The reason this happens is not hard to find. Man with a sin nature is a born enemy of Christ, for it is Satan in the sinner who most strongly opposes Christ.
Man with the sin nature and death-life will desire to remain under the law, for it is Satan who finally uses the law to his own ends.
Satan strives against the freedom of the true gospel, and he becomes very religious when law is embraced.
It is Satan who wants the church to rule rather than Christ.
It is Satan who wants man's doctrine to be advocated over the teaching of the Holy Spirit to the believer. It is Satan who will take the heart set free by the Christ-life, through the outward sanctities of traditional ceremonies, gorgeous vestments and rituals, and turn the soul to darkness of religion.
Such a believer who is so involved finally longs for an impressive and authoritative constitution, one which will overpower the senses and rule the world.
Even though such a believer has Christ in him, when misled in his soul by false teaching, he will desire a fixed body of doctrine and will demand that everybody give allegiance to it until all are stereotyped.
He will demand that all divine mysteries be explained by the hierarchy of religion, and the revealing work of the Holy Spirit will be obliterated. Finally, in man will be the answer to every possible question.
He will be the rock, the leader, and it is to him finally that the church will build monuments and because of him that the people will be denied the wholeness of Christ.
It is such as this that happens today, where religion has become highly visible and the mystery of Christ in us eclipsed.
Everything must be made visible so that the natural man can grasp the gospel.
That gospel is nothing but an extension of the knowledge of good and evil.
When Satan gets his hold, by law, his message is simple: "be good; don't do evil."
Man with the sin nature and death-life will desire to remain under the law, for it is Satan who finally uses the law to his own ends.
Satan strives against the freedom of the true gospel, and he becomes very religious when law is embraced.
It is Satan who wants the church to rule rather than Christ.
It is Satan who wants man's doctrine to be advocated over the teaching of the Holy Spirit to the believer. It is Satan who will take the heart set free by the Christ-life, through the outward sanctities of traditional ceremonies, gorgeous vestments and rituals, and turn the soul to darkness of religion.
Such a believer who is so involved finally longs for an impressive and authoritative constitution, one which will overpower the senses and rule the world.
Even though such a believer has Christ in him, when misled in his soul by false teaching, he will desire a fixed body of doctrine and will demand that everybody give allegiance to it until all are stereotyped.
He will demand that all divine mysteries be explained by the hierarchy of religion, and the revealing work of the Holy Spirit will be obliterated. Finally, in man will be the answer to every possible question.
He will be the rock, the leader, and it is to him finally that the church will build monuments and because of him that the people will be denied the wholeness of Christ.
It is such as this that happens today, where religion has become highly visible and the mystery of Christ in us eclipsed.
Everything must be made visible so that the natural man can grasp the gospel.
That gospel is nothing but an extension of the knowledge of good and evil.
When Satan gets his hold, by law, his message is simple: "be good; don't do evil."
