Recovered In Christ

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Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

THE EFFECT ON THE CONSCIENCE OF THE TEACHINGS BY EVIL SPIRITS

How teaching spirits teach, we find described by Paul, for he says they speak lies in hypocrisy, that is, speak lies as if they were truth. And the effect of their working is said to “cauterize” (Gr.) the conscience, i.e. , if a believer accepts the teachings of evil spirits as Divine, because they come to him “supernaturally,” and he obeys, and follows those “teachings,” “conscience” is unused, so that it practically becomes dulled and passive–or seared–and a man does things under the influence of supernatural “revelation” which an actively awakened “conscience” would keenly rebuke and condemn. Such believers “give heed”‘ to these spirits, by (1) listening to them, and then by (2) obeying them; for they are deceived by accepting wrong thoughts about God’s presence, and about Divine love, and unknowingly give themselves up to the power of lying spirits. Working in the line of “teaching,” deceiving spirits will insert their “lies” spoken in hypocrisy, into “holiness” teaching, and deceive believers about sin, themselves, and all other truths connected with the spiritual life.

Scripture is generally used as the basis of these teachings, and is skilfully woven together like a spider’s web, so that they are caught in the snare. Single texts are wrenched from their context, and their place in the perspective of truth; sentences are taken from their correlative sentences, or texts are aptly picked out from over a wide field, and so netted together as to appear to give a full revelation of the mind of God; but the intervening passages, giving historical setting, actions and circumstances connected with the speaking of the words, and other elements which give light on each separate text, are skilfully dropped out.

A wide net is thus made for the unwary, or the untaught in the principles of Scripture exegesis, and many a life is side-tracked, and troubled by this false using of the Word of God. Because the experience of ordinary Christians in regard to the devil is limited to knowing him as a tempter, or as an accuser, they have no conception of the depths of his wickedness, and of the wickedness of evil spirits, and are under the impression that they will not quote Scripture, whereas they will quote the whole Book if they can but deceive one soul.

SOME WAYS OF “TEACHING” BY DECEIVING SPIRITS

The “teachings” of deceiving spirits now being promulgated by them, are too many in number to enumerate in a small compass. They are generally recognized only in “false religions,” but the teaching spirits with their “doctrines,” or religious ideas suggested to the minds of men are ceaselessly at work in every clime, seeking to play upon the religious instinct in men, and give a substitute for truth.

Therefore truth, alone, dispels the deceptive doctrines of the teaching spirits of Satan: the truth of God, not merely “views of truth.” Truth concerning all the principles and laws of the God of Truth. “Doctrines of demons” simply consist of that which a man “thinks” and “believes” as the outcome of suggestions made to his mind by deceiving spirits. All “thought” and “belief” belongs to one of two realms–the realm of truth, or the realm of falsehood–each having its source in God or Satan. All truth comes from God, and all that is contrary to truth, from Satan. Even the “thoughts ” that apparently originate in a man’s own mind come from one of these two sources, for the mind itself is either darkened by Satan (2 Cor. 4: 4), and therefore fertile soil for his “teachings,” or renewed by God (Ephes. 4: 23), and clarified from the veil of Satan, and made open to the reception and transmission of truth.

What, then, is the condition of safety from the deception of evil  spirits?
(1) Knowledge that they exist; (2) that they can deceive the  most honest believers (Gal. 2: 11-16); (3) an understanding of the conditions  and ground necessary for their working, so as to give them no place, and no  opportunity of working; and, lastly, (4) intelligent knowledge of God, and how  to co-operate with Him in the power of the Holy Spirit. – Jessie Penn-Lewis; War On the Saints, Chapter 1

Dear God, please protect us from ourselves. From the sin of trusting in our own reasoning and opinions about matters that we can barely grasp. Give us a humble and open heart, willing to be wrong if it means that we be saved from Falsehood. Lead us into all truth, into the whole Truth.
Thank you Jesus that you are the Truth, and the Way and the Life. Help us to follow you, open our eyes to the deception of Satan in our lives – we are willing that you reveal to us our own mistakes which has given him ground to work in our lives. Thank you for renewing our minds so that we may be able to discern the truth from the false. We love you and need you, and we thank you for choosing us, children of darkness, to become children of light. Amen

But Jesus answered, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” And then the Devil left him for a time. Matthew 4:4