Grace and Truth
Bible Ministries

All belilevers are engaged in the spiritual war weather they know it or not

In our study of Gen 3; where we have seen Satan's propaganda that lead to the deception of the woman and the fall of mankind last time we saw that the believer faces three battlefronts in the spiritual war against Satan's kingdom of darkness that humanity became engaged in after the fall.

Every person who has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior is engaged in this spiritual warfare weather they know it or not. They are engaged on three fronts: the world's system, the flesh (OSN) and the devil (demonic viewpoint).

In any military situation, there is great advantage when we understand the strategy of the enemy. The world's system as our enemy is found in 1John 2:15; 16, and Romans 12:2; The true Biblical concept, worldliness is a mental attitude that excludes the Person of Jesus Christ and the grace policy of God.

Contrary to what most people think, worldliness is not simply overt acts of amorality. It is any mental attitude that fails to see life from the standpoint of divine viewpoint and Bible doctrine.

This means that you can actually be sitting in church thinking you are doing good and be worldly. Many believers are worldly without realizing it, simply because they do not know enough doctrine to have divine viewpoint. Human viewpoint thinking is "worldliness".

The flesh Rom. 7:18; Rom 8:8; Gal 5:16-19; is the inherent sin nature. Because of the fall mankind there are three strikes against mankind: imputed sin, inherent sin and personal sin.

The old sin nature, the part of the soul's essence that was originally acquired by Adam in the fall that is propagated by physical birth, is the source of the soul's rebellion toward God. Rom 8:7;

The old sin nature has an area of weakness, that produces personal sins; an area of strength, that produces human good; a lust pattern, and a trend toward asceticism or lasciviousness. Cosmic thinking or "worldliness" and the old sin nature are the two internal enemies of the believer's thinking.

Satan is the believer's external enemy. The devil is the source of human good as well as the source of evil. As the first sinner and the first created being to repudiate God, he is the author of sin.1John 3:8; and "the father of all lies" John 8:44;

He therefore blinds the thinking of unbelievers 2 Cor. 4:4; Since Satan is the chief enemy and accuser of God his objective is to exalt himself and oppose God.

He is also the foremost enemy of believers and seeks to persuade them to operate in the energy of the flesh by having them function independently of God. His temptation of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matt 4; is a perfect illustration of this.

In his role as counterfeiter, the devil attempts to replace Jesus Christ and to imitate the work of the Holy Spirit. He even employs a host of preachers and evangelists who not only occupy pulpits in churches but who also foment riots and promote antiestablishment activities. 2Cor 11:13-15;

Through his usurped position as the "god of this world" 2Cor. 4:4; the ruler of the world, John 16:11; and the "prince of the power of the air" Eph. 2:2; Satan seeks to exercise maximum control in his own realm through the destruction of the nations and the implementation of a one world government. Isa14:12;

Satan personally enters and indwells members of the human race to accomplish his objectives. Two mentioned specifically in the Bible are Judas Iscariot in Luke 22:3; and the "man of sin", the king of the west in prophecy, the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire during the tribulation, 2Thess. 2:8, 9;

The devil however does not personally indwell or attack many people because he can be in only one place at a time but he has a large army of fallen angels to assist him in accomplishing his objectives.

Believers are instructed to be aware of Satan's tactics to prevent him from getting an advantage over us: for we are not ignorant of his schemes. 2Cor. 2:11; The Greek word translated "device" in the KIV is the word "noema" is better translated scheme or strategy. Believers are the target of this Satanic attack because of their relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on 9/30/2012