May 12, 2011
The Enemy
Lately I’ve found myself in the strange position of championing a sect that, from a belief stand point, I oppose. I remembered that Jesus was in opposition to chief priests and teachers of the law, yet at least one of his secret followers was in fact a member of the Sanhedrin. However I think the most applicable Scripture for me comes from Paul, “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.” (Eph 6:12 NIV) I need to be reminded that the enemy is not flesh and blood.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Gail;
-----You’ve really piqued my curiosity. What might that sect be? But whatever it is, its specific is neither here nor there. Nothing in this world is totally homogenous; everything breaks down into the more basic elements of its mixture. Hebrews 4:12 acknowledges this about the human soul, and any sect is yet a collection of divisible souls around a divisible set of common beliefs. Therefore, even though Paul, Peter, Jude, and John all wrote regarding heresies, teachers of falsehood, and proper attitudes towards these, God alone sifts the ingredients of each person’s spiritual dough. And He alone mixes His Spirit into the dough He finds proper.
-----I meet with a group of brothers who throw up heavy flak whenever I mention the possibility that a Jehovah’s Witness, a Mormon, or sometimes even a Seventh Day Adventist might actually be a brother in the Lord having the Holy Spirit within him. You’ve got to grant God His position of knowing by remaining in our own position of being able only to surmise. When it comes to either the sect or the soul, we can directly see no more than the twisted nature of outward expressions. But not all of them are without some straight natured expressions, too. We can know much about both the various expressions and their various natures, but we know less about from where these arise within the soul and at what level they’ve become twisted or made straight. That is for God to know.
-----For our judging are the outward effects of their expressions. And that judgment becomes highly situational, because it regards utility or hostility within a particular situation rather than complete salvation or damnation. Take for instance the Muslim Marine. He trained well alongside his fellow soldiers and was admirable. On the battlefield he rolled a grenade into their tent. Nothing being homogenous means everything is useful in one place and destructive in another. Pure truth is the only total exception to this rule about our broken world. But God alone purely expresses truth, and Christ was His only human expression of it. “Let God be true though every man be false.” (Rom 3:4b)
-----So don’t regard your position of championing a sect to be strange. It is quite normal and admirable in this convoluted place. Only be carefully clear about which expression of the sect has utility for which aspect of your situation, and keep a close eye on the rest. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Mat 10:16)
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Post a Comment