The devil tempted mankind with the lie, that if man would eat from the fruit of the forbidden tree, man would not surely die, as God said, but that the eyes of man would be opened and man would be as God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:1-5). With this lie, the devil deceived man and caused man to doubt God and His words and eventually ensured that man became separated from God. Instead of believing God and staying faithful to God by obeying His words, man considered the words of the devil as the truth. By acting upon the words of the devil and by eating from the forbidden fruit, man had not only rejected the words of God, but man also rejected God as Father and made the devil his father. And so the devil had taken the place of God in the life of man and (illegally) received dominion over the earth and all there is within. The devil has not changed and still deceives today. The devil deceives Christians and makes them believe his words instead of God’s words and so the devil has succeeded and God is rejected from many churches.
The temptations of the devil in the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God
When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to the earth, the devil tried everything in his power to tempt Jesus during His life on earth and to enter His life and take the place of God in His life, but his plan failed (Read also: ‘I will give you the riches of the world’).
The temptations of the devil in the lives of the sons of God
From the moment, the new creations; the sons of God (male and female) were born on earth and the era of the Church; the Body of Christ began, the devil has done everything in his power to tempt the Church, make the Church passive, and to silence the Church.
Little by little, the devil has managed to find his way into many churches, mainly through false teachers, science (knowledge of this world), (eastern) philosophies, media, entertainment, etc., ensuring that the believers would doubt the words of God and would believe his words above the words of God.
With his lies, the devil has persuaded many Christians and made them believe that his lies are the truth, just like the devil did in the garden of Eden.
Very slowly the devil has transformed the mind of people with his words, which represent his will, so that they would think like him, and speak and act according to his will.
The worldliness of the church
Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off (Proverbs 23:17-18)
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, Who hath also given unto us His holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)
Many churches don’t separate themselves from the world unto God, by doing the will of God, instead many churches have harmonized Christianity with the world and have become world-like. Therefore they think, speak and act like the world (according to the world system).
The same worldly spirits, who reign in the lives of carnal people, who belong to the world also reign in the lives of people, who call themselves Christians, but in reality, belong to the world. How do you know? Because they bear the same fruit as those, who are carnal and belong to the world.
And so the devil has found a way into the lives of people, by twisting the words of God with his lies and by preaching half-truths, and led them astray on paths that lead to eternal death, instead of eternal life.
The fear of the Lord has left many churches
My son, if thou wilt receive My words, and hide My commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:1-5)
The devil attacked the church and succeeded in removing the fear of the Lord, that was present in the lives of previous generations.
Many modern believers call the fear of the Lord legalism, in contrast to the Word, Who calls the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding (Proverbs 9:10)
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility (Proverbs 15:33)
Everything begins with a fear of God. Without a fear of the Lord, you shall not submit to God, His Word, and His will (His commandments), but you shall rebel. Without the fear of the Lord, you shall exalt yourself above His knowledge and wisdom and walk in pride. Without a fear of the Lord the flesh shall reign, sin shall abound and be accepted and the devil and his demons shall (temporarily) triumph. And without the fear of the Lord the spiritual man shall die.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate (Proverbs 8:13)
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil (Proverbs 16:6)
The fear of the Lord tends to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil (Proverbs 19:23)
The warning for false teachers
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not (2 Peter 2:1-3)
The fear of the Lord was present in the lives of the apostles. The apostles were not prideful, but they loved God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and they yielded to God and Jesus Christ and followed Jesus; the Word.
They warned the churches of Christ of false teachers, who were among them and privily tried to sneak in false doctrines, that deviated from the truth of the gospel.
Because even in those days, the devil tried to enter the churches through false teachers and tried to lead the churches astray and cause apostasy.
But the apostles were spiritual and discerned the spirits. They knew the will of God and they knew the works of the devil and recognized the false teachers, who were among them or tried to enter the church with their vain and compelling words.
Unfortunately, nowadays this is hardly the case anymore and many false teachers preach behind the pulpit or those, who preach behind the pulpits, promote false teachers, who preach according to their own knowledge, opinion, experience or research and prophecy from their own insights and imaginations, what people want to hear.
God rejected from many churches
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death (Proverbs 14:26-27)
By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life (Proverbs 22:4)
The Holy Spirit has been rejected from many churches through pride, the will, and the flesh that reigns. The Word has been rejected from many churches through the opinions and philosophical and scientific knowledge of man; the wisdom and knowledge of the world.
The rejection of the Holy Spirit and the Word from many churches has ensured that many churches don’t discern good and evil and because of that sins and iniquities are tolerated.
Many people don’t know the will of God and therefore they approve of everything, which is evil in the eyes of God. This is mainly because they keep feeding their mind with the carnal things of this world and because of that, they have the carnal mind of the world, which represents the will of the devil.
Through their speech and actions that derive from their carnal mind, they do those things, which go against the will of God and they obey the will of the devil and because of that, they bow before the devil. And so they have given the devil a place in their lives and in the church.
Repent and make Jesus Christ the Head of the church
The fear of the Lord is gone and by the rejection of the Spirit of God and the Word of God, God is also rejected from many churches. The devil managed to find his way in and take the place of God and established his throne in the lives of people, who believe his words and obey him and therefore worship him.
But as long as Jesus has not returned, fortunately, there is a way back, namely the way of repentance.
Don’t let the devil triumph, but let the church repent and return to God, His Word and receive His Holy Spirit and walk after His will.
Let the church look at Jesus Christ and follow His example of how He resisted the devil and refuted his lies with the truth of God.
Let Jesus Christ; the Word reign again in the church and let the church obey His words and do what Jesus has commanded to do, so that the church shall represent and bring the Kingdom of God on this earth instead of the kingdom of darkness (the world).
Let the church no longer be a social institution, where the devil reigns and the people are the center and rule and the flesh is entertained and fed. But let Jesus Christ become the Head of the church again and let the Word reign and let the will of God and His Kingdom be the center of the church and the spirit be fed.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
