Biblically correct is not always spiritually correct! Part 1
Did I get all of your defense mechanisms going? Hopefully not. This is one of those subjects that people understandably pay attention to with a close eye.
But, I am not actually going to write about the what is in the title under this topic. I will do so in my next topic, because I think the defense mechanism thing itself warrants discussion. This is one of those topics that get's everyone's guard up and everyone is quick to try to find some fault in what you are saying. Why is that? I'm not saying you shouldn't test everything with the Bible. But there are certain things where people have their guard way down, when it really should be up, and other things where there guard is up too much so they can't receive deeper revelations of truth.
Why do we have our guard up? What compels us to us to critique everything someone is saying on a certain subject? Is it the abuse that has gone on in the church on this subject? Perhaps. I believe it can definitely be a catalyst. But why is it a catalyst? People really need to examine why they feel a certain way about things, because not all of what you have been taught by your pastor or minister at church is completely biblical.
What am I trying to get at? Fear is the reason for us reacting this way. Much of the time we react to error by committing another error. If we look in the Bible we find out that fear, except the fear of the Lord, is not from God. (1 John 4:18, Mark 8:15[leaven of Herod, fear of man], Hebrews 13:6, Psalm 112:7-8, Psalm 118:6, and much more)
Why do we fear being taught bad doctrine to the point where we shut people completely off, and hinder love from coming out of us for that person? I'm not saying you have to agree with them, but I want to suggest to you, that some people's fear of the enemy is greater than their fear of God.
For many people satan is bigger in their mind, in power and influence, than God is. The sad part of this is, people who think this way don't even know they think this way. If you ask them is God more powerful than satan, most Christians would say a resounding yes. The bible says to discern the spirits, but no where does it say to be afraid of them or what they have to say. (1 John 4:1) Discerning and fearing are not the same thing. If you fear what they have to say, then you give what they said power to torment you. (1 John 4:18) Notice that both these ideas were written in the same chapter, probably for good reason.
But is this truth a reality in your life? Are you constantly thinking about the possibility of being attacked by the enemy? Do you constantly look over your shoulder to make sure you aren't being deceived? Take an honest assessment of yourself. Are you always 100% confident that God is with you? Do you let circumstances and things that people say rob you of your peace in God? If you have conflicting circumstances to the will of God, and even attacks from the enemy, are you not afraid of them because you know God is with you?
I'm not looking for anyone to answer here on the forum, but rather to inspire thought about these kinds of things. What drives you to react the way you do in different situations?
With that, I will end this topic since it gets into part 2 of this discussion.
Blessings!
Did I get all of your defense mechanisms going? Hopefully not. This is one of those subjects that people understandably pay attention to with a close eye.
But, I am not actually going to write about the what is in the title under this topic. I will do so in my next topic, because I think the defense mechanism thing itself warrants discussion. This is one of those topics that get's everyone's guard up and everyone is quick to try to find some fault in what you are saying. Why is that? I'm not saying you shouldn't test everything with the Bible. But there are certain things where people have their guard way down, when it really should be up, and other things where there guard is up too much so they can't receive deeper revelations of truth.
Why do we have our guard up? What compels us to us to critique everything someone is saying on a certain subject? Is it the abuse that has gone on in the church on this subject? Perhaps. I believe it can definitely be a catalyst. But why is it a catalyst? People really need to examine why they feel a certain way about things, because not all of what you have been taught by your pastor or minister at church is completely biblical.
What am I trying to get at? Fear is the reason for us reacting this way. Much of the time we react to error by committing another error. If we look in the Bible we find out that fear, except the fear of the Lord, is not from God. (1 John 4:18, Mark 8:15[leaven of Herod, fear of man], Hebrews 13:6, Psalm 112:7-8, Psalm 118:6, and much more)
Why do we fear being taught bad doctrine to the point where we shut people completely off, and hinder love from coming out of us for that person? I'm not saying you have to agree with them, but I want to suggest to you, that some people's fear of the enemy is greater than their fear of God.
For many people satan is bigger in their mind, in power and influence, than God is. The sad part of this is, people who think this way don't even know they think this way. If you ask them is God more powerful than satan, most Christians would say a resounding yes. The bible says to discern the spirits, but no where does it say to be afraid of them or what they have to say. (1 John 4:1) Discerning and fearing are not the same thing. If you fear what they have to say, then you give what they said power to torment you. (1 John 4:18) Notice that both these ideas were written in the same chapter, probably for good reason.
But is this truth a reality in your life? Are you constantly thinking about the possibility of being attacked by the enemy? Do you constantly look over your shoulder to make sure you aren't being deceived? Take an honest assessment of yourself. Are you always 100% confident that God is with you? Do you let circumstances and things that people say rob you of your peace in God? If you have conflicting circumstances to the will of God, and even attacks from the enemy, are you not afraid of them because you know God is with you? I'm not looking for anyone to answer here on the forum, but rather to inspire thought about these kinds of things. What drives you to react the way you do in different situations?
With that, I will end this topic since it gets into part 2 of this discussion.
Blessings!
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