Chapter Eleven:
In the previous chapter we
looked at how wicked spirits are responsible for provoking a believer to commit
sin. Gurnall broke it down into two
types of sin that we can be enticed to commit. In the previous chapter we
looked at the first one, sins in the
heart.
We will look at the second
type of sin that wicked spirits try to entice believers to do. Gurnall tells us that they are those directly
related to spiritual topics. Because of the topics they address, he labels them
as spiritual sins. Just as sins in
the heart corrupt the inner man rather than the body, so also do spiritual
sins. Gurnall believes Satan has two favorite spiritual
sins, those being errors involving spiritual principles, and errors resulting
in spiritual pride.
The first errors involve
spiritual principles. The Apostle Paul spent quite a bit of his time amongst
the churches in Galatia, Corinth and Philippi trying to undo the erroneous
teachings and false teachings that had crept in after he had presented the
Gospel message. "The Word is the
mirror in which we see Christ and, seeing Him, are changed into His likeness by
the Holy Spirit. If the glass is cracked, our conception of Him will be
distorted, whereas the Word in its native clearness sets Christ out in all His
glory ", Gurnall tells us. It is Satan's main objective to distort this
message of hope. Having us accept false
doctrines and teachings that do not line up with the Word of God is a great victory
to him.
So, how do we prepare
ourselves so that we aren't accepting of error or false teachings? We must make
sure we have had a true change of heart, are crucifying our flesh daily, and
that our faith in Christ is fully rooted and we are diligently spending time in
God's Word. If we are firmly established in Christ and in the Word, error will
be choked out as fast as it tries to spring up. As we study and grow, we need
to be wary of new doctrines that are presented to us. We must never easily nor
hastily accept everything we hear, even from the pulpit. We have every right to
look into it, study it for ourselves, and pray about it before we accept it.
The second type of error is
spiritual pride, which can come in many forms. Gurnall has us look at where he believes we
can most easily fall into spiritual pride, and that is when we feel we're
superior by having any one of the following three: pride of gifts, pride of grace or pride of
privilege.
By pride of gifts, he means
"those spiritual abilities the Holy Spirit dispenses to Christians for the
edification of the body of Christ as a whole". The Apostle Paul spoke of these gifts in
First Corinthians 12:4. Each one of us
is gifted by God, so as to serve and build up one another. But let pride creep
in, and we begin to feel superior to those who we feel have lesser gifts.
Then there's the sin that's referred
to as the pride of grace. This is where we erroneously trust in our own
goodness, rather than remembering that it's God's grace that saves us and helps
us to grow. We are to put forth our best effort in whatever we are doing, but
in an attitude of knowing we are incapable of anything good apart from God.
Gurnall warns us, "Where
pride reigns, God will chasten. He may let you fall into a sin that will
humiliate you before men and God, and force you to come crawling home in shame.
Or He may use a thorn in the flesh to prick the balloon of your pride. If your
pride has placed His honor in jeopardy, expect to feel God's rod of correction.
Most likely it will be applied to the very spot where your pride is rooted. The
only thing that will keep you from it is your humility. Remember whom you
wrestle with - spiritual wickedness. They will try to convince you that your
spiritual accomplishments are a result of your own efforts and that you deserve
the credit for them....Where pride flourishes, the body of Christ
suffers."
The only remedy for the pride
of grace is for us to repent as we come to terms with the fact that there is
nothing we can do to save ourselves. Until we understand that it is only by the
grace of God that we are redeemed, by Christ's paying for our sins, it will be
our natural tendency to fall back on works. It's difficult to believe that
there is nothing we need to do, nor can do. However, God loves us so much that
He makes the way to heaven available to every person, regardless of how they've
lived their lives prior to becoming born again and becoming heirs with Christ!
Lastly, there is the pride of
privilege, the third kind of pride that wicked spirits will use. There are
several types of "privilege". There's the pride that comes from being
in a place of prominence, such as a being a high official or running a large
ministry. There's the pride that comes from being persecuted. While suffering
for God is to be considered a privilege, some will use their suffering as a way
to get sympathy, or recognition or even use it for their own personal
gain. Then there's the pride that comes
from being blessed by God, by being financially well-off or born into a family
of status. The proper response to any blessings from God should be one of
thankfulness and seeking to find out how He desires us to use these blessings
for the good of the Kingdom.
Gurnall's desire is that we
are well informed of what methods Satan will try to use in order to undermine
our usefulness as a soldier for God and
why: Satan's greatest achievement will
be to get us mired in spiritual wickedness, "the ones that sear your
conscience, blind your minds and petrify your hearts. If ever you perish, it will be by the hand of
these sins. Other sins are preparatory (preparation) to spiritual sins. Satan
therefore draws you into carnal sin to bring you ultimately into spiritual
sin."
If we are engaged in carnal
sin, it makes us more disposed to proceed on to spiritual sin, as any sin, by
its very nature, hardens the heart. Hebrews 3:13 warns us, "Lest any of
you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." If we continue to beat down a path toward sin
and do not give heed to the Holy Spirit's
warning to leave that path and go to God for forgiveness in order to
regain a softened heart, then we could end up with empty, hardened hearts.
However, God will do
everything He can to help us if we go to Him and ask for His help. He is showing us these things so that we can
be softened, be changed and have hearts that are full of humility, as this is
what stops pride from retaining any hold upon us. We must not ignore
any sin He exposes, any opportunity to soften us. He puts these opportunities
before us so that He can replace our hearts with even softer hearts. Like a
loving Father, God will use whatever means He has to in order to save us from
bad choices. If we are eager to hear, and change whatever He shines His light
upon, we will hear His tender voice saying, "This is the way, walk in
it!"
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