Reform Church Audio Articles

Length: 7 Minutes

Confession is very misunderstood in the church today. It’s either dismissed or it’s taught as the means by which we receive from God. Confession is important, but not because of what it is, but because of what it indicates.

Years ago, there were a lot of things that I used to say flippantly that I don’t anymore. I would joke about oldness, sickness, my appearance, my bad habits etc. That is, until I grew a bit more. For instance, when I was younger, I used to joke about how I was addicted to sugar because I had a sweet tooth. I would joke about overeating and how hard it was to stop. The more I got to know the Lord, the more I stopped speaking like that. No one coerced me into it. I wasn’t trying to watch my words. I just stopped joking about my tendency to eat too many sweets, because I stopped believing it. I don’t believe that I’m bound to anything in this world. If there is food that is not profitable to me, I now realize that it is not a part of my new nature to be addicted to it. 

Back when I was still joking about “being addicted to sugar,” I could’ve said that I was trusting the Lord with getting in shape. I could’ve said that I believed temperance was a part of my new nature. I could’ve said that I was acknowledging who I was in Christ in this area. But if I was still joking about my lack of temperance in my eating, I still believed it.

I would’ve liked to think that I believed something else, but those words were still in my mouth. And while it’s still coming out of your mouth, you still believe it, because your mouth speaks out of the abundance of your heart.

Luke 6:45 (NKJV) …For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Confession itself is not how you receive from God. You receive from God by faith in what Jesus has done (Romans 5:2), but you can’t say you abundantly believe something, while you are still speaking the contrary. When we joke about overeating, being old, or some inability — as if it’s just our lot in life — when we’re complaining about how bad things look, we can’t say that we’re meditating on anything else.

One might say, “I do believe the truth, but still find myself speaking contrary.” That’s because it’s not just the things that are in your heart that you speak. It’s the things that are abundantly in your heart that you speak. The things that are most prevalent in your heart are the things you’re going to talk about. When the gospel’s more prevalent than anything else, you’ll speak about the gospel more frequently. When other things become more prevalent, even though we still believe the gospel, we’ll end up speaking about other things. It’s not just what’s in your heart. It’s what’s abundantly in your heart.

As we said before, speaking the truth is not how you receive from God. Speaking is a work, and we don’t receive by works. It’s a simple as that. But while we don’t receive by speaking the truth, we also can’t receive without it. How can I say that? It’s not because we receive through confession, but because confession shows what we believe about Jesus. And we receive through that belief!

Let me give you an example. Let’s speak in mere human terms for a moment. If a thermometer is hanging on the wall in someone’s house, and it reads “-20°” is that dangerous to a human body? Yes it is. That’s a bad thing. But what are we saying? Is the thermometer dangerous? No. It’s not the thermometer that’s dangerous. The thermometer’s not going to hurt anybody. It’s what it’s showing that is dangerous.

Your mouth is like that thermometer. It’s an indicator. Your mouth is the thermometer which gives a reading of what’s in your heart. It’s not really your words that are important. It’s what they’re showing that is important. This is why I can tell you that you don’t receive by your words, nevertheless, you also won’t receive from God until your words start lining up with the truth — not because of the words themselves, but because of what they’re indicating. They indicate what we believe. Just like that thermometer indicates the temperature in the house.

Unfortunately, when people hear this, they immediately start being careful about what they say. They start trying to change they’re words. That’s not the right way to go about it. The Bible says that God doesn’t want us to change our words. You heard right. God doesn’t want us to change our words. God just wants us to change our thinking. Your words will follow.

We don’t receive from God by what we speak. If we start trying to change what we speak, but we still believe the same, we’re not going to receive anything more from God! If you hear yourself say something that you know is contrary to the gospel (as everyone will at some point), then you know that you need to get your thinking right about that particular subject. Don’t let this article drive you to be careful about words. Let it drive you to be careful to think in line with Jesus!

In Matthew 12, Jesus said that we shouldn’t change our words. We should just change our mind. He refers to our words as fruit and our mind as the tree.

Matthew 12:33-34 (NKJV) “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart [the tree] the mouth speaks [the fruit].

Jesus’ advice is, “Don’t change your words. Either make your mind bad and your words will be bad, or make your mind good and your words will be good.” That is the interpretation of what Jesus was saying.

Your words are just following and reacting to what you’re thinking on. So, if the words are bad, don’t change the words. That won’t help anything. Just change the mind and the words will follow!

Let’s go back to the thermometer analogy. If you look at that thermometer on the wall, and it reads “-20°,” why would you try to alter the thermometer? That’s not going to help anything. It’s only indicating what’s going on in the house. Don’t alter the thermometer. Turn the heat up! Change the temperature! 

When we try to change our words, like they are the problem, it’s like trying to alter the thermometer. You’re just changing the indicator, not what it’s indicating! Your words are only indicating what’s in your head, so don’t change your words. Turn your eyes to Jesus and think in line with your new self!

God wants us to either think the right thing or think the wrong thing. That’s the choice. The words are just fruit which will indicate what we’re thinking on. If we think a lot about a subject, we will speak a lot about that subject. If we’re thinking on fears and doubts, we will speak fears and doubts. Or, instead of meditating on what we currently see in our life, if we meditate on the wonderful works that God has done for our life, we will speak with excellence. We will speak like we’re blessed. We will speak like we’re free. We will speak like we have a confident expectation of manifestation! All the while, automatically helping everyone around us as well! That’s easy ministry!

Even when our words line up with the truth, we’re not receiving by our words. We are receiving by the truth of Jesus that we believe. Nothing else. Don’t change the words. Change the thinking.

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Length: 8 Minutes

The Old Testament was people trying to change their lives for God. In the New Testament it’s God that works in us, to change our lives for us! When you learn about this rest, it is an amazing relief, but some may have some misconceptions on how this works.

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith…

The law of Moses proved that people cannot successfully work for God. So in this New Testament, we merely grow in our faith in Jesus and He’s the one that works through us! He does the living! This is what rest from works is like. All of this is true and is amazing to know, but there is a misconception that many may have.

When some people hear that rest is available because Jesus can work through them, many will sit around waiting for God to work their circumstances out, from the outside in. Here’s what I mean:

I’m not saying that the Holy Spirit can’t cause a check to come in the mail, someone to offer you a job, or work in a circumstance outside of you. The Lord can, and will do, all the above. But we can’t forget this fact: Who is the one believing the Lord here? You are, right? Well, if you are the one believing the Lord, the Lord is working through you! The power, the activity, the miracles are coming from in you. If that’s the case, why should we always be looking for the Lord to work in our lives from the outside in? If God is working within you, why wouldn’t we assume that frequently, if not most of the time, He wants to use your own body and mind to make the change that we’re seeking?

Philippians 2:13 (NKJV) for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

This verse says, “It is God who works in you.” We can glean two things from this. On the one hand, we can see that it is God who works, which is where we get our rest from. On the other hand, it says that God works in you. You are the instrument through which He’s working. This will keep us from constantly looking for change to happen from the outside in. 

Many times, we’re looking for the Lord to work in a circumstance or person outside of us to change things for us. We’re waiting for it all to get better, but God works in you! Christ lives in you! Not them. In you! Not in your circumstance, toward you. In you, toward your circumstance! We are the ones believing Him, so we’re the ones God is working through! 

Am I teaching works? Am I teaching effort for God? All the contrary. We merely renew our minds, but if we’re truly doing that, I’m saying that it is God who works in you. It’s the “in you” part that we don’t realize sometimes. The change that God makes in your circumstance is coming from within your own flesh, toward your circumstance. That means there’s going to be visible change that God makes in your own actions, decisions, and thoughts to bring His will to pass on the earth. It’s not happening to you from the outside in. It’s happening from inside of you, out.

None of this is to say that the Holy Spirit cannot, and will not, work in your circumstances without you ever laying a finger on them. God does this all the time. God will work in circumstances before you even get to them. The Bible is full of examples of God working circumstances out for people’s good, without their flesh being directly involved. 

God was striking fear in the Midianites, behind the scenes, without Gideon even knowing (Judges 7:15). God was giving Pharoah dreams, which led to Joseph’s exaltation, even when he was still in prison (Genesis 41). Even this power was coming from within them, but we can see that God will certainly work in other people or circumstances. I’m only correcting the idea that “God working through us” looks like us waiting on circumstances to change, without any movement or initiative through us. 

God will act, desire, and think things through you that will initiate change in this world. You will begin to determine things in your mind that God is determining. You will begin to take initiatives that God is taking. Determination, initiative, and a “go get ‘em” attitude is not contrary to rest from works. That is, when these feelings are from God, in those who are learning Jesus.

This does not diminish rest from works. This explains it. All these things are enacted through belief, not effort or willpower. These things don’t happen because you go out and try to force them. This transformation only happens when you renew your mind. I’m just showing you what it looks like when you do. 

For those who are truly delighting in the Lord, go with His flow (Psalms 37:4-5). Let the nature of God work in you. God will give you desires in your mind and compelling in your actions. Sometimes, there’s nothing more for you to physically do about the situation. Just don’t limit God by thinking He doesn’t want to use your own body and mind to make change in this world. 

Why is all this important to understand? Because we need to believe correctly, to manifest the Lord correctly. If we don’t understand how the gospel works, we will be lacking in our receiving. We will be waiting around for circumstances to finally line up for us. All the while, if you will take His one easy and light yoke (Matthew 11:29), God will make powerful change through you. Instead of waiting for change to come from the outside in, you’ll recognize that change comes from the One inside of you, out!

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Length: 7 Minutes

Many years ago, I started learning about how forgiven and righteous I was through Jesus. It was an amazing revelation. I finally felt clean and presentable before the Lord. Whenever I did something wrong, I would remember how righteous the Lord had made me. While that was an unspeakable consolation to me, something was missing, and I didn’t know what it was.

At the time, my mentality was, “No matter how many times I fail God’s standard, He still loves me and I’m still righteous through Jesus.” The part about God loving me and being righteous was amazing, but it still bothered me how frequently I was “failing God’s standard” …or so I thought.

I figured God had certain expectations for my life, but even when I fell below those expectations, I was still righteous. I was certainly happy about this, but if you can understand, I sort of felt like a righteous failure.“I’m righteous, but I’m failing His standard constantly. I’m righteous, but I keep missing the bar He wants me to reach in my life. I’m righteous, but I’d also like to meet God’s expectations for once! That is, until I realized the truth about God’s expectations.

It’s true that I was justified through Jesus, but the part about me failing His standard simply was not.

Sin is, of course, unprofitable and not the will of God. But sin (in our actions, thoughts, or speech) is not a failure of God standard. How can this be? Because God has changed the standard for us in this New Testament. This may be contrary to what you’ve heard, but stay with me.

In the Old Testament, the law was, “Honor your father and mother, don’t covet, don’t bear false witness, etc.” – everything to do with your actions and desires. Now we live in a New Testament, with a new High Priest, with better promises, and for those who don’t know, a brand-new law. Yep, there’s a new standard in town.

Hebrews 7:12 (NKJV) For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.

You need to understand our “Obedience of Faith” material for any of this to make sense, but in the New Testament, the new standard is called just that: “the obedience of faith.” That means that the only thing God is requiring from people is to believe what Jesus has done for them. In the Old Testament, it was about what you could do for God. In the New Testament, the actual standard, is to merely believe what Jesus has done for you!

Romans 16:26 (ASV) …according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith:

John 6:29 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

In this new covenant, there’s a new standard, and that standard is to merely see what Jesus has done! Right there. That is the piece of the puzzle I was missing. 

I thought that God had certain expectations for me to live out, and despite my failure to these expectations, I was still righteous. But that is not a truthful perspective. God never had those expectations of me. It’s true that I was righteous, despite anything I did wrong, but I didn’t realize that God had no expectations of me to change those wrongs myself. I wasn’t failing His expectations, because He didn’t have those expectations to begin with. 

Trust me, I was doing things wrong repeatedly, but I wasn’t failing God standard. You can’t fail a standard that God doesn’t have. God had no expectations of me to fix my life. He had no expectations of me to rectify my wrongs. He just wanted me to renew my mind to who Jesus was, and that would transform me all by itself (Romans 12:2). But if we need to transform ourselves, then what is the point of renewing our mind?

I’m not saying that wrong is not wrong. I’m not saying that sin is not sin. I’m simply saying that God no longer expects us to rectify those things ourselves. The standard of God, in this covenant, has changed. We’re no longer under a heavy law of works, but a light law of faith (Romans 3:27). That means that sin, while it is wrong and unprofitable, is not a failure of God’s standard. It’s not a transgression of law, because God has no law, in the New Testament, making sin illegal. The only thing that is illegal in the New Testament Is unbelief.This is why Paul says this about our actions:

1 Corinthians 6:12 (NKJV) All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

How can Paul say that all actions are lawful? How can it be that God’s only law is to behold His Son!? Because, if we perform that one standard, it will transform us all by itself (2 Corinthians 3:18). The reason that we turn away from sin is not because it’s illegal, but because the Holy Spirit compels us, as we learn Jesus! If you’re constantly beholding Jesus, you cannot help but be changed from glory to glory. It is impossible. 

God has redeemed us from the law and the works thereof (Galatians 4:5). God has redeemed us from the standard that was too high for us. God has saved us from the expectation that was too great (Acts 15:10). Now, He has changed the standard to something He calls the “easy and light yoke,” which is merely learning from Him.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me… For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

After learning these things, I still felt righteous apart from my works, but I also didn’t feel like a failure anymore because I realized that, while I would do things wrong, I wasn’t failing God’s standard. His standard was faith. His standard was for me to learn Jesus. That I could do! All believers, by definition, believe! And that is the standard of God, to believe in His Son. I’m not saying that we don’t have to grow in that belief. I’m not saying that we don’t have to grow in our knowledge of Jesus. We certainly do, but every believer has already started that process, and that knowledge process is all God wants from us! 

Continue to learn! Continue to press into the knowledge of Jesus! Don’t stop! Do so with all the fervor of your heart, mind, and soul! Give up anything that stands in your way! The works that you were trying to do before will be accomplished effortlessly through you, when you take this one yoke upon you!

I assumed that every time I did something wrong, I was failing God’s expectations, but God’s expectations were different than what I thought. It was easier and lighter. God wasn’t holding me accountable to change myself for Him. He wanted to transform my life for me, as I merely looked at the wonderful work He did in His Son. And it truly is as simple as that.

If this blessed you, share this with someone else!

Length: 34 Minutes

The fight of faith is not a fight to win, but to see that Jesus won!

This is a “Basic Training Article” which means that it takes many hours of teaching from Reform Church and summarizes it in minutes.

Do you know the only two problems that came into this world through Adam? Sin and death. Of all the problems that you could possibly see in this world, they can all be categorized under either sin or death (Romans 5:12). 

When God initially created the world, it was perfect. But Adam sinned, and through that sin, the curse (death) came upon Adam and his descendants. This is why Romans 5:12 only names two problems that came through Adam: Sin, and the curse to follow, death. 

Every Christian knows that Jesus came to “die for our sins.” What they don’t know is, by saying this, they are saying that Jesus has fixed every single problem in the world, because sin and death are the only two problems, and Jesus took both (Romans 8:2). 

Sin has to do with the moral side of the problems we see in this world. Sin causes evil actions, thoughts, emotions, desires. 

Death came into the world because of sin. Death has to do with the health and well-being side of the problems we see in the world. Death is not simply breathing your last breath. Death is a process. The Bible clearly teaches that death encompasses all hurt, suffering, sickness, aging, weakness, until one returns to the ground. Some of that evidence is below

Paul called his sufferings “death working in him” (2 Corinthians 4:12). Paul referred to the disabled womb of Sarah as “the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19). Paul refers to a corruptible body as being dead, even while a person still lives (Romans 8:10). And Abrahams aged body, is said to have needed “life from the dead” — clearly classifying His agedness as “deadness” (Romans 4:17, 19). 

Even if you are not seeing that yet, you must admit, the Bible says the only two problems that came into this world are sin and death. Every Christian knows quite well that Jesus died for sin. That means Jesus fixed everything. Jesus overcame all the problems (or should I say, both problems) in this world, by fulfilling them in his own body, on the cross. This is what it means for Jesus to have “overcome the world.”

John 16:33 (NKJV) These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Jesus overcame everything in this world. That is clear from this verse. What does that mean for us? It means that, for whoever would receive Jesus’ victory, despite the tribulation (trouble) that lingers in this world, we are redeemed from it (Galatians 1:4, John 17:15). We can walk through it and not be touched, hurt, or affected by it. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walking through flames without even smelling like fire, because it had no power over their bodies (Daniel 3:27). 

Whether you realize this or not, Jesus overcame everything in this world, and guess what? You received that victory when you first believed. You received the solution to every problem in this world to live inside of you (namely righteousness and life instead of sin and death – Romans 8:10, 2 Peter 1:3). 

1 John 5:4 (NKJV) For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Jesus defeated everything in this world! We’ve received the solution to all of it! Jesus won! Now, as believers there is no more victory for us to receive! We don’t need to get victory and we don’t need to defend it, as if we could ever lose it. We are already more than conquerors through Him. We are already victorious over everything in this world. Now, we are simply being led in triumph going forward! We are not being led into triumph; we are already in a triumphant procession! We don’t need more victory. We’re now in the victory parade! This next verse is referring to a triumphant procession (see notes for Lesson 2 for more):

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV) Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ…

So, what now? If Jesus really won and we really received the victory, why do we still see problems in this world? Why might we even see problems in our own life? Well, the victory is already won, but people need to know it to experience it! We receive from Jesus’ victory through knowledge (2 Peter 1:2). If people don’t know what Jesus did, then they stay separated from what He provided (Ephesians 4:18).

People don’t need Jesus to give them victory anymore. They need knowledge of the victory that’s already been won for them, so they can receive from it! Therefore, after Paul says that we are being led in a triumphant procession, he follows it up by saying that now, God “diffuses the knowledge” of this victory in every place, because Jesus already won, but people need to know it!

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV) Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

It’s not time to fight for victory. Now is simply the time to diffuse the knowledge of it everywhere, so people can receive from it!

Jesus already fought against everything in this world. Because people merely need knowledge of it to receive it, the Bible only speaks of one more fight that needs to be fought. Just one! It’s called the fight of faith! It’s not a fight to get victory, it’s a fight to get people to believe that victory!

1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV) Fight the good fight of faith…

God already fought disease, lack, sin, and all your fears. God isn’t fighting your problems anymore. Jesus is seated. He won! God only wants to reveal what He has done for you. God now wants to attack the wrong thinking that hides or skews what He has accomplished through His Son. It’s a fight against wrong thinking. It’s a fight against people’s unbelief. It’s not a fight for victory over anything in this world! 

It’s like two soldiers in a war. Perhaps one soldier finds out that their army has finally obtained victory. He is so relieved! But the other soldier doesn’t realize it. This ignorant soldier continues to hide behind barricades, fire off ammunition, and live in fear. The knowledgeable soldier tries to convince him that the war is won. The victory is complete, but they debate between one another and make their arguments.

You see? The knowledgeable soldier was indeed in a fight, but it wasn’t a fight for victory anymore. It was a fight to convince his fellow soldier that the victory was won. That’s exactly where we are today. That’s the fight of faith! We’re not fighting for victory against any problem in this world. We’re fighting to get people to see the victory that is won, because most people don’t realize it. 

The Thought War

The only war left is a war against unbelief and wrong thinking, because if people think wrong about Jesus they can’t receive! That’s why Paul says the weapons of his warfare were only being used against wrong thoughts. 

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (AKJV) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [physical], but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Paul says that he is pulling down “strongholds.” That word doesn’t mean “bondages or addictions” as you may have heard before. That word is referring to “fortresses, fortifications, or castles.” A fortress can be used as a symbol for wrong thinking in the Bible (though the definition is a bit broader). You know that it can apply to wrong thinking because he describes these fortresses in three ways:

Clearly, Paul says that he was fighting wrong thinking — specifically, thinking that was contrary to the knowledge of Jesus. That’s what those fortresses are. 

The “weapons” that Paul refers to is the word of God. God uses his word to tear down wrong thinking (fortresses), so that people can see what Jesus has done!

The victory is won. A very special inheritance has been provided by Jesus. The only thing stopping people from living in it are these fortifications (wrong thinking). So, God uses his word (the weapons) to tear down that wrong thinking. 

When The Walls Are Torn Down, We Enter Our Inheritance

The dictionary defines a fortification as a defensive wall or some other reinforcement. In the Bible, these fortifications or defensive walls can represent wrong thinking. In the book of Joshua, the walls (or fortifications) around Jericho represent the same thing. Wrong thinking! They were keeping the people out from their inheritance! So, God had to tear them down!

There is much to say, but let me summarize the symbolism of Joshua. For more teaching on this you can search for “Joshua Timeline” on reformchurch.com. 

Step 1: Salvation

First, Joshua led the people across the Jordan river (Joshua 3). The Jordan river literally means “descender river.” This is a picture of the Holy Spirit, who is also called a river (John 7:37-38), and who also descended from above, to us! That makes Him a descending river! So, Joshua and the people crossing the descending river is a picture of us first receiving the Holy Spirit. 

Step 2: Jesus Wants To Teach Us What We’ve Got

After Joshua and the people are symbolized as receiving salvation by the Holy Spirit, Jesus appears to Joshua with a sword in His hand (Joshua 5:13)! The sword of the Lord is His word (Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6:17). When Jesus appeared with a sword in His hand, this is a picture of how Jesus speaks His word to show us all our new possessions and inheritance, now that we are saved!

(Some clues that this man is Jesus is that He accepts Joshua’s worship [Joshua 5:14]. Also, the account continues from chapter 5 to 6 and says “the LORD said” [Joshua 6:2])

Step 3: We Listen

What was Joshua’s reaction to Jesus coming to him with His sword (His word)? Joshua simply said, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” (Joshua 5:14). That’s a perfect reaction. That’s just listening to Jesus (Luke 10:39, 42). 

When Joshua listened, what did Jesus tell him? Jesus said, “See! I have given Jericho into your hand.” (Joshua 6:2). Likewise, if we listen, Jesus wants to show us the inheritance He’s given us, now that we’re saved! When we listen, Jesus tells us, “See!” He wants to show us what’s ours now! 

Step 4: Jesus Tears Down The Walls

Shortly after this, Jesus, “The Man with the sword,” tore down that wall so that Israel could enter their inheritance that they had already been given! This symbolizes how, if we just receive the word of God, He will tear down the wrong thinking that hinders us from receiving what we’ve already been given.

Listen closely. To summarize all of this: Jesus came to Joshua with a weapon. After Joshua listened to his word, the walls were torn down, and the people entered their inheritance. 

This is not a mistake. This is exactly what 2 Corinthians 10 says. The words of God are like weapons, and if we will receive His words, they will tear down the wrong thinking that’s hindering us from receiving our inheritance!

When wrong thinking is torn down in people’s minds, just like the walls of Jericho, people get to enter the inheritance that Jesus provided. No wonder God’s only fight on this earth is a fight against wrong thinking — the fight of faith. He wants people to receive the “land” He has prepared for them (particularly the power of the new earth, for those who understand – Hebrews 11:16, Romans 4:13, Hebrews 2:5, 6:5)

For your own reference, here are the symbols sorted in a chart:

Previously, when Paul said, “The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly,” he was referring to the gospel! That’s why, if you read Ephesians 6, every single piece of the armor of God is an aspect of the gospel. Every single piece of the armor of God is a mentality that He wants to instill in our minds.

Ephesians 6:11-17 (NKJV) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…

Did you catch that? Every piece of armor is an aspect of the gospel. Every piece of armor is a mentality about Jesus! 

Noticing a trend?

1 Thessalonians 5:8 (NKJV) But let us who are of the day be sober [mentally aware], putting on… as a helmet the hope of salvation.

This is proven in 1 Thessalonians 5:8. Instead of calling it the breastplate of righteousness, it refers to it as the breastplate of “faith and love,” because our only righteous deed in this new covenant is faith, which works by love (Galatians 5:6)! The breastplate of righteousness is the breastplate of “faith, which works love.” And guess what? That is a mentality!

1 Thessalonians 5:8 (NKJV) But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

The Bible is so rich! You may need to read that again, but you can see that every single piece of armor is for your mind! This armor isn’t for fighting the power of the devil. It’s not for battling sickness or sin. It’s not to fight for your loved ones. Why? The victory over those problems is finished. Jesus said so at the cross! Those things would be rectified outwardly if people just believe what Jesus did. Therefore, there’s only one fight left. A fight against wrong thoughts. That’s why this armor is only for your mind!

When you receive the word of God, your mind is being armored! It’s able to protect your heart from any thinking that is contrary to the good news. And if any unbelief slips in, because we received a wrong thought, that armor is also able to tear that wrong thinking down! 

In the fight of faith, we don’t actually do the fighting ourselves. 2 Corinthians 10:4 said that it was the word of God that is mighty for pulling down wrong thinking, not us. The word of God will straighten our thinking out all by itself. We do have a role in this fight, but our only role is to receive that word (Luke 10:39, 42)! Paul also told Timothy that he could fight this fight of faith by simply remembering the things God had spoken to him before (1 Timothy 1:18). You can’t rectify your thoughts yourself. If you will just constantly expose yourself, and meditate on the gospel, it will protect your heart and tear down the wrong thinking all by itself (Psalms 19:7). We fight the fight of faith by just letting the word of God in. It’s that simple. We only need to receive the weapons into our mind! Those weapons are mighty through God for pulling down any thought that shouldn’t be there!

Unfortunately, when we talk about “the fight of faith” many people assume that it is strenuous and hard because of the word “fight.” But it’s actually the most restful thing you’ll ever do. It’s just you meditating on the truth, and that truth will do the fighting for you. You will find rest for your souls when you learn from Jesus (Matthew 11:29).

That’s how the fight of faith works in our own minds, but God also fights the fight of faith through us by sharing this truth with other people. If they will hear you, the word of God will have the same effect in their mind, that it does in yours.

This verse makes it clear that Jesus triumphed over the devil and his demons through the cross. That fight is won!

Colossians 2:13-15 (NKJV) …having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements… having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers [the devil and his buddies], He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

It’s clear that Jesus defeated the devil, but what does that actually mean? Here it is:

We said earlier that when Adam sinned in the garden, it allowed death to come into the world, but it also allowed the devil to have power over Adam. I don’t know all the details, but I know for sure that sin gave the devil power over mankind. And because everyone born of Adam was born into His sin, they are also born in the power of the devil. 

If sin gave the devil power over us, what would Jesus have to do to defeat the devil’s power? He would need to provide forgiveness and cleansing for that sin, right? That’s exactly what Jesus did. This may sound overly simple, but Jesus defeated the devil by providing forgiveness.

When Jesus died for our sins, not only was he setting us free from all the death in this world, but he was also setting us free from the devil. Sin was the root problem and Jesus took care of the root.

When Jesus provided forgiveness of sins, he provided a door, a way out of the devil’s power for everyone! For those who have received the forgiveness of sins, we are completely free from the works of the devil. He cannot control or force us to do anything.

In this next passage, it first says that Jesus was manifested to take away our sins. Then it says Jesus was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. Why? Because they’re the same thing! Jesus freed us from his works by taking away our sins!

1 John 3:5 (KJV) And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins… Verse 8) For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

And again, in Colossians, forgiveness is mentioned regarding setting us free from the power of darkness.

Colossians 1:13-14 (KJV) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness [Satan’s power], and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins [which is why we’re free]:

Forgiveness of sins is freedom from the devil. For those who believe, the devil’s works have been destroyed. When a Christian goes through a problem, it’s not the devil holding them there. It’s our lack of knowledge that keeps us walking in death. It’s just a change of mind that we need, not a deliverance service (Romans 8:6). We’re already free from the devil. That fight is done. If we’re not walking in God’s fullness, it’s because we’re misinformed about what we have, not because we’re oppressed by the devil. That is not a godly concept. 

Even for the world, forgiveness is available if they will receive it. They have a way out. They may still be in the devil’s control, but they’re not stuck there. The Bible describes them as being in a prison with an exit door (Isaiah 61:1), because Jesus provided a way out, so they can leave at anytime. Why don’t they? Because they don’t know they can. The power of the devil isn’t holding them there. Ignorance is holding them there. We don’t have to fight the power of the devil to get them out. We only need to inform them to get them out.

Forgiveness and freedom has been provided to everyone. The devil just doesn’t want anyone to know it. The fight against the power of the devil is done. The fight against his misinformation has begun!

The Devil’s Deception

Jesus provided freedom from the devil and every problem in this world. He provided fullness of joy, life for our bodies, and effortless godliness for our actions! It’s beautiful! The devil can’t change that, so he tries to hide what he can’t change. He tries to distract people with pleasures of this world, making problems seem big and undefeated, or with false religion, which claims to be the truth. I think that’s one of his favorites.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV) whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

Both God and the devil know that when people see Jesus, it’s all over. They won’t be able to stop the prosperity! They walk in Jesus’ victory! Therefore, the one thing God’s doing is instilling the knowledge of Jesus. The one thing the devil’s doing is trying to cover it up. That’s why demons are called “spirits of antichrist” (1 John 4:2). Guess what they’re against? The knowledge of Christ.

Both God and the devil are fighting for people’s thinking. This is why the weapon God uses in our minds is the gospel. But what weapon does the devil use? Does he use brute force? Does he use raw power? No, the only weapon the devil uses is deception. Ephesians 6 calls it “his wiles (or tricks).” 

Ephesians 6:11, 18 (NKJV) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. …above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

The devil can’t keep anybody from walking into the fullness Jesus gave. He’s got nothing. The only weapon the devil has is his “wiles.” He’s trying to trick people into believing that Jesus didn’t really do what he did. It also calls these “wiles,” his “fiery darts.” Those fiery darts simply represent his lies. Proverbs says that throwing firebrands is symbolic of someone who is lying.

Proverbs 26:18-19 (NKJV) Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, Is the man who deceives his neighbor, and says, “I was only joking!”

How The Devil Deceives

It’s true, the devil is just trying to deceive people so they don’t see Jesus, but here’s an important point that most believers don’t know. The devil cannot speak directly into the mind of a believer — only an unbeliever.

2 Corinthians 4:4 says the devil only has the power to blind the minds of the unbelieving. Ephesians 2:2 says the devil can only work inside the “sons of disobedience,” which again is referring to unbelievers. The devil cannot possess a believer, only the world (1 John 4:4). He can’t even work inside the mind of a believer. Any deception he brings across a believer’s path needs to happen from the outside, because he has no access within you anymore.

In fact, the devil cannot directly access the mind of anyone who understands the word. Even when someone has received the word, but is not mature enough to be saved yet, they begin tasting of the benefits of salvation (Hebrews 6:5). And with just a taste of the benefits (Luke 8:14), the devil is not able to go into their heart to directly influence it, or steal the word. You see this with the two middle types of ground in the parable of the sower. Even with an immature understanding of the word, the only way the devil could affect their minds was through outside influences like other people (persecutions) and things in nature (the cares of this life – Matthew 13:18-22). The only person that can be influenced by the devil inside their mind, or have the word stolen from them, is a person that doesn’t understand the word at all (Matthew 13:19).

Born again believers will say that the devil “stole the word” from them or he told them something in their mind. That has never happened. It may be your conscience. It may be something the devil spoke through an unbeliever, that you remembered. But it was not the devil speaking in your mind. 

If the devil is possessing someone or inside their mind, that person is not saved yet. They may be religious. They may believe in God, but they need to hear the true gospel. The devil can be in the world, but not in us (1 John 4:4). 

A believer can certainly have a thought from the devil, but if they do, it came through another person (1 John 4:1) or some other means in the world. The devil was not speaking in their mind. Through the forgiveness of sins the devil has lost direct access to us (1 John 5:18).

These days it is not uncommon to talk about “spiritual warfare.” When most people say that, they’re talking about fighting the power of the devil or being a “prayer warrior,” but these things are not valid in the New Testament. Prayer is to remember and acknowledge the victory, not to enforce or gain a victory (Psalms 103:2). As we discussed, the power of the devil does not need to be fought, either with your prayers or your actions. Jesus did that at the cross and triumphed. We can’t improve upon it. 

This is going to sound way too simple for some people, but spiritual warfare is just preaching. It’s just the fight of faith. Whether it’s the Lord preaching to us in our own minds, or Him preaching through us to somebody else, the way we battle the devil’s agenda is by establishing the truth in people’s minds. 

Want to fight the devil? You should! But not his power, just his lies. If you want to fight the devil’s agenda, then learn the truth for yourself and preach it to other people. It’s true that we’re fighting spiritual princes in heavenly places, but Ephesians 6 also makes it very clear that we’re not fighting their power. We’re only fighting their wiles and deceptions, by the armor, which is the truth.

Why fight the power of the devil? For a believer, we’re free from his power. He can’t control us or keep us from living in God’s fullness, if we’ll believe the truth. Even for an unbeliever, the devil’s power is not keeping them where they are. Their own ignorance is keeping them where they are (Ephesians 4:18). Therefore, the devil’s misinformation needs to be fought, not his power. This is an information war (Jude 1:3).

Casting Out Demons

What about our ability to cast out demons? Isn’t that spiritual warfare? Isn’t that fighting the power of the devil? Not at all. We don’t cast out a demon from an unbeliever to fight his power. We can cast out a demon because they’re already defeated. We now have power over them.

People see demons like an army that’s advancing, and when we cast out a devil or heal sickness, we’re battling their power! That’s not so. A more accurate picture would be to see them as prisoners of war. Through the forgiveness of sins, Jesus has freed you from them and rather given you authority over them! They are bound to you. You are their king. They are slaves and you are the owner. If they’re getting into mischief in the world, tell them to leave. Be bold. Speak up! But not to defeat them. Because they’re already defeated! That’s why you can tell them what to do, even with unbelievers that are their own property.

Even a demon possessed unbeliever doesn’t need to fight the power of the devil. It’s not the power of the devil holding them. It’s their ignorance of Jesus that’s holding them in his power. All they need to do is believe and receive the forgiveness of sins. The power of the devil is not a factor anymore.

Message Vs. Message

We could go on, naming all the things people think are the root problems that need to be fought. While you may see legitimate problems in this world, the root problem is the message people are believing. Jesus provided so much, if it wasn’t for unbelief, these problems wouldn’t even exist. Spiritual warfare isn’t against all these outward problems. This is an information war. This is message vs. message.

For instance, people major on the stealing, killing, and destruction that the devil does in this world. I don’t deny that, but if you’ll notice, the thieves who come to “steal, kill, and destroy” in John 10:8-10 are only said to speak to the sheep. That’s it. Why are they only speaking to the sheep? Because stealing, killing, and destruction happens through a message — a contrary message to Jesus. When the devil wants to cheat people of what Jesus has done, he sends a messenger. When God wants you to have an abundance of life, He sends a Shepherd. We get to choose who we hear. The fruit you’re getting in your life is a direct result of what message you believe in your heart. 

In 2 Corinthians 12:7 it says that God was exalting Paul with abundant revelation of Jesus (2 Corinthians 12:7, 1 Peter 5:6). When God wanted to promote Paul, he used the message of the gospel. What did the devil do to try and stop Paul’s progress? He sent a messenger (another person) to beat on Paul with a message. You see, God gives increase to people with a message. The devil tries to stop that progress with a contrary message. Where you end up in life is based on what message you receive. That’s the root issue. That’s why God’s fighting for the message of the gospel.

If people just see Jesus, they will be healed and will heal others. If people see Jesus, they will raise the dead. If people see Jesus, they will find effortless morality. They will live free from the devil. They will be of sound mind. They will love their neighbor, stand up for what’s right, vote in accordance with godliness, and preach the gospel to the world. Everything else follows when people see Jesus.

The victory over everything is won. It’s available for all to walk in it. The only thing left is for people to see it. That’s why, despite everything you see going on in the world, God is fighting this one fight — the fight of faith — ‘cause that’s all we need.

If this blessed you, share this with someone else!

Length: 12 Minutes

If you were to read Romans 5-7 (and a bit of chapter 8) you would find words like “reign, slave, dominion, captivity, and law (as in a governing authority).” There are a lot of words describing a slave/master relationship. That’s because, before we knew Jesus, we were slaves to sin and death. Those were the two things that came through Adam. Likewise, we now have a new slavery to righteousness and life – the opposite of what Adam enslaved us to. Romans 5 calls it “righteousness and grace.” 

[All words in brackets are my own].

Romans 5:21 (NKJV) …so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This verse says that sin reigned over us in death, like a ruler. Sin and death governed us. Romans says that we were slaves to sin, captive to death, and sin and death was a law to us (a governing authority to us).

Romans 6:17 (NKJV) …you were slaves of sin…

Romans 8:2 (NKJV) …Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

What does it mean to be a slave to sin and death? It means you can’t get out of it. It reigns over you, which means that it controls you, your actions, and your outcome. There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s just the way that you were born. While you can try to hide it by “cleaning the outside of the cup,” so to speak, it’s still there and it’s not something you can control (Matthew 23:25). It controls you. That’s what being a slave to sin and death is.

Even if you don’t want to do the wrong thing, you end up doing it anyway, because sin is not a choice, it’s a bondage apart from Jesus. The same thing with death. People don’t die because they want to. People die and go through hurt and suffering because they have to. That’s the very definition of bondage and slavery. 

Paul described what being a slave of sin looks like here:

Romans 7:19-21 (NKJV) For the good that I will [or want] to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. …it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law [a governing], that evil is present with me…

That’s what being a slave of sin is. Paul describes it as a captivity (or a law) in his flesh, so strong that even when he didn’t want to do the wrong thing, he still did. In fact, he said that it wasn’t even him working, it was sin working in him. That’s why it was so easy to sin.

The most important point here is that the Bible now describes us as slaves of righteousness and life. 

Romans 6:18 (NKJV) And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Romans 8:2 (NKJV) For the law [the governing] of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law [the governing] of sin and death.

Let’s first address righteousness. What does it mean to be a slave of righteousness? Well, you would think it would mean something similar to being a slave of sin. After all, they’re both described as types of slavery. But as the church, we have distorted what it means to be a slave of righteousness.

The way that people describe being a slave of righteousness is, “We need to choose every day to do the right thing. That’s our service to righteousness. It’s not always easy, but it’s a choice we must make. Our “sinful nature” may want to do the wrong thing, but we need to wrangle it and bring it into subjection. We need to show it who’s boss.” 

Wow, being a slave of righteousness sounds like a tough job. Being a slave of righteousness sounds like it takes some hard work. But here’s one way you know that definition of being a slave of righteousness is completely incorrect: Just look at how God defined being a slave when we were a slave of sin.

When we were slaves of sin, was it hard to sin? All the contrary, it was our default. It was easiest to sin. Was it laborious? Was it something we had to determine to do every day? All the contrary, even when we didn’t want to sin, we found ourselves doing it anyway. It was the inescapable, inevitable outcome of our life. We didn’t have to try to sin. We had to try harder not to sin! And even so, we ended up sinning anyway. 

When you were a slave of sin and sin reigned over you, sin worked through you! That’s why it was so easy. Sin was the one in the driver’s seat and you were just along for the ride! The sinful passions and lusts in your flesh burned within you and then it acted upon it’s lust through you. As hard as you tried, you couldn’t stop it (Romans 7:14, 8:2). 

If that’s what slavery means regarding sin, why does it mean something totally different in the church, to be a slave of righteousness? Being a slave to sin meant sinning was easy, without effort. So, you’d expect that being a slave to righteousness means that righteousness comes easy, without effort. But the church makes being a slave of righteousness out to sound like work – like we’re battling our flesh all our life – like we are trying to wrangle our sinful desires into submission! That’s how we describe being a slave to righteousness, but that sounds more like how Paul describes slavery to sin! Wow, something’s wrong here.

If being a slave of sin meant that it was easy to sin and hard to do right, then being a slave of righteousness should mean that it’s easy to do right, but hard to sin!

If slavery to sin and death meant that it was our inescapable, inevitable outcome, then slavery to righteousness and life means that it is our inescapable, inevitable outcome! 

If being a slave to sin meant that we weren’t working anymore, but sin worked within us, then being a slave of righteousness means that we’re not working anymore, but righteousness works within us! 

Romans 7:19 describes being a slave of sin as, “it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” So, it’s no wonder that Galatians 2:20 describes our slavery to righteousness very similar, “…it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” This shouldn’t surprise us. Whether to sin or to righteousness, they’re both described as slavery! 

Slavery means you’re stuck in it. It’s not hard to live in it. In fact, it’s impossible to get out of it! If we can say that about the things that Adam enslaved us to, how much more can we say that about the things that Jesus enslaved us to?! Is the work of Adam greater than the work of Jesus? Is the sin and death of Adam stronger than the righteousness and life of Jesus? 

How could we think that Adam’s slavery to sin made it easy to sin, but Jesus’ slavery to righteousness can’t make it easy to live right? How could we think that Adam’s slavery to death made us sure to die, but Jesus’ slavery to life can’t make us sure to live through Him? I assure you, the work of our Last Adam, Jesus, is greater than the work of the first Adam! The latter has overcome the former!

The sin and death we received from Adam and the life and righteousness we received through Jesus are both called slavery! The only difference the Bible points out between those slaveries is that, the bondage to good we have through Jesus is much more than that from Adam! I repeat, much more!

Romans 5:17 (NKJV) For if by the one man’s [Adam’s] offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

It says that, if Adam’s sin caused death to reign over us, then MUCH MORE we will reign in life through righteousness, in Jesus! So, both Adam and Jesus gave us slavery, but our bondage to life and righteousness is much more!

If Adam made it easy to sin, then Jesus, much more to righteousness! If Adam made it inevitable to die, then Jesus, much more to live! If Adam gave us sin and death so strong, it overtook us without our trying, much more can the righteousness and life of Jesus overtake your body and mind without your effort!

Deuteronomy 28:2 (NKJV) And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God [Referring to faith. See our Obedience of Faith material]

Through Jesus, we have a stronger bondage to everything that is good, pleasing, and perfect. This is a “life sentence” that I never want to get out of. And thanks to the blood of Jesus, we never will.

All of this may sound great to your average believer, but many may be wondering, “If this is true for believers, then why haven’t I seen that in my life?” Because this bondage to life and righteousness is inside of you and you need to let it out! As we renew our minds to the slavery of life and righteousness we have inside, our bodies will experience this slavery as well. You’ll begin to experience the results we’ve been describing! 

This is what Paul means when he says to “present your members [of your body]” as slaves of righteousness as well.

Romans 6:19 (NKJV) …For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness… so now present [or exhibit] your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 

The righteousness and life is inside of you, but you can exhibit these things in the members of your body! It doesn’t automatically come out. That’s why there may be a discrepancy between what you see in your life and what we’re describing in this article. You are truly a slave to life and righteousness, but it’s inside of you. The way you tap into what you have is by renewing your mind.

Peter speaks about life and righteousness also, but he says “life and godliness.” He calls these two things “the divine nature” and he also tells us how to partake of it!

2 Peter 1:3-4 (NKJV) as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness… by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these [the promises] you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

You already have everything that pertains to life and godliness. In fact, Romans 5-8 says your captive to it! So, how do you partake of it and start exhibiting that in your life? By God’s precious promises. By God’s word.

It’s by knowing the word of God and the promises contained in the gospel that you partake of your new nature! I’m not necessarily talking about what you’ve heard at church before. I’m talking about the truth. A misrepresented Jesus is not going to cause you to partake! The true word of Jesus will.

God has given us His word and His promises so that we can partake by it! Without the word of God, we would be slaves to righteousness and life, yet living substandard, in striving and difficulty, not realizing how easy it is. Without knowledge, the captivity you have inside will lie dormant. It takes acknowledging who you are in Jesus to let it out (Philemon 1:6). The only reason why more Christians are not living in the ease of life and righteousness is simply because they don’t know about it, but if you want to experience it, the promises of God will take you there!

You have a complete bondage to life and righteousness living inside of you. These things are ready to come upon you and overtake you, but you just need to start thinking like it. Stop thinking like a slave of sin and death. Start thinking like a slave to righteousness and life. When you acknowledge it, it will become effectual in your life, though it has been real since the day you were born again.

If you will renew your thoughts, you’ll find that righteousness and life manifests in ways that you weren’t striving for and couldn’t do yourself. You’ll find that healing flows easily. You’ll find that righteousness happens effortlessly, because it’s no longer you that do it, but righteousness within you! That’s what it’s like to be in bondage to the law of righteousness and life, as it reigns through you!

These things are not hard to manifest. If you start acknowledging these things, it would be harder to try and stop it!

If this blessed you, share this with someone else!

Length: 7 Minutes

There is a term in the church today — “on fire for God.” Ultimately, this is a term that is used for someone when they are extremely enthusiastic about God; often accompanied by a lot of very fast and visible results. While I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from being excited about the Lord, mere enthusiasm is not what we should be looking for in a person.

Don’t get me wrong. When you really know Jesus, you’re going to be very enthusiastic about the gospel and everything that He has done. No question. But most people see enthusiasm for God and assume that it’s always a profitable thing or that enthusiasm equates to doing the will of God. 

Do you know which group of people the Bible says were very enthusiastic about God? The Jewish people. Paul says that the Jews of His time were very zealous for God. 

Romans 10:2 (KJV) For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

The Jews of Paul’s time were very zealous for God, but do we believe that they were in the will of God? Well, God loves Jewish people like anyone else, but they had rejected the Messiah that God told them was coming. Their enthusiasm then, and even now, does not equate to doing the will of God. What did Paul say was missing? Knowledge.

God’s will, His one commandment in this new covenant is that we know Jesus (it’s called the obedience of faith if you haven’t heard of that before). While the Jews had enthusiasm, they didn’t have knowledge. Enthusiasm is not what God is looking for; growing in our knowledge of Jesus is.

Most Christians are easily tricked into determining someone’s maturity by their enthusiasm, rather than their steadfastness in knowing Jesus. The more excitement we see, the sharper the spike in their outward change, the more mature we believe they are. I am truly not trying to squash enthusiasm, but I am trying to convince you to not use it as a metric for maturity. 

The Bible speaks about a kind of person that has a sudden spike in joy (or enthusiasm) over the gospel, but they only continue for a while, and then fall away from the knowledge of Jesus. This shows you clearly that enthusiasm is not a metric for maturity.

Luke 8:13 (NKJV) But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

This type of person that Luke 8 is speaking of rejoiced over the word. The joy came quickly, but because they did not have maturity in knowledge, when times of testing came, they fell away just as quickly. They were running off of enthusiasm, rather than running off of knowledge.

Joy and enthusiasm are not only acceptable, it’s an inevitable fruit of knowing Jesus. Despite this, the mere joy is not what God is after. It is continued knowledge of Jesus that God is after. Joy will certainly come, but God does not measure who is doing His will by an outward manifestation of enthusiasm.

Many pastors today are making the mistake of promoting new believers who are very enthusiastic for the Lord, just because they are “on fire for God.” They mistake enthusiasm and sudden outward change for maturity. Rather than proving the steadfastness of a person over long period of time (as 1 Timothy 3:10 says), they will promote an immature believer simply because of their zeal (1 Timothy 3:6). But God is not after zeal. God is after knowledge. Zeal will come, but it’s not zeal that will carry you through. It’s the knowledge of Jesus that will.

As with the Jewish people of Paul’s time, their zeal did not equal obedience to God. It didn’t equal knowledge of Jesus. Neither did the joy of the stony ground equate to maturity. Another example is Jehu. 

Jehu was someone that the Lord anointed to be king over Israel, to slay the family of King Ahab because they had been murdering men of God. So Jehu began killing the family of King Ahab as the Lord said. Then Jehu said this:

2 Kings 10:16 (KJV) And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So, they made him ride in his chariot.

Jehu acknowledged his great zeal for the Lord. Then he proceeded to not only kill the rest of the family of Ahab, but also to kill the prophets of Baal that we’re leading Israel astray. Even further, he went to the temple of Baal, broke down his image, and destroyed the house.

Now, after all of this “zeal” and after all these great works that he did to fulfill the word of the Lord, this is the testimony of the Lord concerning the life of Jehu:

2 Kings 10:31 (NKJV) But Jehu took no heed, to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.

If you’re not familiar, the law that the Lord is referring to here, which is obeyed with the heart, is called the law of faith (see our “Obedience Of Faith” material). Despite all that Jehu did, despite all his outward zeal and immediate results, he had the testimony from God that he did not continue believing Him with all his heart. And that is what the Lord is after.

If you truthfully know Jesus, you can’t be anything but enthusiastic for the beautiful salvation that He has won for us, but zeal and quick flashy results do not equal knowledge of Jesus, neither does it equal maturity. 

Maturity is gauged by how sound someone’s belief is, over a prolonged period of time (John 8:31). The person that continues in their knowledge, through tests and trials, the cares of this life, and persecution from other people, growing steadfastly unto the fruit, is someone who is maturing in knowledge (Luke 8:11–15). 

So, don’t be quick to promote, entrust authority, or assume maturity on behalf of someone just because they are “on fire for God.” Let’s see their steadfastness in the knowledge of Jesus. Let’s see them grow, and do so long-term. It’s not the zeal on the outside that God looks at. It’s the knowledge of Jesus on the inside that counts. 

1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV) For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart [which is faith].”

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Length: 8 Minutes

When a believer really starts digging their teeth into the knowledge of Jesus, it produces such an excitement and zeal that almost immediately, on its heels, is the desire for a Bible school degree, a position in the church, or even their own ministry. Let’s talk through all these emotions.

Firstly, I am not saying that God would never call you to have your own ministry. There are a lot of people that God has called to do this. But even though God can call someone to have their own ministry, I believe that this is far less common than it would seem. 

We have seen it so many times. Many believers, when they have their hearts flooded with the gospel, understandably get very excited about it. And you should be excited. The gospel is the best news ever! Because we have all this truth built up inside of our brain, we immediately search for an outlet. So we assume that the outlet we are searching for is a higher position in the church or even starting our own ministry. But position within the church, or even starting your own, is not something you do because you’re excited about the gospel. 

As you get to know Jesus, you will be excited. As you get to know Jesus, you will want to tell other people. So, here’s my advice: Tell them! You do not need to have someone hand you a position within the church to tell other people what you’re learning. You don’t need to start your own ministry to preach the gospel to others. All of us are ministers of the gospel because the Holy Spirit lives in us (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).

Even though I could tell so many people this, many will still not feel legitimized in preaching the gospel to others, until they have a teaching position within the church or their own ministry. But if that’s the case, then position within the church is not for you. Not right now. The only people that should be in a teaching position within the church, or should start their own, are people that would be content simply telling others about the gospel with no position at all. 

Even after saying this, many people reading will still be antsy to start their own ministry. We are excited, and many times that leads to hasty decisions and taking position upon ourselves. For some, they will seek position within a church, and if it is not given to them, they will leave and start their own. This haste and this discontentment are not from the Lord. As much as the gospel you’re hearing may be the truth, being discontent apart from having a platform is not from the Lord.

True maturity in the knowledge of Jesus would make you content with simply your relationship with Him. If you were mature in your knowledge of Jesus, you would be content with knowing Him and speaking to whoever He brought across your path. You would not need position or a ministry of your own to legitimize you or to make you feel like you’re really preaching the gospel now. 

I love the example of Stephen, in Acts 6. If you don’t know about Stephen’s position in the church, he was basically the lunch lady. He ran the food service for the early church. He didn’t have what many people would consider a glamorous position, but he had all the position that he needed, knowing the position he had in Christ. He was content in knowing Jesus for himself. He did not need a lofty position to feel like he was a legitimate minister of the gospel.

God was doing miracles through Stephen and preaching with such wisdom, that the Jews did not know how to refute him. All of this while he ran the food service. He wasn’t an apostle. He didn’t write any books of the Bible. He didn’t even have a teaching position in the church. Yet, if you were to read the book of Acts, and did not know his position, you would think he was surely an apostle. He was a man of God who knew that he didn’t need a bible school degree to know Jesus as much as he wanted. He didn’t need a title to heal the sick, raise the dead, and preach to others. He didn’t need to be recognized. He didn’t need his own ministry to give him purpose.

Do you know what your purpose is? Your purpose is simply to know Jesus for yourself. That is your only purpose in this life and in the one to come. God only has one commandment in the New Testament and that is that you would believe on His son (John 6:29). Read our obedience of faith material for more on this.

When you know that God has only asked one thing of you and that is to learn from Him, to know Him, you will always feel fulfilled in your purpose if you’re getting to know Him more. As far as ministry is concerned, no one is holding you back from doing miracles and God fulfilling His will through you. Position, or having your own ministry, is not required for any of this. Even though God has called certain people to start their own ministry, those that really know Jesus would not care what position they held in the church. Those that are mature just want to get to know Jesus more, and ministry comes naturally wherever they are. They don’t need a title to be a blessing! 

Go to church. Prosper the church that you’ve chosen. Support the leaders and the gospel that they’re promoting. Are you going to like everything they do? No, you’re not. I’m sure they won’t like everything you do either! Are you going to agree with the leaders all the time? Of course not. We’re all growing. Is this reason to leave and start your own ministry? Not even close. Apart from something abusive, disorderly or contrary to the gospel, reconcile differences rather than run away from them, love one another, give grace to people because God gave grace to you. 

Bear with one another’s differences when they’re not that important. This produces what’s called a “bond of peace” that holds things together, rather than unnecessarily breaking them apart (Ephesians 4:2-3).

If you’re going to a Jesus-centered, gospel-friendly church, be a leader without seeking position. We would have much stronger, larger, and more influential churches if we had legitimate, knowledgeable men and women of God supporting the leaders of our churches, instead of leaving to start their own every time they became knowledgeable. We need people that are strong in faith, working within our churches and ministries to support those that are in charge. This makes for a strong, robust ministry, that not only has a faith filled person in charge, but strong, faith filled people to support the mission and get things done.

A few final words of advice:

Don’t serve where you are, with your attentions on a future position. Your eyes should be for Jesus alone and everything else gets added to you (Matthew 6:33). 

If God has genuinely called you to have a certain position within the church or to start your own ministry, in order to fulfill it properly, we need to turn the fleshly zeal down to zero, keep our attention on Jesus, and allow Him to bring it to pass (Psalms 37:4-5 and 1 Thessalonians 5:24). David was anointed to be king and had so many opportunities to take the position for himself, but he continued to do what God had called him to, letting God bring it to pass (1 Samuel 16 – 2 Samuel 2).

Don’t be hasty. Moses was 80 years old before he led the people of Israel out of Egypt. John the Baptist and Jesus both spent most of their life growing in wisdom for a ministry that only lasted a few years. Even if someone is called to teach or have their own ministry, there’s a whole lot of time involved. It’s called “proving” a leader (1 Timothy 3:10). 

If you pursue position in the church because you want more in ministry, you haven’t realized that position is not for you, your contentment, or your finding purpose. That’s what knowing Jesus is for. Position is for serving other people (Matthew 20:27-28). 

Your fulfillment in life cannot be ministry. Your fulfillment needs to come from keeping the commandment of God, which is to get to know Jesus (Ecclesiastes 12:19). Love Him, get to know Him, believe Him. He is everything to you. Allow your contentment and fulfillment to come from pursuing the knowledge of Him. Then, when the Lord exalts you to a particular position, it will be because He knows you’re needed for the position, not because you need the position.

As far as your own contentment is concerned, you already have everything you need.

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Length: 9 Minutes

Amongst the most foundational things that you can know about death, hurt, aging, or the common cold (it’s all the same thing), is that these things are only in the world because of Adam’s sin. That’s right. It’s only in the world because of sin… that very thing that you’re cleansed of!

If we don’t identify sin as the source of all these problems, but just think it’s always been around, then you won’t recognize the gravity of what it means for Jesus to take away your sins. 

Romans 5:12 (NKJV) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

In the garden, Adam became sinful. The nature of his body and mind became bent to doing what was wrong. And because every person thereafter was born into his sinfulness, they were also born into his death.

Listen to our “Exit Earth” teaching for the real proof on this, but below are some references to show that death actually encompasses all sickness, decay, aging, and injury in this world. 

Paul called his sufferings “death working in him” (2 Corinthians 4:12). Paul referred to the disabled womb of Sarah as “the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19). Paul refers to a corruptible body as being dead, even while a person still lives (Romans 8:10). And Abrahams aged body, is said to have needed “life from the dead” — clearly classifying His agedness as “deadness” (Romans 4:17, 19). 

Knowing that all death, suffering, and hurt comes from Adam’s sin, do you see the magnitude of what it means to be cleansed from sin? it’s Jesus’s way of cutting you off from the lineage and inheritance that Adam passed down to you (1 Peter 1:18). If death comes from sin, and you’re cleansed from sin, how would that not free you from death also? If someone doesn’t believe that, then death must not really come from sin.

When I speak about being cleansed of sin, I’m not saying that you don’t sin anymore. Even believers can still sin (1 John 2:1-2). Being cleansed of sin is that Jesus has made you clean on the inside. He has also forgiven you of everything you’ve ever done. This has nothing to do with your work. You are a new creation, created in true righteousness and holiness through Jesus, regardless of what you have done, will do, or are even doing right now (Ephesians 4:24)! This is righteousness based on faith in Jesus’ work, not your own.

Here’s a principal: Death comes from sin. Life comes from righteousness. Therefore, if you’re in your sins, you’re also bound to death. But if you’re righteous, the Holy Spirit is life to you because of that righteousness!

Romans 8:10 (NKJV) And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Peter says the exact same thing, but instead of saying life and righteousness, he says life and godliness. Instead of saying sin and death, he says lust and corruption (decay).

2 Peter 1:3-4 (NKJV) as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness… having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

If you read those verses carefully, here’s what you’ll notice: Death can’t stick to righteousness, neither can life stick to sin. They are incompatible. They don’t mix. 

Here’s my point in all of this: Once Jesus cleanses you of sin, even if you’re experiencing some kind of imperfection in your body, it’s no longer because you’re bound to it. Righteousness makes you free from death! You may not be utilizing all the privileges of being righteous, but you are indeed righteous if you’ve put faith in Jesus, and therefore exempt from death and corruption. Did you hear what I said there? I said “exempt.” You just need to acknowledge these things for them to be effectual in your life (Philemon 1:6).

We don’t have to experience the hurt in this world to begin with, but even if you do, it’s not the same kind of hurt that the world feels. Even if you see some kind of imperfection in your body, it’s not the same kind of imperfection that the world experiences. They’re bound to it. It’s a part of their nature. They’re stuck to it, but you’re not. Why? Because they’re in their sins still, which binds them to Adam’s curse. Jesus took away your sins, once for all, which means He took away your bondage to the curse along with it!

Let me illustrate it this way: When I was younger, I played paintball occasionally. I remember hearing about some kids that would wear slick, windbreaker type fabric on the outside, so that if they got hit by a paintball, they could just wipe it off and the referee wouldn’t be able to tell they ever got hit, because the fabric wouldn’t allow it to stick. That’s what righteousness does for you as a believer.

If the world gets hurt, they’re bound to it. Adam’s sin binds them to that hurt. But because we are the righteousness of God, even if we get hurt (and we certainly don’t have to), it’s not stuck to us anymore, because death can’t stick to righteousness! Any hurt that a believer experiences isn’t a bondage. We are already free through righteousness. So it’s all temporary at best, if we’re willing to grow in the truth of what we have!

Of course, it’s better to not suffer trouble to begin with. That’s true, and we can experience that! But being righteous is like having that slick, windbreaker suit on the outside. Even if something hit you, now you can wipe it off because you have no sin to bind it to you anymore. You have the one thing that’s incompatible with death and corruption! The righteousness of God, through Jesus!

This is why Jesus told a paralyzed man that he could be full of encouragement, because his sins were forgiven! Why is forgiveness relevant to a paralytic? Because if he’s forgiven, he can now wipe that paralysis off very easily. And he did. (Matthew 9:2-7).

Now you can wipe off any trouble, because you’ve got God’s righteousness through Jesus — no longer a sinful person like Adam. Remember this quote: Death can’t stick to righteousness. The only thing that sticks to righteousness is life (Romans 8:10). If you experience any issue in your life, the Spirit can just wipe it off because it can’t stick to you. 

When I say “you can wipe it off,” I mean, if a Christian’s sick, they can simply get better. If a Christian sees a bodily imperfection, it can easily be re-created. If a Christian sees aging, it can be conformed to Christ’s image. Even Christians who have died, can just get up again. Not that it’s our nature to experience these things to begin with, but even if we do, for lack of knowledge, it’s also within our nature to recover quickly —  because we’ve been made righteous, and righteousness is like death repellent. It’s Teflon to corruption. The Spirit can wipe it off, and afterward, no one would even know you got hit with anything. Sounds like the three men that were thrown into the furnace. Not only were they not hurt, but they didn’t even smell like fire (Daniel 3:27). You couldn’t tell they were ever near a furnace.

You may say, “You make it sound so easy.” But none of these things were easy tasks. They were very difficult tasks, but Jesus already accomplished them for us at the cross. He did all the hard work. He did all the heavy lifting. He became our sin so that our death would stick to Him, giving us righteousness to make us free.

Isaiah 53:4-5 (LSV) Surely He has borne our sicknesses, || And our pains—He has carried them… And He is pierced for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities… And by His scourging we are healed
(This translation is confirmed to be correct by Mat. 8:16-17).

If it sounds easy to receive, that’s because it is. Jesus did all the hard work so that our yoke could be easy and light (Matthew 11:30). Your job is to continue learning this truth. And if you do so, you’ll see trouble fall off you like an oversized jacket. You’ll end up looking at an issue and laughing, because you know, with what you have in Jesus, it can’t stick around anymore.

No matter what that tiny issue is, or how long it’s been there, the truth is, it’s not stuck to you. Righteousness only qualifies you for God’s everlasting life, power, and blessing. Only goodness and mercy can follow you around all the days of your life!

When it comes to problems, God can keep “your coat clean” to begin with, but even if a believer gets some “paint on their coat,” the Spirit can just wipe it off because it’s not stuck to us anymore. Never be intimidated by the paint. Righteousness doesn’t allow it to stick.

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Length: 4 Minutes

Sometimes, when we know that something in our life is not the will of God — be it an ailment, behavior, or otherwise — we think to ourselves, “I’m just done with this already!” And while it is commendable that you recognize what the will of God is for your life, there’s something you might be missing.

We may look at our life and feel “done” with the results we’re seeing, but your time would be better spent being “done” with relating with it.

For every bit of transformation we see in our life, it takes a revelation of who we are in Christ first. You don’t get transformation on the outside without first seeing who you are in Christ on the inside. The Bible specifically tells us that we are only transformed into the image of Jesus on the outside, when we first look at Him and relate with everything we see in Him. That’s called “using Jesus as our mirror (to see ourselves).”

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV) But we all… beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory…

Note: it doesn’t say that you’re transformed just because you see who Jesus is. It says you’re transformed when you see Him as in a mirror. That means you don’t get transformation simply because you see that Jesus has something. You get transformed when you realize He’s made you the same way through the cross! You’ve got to start relating with Him!

So we can frustrate ourselves all day long just feeling “done” with this thing in our life. But you don’t get transformation by feeling frustrated. And you don’t get transformation by merely being fed up with it. You get transformation when you stop relating with that thing and start relating to what you see in Jesus. 

So if you want to be “done” with anything, just be done relating with that thing. Make up your mind to stop relating with that old thing you see in your life and start relating with the new you that you can see in Christ.

If you’re dealing with an ailment, stop being frustrated and merely being fed up with the condition. Start getting fed up with relating to it! “I’m done relating with this.” It’s a mentality change you need! Stop thinking like a person who is stuck in some ailment. Relate to the power of God you see in Christ Jesus! Relate to the perfection you see there.

If you’re dealing with a behavioral issue, rather than putting your foot down to stop the behavior (for the umpteenth time), put your foot down and make up your mind to stop relating to that behavior, as if that’s who you are now. “I’m not that person, so I’m done relating to it.” You may see it on the outside, but God made you a new creation on the inside, with all the right words, thoughts, and actions just waiting to be manifested to your flesh! It’s already yours.

Stop relating to being shy, overbearing, desiring the wrong things, speaking the wrong words, weakness, incapability, oldness, sickness, and any other thing that you can’t find in Jesus. Get fed up with believing lies, rather than frustrating yourself with your circumstance. Your circumstance will follow.

Remember, you’re not believing something until it becomes a reality. These are qualities that are actually inside of you! They are really there. You have really been created in a new image. It’s already a reality for you. You’re only renewing your mind to it so that you can prove (give evidence of) all those good, pleasing, and perfect things on the outside!

Romans 12:2 (NKJV) …be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove [give evidence of] what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

It’s OK to feel “done” with something. But rather than frustrating yourself simply because you’re “done” seeing it in your life, how about you start feeling “done” with relating with it first? Take a stand about that. Put your foot down about what you think. You’ll actually see transformation in your life, and you won’t feel frustrated in the process. When you stop relating to something because you see who you are in Christ, you’ll get real transformation, with all the peace and rest of knowing you are already complete in Him. It’s only being proven!

“I’m not that person, so I’m done relating to it.” 

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Length: 5 Minutes

In the church, Halloween is something of a controversial holiday. But many of the reasons Christians give for their skepticism are not well founded. This is a simple and biblical way to see it.

One big reason for why many Christians don’t celebrate Halloween is because of its origins. Of course, if you trace it back far enough, it has its origins in pagan traditions. I won’t go into that now, but I don’t think that’s too much of a leap for one to believe. While this may sound like a good reason to not celebrate Halloween, according to scripture, that’s not well-founded. Paul addresses something similar.

In Paul’s time there was a dispute about whether it was wrong to eat meat if that animal had previously been sacrificed to an idol, in a pagan tradition. It bothered the conscience of many Christians to think of partaking of meat that had been previously used in a demonic ritual. But Paul’s advice might surprise you. Paul essentially tells them that meat is just meat. The meat is not evil in and of itself regardless of what it was used for previously. He tells them that, of course, he doesn’t want them partaking in idolatry or demonic activities, but as far as they are concerned, they should be able to eat any food without question to their conscience. There’s nothing wrong with any food, even if it was used for something evil previously (1 Corinthians 8 and 10).

Likewise, we should not cite the origin of something to say that it is evil today. Just because something was used for a pagan activity in the past does not make it evil today. If you stay with me through this whole article, you’ll realize this is not an advocacy for Halloween, but quoting its origins is not what makes anything good or evil.

Just like meat sacrificed to idols, Halloween may have had a satanic origin but what something was used for previously does not make it evil now. It’s just not a good reason to abstain from something. Christmas is a good example. Christians will ardently defend Christmas, but many of the traditions in the Christmas celebration originally revolved around pagan activities as well. That doesn’t make Christmas evil. Not by far. Just like meat sacrificed to idols, it’s OK to use something for a good purpose now, even if it was previously used for a demonic one.

So let’s not talk about something’s origins. It’s only important what it is today. And, as we know, Christmas is quite a different celebration than Halloween. While we live in an increasingly secular culture which does not acknowledge Jesus to great degree, Christmas is generally understood as a celebration of Jesus’ birth. Not everyone’s vocal about it, but it’s just about the only time of year you’ll hear music on mainstream radio, speaking about the Messiah saving us from Satan’s power when we were gone astray. Not bad.

Halloween on the other hand, regardless of its origins, is a celebration that revolves around fear and death. I don’t think that’s even an exaggeration. Walk into a store in October and you’ll see what I mean. Walking through those Halloween displays starts triggering my resurrection reflex to put some plastic sinews and skin on those plastic dry bones.

Now, I’ll address the candy aspect in a moment, but Halloween is a celebration that revolves around witches, evil spirits, dead people, and fear. I’m certainly not saying that’s why everyone celebrates it, but that’s the theme. It’s pretty hard to argue that when the holidays motto is “Boo!”

Then again, I don’t need to tell you this. We all understand that. But many people are just dressing up because it’s fun to get into costume. They’re going door-to-door to get free candy. Who doesn’t want free candy? 

So what’s the verdict? What Halloween used to be doesn’t matter. Neither does it matter what Christmas used to be, any more than it mattered to Paul the origins of that meat. What matters is whether the thing we are partaking of is agreeable today. 

If you go out for candy on Halloween you’re not suddenly defiled. The candy isn’t evil. Dressing up isn’t evil. All of that can be totally innocent. But I’ll tell you, the more I grow in the knowledge of the life and peace that Jesus has given me, the more distaste I have for anything that advocates for fear and death. The free candy simply isn’t worth it. It’s not because I’m not allowed to. It’s because I don’t relate to it. So I don’t want to participate in a celebration that has its basis in everything I’m not. 

I don’t want to look at your decorations of dead people. I’ll be home learning how to raise that kind of stuff.

I don’t want to attend your haunted house. I prefer to clear those out.

And as for your demonic looking porch prank, in the real world, demons are scared of me. 

I just don’t relate to it, so thanks anyway. I’ll be buying my kids some clearance costumes when Halloween is over, treating them to whatever candy they want, and then we’ll heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out devils on the way home. I like that better.

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