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"Returning to our camp, defeated, we settled not down, nor partook
of any sustenance. Instead, we
gathered together to take inventory and undertake examination of what remained
of ourselves. The captain rose, and
read the list. Those who had fought
honourably, were set to the right. Those
who had failed were bound together and chained in the stockade.
Upon dismissal, each of us on the right, returned, each one to their
tent, to prepare for the great battle. Tomorrow,
we would destroy the enemy - that is, the enemy that was within!"
Michael
"Examine and test and evaluate your own selves, to see whether you
are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it.
Test and prove yourselves, [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know (thoroughly by an
ever-increasing experience) that Jesus Christ is in you? unless you are
[counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected!" (II Cor 13:5 Amp)
There is no freedom with sin in the camp.
Do not be deceived; if there is sin in your life that has not been
confessed or renounced, you will likely have an enemy within your midst.
The prerequisite of all freedom is purity.
The prerequisite of all purity is renunciation and turning away from all
that defiles. The prerequisite for
renunciation is confession. The
prerequisite for confession is conviction and understanding.
The prerequisite for understanding is "hearing."
Hearing comes "by the word of Christ" (Rom 10:17).
The conditions to all steps toward freedom are:
-
humility
and absolute honesty with oneself and God.
-
absolute
willingness to confess, renounce and turn from all revealed sin.
-
forgiveness
of all who are unforgiven.
-
renunciation
of all evil spirits that have been given ground.
-
willingness
to give restitution where it is required.
-
complete
surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
-
TOWARD
AN UNDERSTANDING AND CONVICTION OF SIN
The attitude of the heart in confession, repentance and renunciation is
critical. While there can be no
deliverance without repentance and renunciation, under no circumstances should
one pretend that he/she is serious
in his/her renunciation. God can
see through such phoniness. We
have had people come to us for deliverance, and we have had to tell them that
deliverance would not occur because there was sin in their lives.
They have responded, "Just tell me what it is and I will renounce
it, and let's get on with it." The
Holy Spirit has responded by telling us that the person must go away and really
get serious before God before the prayers for deliverance will be answered.
May the Lord grant us a proper fear of Him - and a holy hatred of sin.
There are dozens of activities that can fall
into the category of sin. When it
is all broken down though, all sinful activities will fall into the categories
outlined by the ten commandments.
"You shall have no other gods besides me."
Out of this command flows a vast number of related sinful activities and
attitudes. Let's examine some of
these:
SINS
OF PRIDE
". . . God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the
humble" (James 4:6).
The desire to be like God, and be a god unto oneself, was the sin that
caused both the fall of Satan and the fall of man.
At the root of this desire was pride.
God hates pride and is opposed to those who are proud.
Of any sin, this is probably
the most universal and rampant. We
must humble ourselves before God and bow to His Lordship in our lives. God bids each of us to think properly about ourselves, with
sober judgment (Rom 12:3). Failure
to do so results in pride; the root cause of a number of other sins:
1. "Selfish
Ambition." While it is not
wrong to want position and responsibility (2 Cor 5:9; Rom 15:20-21), it is wrong
to lust for power. The constant
struggle to be our own gods, doing what is right in our own eyes (and then have
other people worship us for who we are), drives much of society.
We must remember that, to whom much is given, much is required (Luke
12:48). The servant of all will be
the greatest of all (Mk 10:44).
2. "Self-glorification."
Pride drives many people to do anything that will bring glory to
themselves. For many, this can take
the form of perfectionism; for others, it becomes a consuming drive for success.
Anything that is done for self glorification rather than for bringing
glorification to God, can bring us into bondage.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works, and give glory to the your Father who is in heaven" (Mt 5:16).
3. "Insubordination."
The attitude of rebelliousness finds a natural outworking in the defiance
of God appointed authority. The
consequences of this defiance are "as iniquity and idolatry" (I Sam
15:22).
4. "Boasting."
Bragging about one's own achievements is harmless, to a point, but once a
person is obsessed with self-glorification, there develops a sin problem.
5. "Hypocrisy."
Some people will wear a mask, or a number of masks, in order to make
themselves appear more worthy of recognition and esteem.
In spiritual matters this is dynamite.
Christ chastised the Pharisees for such shallow behaviour (Mt 23:13-36). God looks on the heart - there will be no hypocrites in
heaven.
6. "Stubbornness."
When you are proud, you hate to admit mistakes, and can cling to a
position even in the face of opposing evidence.
Such rigidity and inflexibility can be used by Satan to hold people in
bondage.
7. "Anxiety."
The fear of losing what we have accumulated for ourselves breeds anxiety.
When our focus is on God and His provisions, there is room for
contentment and peace.
8. "Rebellion."
Rebelliousness is as the sin of witchcraft (I Sam 15:22).
No other attitude can bring about disaster in our spiritual lives quicker
than this one. To look at some of
the effects, all one has to do is look at some of the consequences of
witchcraft. We are commanded to be
in submission to:
Civil government (Rom 13:1-5;I Tim 2:1-3;I
Pet 2:13-16)
Parents (Eph 6:1-3)
Husband (I Pet 3:1-3;Eph 5:22)
Employers (I Pet 2:18-21)
Church leaders (Heb 13:17)
WITCHCRAFT
SINS
Witchcraft can basically be defined as the turning to other gods for
power and supernatural ability. God
is a very jealous God (Ex 20:5) and He wants to be "God only" in our
lives. Witchcraft is the attempt to
use and control other gods around us and, in the process, become gods unto
ourselves. Anytime a person
involves him/herself in activities of witchcraft, there is almost an immediate
response from the kingdom of darkness, to take advantage of the sin, whether the
sin was actively pursued or passive in nature.
Those passively involved in a séance are almost as likely to be
infiltrated as those who were active. Witchcraft
sins can be divided into a few different categories:
1. "Fortune-telling."
The desire to know the future is inherent in all of us.
Unfortunately, some people find that for a certain price (that of their
soul), they can learn some of what "may" happen.
This is done by pursuing "other gods" or involvement with
mediums who have spirit guides. Let's
briefly look at some of the methods:
a) Divining
with the rod or pendulum (radiasthesia).
This practice can be dated back thousands of years.
Dowsing involves using a rod or willow branch to find water or artifacts.
I have not known of one instance where this has not been demonically
inspired. The idea behind the
pendulum is that the unconscious mind will control the minute movements of an
object suspended on a string. These
movements are mapped to give different answers to questions.
The problem lies in the fact that the demons which are within one's being
can control the unconscious and effect the answers.
The same processes hold true for the practice of automatic writing.
One's unconscious mind can be possessed to control the pen.
b) "Astrology."
Under this heading one can place horoscopes, astromantic and cosmobiology.
These too can be dated back thousands of years.
God is the one in control of the future and He is not impressed when we
go to other sources to find the outcomes. Tests
have been done numerous times to see if there is any truth to horoscopes etc.
In every case there is only evidence of a placebo effect.
Certain things happen because people believe they will happen.
Bogus horoscopes have even been shown to have higher success rates than
the supposed scientific ones. Either
way, the person that bases his life on anything other than God and His word is
putting another god before Him.
c) "Palmistry."
There are certain things that one can learn about a person through the
study of their hands. In fact the study of the hands can be a good diagnostic tool
for determining the overall health and well being of an individual; but, as far
as determining the future of the individual is concerned, it is another
deception of the devil that can be dated back to early Babylon.
d) "Cartomancy."
The use of cards to tell the
future dates back to the Romans. This
too is just another twist to the process of allowing someone or something to
become a god for us. Different
types of cards are used - including the Tarot.
e) "Psychometry."
This is the ability to use an object belonging to another person and from
that object tell a whole range of things about him or her.
This process is also used to find missing people etc.
In some cases this is a manifestation of telepathy - which can be
non-demonic - but often the information is coming from spirit guides.
A definite no-no.
f) "Crystal
Balls." There are a wide
variety of objects that are used to supposedly help in telling the future.
Besides crystal balls, rock crystals, mirrors, water, or other reflective
objects are used. The objects used
are really just a focal point to put the mind into the receptive state so
information can be received from the spirit realm.
Other similar processes are involved in the reading of tea leaves or the
entrails of chickens.
2. "Spiritism.
Spiritism involves the active summoning of the demonic in order to gain
information and produce supernatural displays of power:
a) "Physical
Phenomena." One of the
more spectacular of spiritualistic work involves the movement of physical
objects. These range from the
supposed "parlour game" of table-lifting (and other object moving
activities), to the floatation of the medium himself.
Other activities include levitation, telekinesis, dematerialization, and
materialization. Such activities
are accomplished by the demonic using collected energies (soul energies) to
carry out the feats.
"Then Pharaoh also called for the wise
men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same with
their secret arts. For each one
threw down his staff and they turned into serpents.
But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs" (Ex 7:11-12).
b) "Psychic
Phenomena." Under this
heading we place those spiritual activities that involve the mind.
The most common are visions, trance-speaking, clairvoyance, and channeling. It is immediately
apparent that allowing another spirit to take control of one's body is demonic
and unhealthy. This is an obvious
contrast to being filled by the Holy Spirit.
We are to receive one Spirit and no other.
In this category, we also find those who receive visions and dreams.
These can be divided into three sources:
first, there are those which are one's own imagination;
second, there are those which come from God; and third, there are those
which are from the demonic. All of
these need to be tested and tried over time, as well as be checked by those with
discernment.
"And when they say to you,
"Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,"
should not a people consult their God? Should
they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
To the law and to the testimony! If
they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn"
(Is 8:19-20).
"For the teraphim speak iniquity, and
the diviners see lying visions, and tell false dreams;
They comfort in vain. Therefore
the people wander like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no
shepherd" (Zech 10:2).
c) "Magic."
Here we find activities that are designed to utilize the spirit world to
gain power. Magic includes: love
and hate magic, curses, a variety of charms, inflicting and healing of diseases,
voodoo or sympathetic magic, black and white magic, sorcery, death magic, etc.
There are those who think that the above listing is just a bunch of hocus
pocus. Let me assure you that none
of the above activities are imaginary or the result of suggestion.
Spiritists and witches can set in motion a wide variety of circumstances
which utilize the demonic for their wishes.
While there are some activities that are supposedly used for positive
ends (charms, white magic), these always come with a demonic tradeoff in other
areas of your life. Demonic healing also comes with a price - the
healing is paid for by ground in other areas - usually bondage to some
sin or torment. Magic used for
malevolent ends (black magic, curses, voodoo) is also very real, and very
dangerous. Do not be deceived.
There are real powers operating behind such activity.
If the demonic can find a foothold and, by some means, gain access by
meeting the conditions required by God, the results can be drastic - even
resulting in death.
"And many of those who practiced magic
brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of all; and
they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of
silver" (Acts 19:19).
d) "Other."
There are a number of other phenomena which also need to be mentioned.
1. Astral
is an activity that can have very negative effects spiritually.
This is an activity that should be renounced and stopped.
2. Hypnosis is a very
powerful tool that can be used both for good and evil purposes.
In the hands of the wrong person it can be used to gain access and
demonic rights to another. 3. There are
also those who will encounter sexual demons - incubi and succubae.
If there has been involvement with these creatures they must be renounced
and protections put in place to avoid them in the future.
e) "Occultic games."
In the last few years there has been a real explosion of occult related
games, the primary one being "Dungeons and Dragons".
While on the surface this may seem to be just a game, it is serious
stuff. The game is based on magic and the supernatural.
It involves serious violence, including rape, thievery, pillage, hack and
slash murder, and terrorism. One
must be actively involved in these imaginary activities to even survive in the
game. The more of these activities you participate in, the longer
you live and the more power you incur for yourself. Along with the basic game, you can purchase a hardcover book
entitled "Deities and Demigods" which will inform you of the gods that
are in the game. You are expected
to pick a god to worship, pray to, sacrifice to and obey.
If necessary, it is expected that you will even die for the god.
I have received information from police sources that documents 37 D&D
deaths. This
"game" is not a game, but an introduction into Babylonian religion and
occultism. The game itself, just as
an ouija board, should be destroyed and all involvement renounced.
I wish to mention that "any"
involvement with the previous activities can result in ground being given.
One does not have to be actively involved to be affected. Any form of contact needs to be confessed and renounced.
Any active participation must be discontinued.
All artifacts associated with the occult or witchcraft should be
destroyed. This would include any books or materials, articles used for
rituals, and anything that a person may consider questionable.
I have been amazed lately by the amount of demonization occurring among
younger people through listening to heavy metal music.
Many musical groups are deeply engrained into Satanism, and send demons
out with their records. The music
is designed to induce trancelike states - giving access to the demonic.
All such material must be destroyed.
***"You
shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above
or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third
and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to
thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."
Idolatry goes beyond the literalness of this passage.
Whether or not we make an idol out of wood or stone, or whether we just
set up idols in our minds, God is not pleased.
Let's look at different idols that people set up.
1. "Spirit
worship." If you talk to a
person who bows down and worships an idol or statue, you can be assured that
they understand that there is a spiritual presence and reality behind the
physical object. The lie that Satan
has proliferated is that, if there is a power that appears to be greater than
oneself, it must be revered and worshipped.
The worship of idols is simply a reflection of the understanding that
there is another god that demands worship.
God has said that it is an abomination to follow after idols (I Ki. 21:26)
and that to do so is to pollute yourself (Ez 20:31; 22:4; 23:7,30,37).
We are even instructed in I John 5:21 to guard ourselves from contact
with idols.
"The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you
shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for
yourselves, lest you be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your
God. And you shall not bring an abomination into your house, and
become a devoted thing like it; you shall utterly detest it and you shall
utterly abhor it, for it is a devoted thing" (Duet 7:25-26).
Demons attach themselves to all idols that
are used for any form of demonic worship. To
be around one, or to have one in your possession, is to bring a curse upon
yourself. The idol itself is
"set apart" for demonic use. By
having an idol (or the materials off of an idol), in your possession then you
too become set apart for demonic use! This
is very serious indeed. We must
destroy any physical idols in our possession.
2. "Cults."
In their own way, cults are idolatry.
A cult takes certain misguided and twisted truths about God and the
nature of God and sets them up as a straw man to be worshipped.
There is no doubt who the real god is behind these twisted philosophies.
Underlying all cults, runs a vein of unadulterated patronage to the
devil. He becomes the one that is
worshipped and followed. Any
involvement with any of these cults needs to be confessed and renounced:
New
Age Movement
Mormonism
Jehovah
Witness
Children of God
Unitarianism
Rosicrucianism
Swedenborgianism
Masons
Christian
Science
Scientology
The
Way International
Unification
Church
Church
of the Living God Unity
Herbert
W. Armstrong Hare Krishna
Gurdjieff
Unification Church
Inner
Peace Movement Other
3. "False
Religions." There is also
a wide range of false religions that set themselves up with disgusting and
distorted notions about God. Underlying
each of these is worship that finds its way to Satan and his kingdom. Confess and renounce any connection with the following:
Transcendental
Meditation Echkankar
Zen
Buddhism
Buddhism
Bahaism
Science of the Mind
Hinduism
Science of Creative Int.
Yoga
Roy Masters
Silva
Mind Control
Father Divine
Islam
Muslim
Theosophical
Society
Martial arts religions
EST
Metro
Community Church
Other
4. "Other forms of
idolatry." Idolatry is not
just confined to articles of wood and stone.
God is concerned with anything that takes first priority in our lives. By putting anything in the highest position in our lives, we
can inadvertently come into bondage to the idol that we thereby create.
How does the bondage result? It
comes from giving up the ground that is supposed to be God's place.
The demonic would rather we worship anything other than God, if we won't
actively worship the kingdom of darkness. Let's
look at some of these idols:
Loved ones
Possessions
Career
Family
Hobbies Food
Physical Beauty Talents/Abilities
Wealth
Pursuit of Fame
Self-righteousness You fill in the blank
***
"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for
the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain."
One can bring a curse upon oneself by taking God's name in vain.
The term "in vain" means to trivialize or speak about as
inconsequential. God's name is far
from inconsequential. The name of
Christ is above every other name (Eph 1:21) and at His name every knee shall bow
(Phil 2:10). The Hebrews so
reverenced the names of God that they dared not even say them in any form,
except in ritual and worship. Today,
you can hear God's name taken in vain everywhere you go.
We will be held accountable for every word that comes out of our mouths
(Matt 12:36).
***
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall
labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your
God; in it you shall not do any
work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your
cattle or your sojourner who says with you.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all
that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the
sabbath day and made it holy."
There are two different commands listed
here. The first is not to defile a
day that is set aside as holy - it is to be a day of pleasure and rest from a
hard week's work. Second, we are instructed to labour for six days, not five or
four. When I say `labour' I am not
referring to a job, but rather to an attitude of staying focused on the jobs
that need to be done. Whatever
God's calling is on your life, work at it for six days. Then take a day off - completely off. Satan too wishes to distort our ability to obey these
commandments. He promotes
"work seven and a half hours only per day, watch TV., carouse on Saturday,
and work on the yard Sunday." The
workaholic, as well as the lazy, fall prey to breaking this commandment.
The result of continual disobedience will eventually come back on us.
***
"Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be
prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you."
How many of us, at one time or another, have
despised our parents or made snide comments about them?
Honour is based on position, not on performance.
So serious was the respect for parents taken in the Old Testament that if
a person was to strike their father or mother, they were to be put to death (Ex
21:15).
***
"You shalt not murder."
Murder is the outworking of anger, and hatred or jealousy taken to the
extreme. Few of us will ever get to
the point of actually killing someone out of anger or hatred, but some have.
This is one of the capital sins and brings with it more severe
punishment. When Cain killed Abel
out of jealousy and hatred, God said that Abel's "blood is crying out to Me
from the ground. And now you are cursed
from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from
your hand" (Gen 4:10-11).
1. "Anger."
We are instructed to "be angry and sin not" (Eph 4:26).
Anger is a natural response to a situation in which we feel our rights
are being violated or blocked. For
some, though, it is much more childish - throwing tantrums when anything gets in
the road of a desired result. We
need to always be in a position of giving our supposed rights to God, and of
casting our burdens on Him, so that we do not allow anger to take root and give
Satan a foothold. A destructive
expression of anger is a manifestation of sin and brings the consequences
thereof.
2. "Hatred."
We are instructed to hate sin, but to love our brother as ourself (Matt
22:37) - to love even our enemies (Luke 6:27).
A tough pill to swallow. Satan
longs to rob us of love and fill our hearts with hatred and violence. Festering
hatred quickly gives ground - allowing, for instance, a root of bitterness to
grow.
3. "Abortion."
Abortion is a horrendous crime against another human being.
From the moment of conception we are considered a human being in God's
eyes (Job 3:3). Unless abortion is
confessed as murder, demons will hold on to ground in a person's life. The traumatic affects of the abortion on the soul of the
mother is also such that demons will imbed in the trauma and cause the memories
to be suppressed - suppressed so that the individual is not convicted to repent
and renounce the crime.
***
"You shalt not commit adultery."
Sexual sins are high up on Satan's list.
I know of no sexual sin that does not result in defilement (Num 5:12-28)
leading to demonization. Demons are
passed sexually, just as sexually transmitted diseases are. Any time there is a one flesh union between two people, there
is a passing of demonic rights from one person to another.
Demons thrive on this. It
was for this reason that God commanded the Israelites never to intermarry with
the heathen (Duet 7:2-6; Ex 34:16). Whenever
they overthrew an area, or a nation, they were instructed to kill all the males
(through which the demonic rights are passed), and to kill all the women who had
had intimate relations with those men (for they would, through the one flesh
union, receive the generational sin with the demonic rights and grounds).
Any woman who was still a virgin could remain with the people of Israel,
since they could, through marriage, come completely under the spiritual umbrella
of protection provided by an Israelite man.
"So they made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commended
Moses, and they killed every male.... And
Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to
meet them outside the camp. And
Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the
captains of hundreds, who had come from service in the war.
And Moses said to them, "Have you spared all the women?
Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam,
to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peop, so the plague was among the
congregation of the Lord. Now
therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has
known man intimately. But all the
girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves" (Numbers
31:7,13-18).
"Or do you not know that the one who
joins himself to a harlot is one body with her?
For He says, "The two will become one flesh."
But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every
other sin that a man commits is outside the
body, but the immoral man sins against his own body" (I Cor
6:16-18).
The multiplicity of one flesh unions has
terrible implications within a society. Having
sex with a number of people results in one flesh unions being shared with all
these people. These people are in
turn connected to other people. There
is then the ability for the demonic to travel from person to person via these
channels and unions. History has
shown repeatedly that, when a nation falls into sexual sins, it is not long
before it will crumble from within. It
is not so much the sex, but the ease of access and mobility provided the demonic
that is the downfall. This is also
the reason that there is such pervasive evil within the gay community.
Each homosexual male will, in a lifetime, have sexual encounters with
hundreds of partners. All become
interconnected and the curses of each become the curses of all.
Sad stuff.
One flesh unions occur through copulation -
actual physical union. Demonic
transfers also occur through mutual masturbation - the demons gaining access at
orgasm - but there is not the union that will allow future continual access
either way. I believe that this is the reason that male homosexuality is
far more rampant than female homosexuality.
The males have the organ that is responsible for the passing on of the
sin nature and, by its insertion into the rectum, there is the same spiritual
effect as copulation with a female. Oral
sex does not have the same "one flesh" effect, though I am not
condoning any such activities outside of marriage.
There are dangers and consequences to any sensual activities apart from
the marriage bed. All sins of fornication, adultery, homosexuality, or
bestiality need to be confessed and renounced.
All one flesh unions, with any persons, male or female, outside of a
marriage partner must be specifically renounced.
We also need to ask the Lord to break the one flesh unions which have
occurred, and sever any connections with those people.
It is also useful to command any spiritual entities that have been passed
to return back to the people from whom they have come.
Pornography often brings with it demonic
entities which will try to attach themselves to the observer.
There are groups and covens who regularly curse certain magazines,
sending demons with them. These
creatures will enter the observer at orgasm to see if there is any place in
which it can take up residence. If
there is, and there usually is, they do so.
From that occupancy they will begin to build a stronghold from which to
organize attacks into other areas.
"You have heard that it was said,
"You shall not commit adultery"; but I say to you, that every one who
looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his
heart" (Matt 5:27-28). The
meaning implied here in the Greek is not referring to the sudden attraction that
comes over a man, but rather a conscious planning and rumination in the mind of
a specific activity, with a specific woman.
Being practiced and rehearsed in the mind, it is inevitable that it would
occur under the right circumstances. Such
mental activity, too, is sinful and can bring about a curse upon oneself.
I have seen, on one occasion, a couple who wished to have deliverance but
were never totally set free because the husband had such unresolved activity
going on in his mind. It was really
saddening, for the wife took the brunt of the pain that was being inflicted.
*** "You
shall not steal."
Satan would love to entice all of us into becoming
cleptomaniacs. There is
probably not a person alive who has not taken something that was not theirs.
For some it is as simple as stealing time on the job, not providing full
labour for full pay. The sin of stealing is one sin where there are definite
guidelines for restitution outlined in the Bible. Repayment ranges from returning 120% to returning five times
the amount taken (Lev 6:5;Ex 22:1-12). This
is good advice to be heeded today. If
the person who was wronged cannot be located, or there are no relatives alive,
restitution must go to the church (Num 5:8).
Such sins should be confessed, renounced, and restitution given.
***
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour."
"There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an
abomination to Him; Haughty eyes, a
lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises
wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies,
and one who spreads strife among brothers" (Pr 6:16-19). Notice that lying accounts for two out of the seven.
Those who have made a habit of telling even little white lies can become
an abomination to God. Lying is right up there with pride, murder, and wickedness.
I would like at this point to discuss some
other sins (which proceed out of our mouths) that can become a trap of Satan's:
a. "Curses."
A curse is the wishing of harm upon another.
This wishing projects energy that in turn can allow demons to attack and
inflict the desire of the wish. We
are called to love them that hate us and bless them that curse us.
Any harm that we have spoken out against another needs to be renounced
and rejected.
b. "Self-curses."
It is possible for a person to curse him/herself in the same way as to
curse another. All such should be renounced and rejected.
c. "Oaths."
We have often found that people who bind themselves by
"swearing" to do something and then failing to do it, come under
condemnation. Christ said,
"Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, `You shall not make
false vows, but shall fulfil your vows to the Lord.' But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for
it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet,
or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make
one hair white or black. But let
your statement be, `Yes, yes' or `No, no'; and anything beyond these is of
evil" (Matt 5:33-37; see also Jam 5:12).
An often heard oath is - "By God, I am just going to do that!"
Beware lest you fall into the hands of the evil one.
d. "Pacts/Covenants"
A pact or covenant is the making of an agreement between two parties that
becomes legally binding upon both parties.
God often made covenants with His children,
but there are forms of covenants that are made with the fallen kingdom
too. These should be avoided.
God said in Exodus 34:12, "Watch yourself that you make no covenant
with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, lest it become a
snare in your midst.... Lest you
make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they play the harlot with
their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invite you to eat of his
sacrifice; and you take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters
play the harlot with their gods, and cause your sons also to play the harlot
with their gods." "You
shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
They shall not live in your land, lest they make you sin against Me; for
if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you" (Ex 23:32-33).
We often find that those coming out of
witchcraft or the occult have made both formal (in writing) and informal
(verbal) pacts with either the devil or with the organization involved.
The most powerful pact that can be made involves a pact written in the
blood of one or both parties. All
pacts and covenants that have been made with the wrong parties must be broken,
renounced and rejected.
e. "Speaking
against another." "Do
not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be
judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door" (Jam 5:9).
If we have a problem with someone we are to take it directly to him/her,
not to another first. It is the
business of the church body to judge, not that of an individual. Gossip is not in the Holy Spirit's vocabulary.
f. "Bribery."
"He who walks righteously, and speaks with sincerity, and shakes his
hands so that they hold no bribe; he who rejects unjust gain; he who stops his
ears from hearing about bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;
He will dwell on the heights; his refuge will be the impregnable rock;
his bread will be given him; his water will be sure" (Is 33:15-16).
Bribery blinds the eyes to truth, and allows evil to extend its reach (I
Sam 12:3).
***
"You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet
your neighbour's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his
donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbour."
The desires that spring out of the sin of
pride, when turned outwards against other people, result in a host of "give
to me, take from you" attitudes:
a. "Jealous
Envy." "For where
jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil
thing" (James 3:16). The Bible
does not say that it is wrong to want something for yourself.
We are to be content with that which we have (Phil 4:11), but we can
strive for the good things in life (Eccl 11:9).
We are never to be jealous of the successes of others, or desire what
they have. To do so will cause
problems.
b. "Resentment."
Resentment was behind the first murder in the Bible.
Cain was jealous that God had approved of Abel's sacrifice.
This jealousy turned to resentment and hatred.
That turned to murder. Have
you ever wished someone else was dead because they got what you wanted?
This is directly forbidden in the Ninth Commandment.
c. "Criticism/Condemnation."
Often, when we are jealous of others, we will begin to look for ways to
bring them down to our level. Why
try and compete with the Joneses when it is easier to bring them down to where
we are at? This is definitely not related to any fruit of the Holy
Spirit.
***
"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
The second is this, you shall love your neighbour as yourself."
Upon these two laws hang all the laws and
commandments. If you are involved in or doing anything which would
contravene the spirit of these two laws, then you are involved in sin.
Confess, renounce and turn away.
CONFESSION
AND RENUNCIATION
You will notice that, as I have gone through the lists of sin, there are
continual references to both confession and renunciation. Most people only confess their sins and do not renounce them.
Others do not even confess, but just try to stop the sinful activity.
Confession is critical: "If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I Jn 1:9).
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one
another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can
accomplish much" (Jam 5:16). It
is critical that we confess our sins, so that we may be forgiven by God.
It is not enough to sin, then confess, and repeat the same process again
and again. There must be a complete
turning away from the sin, if there is to be victory and freedom.
Proverbs 28:13 says: "He who conceals his transgression will not
prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find
compassion." Paul writes:
"but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame... "
(2 Cor 4:2). God will not be
mocked. We cannot say, "OK
God, I sinned again. Forgive me." and then turn around and do it again and
again. He is able to see our
hearts. So too can the demonic -
they know that, if we both confess and renounce sin, their days are numbered and
they will soon be evicted from their current `house'.
 
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