Discerning Religious Spirits
Our pews are full of religious spirits, and discernment is required to know who.
As a result of my recent article on whether the Jews of today are still God’s chosen people, a confrontation ensued with a Dispensationalist person who will remain anonymous. Still, I think the lesson learned is worth sharing.
Religious spirits rarely test themselves, and when challenged on that which is of religion, they tend to become aggressive. Paul commanded us to examine ourselves:
2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
You will never know a religious spirit unless prepared to challenge it. Accommodating opinions not based on biblical truth shows a lack of discernment and, at worst, a lack of knowledge of truth.
Challenging a religious spirit is part of our brief as a card-carrying believer in Christ:
Jude 1:3 ESV Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
The Spirit moved Jude, Yeshua’s half-brother, to urge believers to challenge the false religious spirits that had already entered The Way. Satan is very good at his job and has vowed to wage war against all believers in the Church Age:
Revelation 12:17 ESV Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
The dragon is Satan, and the woman is the body of faithful believers. The rest of her offspring are those who commit their lives to Christ. “And he stood on the sand of the sea” means he is standing on the Earth and among the people.
It may shock you, but Satan is right in the midst of what we call “Church”.
Most are not aware, believing that Christ has neutralised Satan on the cross. The common belief is that when YOU do something, like pray the sinner’s prayer, your troubles are over, and happy days are here again. This is a satanic lie. When HE does something IN YOU, you are saved.
Luke 23:40-43 ESV But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? (41) And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” (42) And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (43) And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Christ had moved in the thief and changed his heart, qualifying him as he enacted what he knew to be true.
YAH does not recognise the commitment to a social gospel. If you have been invited to “Church” by a friend and felt emotionally drawn to an alter call, you are unlikely to be genuinely saved. It may happen, but you will know if your life changes. If you merely attend services and serve in your “church”, but everything else remains constant, then salvation is not yours.
If you are “elect”, the foreknown by God (Romans 8:29), you are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. You will face many “fork in the road” experiences, where Christ will challenge you to take the road less travelled. If you continue down the road most travelled, you may miss the boat when YAH calls “time”. You are not foreknown if you do not face these “fork in the road” calls from Christ.
The Spirit of Christ is active in believers. Discernment of religious spirits will become second nature to those conformed to the image of Christ. You will know when to challenge, to contend for the faith. You will undoubtedly lose some friends, but this is a by-product of the narrow gate. These religious spirits become angry when challenged, and you will end up in duelling scriptures, but you will know when you are fighting evil.
Be the first to jump off the merry-go-round if possible, quit gracefully, and pray for the contestant’s salvation.
Remember that you are an Ambassador for Christ, speaking truth with authority. Be courageous and believe that YAH will give you the right words when needed.
Bless you all.
Geoff