persecution is frequently imposed by the state, by the government. The Jewish religious and political leaders joined forces to persecute Christianity, especially in Israel. Before long, Rome would cease to protect Christians and begin to persecute them. Even though this were the case, the Christian should beware of disdaining government (thus Romans 13:1-7) and rejecting all of its standards of right and wrong. If the Christian is to suffer at the hands of human government, let it be for doing right and not for disregarding society’s standards categorically. When we must violate society’s standards by disobeying the law, let us be sure there is a clear and contradictory command from God. We must beware of rejecting all of society’s standards because we must reject a few. The mistreated Christian may be tempted to see a persecuting government as all wrongwhen it may only be wrong in more restricted categories.
Revenge does not encourage peace but incites men to hostility (verse 18). Peace⁶⁸ is a priority for the Christian. When Jesus came to the earth, born as a baby, the angels sang, “… on earth peace among men, with whom He is well pleased” (Luke 2:14). Jesus taught His disciples, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Peace was to govern the conduct of His disciples (Mark 9:50). Our gospel is the gospel of peace (Luke 19:42; Acts 10:36; Ephesians 2:14-17; 6:15). God is a God of peace (Romans 16:20; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Hebrews 13:20). Peace should characterize the Christian (1 Corinthians 7:15; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Galatians 5:22). Because peace is a priority for the Christian and revenge promotes hostility, pursuing peace is the antidote to revenge. Pursing peace lays revenge to rest.
Revenge is the wrath of man; Christians must leave vengeance to God to whom it rightly belongs.James said it, and Paul obviously agrees, “The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). Revenge takes the law into our own hands. In seeking revenge, men attempt to execute judgment on their fellow men. Judgment is God’s business as taught by the Scriptures. God has promised to establish justice and to execute His wrath on the wicked. We must believe this by faith. We must wait for His day of wrath and not hasten it by taking matters into our own hands. Just as we must patiently wait for God’s blessings, we must also patiently wait for God’s vengeance. Taking our own vengeance is taking God’s place and exercising His prerogatives.
Taking revenge is being overcome by sin; doing good is overcoming evil with good. Christian love is evidenced by our abhorrence of evil and our cleaving to what is good (verse 9). Revenge is being overcome by sin and is the promotion of evil. The Christian does not “fight fire with fire”; we must not react to sin by sinning. Our sin was overcome by the righteousness of God. The sins of others expressed in opposition to us will not be overcome by our sinful acts. Sin is only overcome by good. As we do “good” to our enemies, we vividly demonstrate to an unsaved world how God defeats sin, complimenting the gospel we are to proclaim. When the sin of others prompts us to sin in return, we have been defeated by sin. When the sin of others prompts us to do good to our enemies in return, sin is defeated and righteousness prevails.
The biblical principles laid down by Paul in this text are not new but are consistent with the teaching of the Old Testament. Thus Paul quotes from the Book of Proverbs, citing Proverbs 25:20, which shows the very practical ways love is to be demonstrated to one’s enemies. When our enemy is hungry, we should feed him. When he is thirsty, we should give him water to drink. Revenge would let him suffer and rejoice in his suffering.
By dealing with our enemies this way, the Scriptures say we “heap burning coals” on their head. Does this sound a little like revenge? It cannot be. We do not do good to our enemy to bring about his suffering; we do good to our neighbor in order to be a blessing to him. Many explanations are offered for the reference to burning coals. I believe these “coals” refer to the guilt and condemnation of a stricken conscience which our good deeds may produce in the sinner’s heart. This is indeed a blessing if the sinner’s guilty conscience leads him to repent and turn to God for forgiveness and salvation. One wonders if Paul’s conscience was not stricken by the response of some of those whom he persecuted. The broader context of our passage makes clear that we do good to our enemies with the purpose of blessing them and not with the hope that we will bring a curse upon them.

Conclusion

Paul’s meaning could hardly be clearer. Such standards repulse our flesh, but they are clear and compelling. The Christian is set apart from all others by the way he responds to his enemies. He does not hate his enemies and seek their suffering and destruction. He loves his enemies and seeks to do good to them. As we conclude this lesson, consider four foundational truths upon which Paul’s teaching is based.
First, Paul calls for attitudes and action toward our enemies which are consistent with the character of God and evidenced in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus came to the earth in human flesh, God became incarnate; God was manifested in human flesh. Our Lord was the exact representation of God. He manifested to men all of the attributes of God—His holiness, His grace, His love, and His other attributes. In His attitudes and actions, Jesus was a perfect reflection of God.
When our Lord ascended into heaven, He left behind the church, His body. It is now through the church that God is incarnate in this world. God’s self-revelation comes through His Word and through His body, the church. Paul calls for an attitude toward others which reflects the attitude of God toward men. In particular, Paul wants us to love our enemies,⁶⁹ and through this to reflect God’s love for fallen men. We are commanded to love our enemies in order to be like God and in order to be distinct from lost men. In the context of loving our enemies, our Lord Himself said: “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48, see verses 43-47).
Second, Paul calls for that which is consistent with the present purposes of God. All men are sinners, deserving God’s righteous wrath. Those who have received God’s gift of salvation in Christ have been delivered from His wrath. Those who have rejected God experience a present manifestation of His wrath (Romans 1:18). They are also storing up wrath for a future day of judgment as well (Romans 2:5). God has chosen to delay the execution of His righteous judgment, the full outpouring of His wrath, for a purpose. This purpose is put forth by Paul in Romans 9:
What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, evenus, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles (Romans 9:22-24).
The full power of God’s wrath has been delayed so that He might save those whom He has chosen as the objects of His mercy. At this time, these “vessels of mercy” are pre-dominantly Gentiles. But in the future, God has purposed to turn the hearts of the Jews to Himself (see Romans 11:25-32).
When on the earth, Jesus refused to judge men, insisting that He had come to save and not to condemn (see John 3:16-17; 8:1-11). There will be a future day of judgment, when He comes again at His second coming. Until then, the good news of God’s saving grace is to be proclaimed to the world. Until then, we who are saved are to reflect the saving grace of God to a lost and dying world. We are to leave judgment to God and to the time He has appointed. Now is the “day of salvation.” Let us behave in a manner consistent with God’s purpose for the present—the salvation of lost sinners.
If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ, my friend, do so today. Acknowledge your sin and the fact that you deserve God’s righteous wrath. Receive the gift of salvation God has provided in Jesus Christ. He suffered God’s wrath in your place. All you need do is to receive this gift and be saved. Be assured that there is coming a day of reckoning when all who have rejected Him will be eternally condemned. When He comes, the day of salvation will be past, for all eternity.
Third, what Paul teaches here requires a transformed mind which sees life vastly different than the natural man. The more I study the Word of God, the more I see that God’s ways are not man’s ways and that His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:7-9). Often Christians today talk of integrating secular truth with the truth of God’s revealed Word. What is so beneficial to the Christian from man’s thinking, motivation, and way of doing things? What do we need to know and do which God has not already revealed in His inspired, all-sufficient Word? The church’s great problem today is Christians seeking to live as the world thinks and lives. Our great need is to think and act as God does.
Romans 12:1 and 2 call upon the Christian to live in an entirely different way. We are to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices. To do so, we must be transformed from what we were and not be conformed to the world. This is done by the renewing of our minds. Our thinking ceases to be in merely human terms but conforms to God’s thoughts. We must realize that to live as Christians, we must first think as Christians. This kind of thinking comes only through the Word of God, illuminated by the Spirit of God. Our text highlights the contrast between God’s thoughts and man’s. Let us be conformed to His thoughts. Let us obey Him by loving our enemies and seeking their benefit and ultimately seeking their salvation.
Fourth, Paul calls for conduct which is possible only in the strength God provides. If God’s thoughts are above ours and His ways are above ours, it is only by His means that we shall live as He requires. The Christian life is impossible to live in our own strength. Reading Romans 12 helps to better understand Paul’s words in Romans 7. No wonder Paul found it impossible to achieve God’s will in the power of the flesh. Only as we walk in the Spirit are these impossible requirements met. May we obey Him as we walk in His Spirit.
61 You will note that love is the general subject, giving unity to verses 9-21. Also note that in the first verse of this text (9) and the last (21) “good” and “evil” are specifically mentioned. Verses 9-21 are all about the exercise of love as it relates to “good” and “evil.”
62 This classification of (1) love toward fellow-believers and (2) love toward unbelievers generally holds true. It should be recognized, however, that some of our “enemies” will be found within the fold of those who profess faith in Christ. See, for example, Philippians 1:15-17; 2 Timothy 3:8; 4:14(?); 3 John 9.
63 Persecution is not as personal an offense as some others. We are persecuted because of Christ and because of our identification with Him (John 15:19-21). The hostages held against their will in Iraq were persecuted for being foreigners. The captive governments had nothing personal against them other than that they were foreigners in general and Americans in particular. We are persecuted not so much because of our theology as we are because of our practice. When our lifestyle threatens or exposes the sinful ways of those around us, they are inclined to retaliate (see Genesis 19:9; 1 Peter 4:3-4).
Men persecute those who threaten them, especially in the areas of wealth or power (see Acts 4:16-17; 5:27-28; 16:19f.; 19:23f.). Usually, persecution is an offense of the stronger against the weaker. Those who are in the majority and who have greater power have a greater capacity to persecute. I suspect this is why cursing is the evil in view here. Those who are overpowered may not be able to strike back physically, but they can always curse. Note, for example, the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39) and the instruction Peter gave to sufferers (1 Peter 2:1, 21-25). Cursing may be the only harm a helpless victim can do to his oppressors.
64 Verses 14-16 appear to have a more restricted group in mind—those who are our persecutors. Verses 17-21 seem more general—our enemies. Our enemies would include all those who have wrongly treated us.
65 The teaching concerning an “eye for an eye” was to establish a fundamental principle on which all justice is based, namely: Punishment should always be consistent with and proportionate to the crime. This principle was given primarily to govern rulers whose task it was to administer justice and not to those who sought revenge.
66 Common grace is the term theologians use to refer to the unmerited goodness of God toward all men, believers and unbelievers (see Matthew 5:45). God’s elective grace is sovereignly bestowed on those whom He singles out for blessing (see Romans 9:6-18).
67 There are many things which our society may permit which the Christian cannot practice. But there will almost always be fewer things which society prohibits which the Christian should feel free to practice.
68 For Paul’s use of “peace” in Romans, see 2:10; 3:17; 8:6; 12:18; 14:17, 19; 15:13, 33; 16:20.
69 There are those who say that God does not love sinners. If this were true, then God is requiring us to do that which He Himself does not do. When we love our enemies, we reflect God’s love for His enemies. God loved us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:6-8), while we were His enemies. God has a special love for His elect, but He also loves all men, including His enemies.

Saturday, May 20, 2023

To obey the word is better than sacrifice- biblical separation

Dress Reform

Associations

III. Separation activates the Promise of God

IV. Separation is a choice

Complete Opposites: No Partnership, Fellowship, Accord, Portion, and Agreement (2 Cor 6:14-16b)

(B) God's Promises to His People: Presence, Relationship and Favour (2 Cor 6:16c-18)

(C) Our Response to God’s Promises: Bringing Holiness to Completion in the Fear of God (2 Cor 7:1)

What "Toxic" doesn't mean

Why do we need to protect ourselves from toxic people?

Did Jesus ever walk away?

Three Biblical ways to deal with toxic or difficult people

1) Look at them with the eyes of Jesus

2) Offer them the other cheek

3) Stand strong and let them walk away

1. The Spirit Gives Life

2. The Spirit Leads and Guides All People

3. The Holy Spirit Reconciles People

Separation

1. The Foundational Principle

2. The Scriptural Precepts

3. Israel’s Precedent

4. Day-to-Day Practice

5. The Way of Sinners

Conclusion

JESUS CHRIST REQUIRES DIVISION

DIVISION IS GOOD

MOST WON’T DIVIDE

WE MUST DIVIDE

Conclusion:

The Enemy’s Tactic of Deception

The Enemy’s Tactic of Persistence

The Enemy’s Tactic of Slander and Gossip

The Enemy’s Tactic of Infiltration through False Teaching

The Enemy’s Tactic of Psychological Warfare

The Enemy’s Tactic of Attacking Immediately after Victory

The Enemy’s Tactic of Infiltration through Compromise

Conclusion

Does God Expose Our Enemies?

Is Exposing Our Enemies Hard For God To Do?

4 Ways God Promises To Deal With Our Enemies

Peace

Justice

Deliverance

Mercy

7 God Will Expose Your Enemies Bible Verses We Can Pray

What Does The Enemy Look Like And How Does He Work?

3 Ways To Protect Yourself From The Enemy’s Schemes

Put On Spiritual Armor (Ephesians 6:10–20)

Pray Without Ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Live A Life Of Integrity (Psalm 15:1–5)

Conclusion

Taking courage to pursue our God-inspired futures requires us to starve our enemies. It sounds harsh, but it’s solid, biblical advice. Keep reading.

1. Have good intelligence. You have to know that you will encounter enemies.

2. Learn how to fight when necessary.

3. Get up every day and do good, especially to those who hate you. (Luke 6:27-28)

Do not be disheartened when you have a vision, a sense of calling, an awareness of your destiny, and enemies or opposition seem to find you. You have been equipped with the knowledge to starve your enemies, whether they come from outside sources or forces within.

The Devil as Our Enemy

For the Gospel

Love Your Neighbour

The enemies wiles – Ephesians 6:11

Understanding the enemies devices - 2nd Corinthians 2:11

Here are a few of his devices or concepts that influence our culture, society and our world views.

The answer is to bring these devices in subject to the truth of God’s word. 2nd Corinthians 10:3-6

Why Live Like This?

Who Are My Enemies?

“God is calling me to forgive”

Seven Suggestions

“I would rather die than hate you.”

God spreads this table for you not just in your times of victory but especially in your times of failure.

What is God’s attitude toward us when we are overtaken by sin?

Sunday

OUR GREAT ADVERSARY

Monday

PROTECTION FROM OUR ENEMIES

Tuesday

ENEMIES WHICH CAUSE DEEP WOUNDS

Wednesday

DELIVERANCE THROUGH LOVE AND KINDNESS

The answer is to bring these devices in subject to the truth of God’s word. 2^nd Corinthians 10:3-6

Our Perspective Toward Our Persecutors
(12:14-16)

Returning Good for Evil
(12:17-21)