What the Bible Has to Say About the Spirits

A man dreams that his dead uncle speaks to him and asks him for nsima and beer. In order to keep the spirit of his uncle happy, he puts the food and drink in that special place in the village known to be the place where the spirit will receive it. He does this to ensure success in his life, crops etc.

An elderly man participates in an offering to the spirits that is being conducted by the community in which he lives. If he doesn't participate he would be showing disrespect for everyone in the community.

Each of these people mentioned is real and has something in common. They profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. But... is it right for a Christian to do these things?

These activities involving the spirits are widely practiced in Malawi and other countries in Africa and throughout the world. They are part of the culture and have been passed down through generations to the present inhabitants, many of whom now profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. For the Christian, these and all other practices must be examined in the light of Scripture in order to determine whether or not they are in accordance with God's will. Our purpose in this paper is to see what the Word of God has to say about this important subject that affects the lives of so many.

Often when approaching a subject involving culture, there is a temptation to judge various aspects of that way of life on the basis of the author's own background and culture. While recognizing this possibility, it is my desire to take up this subject solely on the basis of the Word of God. There is no inherent value in one culture over another except insofar as that culture may be consistent with principles set forth in the Scriptures. Therefore, as Bereans (Acts 17:11), it is our desire that the reader consider the thoughts expressed in this paper on the basis of the Scriptures alone.

At the outset of this paper, it would be well for the reader to prayerfully and honestly answer the following questions before God:

1. Do you wear charms or other objects for protection of health or property, success in business, or for other reasons?

2. Do you use charms or other objects, either buried or otherwise, for protection of your home and those dwelling there?

3. Who or what do you believe the spirits to be?

4. Do you respond to the spirits or have anything to do with them?

5. Why do you respond to them? Is it fear, or to get power, or for other reasons?

6. Do you participate in community offerings or feasts to the spirits?

7. Do you have a spirit of Vimbuza or other similar spirit?

The answer to these questions is important for recognizing where you stand as we approach God's Word. It is His Word by which all of our works and activities will be judged. If you are not involved in any of the above practices, then ask yourself if you can give a clear Scriptural reason to others for your beliefs. It is our prayer that the Lord Jesus will be glorified as a result of any help received through the Scriptures in reading these pages.

Who or What Are the Spirits? Chapter 1

We will approach this subject by using the Scriptures to identify who or what the spirits are. Many that I have spoken with claim that the spirits are the spirits of their ancestors who have died. These ancestral spirits are free to move about and generally remain involved in the affairs of the living. In order to investigate this claim, let us see what Scripture has to say about those who have died—what happens to their spirits? First before we do that, we should look at what the Bible has to say about each of those beings that have or are spirits. There are four distinct classes of beings including God, angels, Satan and demons, and man. As we consider each one of these beings, please think carefully about how or where the ancestral spirits may fit in.

God

God is a spirit (John 4:24) and if we are going to have any understanding of this subject at all we must come to Him for He is the One who knows and reveals "the deep and secret things." (Dan. 2:22) In His Word, God has revealed Himself as the only true God (John 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Isa. 44:6) and all other beings worshipped by the nations are demons and not God (1 Cor. 10:20). We learn that He is the Creator (Col. 1:16,17), that He upholds all things by the Word of His power (Heb. 1:3) and all men live and move and have their being through Him (Acts 17:28). He is holy (Lev. 19:2), cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and it is with Him that we have to do (Heb. 4:13). We learn that God is Love (1 John 4:16) and so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son to die for us (John 3:16) and that same love has now made us His own children (1 John 3:1). At one time God spoke to man through prophets using dreams, visions and direct communication, but He has now revealed Himself through the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom His word is now complete in the New Testament (Heb. 1:2). When we believe on Him, God gives us His own Spirit to dwell within us and speaks to us directly through His Word (2 Tim. 3:16,17; Rom. 15:4).

In His Word, God has revealed Himself as a Triune Deity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Each of these divine persons in the Trinity is called God—"God the Father" (Phil. 2:11), "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever" (Heb. 1:8), "why has Satan filled thy heart that thou shouldest lie to the Holy Spirit... Thou hast not lied to men, but to God" (Acts 5:3, 4).

We will consider the nature of God and our relationship further in Chapter 6, but for now it is important to see that He is a holy loving God who reveals Himself today through His word and not by secretive means, dreams or visions.

Summary: There is one true God—the Creator, Almighty, sustainer of life, and redeemer. He is revealed in three divine co-equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Angels

Scripture speaks of mighty unseen spirit beings called angels. Like all beings other than God, they were created by God (Col. 1:16, 17) and we find in Job 38:4, 7 that the angels, there referred to as the "sons of God," were present at the creation of the world. This is significant since it clearly shows that the angels were created before man and therefore cannot be the spirits of those who have died.

It tells us in Heb. 1:7 that the angels are spirits and in chapter 12:22 that there are so many that they cannot be numbered. We find in 2 Thess. 1:7 that they are mighty and 2 Kings 19:35 describes how one angel killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night. They are holy (Luke 9:26), do not marry (Matt. 22:30) and cannot die (Luke 20:36).

We are told what they do in Heb. 1:14: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out for service on account of those who shall inherit salvation?" Those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ today are the ones who will inherit salvation and God uses the unseen angels to help us. Besides helping believers, it tells us in Psa. 103:20, 21 that they execute God's Word and do His will. They do not do their own wills or get upset with people when they are ignored. The word "angel" means "messenger" and this occupies much of their service in the examples given in Scripture (see Luke 1:19; Dan. 6:22; Matt. 1:20; 2:13). Other examples of how angels have directly helped believers may be found in Acts 12:7 and Acts 27:23. We also find that angels are occupied with learning about the wisdom and ways of God by observing (they are called "watchers" in Dan. 4:13, etc.) his dealings in the world (Dan. 4), with the Lord's servants (1 Cor. 4:9), with His people (1 Cor. 11:10) and in the assembly (Eph. 3:10).

Summary: God created the angels, mighty spirit beings that do His will and help believers. They were present at the creation of the world—they are not departed spirits.

Satan and Demons

The next class of spirit beings after God and angels that Scripture speaks about is Satan and his angels which are known as demons (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:7; 16:13, 14). In order to understand what Scripture has to say about these spirits, let us first consider what it has to say about their leader, Satan.

Satan's Fall, His Defeat, and His End.

In Ezek. 28:14-17, we are told that Satan was created perfect in his ways as the angel that stood in the immediate presence of God covering His glory. However, there was a little seed of pride growing in his heart for he became occupied with his own beauty. The seed eventually grew into a great tree of rebellion against God and in Isa. 14:12-15 we are told that Satan decided in his heart that he would exalt his own throne above the stars of God and be like the most High. For this great sin, Satan fell from his God-given place in heaven and became the leader of all those who have since refused God's authority.

Soon after God placed the first people, Adam and Eve, upon this earth, Satan went to them and sowed the same seeds of pride and rebellion in their hearts. As a result, man sinned and sin came into the world. After this wicked act, God predicted the rest of Satan's career and his doom. In Gen. 3:15, He said that Satan and those that follow him would be against Eve and her descendents. He also foretold the day when Satan would bruise the Lord Jesus at the cross but how, in that work at Calvary, the Lord Jesus would destroy Satan's power. The Lord Himself stated in John 12:31 how the prince of this world (Satan) would be cast out and, in Heb. 2:14, it tells us that through his death he destroyed Satan's power. According to Col. 2:15, the Lord Jesus Christ completely spoiled all the unseen wicked forces allied with Satan in such a way that there is no doubt about their future utter defeat.

Even though his power is broken, today Satan is allowed by God to continue in his wicked ways as a test of the heart of man. However, the Scriptures foretell that very soon, after Christians have been taken out of this world at the coming of our Lord, Satan will be cast out of the heavens and be confined to the earth where he will stir up unimaginable wickedness and rebellion against God (Rev. 12). Shortly after, he will be bound in a bottomless pit for one thousand years and then loosed for a short time as a final test of man (Rev. 20:1-3). After this, we are told in Rev. 20:10 that he will be thrown into a lake of fire and brimstone where he will be tormented forever and ever.

Satan's Accusation of Job and His Role in Job's Sickness.

Before continuing on with the Scriptures that tell us of Satan's current activity in the world, let us look at an example from the Old Testament of how Satan works in the life of a believer. In Job 1:1, we learn that a man named Job was righteous and feared God. He was greatly blessed by God in his life and had much land, cattle and possessions. In verses 6-8, we are told that the sons of God (angels) came on a certain day to present themselves before Jehovah God and Satan also came there among them. Satan accused Job before God and said that Job would curse God to His face if all of Job's possessions were taken away. As a test, God allowed Satan to destroy almost everything Job had. But Satan was wrong and Job did not sin or curse God (Job 1:22). So, wicked Satan again came into God's presence to accuse Job and said that if Job became very sick that he would curse God. Again, God allowed Satan to put his hand on Job and his whole body became covered with sore boils. But Job still did not curse God.

Now, before we proceed any further, why did God allow Satan to put his hand on Job in this way? Didn't God love Job? Yes, he did. Wasn't Job righteous and God-fearing? Yes, he was. Then, how could God allow such a thing? It was because there was a hidden problem with Job a problem so difficult that God could not deal with it in any other way. You see, there was a small seed growing deep down in Job's heart that no one else could see and Job himself was barely aware of it. Do you remember how that seed grew in Satan's heart? God loved Job and did not want it to grow into a tree of rebellion, so he allowed this great trial to come into Job's life. By the end of the book of Job, he completely repented of this sin (Job 42:6) and God blessed him with far more than he had before (Job 42:10-16).

There is another very important point that we should consider about Job. Who put his hand on Job God or Satan? Although God allowed it, Satan was the one who caused all of Job's trouble and sickness. So, if it was Satan putting his hand on Job, should not Job respond to Satan and appease him in order to make peace? Absolutely not! You will never find Job or any other believer dealing with Satan in this way. In fact, Job never communicated with Satan at all. God had allowed the trial and it was God that Job had to deal with. No one can harm a believer in any way unless our loving God allows it. Just like Job, we must never deal with Satan or demons when trouble comes. Our relationship is with God and it is with Him that we have to do (Heb. 4:13).

Satan's Current Activity

We have seen how Satan worked against Job, a believer who lived thousands of years ago. But what does Scripture say about his activity today? Believe it or not, he is just the same. In Rev. 12:10 we find him referred to as the "accuser of our brethren... which accused them before our God day and night." We also learn from references like 2 Cor. 12:7-10 that, as far as he is allowed to by God, Satan is active in working against Christians just as he did with Job.

As to his role in this world, in Eph. 2:2 he is called the "prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" and in 2 Cor. 4:4 he is called, "the god of this world." The Lord Jesus tells us about his character this is very important, because it will give an important clue as to who the spirits may be. In John 8:44, He said that Satan, "is a liar, and the father of it" and "there is no truth in him." Nor is this deception limited to unbelievers. In Acts 5:2, 3 we find that he filled the heart of Ananias to lie to the Holy Spirit. He can deceive believers today if they do not have their armor on in the power of the Holy Spirit. This protection against his deceit is discussed at the end of this paper.

Satan's Angels—Demons

As we saw previously, other angels that sinned are called Satan's angels. They are referred to as "the spirits" and "demons" in passages like Matt. 8:16 and we also find from these passages that they possess people and control their bodies at their will. Elsewhere, they are referred to as "wicked spirits" and "evil" spirits (see Acts 19:12-16) and "unclean spirits" (see Rev. 16:13,14). Some are known more specifically by their characteristics like the "spirit of divination" mentioned in Acts 16:16-18. Some of these "fallen" angels are already bound in chains of darkness waiting for their final judgment, but many are still freely moving about doing their wicked deeds and they know that the time is coming when they will be tormented for their wickedness (see Matt. 8:28-32). In 1 Tim. 4:1, the Spirit of God makes a special point of telling us that at the last times (today) some shall turn away from the faith and give their mind to "deceiving spirits" and "teachings of demons." This is a most important point since it means that there are those who profess to be Christians today who are being fooled by demons known as deceiving spirits. This is their character because they follow their leader who is "a liar and the father of it." The verse also tells us that they give their minds to "teachings of demons." There are many of these teachings among those professing to be Christians today. We must remember that the only safe source of teaching is the Word of God and everything, even this paper, must be tested by it.

Summary: Satan is a powerful, deceiving spirit who is head over demons who also deceive. His power was defeated at the cross and he can only go as far as our loving Father will let him. As we will see, the believer is to resist him and never to deal with him in any way.

Man

The final being that is mentioned in Scripture as having a spirit is man. It tells us in Gen. 2:7 that "the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Animals are also referred to as having spirits in Eccl. 3:21, but there it is referring only to their life. Scripture never speaks of animals as having a spirit that is conscious of God or that lives after death. Instead, we are told that they are made to be taken and destroyed (2 Peter 2:12) and they perish (Psa. 49:12, 20). By contrast, man has a spirit that was made by God (Zech. 12:1) and returns to

God when he dies (Eccl. 12:7). That spirit is unique to man (1 Cor. 2:11) and by it we can seek the Lord (Isa. 26:9), rejoice in Him (Luke 1:47), serve Him (Rom. 1:9) and worship Him (John 4:23, 24).

In addition to the spirit, we find in 1 Thess. 5:23 that man is composed of two other parts; soul and body. It is the Word of God that is able to divide these things (Heb. 4:12 "joints and marrow" refer to the body) and we must not form our own opinions about them or accept teachings from other sources that do not completely conform to the Scripture. We all understand quite well what the body is since it is that part of our being that we see and use to interact with each other. The soul is the other unseen part of man that consists of his affections, desires, likes and dislikes, and ambitions. Like the spirit, it does not die and returns to God when man dies. Again, the three parts of man are:

Spirit—Unseen—God-conscious thinking part of man

Soul—Unseen—Affections, desires, and ambitions

Body—Seen—Our physical body

The question we need to answer is where the soul and spirit (hereafter referred to only as the "spirit") go when a person dies. This is the subject of the next section.

Summary: Man is a three-part being composed of spirit, soul and body that has been created specially by God.

The Dead

We understand that a person is dead when their spirit leaves the body, and Scripture confirms this in James 2:26. We look at the body of a dead person and see that it is still there, but the person is gone. The question is, what happens to the spirit when it leaves the body? Where does it go? What does it do? This question has long been answered in traditional African religions which claim that the person's spirit is free to move around and remains involved in the affairs of its living descendents. Many believe that this is true because they have seen the face and heard the voice of some ancestor in a dream and have become convinced that it is really that person. But, is this really true? Let us see what God has to say about this in His Word.

In the Old Testament, very little is revealed about the ultimate destination of the spirit. However, under divine inspiration, various authors wrote about the relationship that the departed have with the living. In the New Testament we are told much more because there was One who came from the other side of death to reveal to us what happens there. The Lord Jesus said in John 3:12 that he spake of "heavenly things" as the one who has come down from heaven. But let us start with the truth of the Old Testament regarding the connection between the dead and the living.

David had a child that got very sick and died. After his death, David said, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me" (2 Sam. 12:23). This verse indicates that the dead do not return to the living, not in body or in spirit. In Psa. 31:12 it says, "I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind." Now if the spirit of the dead could come to us in dreams or visions, would they really be out of mind? Another verse says, "The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence" (Psa. 115:17). If the dead come back and speak to the living in dreams or in any other way, it could not be said that they go down into silence. Either that which we think has been our experience is true or else these verses are true.

God raised up a special man named Solomon whom he prepared in such a way that he would know all that there is to know with regard to living on this earth. The wisdom which he gained is given in the book of Ecclesiastes where he wrote, "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything" (Eccl. 9:5). We, the living, are conscious of the fact that, as far as the normal course of things on this earth are concerned, we are going to die some day. With respect to this earth, the dead don't know anything. This means that, even if they could come and speak to us, they wouldn't have anything to say about events on this earth. In the next verse, he states it even more clearly when he says, "Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun." All that the dead cared about on earth is forever over and they have nothing to do with anything that is done on earth.

Solomon was given a further insight into the fate of the spirit in Eccl. 12:7 where he says, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Is the departed spirit free to roam around the earth and be involved in the affairs of the living? No it returns to God!

Now, let us turn to the greater revelation of the New Testament to find out what happens to the spirits when they return to God. In Luke 16:19-31, the Lord Jesus told an actual story of what happened to two men who died. There was a poor man who died having faith and his body was buried. The Lord Jesus told us that the part of him that wasn't buried (his spirit) was taken to a place of happiness and was comforted. The rich man, who had no faith, also died and was buried. His spirit went to a place of torment called hell. In that place he had eyes, a tongue, a memory and reason because spirits are capable of seeing, speaking, feeling, remembering and thinking even though they have no body. In his torment, he asked that the poor man be permitted to come and cool his tongue with water. However, he was told that there was a gully between them so great that no one could pass from the place of torment to the place of happiness and neither could anyone pass over from the place of happiness to the place of torment. By this we learn that those who die without faith are in a fixed place of torment where they cannot escape. This place is called a prison of spirits in 1 Peter 3:18-20.

Knowing that his fate was sealed and that he could never move from his prison of torment, the rich man had a good idea. What if the poor man could go back to earth and tell the rich man's brothers about the place of torment so that they would not come there. He was told that this could not be because they had the Word of God to tell them. So, we learn from this story that the spirits of the departed go to fixed places after death, those with faith to a place of happiness and blessing, and those without faith to a place of torment called prison. Rev. 20 tells us that the unbelieving dead will remain in that prison until they are raised up and judged for what they did in this life. Then they will be cast into a lake of fire forever.

In Luke 23:39-43, we find out further information about what happens to a believer after death. There were two thieves dying with the Lord Jesus on crosses next to His. One thief had faith and said to the dying Savior, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." The Lord told him these most remarkable words; "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." How could that be? Later on that same day, the Lord Jesus died and was laid into a tomb. The thief also died and was buried. So how were they together in paradise? It is because their spirits were together in that same wonderful place that the Lord told us that the poor man went to in Luke 16.

In fact, this is always the way the final condition of the spirits of Christians is referred to as being with Christ. In Phil. 1:21-24, the Apostle Paul spoke of desiring "to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better." In 2 Cor. 5:8 he says that when we are "absent from the body" we are "present with the Lord." In 1 Thess. 4:13-18, he speaks of the "dead in Christ" and says that they "sleep in Jesus." Now, if a man was sleeping on the floor in the middle of a room of people, could he talk to them? No, certainly not. Is he dead? No. His body is there, but he is in another place of consciousness. So it is with a believer who dies. His body is in the grave, but his spirit is alive in another place of consciousness and that place is the presence and enjoyment of Christ. He is asleep with respect to this world.

Summary: The dead have no communication with the living whatsoever. Believing dead are with Jesus enjoying His presence and unbelieving dead are in torment. There are no ancestral spirits!

So, Who Are the "Ancestral" Spirits?

Could they be God? They claim to be the ancestors, not God. They could only be God if He is lying, but Scripture says that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Could they be angels? Again, since angels are spirits who were created before men, they could only be angels if the angels are lying. But then the Scripture would be false which says that the angels are holy (Matt. 25:31, etc.). Can they be the departed spirits of men? As we have seen in the previous section, Scripture does not allow this possibility. So who are they? What is the remaining possibility? Could they be demons, spirits that scripture says are characterized by lying? Is this the conclusion we must reach from Scripture?

GOD Angels Demons Spirits of the Dead

For many, this is a very difficult thing to face, but the truth is the only thing that can set us free. No matter what it costs, let us go on to see what Scripture teaches on this important subject. We have just seen by process of elimination that spirits claiming to be ancestors must be demons. There is much teaching in the world today (no doubt, the "teachings of demons") that there are other possibilities or that the spirits are actually the spirits of our ancestors. But what does the Word of God say? "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa. 8:20).

Summary: There are no other beings interacting with man, only those which Scripture speaks of God, Angels, Satan and Demons, and Man. Ancestral spirits are merely deceiving demons pretending to be ancestors!

Spirits and Witchcraft: Chapter 2

We have shown through Scripture that the only possible explanation for the "ancestral spirits" is that they are demons. But, does the Word of God directly address this issue? I believe that it most certainly does and that these deceiving spirits have been up to their evil deceptions for thousands of years. In fact, when God brought his people Israel into the land of Canaan, the people of the land were responding to the spirits in much the same way people today do. The Lord had to warn his people about this awful practice and instruct them to have nothing to do with it.

In Lev. 19:31 he told them, "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God." Familiar spirits were those spirits who would attach themselves to a particular person or people and impersonate the dead. Today, they act in much the same way in coming to people and pretending to be a deceased ancestor. The way they work is like this. Suppose there are a father and son who spend many years together in a close family relationship. There are many things that they share together that no one else on earth is aware of. Now, suppose that the father dies and the son is left alone. Sometime later the son has a dream and sees his father who is telling him that he is the spirit of the father and can prove it to him. The spirit then relates some of the experiences that only the father and the son shared and knew about. This is very convincing and the son becomes sure that it is really his father's spirit. But is it? Did the father and son really share those experiences alone? No, they didn't. The familiar spirit was there as well, even though they couldn't see it. Such is the deception and they were to have nothing to do with those that had familiar spirits. It is obvious that they also were not permitted to have anything to do with the familiar spirits themselves. Nor were they to seek after wizards either. Wizards were those who cast spells for either "good" or evil purposes. If they had anything to do with them, they would be defiled.

Lev. 20:6 is even stronger and says, "And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people." Verse 27 says that the one having a familiar spirit or a wizard was to be put to death by stoning. This is very strong language and shows how God felt about these practices at that time. In Deut. 18:9-13, we are told, "When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God." Here, in addition to the consulter with familiar spirits and wizards, several other "abominations" are listed. Divination, the practice of using some object or non-scientific method for determining the future or diagnosing an illness, was absolutely forbidden. So was the witch or witch doctor. A charmer was one who made objects that had power to protect those who wore them. If placed at certain locations at a house (such as buried beneath the doorway), they could protect the inhabitants of that house. But there were to be no such persons who made these objects and it follows that the objects themselves were absolutely forbidden. Later on, we find that Israel's first king violated these strict prohibitions and died "for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it" (1 Chron. 10:13).

Now, what does the New Testament have to say about these things? In 2 Cor. 11:13-15 we find that Satan and his ministers (demons) can transform themselves so that they appear to be an "angel of light" or "ministers of righteousness." So it is no surprise that these lying, deceiving, familiar spirits can appear to be someone well known to a living person. We also find that God does not change with respect to His view of evil. We will take this up more in Chapter 4 where we look at the Scriptural teaching of light and darkness.

In Acts 19:19, we are told what the early Christians did shortly after they believed. There it says, "Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." There are several important points to notice here. First, we see that they recognized that their books of magic belonged to that which God hated and must be destroyed. Second, it says that they burned them before all men. Their involvement with these practices had been public and so was their renunciation. All men would include those in the world who were still doing those things and who wouldn't understand. It didn't matter, they wanted everyone to know that they were done with the works of evil and therefore they made a public declaration of it. The third thing mentioned is that there was a great cost involved in destroying those things. So it will be for anyone who will be faithful today— there will be a real cost involved in publicly giving up the works of evil. But was it worth it? Most certainly, for the fourth thing mentioned is, "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." This is the reward—and we should mention that the reverse is also true. As long as the Lord's people continue on with any of these practices, there will be no spiritual growth.

Now, let us go back to that verse we looked at earlier in Isa. 8. If we read starting from verse 19 we will see that it was specifically referring to this issue. Here are the two verses:

And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? For the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isa. 8:19 ,20)

Here, God is warning his people that they would come with reasonable sounding arguments, just like people do with regard to this subject today. They would say, "Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards." But what is the answer? Should not a people seek unto their God? Absolutely we should! It is wrong to go to familiar spirits and wizards for answers. God wants us to go to Him and have nothing to do with them. Should the living go to the dead just because they are on the other side of the grave and therefore possibly closer to God? Certainly not, and Scripture forbids it! Many of these things may at first seem like perfectly reasonable sounding arguments. But are they right? God says, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." When we go to the Word, we find that these arguments are all false and completely against the will of God. In fact, the practice puts evil beings between God and us. Not only that, but, as we will see in Chapter 6, God desires to have a direct personal relationship with each one of us with nothing in between. And so, the practice of going to familiar spirits has the result of robbing Him of that relationship and, even worse, inserting demons as intermediaries between us and Him. Let us go to His Word and examine these things in its light.

Summary: God's people are to have nothing to do with familiar spirits, wizards, divination, charms or anything else like this not specifically found in His word.

Power - What Protection Is There for the Christian? Chapter 3

If responding to the spirits and the use of charms is wrong for the Christian, then we may naturally ask the question, "What protection is there for the Christian?" What protection is there for my crops in the fields? When my neighbors find out that I have nothing to do with the spirits, they will not be afraid to come to my fields and take my crops. What protection will I have if someone puts a spell on me? Let us look at what the Scriptures have to say about this subject.

First of all, we must make the point that seeking power is wrong. When we try to get power for ourselves, whether it is for protection, health, or success, it puts us at the center. True Christianity puts Christ at the center and makes nothing of us. Seeking power for personal advantage is therefore wrong and opposed to the Christian life. It is of Satan and he is the one that tries to get both believers and unbelievers occupied with it in order to rob God of His glory, for all true power rightly belongs to Him.

In Luke 4:6, Satan speaking to the Lord Jesus said, "All this power will I give thee... for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it." Even though all power belongs to God (Psa. 62:11), the Lord Jesus, the Creator and rightful owner of everything, never disputed Satan's claim for in his rebellion he is permitted to wield power in the world at this time. He is called the "prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" in Eph. 2:2. So, we see that Satan uses power for his own advantage and this power is real in the world. In Luke 4, he offered power to the Lord Jesus if He would worship Satan this is what is behind his use of power. He seeks his own glory and wants to rob God of His rightful glory. And the pride of man is forever causing him to seek power for his own glory. We see an example of this in Acts 8:19, where a man named Simon, who was a sorcerer, offered money to the apostles in order to obtain the power to lay hands on people and give the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was denounced as wickedness and iniquity. There are some who seek to use the Bible or other "holy" things in this way as an object of power today. Others claim that the Spirit of God is a force or power that can be used to personal advantage. Witchcraft and sorcery are used to wield power in many parts of the world. But this is all wrong and the Christian is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it. In 1 Sam. 4, we are told how the Children of Israel tried to use the ark of God as an object of power. They believed that it, not the Lord, would save them out of the hand of their enemies. But they were wrong and many were slain and their enemies captured the ark of the Lord.

But what is the Christian's position to be with regard to power? To answer this, let us look and see what the Scripture says about the work of our Savior on Calvary's cross. Upon completion of that work and after His resurrection, He said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28:18). Thus, all rightful power today is delivered into the hand of the one who loved us so much that He died for us. In Col. 1:13, we are told that God has "delivered us from the power of darkness" and in Acts 26:18 we learn that we are turned "from the power of Satan unto God... by faith." In 1 John 4:4, we are told, "greater is he that is in you [the Holy Spirit], than he that is in the world [Satan]." So, we learn from these verses that Satan and his demons have no further power over us once we are saved. But, what about threats from our fellow man? What does Scripture say about protection in this world?

We will take up this subject in greater detail in the chapter on Faith versus Fear, however, it is absolutely necessary that we begin by understanding what the Scripture says about the Christian's relationship to power. Simply put, we have no power of our own. This is the Christian's strength, for we are called to rely completely upon the Lord, and His power is limitless. As believers, we have the unimaginable gift of a new life that is the undying, perfect life of Christ Himself. However, we are told that this treasure is kept in these bodies, referred to as earthen vessels, "that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (2 Cor. 4:7). To God be all the glory and all the power it is His by right! The Lord Jesus told his disciples in John 15:5, "without me ye can do nothing." The apostle Paul said in 2 Cor. 12:10, "when I am weak, then am I strong."

Scripture is everywhere consistent on this point. We have no power of our own. But does that mean the Christian is defenseless? No, it doesn't! All the power of God is for us and He cares for us. In Ephesians 1:18-20 we are told, "that ye may know... what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places." Was there ever power like that power that raised Christ from the dead? No, it was the greatest power this world has ever known, greater even than the power that called the world and universe into existence. And it is that same mighty and exceeding great power that God now has for us and wants us to know. We learn further that it is according to that same divine power that He has, "given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue" (2 Peter 1:3). There is nothing required, either for living in this world, or for our spiritual lives as Christians that His power will not supply. If that is true, then what can man do to us if God does not directly allow it? Absolutely nothing! Notice the language in Rom. 8:31, 32, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Can we ever doubt the God who gave so much to bring us to Himself? Is He unable to preserve us from those who would harm us? To doubt Him is either ignorance of what He Himself has promised in these verses from His Word, or else it is unbelief of the worst kind!

We will come back to personal deliverance we must get our focus and trust off ourselves and onto the Lord.

Summary: Man and demons are occupied with power for personal advantage including protection, health and success. This quest for power is absolutely wrong for the believer-it is self-centered and we must be Christ-centered.

Light and Darkness - How Serious Is This Issue? Chapter 4

In the Word of God, light is used to represent good and darkness is used to represent evil. As we have already seen, dealing with the spirits is not according to the Word of God and is therefore wrong. They are actually demons and are evil beings and belong to darkness. But the question may be asked, "How serious is it really for the Christian to be involved with things that are wrong and of darkness?" In order to answer this question, we will look at how Scripture views light and darkness and the relationship between them.

First of all, we find out that God's very nature is light from 1 John 1:5 where it says, "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." From this verse we see that there is an absolute separation of these two things and a complete absence of darkness (or evil) in the nature of God. This character of his nature is so important that His first act of creation, on the first day, was to say, "Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3). What God did next is not only remarkable, but also vital as a lesson for all believers to pay careful attention to. It says in Gen. 1:4, "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." This was his very first act with respect to this creation he introduced light and then immediately separated the light from the darkness! Satan and man have been trying to mix and confuse the two ever since, but they are forever separated by God. Notice what the Lord says about those who mix light and darkness in Isa. 5:20: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Here we have the same connection: good light, darkness evil. And the Lord says "Woe unto them" that mix these things.

Just like physical light was introduced into the world at the creation, moral light was introduced into the world when the Lord Jesus was born on this earth. It says of Him in John 1:1-9 that he was "the light of men." As the light, we learn that, "the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." The Lord Jesus was the perfect example and witness of all that was right and good in this world, but the world system was left unchanged by that shining light. And the world, being in darkness and headed up by its prince, Satan, refused the light and determined to extinguish it. In the purposes of God, He allowed them to have their way and so the Lord Jesus was delivered into their hands. He said the following words in Luke 22:53: "When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." And so, at the cross of Calvary, they raised their wicked hands against the Lord Jesus Christ and did their very worst to Him. We also learn that, in three hours of darkness, God punished Him for our sins there. Now, we are told that because he was delivered into that darkness, God has now "delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Col. 1:13).

But what is this power of darkness from which we have been delivered? We have already seen it as the world system that is headed up by its leader, Satan and is opposed to Christ. Of Satan, it says in 2 Cor. 4:4, "the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." So we see that Satan is active in the world, blinding the minds to keep men in darkness and shut out the light of the gospel. And men are quite willing that it should be so, for it says in John 3:19-21, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." And so men go on willingly in this darkness, enjoying their evil deeds, and quite indifferent to the fact that they are bound under the power of Satan. When we are saved, we find out what it is that we have been delivered from. It says in Acts 26:18, that we have been turned "from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." In Eph. 5:8 we are told, "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light." And, just as our Lord was the light of the world, now he says, "Ye are the light of the world" and "Let your light so shine before men" (Matt. 5:14-16).

The original source of light in the believer is the Word of God. As we saw in 2 Cor. 4:4, it was the shining in of the glorious gospel of Christ that brought in that light. Just like God said, "Let there be light" at the creation of the world, so he begins the new birth with the light of the gospel. The continuing source of our light is also the Word of God, for it says in Psa. 119:130 "The entrance of thy words giveth light."

Letting our lights shine includes the fact that we are to have nothing whatsoever to do with the darkness. Just like physical light completely dispels and chases away the darkness wherever it shines, so the moral light that Christians are to shine around them is to dispel the moral darkness. In Eph. 5:11 we are told, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."

Now, let us look at what the scriptures have further to say regarding the believer and his relationship with light and darkness. Perhaps the strongest denunciation of the mixture of these two things is stated in 2 Corinthians. The whole passage is given below:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean-thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)

Again, we see the connection drawn between righteousness, light and Christ. By contrast, the connection is also drawn between unrighteousness, darkness and Belial (Satan). These things are set in opposition to each other in the strongest terms, "what fellowship... what communion... what agreement?" There is none whatsoever! And so it says, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing." Do we get the idea about how very important this is?

What is the promise immediately following? He says, "I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Do you have a living, daily relationship with God as your Father One who cares for you and is involved in every circumstance of your life? If you are involved with the spirits, use charms, have roots or other objects buried around your house for protection, go to the witch doctor, or are involved in any of the works of darkness you cannot enjoy this relationship with him. God is the Father of all who believe (John 1:12), but it is impossible to enjoy this relationship with Him unless we are separate from the darkness, for His nature is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

Notice too that he is referred to as the "Lord Almighty." Many go on with the works of darkness out of fear, but our Father who longs to walk with us in such a living near relationship, is the "Almighty." There is no need for fear and faith rises above it to trust Him. We will address this important subject in greater detail in the next chapter.

Now, look at the final verse; "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Again, our responsibility is brought in. We are told to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh. We know well what this is lying, stealing, dishonesty, etc. But what is filthiness of the spirit? It certainly includes all of the works of darkness in the spiritual world those things that we have been talking about in this paper. This verse is only in the Word of God because believers have difficulties in separating from these things. But, this issue is put so strongly because it is absolutely necessary for us to be cleansed from these things and perfect holiness in the fear of God.

In Matt. 6:22-24 the Lord Jesus tells us about how spiritual light (wisdom and understanding) comes into the body through the spiritual eye that is single. He is referring to the eye that is on Christ alone and does not look to Christ and something else that is referred to as an "evil eye." If we have an eye that is evil (divided), He says that the whole body will be full of darkness (no spiritual understanding), and that darkness is great! He goes on to say that, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." You cannot serve God and anything else for that matter. You cannot serve God and Satan. You cannot serve God and the spirits! These things can never be!

As a final warning on this subject of light and darkness, let us consider a passage from Jer. 13:15-17. In the governmental ways of God, He gives time for repentance, but there may come a time when, if a person refused to listen, that He causes darkness. And, so He says, "Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken." But how does He feel if we do not listen to Him? Is he outraged? No He is grieved for He loves his people. He says, "if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears." And what is the reason given for this? It says at the end of verse 17, "because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive." How true this is with believers who are responding to spirits and involved in the works of darkness. They are captive held captive by fear to Satan and the world. How very sad, for Jesus died to deliver us from that. Let us look more at this subject of fear and faith in the next chapter.

Summary: At the very beginning, God who is Light divided the light from the darkness. Satan and man have been trying to mix the two ever since, but this is an abomination to God. The believer is to have nothing to do with darkness.

Fear vs. Faith - What About My Fears? Chapter 5

As we briefly mentioned previously, there are many fears associated with responding to the spirits, the use of charms, etc. Many have expressed fears that if they do not use charms on their children, they will become sick and possibly die. If the spirits are ignored, they can physically harm people or make them sick. These and other fears keep many in bondage to the spirits and other practices of darkness. But the Word of God says that the believer does not need to fear these things. Let us look there and see what is written.

I once heard a story of a boy who went to visit a farm with his father. When they got there, a small dog came out and barked furiously at them. Out of fear the boy jumped up on top of their car while the dog ran around it barking up at him. His father laughed at him but he stayed up on the car being terrified of the dog. Now, what kept him on the car? Was it the dog? No, the dog couldn't hurt him for it was too small. It was his fear that kept him on top of the car. Eventually he got over his fear, came down, and gave that dog a look that sent the dog running away never to be seen again during that visit.

In just that way, Satan uses fear to try to control believers. The greatest of these fears is the fear of death which Satan has used to hold many people in bondage. The Lord Jesus became a man and died so that He, "might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. 2:14,15). Now that He has delivered us, we are not to fear, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7). We don't fear Satan and we don't fear man either, for the Lord has promised, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Heb. 13:5, 6).

No, God has not given us the spirit of fear, but He does call us to a life of faith and trust in Him. Job, as we saw previously, endured the severest trials from God, yet had an unshakeable trust in Him saying, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:15). But it is God's way to save and preserve us, and so the prophet said, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid" (Isa. 12:2). God is our Father and He loves and cares for us.

The Lord Jesus told us about that care in Matt. 6:25-34 where he shows how God takes care of the birds of the air and lilies of the field. Then He says that if God cares so much for them, won't He much more care for us? Then He says something most remarkable and important for the believer in verse 33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." What, should I not seek my fields and possessions first? No, absolutely not! This is a spiritual principle of the Christian life that we must seek His things first in our lives and He will take care of all of our other needs according to His own will and heart of love. The mistake too many Christians make is that they put themselves and their possessions first just like the world does. As a result, they never realize the blessing and care of a loving Father in their lives.

But does this mean that we should not plant our crops and work hard to provide for our families and loved ones? No, it doesn't. We are told in Scripture to work hard and, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Col. 3:23). In fact, "if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Tim. 5:8).

The point is that the Christian must put the Lord first in his life and live by faith. As it says in Rom. 1:17, Gal. 3:11, and Heb. 10:38, "The just shall live by faith." There is no way that we can please God apart from faith (Heb. 11:6) and we are also told in that verse that, "he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

But does the Bible say that those who trust the Lord will be protected. Yes it does! Prov. 29:25 says, "The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his confidence in Jehovah is protected." David expressed the same confidence in the Lord in Psa. 23:4 where he said, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me." The Lord goes with us through this life and if we will put our confidence and trust in Him all fear is gone. There is a double promise in Prov. 1:33 where it says, "whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from fear of evil." That is the path of faith to trust God and be at rest.

So, by walking a life of faith with Him and putting His things first in our lives, we can trust the Lord to not only provide for our needs but also to protect us. He wants us to live our lives simply with Him just as a child comes to his earthly father and asks for things. In Matt. 21:22 the Lord Jesus said, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." That is a wonderful promise, but what does it mean? Does it say, "You will get whatever you want?" No, it doesn't. The verse says, "believing, ye shall receive." We must ask believing in other words, it must be in faith. If we ask in faith, our request will be in accordance with God's will, and 1 John 5:14, 15 says, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." This is the life of faith it is a living, real walk with God, depending upon Him for all of our needs and in all of our circumstances. It is completely opposite to the life of an unbeliever and contrary to the wisdom of the world.

Having said that, let us look at a great obstacle to the life of faith for the believer. There are many of them including self will, pride, and other sins. But when it comes to asking and receiving from God, we often are uncertain about what to ask for and we end up wavering in our faith. When this happens, the first thing we should ask for is wisdom, for it says in James 1:5, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." That is an absolute promise from God, and we must wait until He has given the wisdom for a matter before we continue further with it. But then there is a most important instruction in the following verses:

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:6-8)

Again, it is the life of faith that is important. When we ask of God, it is absolutely essential that we do not have a plan for what we will do if He fails us that isn't faith at all! God wants us to come to Him in complete trust without any other plan. If we trust God for healing but then think secretly in our hearts that, if He doesn't heal us, we will go to the Witch Doctor, there is no faith in that! James says, "let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." If we look around and see that conditions are difficult and our crops are likely to fail, then we start to doubt and our faith wavers. And so, we are double minded we look to the Lord and with fear at our circumstances. That kind of Christian never progresses in his spiritual life, for "a double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

At one time Peter was like that. There was a night when he was in a boat with the other disciples and the wind was against them. They looked out on the sea and saw what they thought was a spirit, but it was the Lord Jesus walking toward them on the water. In wonderful faith, Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." When the Lord Jesus told him to come, Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water towards Him. He was walking by faith on the water; a place that all human wisdom and reason says you can't walk. But then something happened to Peter that often happens to Christians he took his eye off the Lord and looked at the wind and waves. Then he started to sink just like human wisdom said he should. What had changed? He had become double minded he partly trusted the Lord, but also trusted his own wisdom and senses. As a result, the Lord had to reach out and rescue him saying, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Can we trust Him who loves us? Yes, completely, although it often goes completely against all human reason. We can trust Him because He loves us. We had previously seen that God is light, but this is His other attribute Love! In 1 John 4:16 we read, "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love." If you read on to verses 18 and 19 you will find these wonderful words: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us." He loves us with a perfect love and, resting in that love, we have not fear it is cast out. Satan uses fear to torment people even believers. But God wants us to rest in His love and trust him regardless of our circumstances.

But then, what if we become sick, or our neighbor steals from us, or if a herd of animals tramples through my field destroying everything? How can I explain that in the light of God's love? Without any doubt, these kinds of circumstances are very difficult and a great trial to the Christian. But can we take them from Him and ask Him why He allowed that thing to happen? That is exactly what we should do in the life of faith. Do you remember Job? There was a reason why his trouble happened and it didn't have to do with Satan or anyone else around him. The Lord had allowed it for Job's own good and blessing. But, you say, how can I know that God is allowing this trouble for my good? We know it because Scripture says it. Look at Rom. 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Could it be all things? Yes, ALL THINGS, regardless of what they may be, are allowed for our good. The life of faith trusts Him for that and, like Job, we should go to Him and seek to find out what He is saying to us.

Summary: Satan uses fear to control people even believers. We have been delivered from that through His work on the cross and practically by faith. Knowing God's perfect love removes all fear since nothing can happen to a believer but what He allows for our good.

Our Relationship With God: Chapter 6

We have been talking about our relationship with God as a loving, trusting relationship in which God is intimately involved in the everyday affairs of the believer's life. However, this-understanding of God is quite different from what many we have talked to understand it to be. The general understanding seems to be that God is above all on this earth and, although generally kind and benevolent to man, is not directly involved in people's lives. This is even true of His relationship with believers. Instead, some people (including believers) mainly deal with those who have died and are closer to God. They are able to act as intermediaries between God and man to secure for man rain, health and numerous other things required for life. This FALSE idea of man's relationship with God has been examined previously in this paper and may be illustrated as follows:

Unscriptural View of Our Relationship to God and the Spirit World

Instead, the Scriptures reveal God as a divine trinity whose nature is not only light but also love. This God was revealed in the Old Testament as the Creator, Almighty God, Jehovah, and by other names. But now, in the New Testament, he is revealed in and through the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. After He arose from the dead, the Lord Jesus revealed His Father to us as our Father (John 20:17), and as we have already seen, we know Him as God the Son, and He has given us a comforter God the Holy Spirit. According to Scripture, as believers we stand in a special and near relationship to each of the persons of the trinity. It is that relationship and its resulting meaning that we want to explore in this chapter.

God the Father

When we think of God as Father, we often think of His authority and role as the head of His creation. But, in Scripture, the thought of God as our Father goes much further. In John 16:27, we find that, "the Father himself loveth you" and, as a result, the Lord Jesus says in verse 23, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." The relationship with God as Father is far more that one of authority-subjection. It is one of family love and affection. Just how far that love goes is revealed to us in John 17:20-23 where the Lord Jesus says, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word... that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." Could this be possible, that God the Father loves us as much as He loves God the Son? We wouldn't dare to think such a thing if it wasn't revealed to us by God in His Word. Yes it is true! And there is no love like that!

What then is the result of that love? We have previously seen from Rom. 8 that God is for us without reservation having given the dearest object of His heart for us (Rom. 8:32). The Lord Jesus stated it very plainly when he said:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Matt. 7:7-11)

God the Son

What true Christian can doubt our relationship with the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ? He left His home in heaven and came to earth as a man to seek and to save us. It was unspeakable love that caused him to come and die, and so the Apostle Paul says in Gal. 2:20, "the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." While here, He never ceased to be what He always was, God, for it says in Matt. 1:23, "they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." And now that He is ascended and gone back into heaven, He still remains with those who believe on Him (Matt. 28:20). As great as the Father's love is for Him, so is His love for us (John 15:9) and there is no greater love (John 15:13).

The Lord Jesus Christ is waiting for that moment when He can come and call us away to heaven (1 Thess. 4:16-18) and desires that we should be comforted by that thought. Until then, He is in Heaven, a man who understands our troubles, cares about them, and is able and willing to help us when we are in need (Heb. 4:14-16).

God the Holy Spirit

We had seen previously that God has not given us the spirit of bondage to fear, but if we go on in Rom. 8:15, we learn that we, "have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." And so we learn, as it also says in Rom. 5:5, that the Holy Spirit has been "given unto us" and, as a result we have come to know our relationship to the Father. In addition, the Spirit of God works in the believer to help us with our infirmities and make intercession to God for us according to the will of God (Rom. 8:26, 27). Therefore, this mighty, divine person, God the Holy Spirit is for us and helps in all of the trials and difficulties of life. But Scripture has even more to say about how He has been given unto us.

All believers are individually indwelled by the Spirit upon salvation—When He was still on earth, the Lord Jesus told the disciples that He was going to go to the Father and, In John 14:16,17 he said, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Now that the Lord Jesus has gone back to heaven the Holy Spirit has come to earth and indwells every believer. As it says in Rom. 8:9, "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

All believers are anointed with the Spirit – In 1 John 2:27 we are taught that we have been anointed with the Spirit that dwells in us and that He teaches us all things and is truth. In chapter 4:4, John also goes on to tell us that that same indwelling Spirit is greater than he that is in the world (Satan). So we learn that the greatest teacher and the greatest power resides right inside the believer. How this ought to give us comfort in the struggle against the powers of darkness!

All believers receive the Spirit as both a seal and earnest upon salvation – In Eph. 1:13, 14 we are told, "after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. By giving us His Spirit, God puts His seal on us indicating that we are His and gives a down payment guaranteeing that we will receive all of the inheritance.

Believers are baptized into one body by the Spirit – On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down to earth and formed all believers into one body. We find this truth in 1 Cor. 12:13 where it says, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free." Even though we are primarily looking at the individual in this paper, we should consider how important it is for each one of us to take up our place in the body on earth. It is in this collective way that the body properly receives nourishment from Christ, the head in heaven (Col. 2:19). We were never meant to walk as Christians through this world alone, and it is in the assembly and with other Christians that we can be encouraged in our walk.

Believers are to be filled with the Spirit – All of the above relationships between the believer and the Spirit of God are unconditional and true the moment one is saved. Besides this, it says in Eph. 5:18, "be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." This is most important if we are to stand against Satan (as we will see in the following verses later). If we are filled with the Spirit of God His power will be evident in our lives. But how can we be filled with the Spirit? Perhaps it is best to use an illustration. If you have a pail filled with rocks and you add water to it until you can get no more water in, would you say that the pail is filled with water? No, it has rocks and water. So, what do you have to do if you want to fill the pail with water? Obviously, you must remove all of the rocks and then you can fill the pail. So it is with being filled with the Spirit. If there are those things in your life that are against the truth of God or are of darkness, you cannot be filled with the Spirit and therefore you will not have the power of God in our life. These things always go together in the Word of God. We cannot trust in God and something else. We cannot serve God and Mammon (Matt. 6:24). We cannot go on with what is wrong and be filled with the Spirit.

Believers are indwelled by the Spirit but never possessed – We should make one more important point about the indwelling Spirit of God. The Scripture indicates that He lives inside of us but does not possess us the way evil spirits like Vimbuza do. In 1 Cor. 14:32 it says that, "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets." The Holy Spirit did not even control the one whom He was speaking through. In 1 Sam. 16-19 we read of an evil spirit that came over Saul. He was not in control of it and they had to bring David to play a musical instrument to sooth it. The Holy Spirit is himself the Comforter and never works in this way. Some have suggested that the Holy Spirit is a good Vimbuza, but we should never speak that way to do so is to mix light and darkness.

Below is a diagram of the believer's true relationship with God. Comparing it with the diagram on page 46, we can see how far the local teaching on this subject is from the truth of Scripture.

Sickness and Trouble in the Believer's Life

Given the above relationship with God, you may wonder, "Why do I ever have sickness or trials in my life? There are many reasons given in Scripture, but whatever the reason, we should never doubt God, lose faith in Him, or use the difficulty as an excuse to do what is wrong. Let us look at a few of the reasons given for sicknesses and trials in the Word of God.

For the glory of God – One reason for sickness is given in John 11:4 where the Lord Jesus says about His friend Lazarus who was sick, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." We see this also in the case of the blind man of John 9 who was born that way so, "that the works of God should be made manifest in him." There are many instances of the Lord's people suffering and giving Him the glory resulting in the salvation and blessing of others. We too may be called to suffer for this reason, but as the Apostle Paul said in Rom. 8:18 "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Tribulation from the world – When the Lord Jesus was here, He was opposed by people in this world that did not receive His message. In John 15:20, the Lord said, "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." In John 16:33 He also says these words: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Just like our Lord overcame, so we are to overcome and show out His love. Those who are not real fail when this persecution comes (see Matt. 13:20, 21).

God's dealing in our life – As a Father, God deals with us as His children in discipline when we sin. He does this in a loving way as it says in Heb. 12:5-8, "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." According to Scripture, this chastening comes from Him for various reasons, three of which are given below:

Punishment and example to others – We know from those verses often read in 1 Cor. 11:28-32 that it is possible for a believer to eat and drink damnation to himself if he is not in a proper state to partake of the Lord's table. In verses 30-32 it says, "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." Death for the believer is referred to as sleep in Scripture and in Corinth there were many who had become sick and even died for this reason. We find from 1 John 5:16,17 that the believer may sin unto death and an example of this is given in Acts 5 where Ananias and his wife Sapphira died for lying to the Holy Spirit.

Purging – Sometimes the Lord will work in our lives to make them more productive for Him. He tells us this in John 15:1, 2 where He says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."

Prevention—Another reason for trial is to keep us from continuing on a wrong path of dishonor to the Lord. The Apostle Paul was very gifted and used of the Lord in spreading the truth to many who then became his spiritual children. Because of this, he was tempted to be proud of what the Lord had done and was doing through him. To prevent this, the Lord gave him some infirmity, as he says in 2 Cor. 12:7-10, "And lest I should be exalted... through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted... For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

As we said before, regardless of the reason for our trial we should never lose faith in God. Instead, like Job, we should go to the Lord and ask Him why He has allowed us to pass through the difficulty. We should always remember the promise of Rom. 8:28 that all things work together for good to believers. In addition, there is a wonderful promise in 1 Cor. 10:13 where it says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

Summary: We know God as a loving Father, the Son who loves us and will never leave us, and the Holy Spirit who indwells and helps us. Any sickness, trials or difficulties that come into our lives are allowed by Him and are meant for our good and blessing. Regardless of the source of the trial, we must deal with our loving God about it just like Job did.

Our Warfare: Chapter 7

The Word of God teaches that believers have enemies and fight a constant warfare against them while here on earth. There are three enemies mentioned in Scripture: the Flesh, the World and the Devil (Satan). We will consider each of these enemies and then look at the armor given to us by God to defeat them. First of all, however, let us consider the proper state of mind that each one of us must bring into the conflict in order to have the victory. In 2 Cor. 10:3-5 it says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." People in this world fight physical battles against one another, but with the Christian it is not so our battle is spiritual, and it is against the enemies mentioned. We will go on to see how mighty the weapons of our warfare are, but notice what is brought out in these verses. We must cast down imaginations! There are many thoughts that are considered to be true but, when examined in light of the Word of God, they are found to be only imaginations and untruths. We must start here! There is no way the believer can be successful in this battle unless he examines all of his thoughts and beliefs in the light of God's Word and every one of those thoughts must be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, the One who is Himself the Truth.

Having considered the necessary starting point for the conflict, let us go on to look at our enemies and then the armor given to us for our fight against them.

Enemy Number One —the Flesh

Although it is not the primary subject of this paper, the flesh is actually the greatest enemy of the believer and the one about which Scripture has the most to say. The flesh is that evil sin nature that every one of us has been born with and which will remain with us until we die or are given our bodies of glory at the coming of the Lord Jesus. The believer is never told to fight against the flesh, but rather is to be on guard for any attacks that may come, and relying upon the Spirit of God to preserve us. We are told about the works of the flesh in Gal. 5:19-21 and in the 16th verse we are told, "Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Again, we learn how very important it is for us to follow God's Word and be filled with His Spirit if we are to lead victorious Christian lives.

Enemy Number Two —the World

The second enemy is the world The world is that system of things around us that is opposed to Christ and is really headed up by Satan. Many are unsure of what the world is, but the Lord Jesus made it plain when He said in John 15:18-20, "I have chosen you out of the world." Before we were saved, we were of the world in other words, the world is made up of unsaved people around us. But, even more, we learn that the world is the society, culture, and way of thinking that characterizes them. The sooner we learn that those things are wrong at their root, the better we will be able to do what is right and according to Scripture. We are told in 1 John 5:19, "we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness." If that is true, then how can the rites and ceremonies of the society around us be alright? Many of them aren't, and we had better go to the Scripture and examine them to see which ones are of wickedness. We are told in 1 John 2:15-17 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." James states it even more strongly when he says, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4)." This should be a real warning to many of us who are tempted to go on in friendship with unsaved companions, joining in with their activities. We are called out of that to be a separated people unto Him. Sadly, we have found that there are believers that are willing to give up anything to do with Satan and the works of darkness, but they just cannot see how to be free of the world.

But, you might say, "There is much wisdom in those things that have been handed down from our ancestors that we now practice in our culture." In some things, that may be so, like with certain farming techniques, etc. However, when it comes to do with our relationship with God or anything having to do with that, the world has no wisdom at all! In fact, the world's wisdom is called foolishness in 1 Cor. 1:20-25 where it says, "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God,-it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe... the foolishness of God is wiser than men." James says, "This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish (James 3:15)." Now we see what is behind the world's wisdom it is not only from the earth (world), but it appeals to the natural senses and is from the devil (Satan) who is the god of this world. There is only one way that we will be delivered from the world's thinking. As it says in Rom. 12:1, 2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." We will be transformed from the world through the Word of God.

This struggle is not unique to believers in Africa. Christians all over the world have to stand against what is wrong in the places where they live. In North America there are many cultural and societal practices that our families and neighbors carry on with that we cannot do because they are against Scripture. Often they don't understand, and as Peter says, "they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you" (1 Peter 4:4). But this is always difficult because it means that we will be not only misunderstood, but also persecuted. The Lord told us this in John 15:18-20 where He said, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also."

As far as our culture is concerned, it may seem that the only way to get out of our obligations and the responsibilities that our society puts on us is to die. In fact, we are told in Scripture that this is what we must do. We are told in Matt. 16:25, "Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." This does not mean physical death; rather it means that we must die to all of our ambitions, dreams, honor and respect in this world. If we are to find our life in Christ we must die to the world and ourselves and present our bodies as a living sacrifice. But then we find the reward "whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." It is a wonderful thing to find our life in walking with Christ on this earth. Yes, we will share in His rejection and persecution, but it is a life of joy that goes far beyond anything that an unbeliever or a disobedient believer can ever know.

This does not mean that we are to be in any way disrespectful to those in our community. Instead, we should tell them that we respect them very much, but we belong to the Lord and as much as we would like to honor their wishes we cannot do what is displeasing to Him. Most who take a faithful stand in this way find that, although they will not understand us, those in the community will respect our position. But in many cases they will not be happy and we must, like the early disciples, do what is right in spite of them. It says in Acts 5:41 that after they had been beaten, "they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name."

Enemy Number Three – the Devil

Now we come to the third enemy of the believer, the one that has been the main subject of this paper the Devil, or Satan. When we refer to Satan, we are including all his forces the demons who have followed him in his rebellion against God and who help carry out his evil work. We are told in Eph. 6:12 that our warfare is not against men, but against Satan and his angels, for it says, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." We must be careful to test what is said, even in the assembly, for in this battle there is much deception and we can be easily fooled. We are told to be on guard against this in 1 John 4:1 where it says, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God." And then it says in verses 5 and 6, "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." In other words, the Apostle John is saying that believers listen to what he and the other Apostles have said (as recorded in God's Word), and it is by that that we know what is of the truth. Again, we see that our guard against error and deception in this battle is the Word of God.

But, what is the nature of our warfare with Satan and his forces? Is there a physical part to it or is there just illusions and deception? Many have experienced or heard of the power of the spirits (demons) where they have made people sick or done other supernatural things. We even saw an example of that in Scripture with Job where Satan destroyed everything that he had and eventually even took away Job's health. But is this how Satan and demons work with believers today? To give a brief answer Yes, they may be allowed by God to physically touch a believer, but their primary means of fighting against us is to deceive us into believing what is false. Before going on to see how to fight that warfare, let us look at how Satan comes against us and what our proper attitude should be in meeting him.

We are told in 2 Peter 5:8, 9, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." From these verses we learn that Satan is actively looking for victims and we must be constantly on guard against him. We are told that our position is defensive and that our protection is spiritual "resist steadfast in the faith." But there is something else that we should notice as to our attitude in meeting Satan. A few verses earlier, in verses 5 and 6, we are told, "be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God." As we stated in the chapter about Power, the believer has no strength of his own. We must be truly humbled under God's hand to have any chance at all in this conflict. And His hand is a mighty one! We can trust Him for protection, and so it goes on to say in verse 7, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." It is only after we are submitted to the mighty protecting hand of God, that we can go on to. meet the powerful enemy, Satan, in verses 8 and 9. James says the same thing in a very brief way in chapter 4, verse 7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Again, the first thing is to submit completely to God. Then, with His protection, we are told to resist the devil and we will have the victory.

But how are we to resist Satan and the demons (the spirits) when they come to us. For that, let us go on to consider the armor given to every believer by God for the conflict.

The Believer's Armor

We have seen how we must be submitted to God and rely on Him for our protection. But Scripture also teaches us that we have been given armor that must be put on. One such verse is Rom. 13:12 which says, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." Here we learn that the armor is of light that is, it is associated with that which is right and of God. But before we can put it on, there is something that we must do. We must cast off the works of darkness. If we have anything to do with the spirits, charms, the witch doctor, community sacrifices to the spirits, objects buried or hidden around the house for protection, or anything else like that which is of darkness, then we cannot put on the armor of light. We already saw that this was the first thing that the believers of Acts 19 did they burned their evil books. Just in the same way, any believer who is not yet free of these things must collect them and destroy them in a public way, confessing to the community that you are completely done with them. This is what it means to cast off the works of darkness you cannot put on the armor of light with some of the works of darkness hidden away!

Having cast off the works of darkness, we next learn about the armor in Eph. 6:11-18. Below is the entire passage

"Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."

First of all, the purpose for putting on the armor is stated. It is so that we may be able to stand against Satan's wiles. We are not called to stand against physical attacks, for Satan can never touch us unless specifically allowed to by God. But he actively seeks to fool us by many different methods of deceit. Also, we are told to put on the whole armor of God. It won't do to put on just a few of the pieces or even all but one piece of the armor. We must put it all on. And, we should also notice that it is not our armor it is God's. As a result, we should always remember that it has to be used in accordance with His will and not our own this is part of submitting ourselves to God as we saw in James 4:7.

Piece 1: The Belt of Truth – The first piece of the armor is having the loins girt about with truth. Soldiers in Paul's day had a flowing robe that had to be held in place by a belt in order to keep them from tripping. So, we must have the truth holding in our garments (which speak of our works in Scripture—Rev. 19:8) so that we aren't tripped up in our Christian walk. Again, we see that the truth of God is a vital thing in the life of the believer and it must guide him in every part of his life. If Satan can get us to abandon any portion of the truth, he will then often be able to destroy our Christian testimony and walk for the Lord, leaving us completely open to attacks from his demonic forces and the world.

Piece 2: The Breastplate of Righteousness – The breastplate was a piece of armor that covered the heart and protected it and other vital organs of the chest from being pierced. It works the same way in the Christian life. If we do things that are wrong, then it is easy for Satan to send doubts and fears that keep us in a constant state of turmoil. But, as it says in 1 John 3:21, "Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." It is this breastplate of righteousness that will give us confidence, not that we are good in ourselves (for we are not), but that we have communion with Him based upon love and obedience.

Piece 3: Shoes of the Gospel of Peace – If we wear shoes when we walk, we are often kept from injury and falls. In our spiritual walk, we are told to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace. In other words, tell others that you are a Christian and what it means to be a Christian. Don't be afraid to let your light shine give them the gospel! Many believers have been spared serious difficulty by doing this. When others know that we belong to Christ, they will also know that we are not free to do what they do as unbelievers. Often they will not even ask us to participate in works of darkness with them, and even when they do, it is much easier for them to understand when we refuse.

Piece 4: The Shield of Faith – We are told to take the shield of faith and use it to extinguish all the fiery darts of the wicked. The wicked here refers to Satan and he sends doubts and fears into our minds just like fiery darts. These doubts may be, "Does God really love and care for me?" or "Am I really a Christian?" It is easy to be discouraged by these doubts and Satan can use them to damage our relationship with God which is our only real source of strength against him. It is our faith that is a shield against these thoughts from Satan, and it is reading and meditating on the Word of God that gives strength for our faith.

Piece 5: The Helmet of Salvation – The helmet protects the head, the place where our brain and thoughts are. It is this helmet of salvation, the constant enjoyment that the believer has that he is to be taken out of this world to be with Christ in glory, that will keep us from getting our thoughts on this world. When we forget our heavenly destiny, we get occupied with the ambitions, hopes, problems and affairs of this world and then get involved in things that are against the Word of God.

Piece 6: The Sword of the Spirit – The Word of God is here described as one of the pieces of armor. When Satan came to tempt the Lord Jesus (see Matt. 4:1-11), He used this sword three times to defeat Satan. By the word of His own mouth He had created the universe (Psa. 33:6) and by that same Word everything is upheld (Heb. 1:3) and the Almighty Son of God could have used that same mighty word to defeat Satan. But He didn't do that. Instead, three times he quoted from the book of Deuteronomy (8:3; 6:16; 10:20) and Satan was defeated. It is that same sword that we are given today to meet Satan with. Do we read it and use it daily? How can we ever become skillful with something that we rarely use? When it comes to spiritual warfare it is absolutely essential that we be armed with the Word of God. We should also mention that it is the sword of the Spirit it is not our sword, and we should never use it as if it is. We must be yielded to the leading of God's spirit in our lives or else we will use this sword to cut a great many things that we shouldn't. For example, it is easy to quote verses wrongly and do much harm to the faith of others.

Piece 7: Prayer – The last piece of armor is most important. It is by prayer that we express and maintain our dependence upon God and without His immediate help and guidance all of the other armor will be completely useless. We often forget to pray, but we are told that we should pray always (see also 1 Thess. 5:17). Again, the indwelling Spirit is mentioned because He is the one who really understands the conflict and our needs. And so it is in Him that we pray with all kinds of prayer (private, public, family, at regular times, at times when we are tempted, etc.) and with supplication which means that we are to earnestly plead to God for the needs of others and ourselves.

Summary: The believer has three enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil. God has given us complete armor for our conflict and we can be victorious through faith and dependence upon Him.

Our Responsibility: Chapter 8

Just like believers of today, God's Old Testament people came to a point of decision where they had to choose who it was that they were going to serve. At the end of his life, Joshua found that the people were serving strange gods instead of the Lord. Just like the practices we have been talking about in this paper, these gods came from two sources their fathers and the land they lived in (Josh. 24:14, 15). Joshua told them, "choose you this day whom ye will serve" and then he stood strong for the Lord and said, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." The people chose to serve the Lord that day but Joshua went on to remind them that they could not be uncertain about this decision, "for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God." (Josh. 24:19)

As Christians, we have not been left in this world to do just as we please either. According to Rom. 10:9, being a Christian involves the acknowledging of the Lordship of Christ in our lives. We no longer live to ourselves according to our own wills. Instead, we live for Him, our Lord, the One who loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal. 2:20). Living under the will and authority of another then necessarily involves responsibility that is, we are to be occupied with learning and doing His will.

Throughout this paper we have been showing from Scripture that every believer has a responsibility to personally have nothing to do with the works of darkness in any way. We are told this in 2 Tim. 2:19 where it says, "Let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity." But this passage goes further and tells us that there are vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor in the great house of Christian profession and we must be separated from the dishonorable vessels if we are to be useful to our Master. In other words, we cannot have free and open fellowship with others who call themselves Christians but will not separate from evil practices like the works of darkness that we have been talking about. The 22nd verse tells us that we are to associate ourselves "with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." So, it is absolutely necessary for each one of us to be separate from evil and all those who practice it, and then to be associated with other Christians who are similarly separated. The criteria is calling on the Lord out of a pure heart our own wills and desires are not involved, His authority is owned, and hearts are free from all that dishonors Him.

But what does it mean to separate from someone and not have free and open fellowship with them? In reality, when someone who claims to be a Christian continues to respond to spirits and do other things that are dishonoring to Christ, those things come between them and Him and are properly called idolatry. We are told specifically how we are to act with respect to idolaters in 1 Cor. 5:9-11:

"I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."

We are told that we are not to keep company or eat with those who claim to be Christians and also practice idolatry. This means that the assembly is responsible to put anyone who refuses to be done with these evil practices away from the communion of the assembly. And so he says in verse 13, "Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person."

If there is one in the assembly who is still practicing the works of darkness, those who are shepherds in the assembly should go to him and show him from Scripture why those things are wrong and try to help him do what is right. If, after carefully and lovingly showing that person what is right, he refuses to listen and rejects the testimony of Scripture, then the assembly must excommunicate that person as we have seen in 1 Cor. 5 above.

Summary: Each of us as individual believers has a responsibility to put away all works of evil from our lives. In addition, we must not associate with others who claim to be Christians but practice the works of darkness. Shepherds in the assembly should seek to help any who are involved with these practices to be Scripturally free of them. The assembly must excommunicate any who refuse to listen and insist on having to do with the works of darkness.

Questions Consdered: Chapter 9

There are a number of questions that have been asked on this subject that may not have been specifically answered to the satisfaction of the reader. A few of the more common questions that we have been asked while presenting this truth are given below.

What do I do if the spirits come to me?

A person once asked me the following question:

"I have had the spirits come and I don't listen to them. What do I do if they keep coming?"

Whether or not you have been responding to the spirits, it is probable that they will come to you again. Satan and his demons don't like to give up their control and will do their best to keep you in bondage to them. It isn't wrong to respond the Lord Jesus Himself responded to Satan. It is what you say that counts. In the end, it is the truth that will set you free. Following are Scriptural principles that will help.

1. Make sure you are a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are not, you are still in Satan's kingdom and you have no protection whatsoever. Please read Acts 19:12-16 for an example of unbelievers who tried to stand against a demon. They were beaten and had to flee naked and wounded.

2. Be completely finished with all the works of darkness. As we saw in Rom. 13:12, we must cast off the works of darkness before we can have any protection from the armor given to us. We also saw in Acts 19:19 that the believers burned the things connected with darkness in the sight of all men. So, we must be completely and publicly done with it all! As we are told in Eph. 5:11, we are to "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." This means that the believer is to have no charms, roots or other objects buried or placed around the house for protection, is not to be involved in any way in community celebrations to the spirits, etc.

3. Do not rebuke Satan or his demons.

Many teachers today tell people that they should do this to get free of the spirits. The Lord Jesus could do this (see Mark 9:25), but that is His privilege, not ours. In Jude 1:9 we are told that Michael, the greatest of the angels, would not speak against Satan but said, "The Lord rebuke thee."

4. Resist and the spirits will flee. As we are told in 1 Peter 5:8, 9 and James 4:7, we are to resist Satan and his demons and they will flee from us. And we must resist steadfast in the faith, not relying on our own strength, but submitting ourselves under the mighty hand of God.

5. Confess Christ as your Lord with your mouth. We are told in Rom. 10:9 that salvation comes as a result of confessing Christ as Lord. We are saved from all sorts of evil in the world and from Satan when we do this. He hates to hear that Name, but recognizes His authority over all that are His own.

But, let us be very sure that the One whom we confess as Lord is truly Lord of our life.

Remember what He said in Luke 6:46: "why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

6. Use the armor given to you. Read carefully Eph. 6:12-18 and make sure that you understand this important part of the Word of God that describes the armor given to every believer to stand against Satan and his angels. This armor is completely effective and the spirits have no way to prevail against it.

7. Use scripture in responding to the spirits. As we have already seen, the Lord Jesus used one of the pieces of armor, the sword of the Spirit, in responding to Satan (Matt. 4:1-11). This should be our normal mode of audible response whenever we feel that we must answer them.

8. Abide in the Word. The Lord Jesus said in John 8:31, 32, "If ye abide in my word, ye are truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." It is absolutely essential that we get our direction each day from the Word of God and live by it. We will constantly be confronted by deceit and lies, but the Word of God is truth (John 7:17) and that truth will set us free from all the bondage and deceit of Satan.

But Are Charms Really Wrong?

As we saw in Deut. 18:9-13, God's people were not to have one who made or used charms among them. "All that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD." This should be enough of an answer on this subject, but there is also a specific example given in Scripture. In Ezek. 13:18-20 we read of objects that were sewn on the wrists as charms. The Lord spoke in the strongest terms against them and in Ezek. 11:21 He said, "But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD." No, as believers, we must have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11) and cast them off (Rom. 13:12).

But Has Not God Put Power in Charms and Other Objects to Protect Us?

No, He has not. Every scripture given for us says that we are to trust Him alone. We have been told that, just like God put power in the rod of Aaron so that it became a serpent, so He puts power in sticks that are placed in fields to protect them against thieves. If a thief comes into the field, the stick will become a serpent just like Aaron's rod and bite the thief, killing him. Now this is a terrible perversion of God's Word we must never use the Word of God in that way. Search the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation to see if we are ever told to do such a thing. Instead, as we have already stated, we are told over and over again that the Lord is our protection and we are to trust in Him.

It is true that when Aaron's rod turned into a serpent that it was the power of God. God has often worked in miraculous ways throughout the centuries when He has been doing a special work. These things are called "signs" in Scripture. In Aaron's case, it was necessary to show Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that the Lord was the true God and Moses and Aaron were His servants. If you read in Ex. 7:8-12 you will see that Aaron cast down his rod and it became a serpent when Pharaoh asked to see a miracle to prove that their God had power. It also says that the sorcerers and magicians of Egypt did the same thing, for Satan has great power as well. But God is greater than Satan and so Aaron's rod swallowed up all their rods. If you were to read Ex. 8:6, 7 you would see further that Aaron made frogs come up over the land of Egypt (it was a judgment of God against Pharaoh) and the magicians did the same thing with their enchantments. But then, in Ex. 8:16-19, Aaron smote the dust of the earth with his rod and it became lice. The magicians tried to use their enchantments to do this but could not. Why not? Because God alone can create life from the dust of the earth. Satan does not have the power of life and so the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." Now, if people claim that it is the power of God that they use to have sticks turn into snakes, then why not use the power of God to turn dust into living things? It is because it isn't the power of God at all rather it is Satan's deceptive power! Those wicked magicians were defeated and soon after, in Ex. 9:8-11, you will read of them covered with boils so that they were no longer able to stand before Moses and Aaron and oppose God. Whenever you find such a thing as casting down a rod and it becoming a serpent in the Word of God it happened as a direct result of God's command. Whenever you find people using power to their own advantage like the magicians of Egypt, it is the power of Satan. Let us never mix these two things (Isa. 5:20).

What about medicine is it of darkness and are doctors evil?

The short answer is, "no, not necessarily." Medicine and doctors may be right and good, and they may be connected with the works of darkness. It requires godly discernment to know the difference. But, first let us look at Scriptures that deal with this issue.

In Ezek. 47:12, we are told about a tree that God will create in the future that will be for food and medicine. The prophet speaks of those that do not have healing medicines in Jer. 30:13. From these verses we learn that medicine can be legitimate and from God. But this kind of medicine reacts with the body and causes healing by direct interaction with the body part that is ill. An example of medicine that is used externally is given in 2 Kings 20:7 where a lump of figs was laid on a boil. An example of medicine that works internally may be seen in 1 Tim. 5:23 where the Apostle Paul tells Timothy, "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities."

As to doctors, we see that the Lord Jesus recognized them in Matt. 9:12 when he said, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." We also find in Col. 4:14 that Luke, the Apostle Paul's long-time companion in his travels, is referred to as the beloved physician. God has given men the wisdom to know about healing and how to apply medicines to the body to bring it about. But whether it is with medicine or physicians, we must be sure that there is no connection with the works of darkness. No matter how desperate we are, the option of going to the witch doctor is absolutely forbidden to the Christian.

Earlier we had considered the role of faith in the Christian's life we must live by faith! We must live by faith even when we are dying. If we don't live for the Lord when things are going well, then we will have a very difficult time when they aren't. Notice what it says in 2 Chron. 16:12: "And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians." Who is the first one we should turn to when we are sick? Do we just go to the doctor to get some medicine, or do we get on our knees and ask the Lord what He is saying to us? He wants us to come to Him for everything. It is often His way to send us to the doctors and to use medicine to heal us, but He wants us to come to Him first. If we go to the witch doctor, we cannot seek the Lord's help at the same time. That would be mixing light and darkness and they don't mix! Let us live our lives by faith and seek the Lord's help and direction as to what He would have us to do in every circumstance of our lives, even when we become ill. We are told in James 5:15 that it is "the prayer of faith" that will "save the sick" and it goes on to tell us Who it is that ultimately heals the believer: "the Lord shall raise him up."

What Protection Is There for My Crops and Possessions?

We previously considered how the believer is called to live a life of faith. But the fear that many have is of what may happen if their neighbors learn that they no longer go to the spirits for protection. They fear that, when it is learned that they have no protection, thieves will freely come into their fields and steal their crops. When it becomes known that there are no protecting charms, roots and fetishes buried or placed around their home, their possessions may be stolen or those who wish to do them harm may bewitch them and destroy their health. How is the Christian to deal with this fear?

The answer is FAITH and confession of that faith. Tell everyone that your trust is in the Lord. He is protecting your things now and no one can do anything to you unless He allows it. Then, trust in Him! We trust Him for our eternal wellbeing. Can we not trust Him for everything here?

But many teach that God is not interested in our day-to-day affairs. This-is wicked teaching that comes from Satan. The Word of God tells us in Prov. 29:25, "The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his confidence in Jehovah is protected." We learn in Prov. 30:5 that, "he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him." The life of faith requires FAITH. As it says in 2 Cor. 5:7, "we walk by faith, not by sight." But, given the difficulty of things around us, it is often hard to live out our faith. This was the case of a man who had come to the Lord Jesus asking Him to heal his daughter who was about to die.

Before the Lord Jesus could come, someone came to the father and told him not to bother the Lord Jesus further for the girl had died. This is often what we do. The problem is too great, or we think that He is not interested or willing to help us, so we don't go to Him and instead seek help or comfort from others. What the Lord Jesus said to that man is so instructive for us. He said in Mark 5:36, "Fear not; only believe." No matter what, we must trust Him. As we are told in Prov. 3:5,6 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

What about those who have powerful charms and the evil power in them is so great that they can come back from the dead as a wild animal like a hyena and kill people?

There are many stories like this and people who claim to have seen those who have died in this way. If a wild animal like a lion or hyena kills people shortly after some person who was known to be a witch (mfiti) has died, then the work of the animal is generally attributed to the witch. These things are all superstitions that are created by the deceptions of Satan. In Eccl. 8:8 we are told that, "There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it." When death comes, the wicked die just like anyone else. Their spirit goes to the prison of torment called hell that we considered earlier. They have no special power in the day of death and this verse tells us specifically that their wickedness can do nothing to help them in their evil way. Satan uses these things to keep people, even believers, in fear. It is the truth that will deliver us and set us free from Satan and his bondage of fear.

But what about the story of Saul calling up Samuel from the grave and speaking with him? Doesn't that indicate that we can communicate with ancestral spirits?

This story, which is found in 1 Sam. 28, does not support the idea that the living can communicate with their dead ancestors. Back in those days, the Lord spoke to His people through dreams, Urim or by prophets (verse 6), but He would no longer answer Saul. So Saul, who was an unbeliever (the Lord had become his enemy verse 16) did exactly what the Lord had commanded his people not to do. He went to a witch to inquire of a familiar spirit and try to speak to Samuel who was a prophet who had recently died. When the woman did this, she did not find the familiar spirit. Instead, Samuel himself came up. It was not a spirit but Samuel specially raised up in body to speak to Saul. There are many other instances given in the Bible of God raising people from the dead to live again for a time on the earth. God raised him up to deliver a special message to Saul and after that message was delivered we don't hear anything more from Samuel. We should also point out that Samuel was not Saul's ancestor. Finally, it tells us in 1 Chron. 10:13 that "Saul died for... asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it." So, even if this story supported communication with the dead (which it doesn't), we see again that God expressly forbids attempts at such communication.

But doesn't the story of the disciples who saw Moses and Elijah on the mountain with the Lord Jesus (Matt. 17:1-8) indicate that the spirits of those who have died are able to communicate with the living on earth?

No it doesn't here we have a special revelation of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ that was given to the disciples as a preview of that coming day when He will come again to this earth in glory (2 Peter 1:16). The disciples saw Him in His glory and Moses and Elijah with him it was no dream. Another thing that marked this special occasion is that one of those with Him, Elijah, had never died. Neither Moses nor Elijah was their immediate ancestor and they did not speak with any of the disciples or say anything about their lives. Instead, like all believers that leave this earth, they were with Christ and occupied with Him. When Peter saw them he made a mistake that many make regarding those who have died. He made a suggestion that put Moses and Elijah on the same level as the Lord Jesus. Immediately God spoke from a bright cloud and said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." When they looked again it says that, "they saw no man, save Jesus only." In just the same way, He is the only one that we are to go to. He is the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5) and trying to put anything or anyone else in that position is completely wrong and idolatry.

Last Words: Chapter 10

As we come to the end of this paper, I must ask you where you stand. First of all, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? If not, you are still under the power of Satan (Acts 26:18) and need to repent from your sins and trust in Christ (see 2 Peter 3:9; John 3:16; Rom. 10:9).

If you are a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, do you still practice any of the things that we have been talking about? Do you put charms on your children or use them yourself? Do you have charms or other objects buried or placed around your home to protect it? Do you respond to and obey the spirits or participate in community offerings to them?

God holds us responsible for what we know, as it says in Acts 17:30, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." Right now as believers we are to act on what we know from the Word of God. We are told in 1 Peter 1:14, 15, "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation." Not only our success, but also our very happiness as believers depends upon obedience to Him and His Word. As the Lord Jesus said in John 13:17, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

Below is a list of some of the things that have been discussed in this paper that the believer is to turn away from.

1. Have nothing to do with the spirits, acknowledging that Scripture says that they are not our ancestors but rather lying spirits, familiar spirits and demons.

2. Have nothing to do with the witch doctor and everything connected with witchcraft and divination.

3. Remove all objects connected with witchcraft and protection from the spirits from your possession and be completely done with them. This includes the charms, roots and other objects buried under the foundation of your homes, beneath doorways, in roofs and in all other places.

4. If you have used objects for protection, since your involvement with these things has been a public thing, you will need to renounce these things publicly. Tell you neighbors that you are completely done with all of these things and that, from this day forward, you will trust God alone to protect and guide you. It is a good idea to publicly burn your objects as the believers did in Acts 19.

5. Have nothing to do with all ceremonies that are for the spirits or are connected with witchcraft.

6. For other civil ceremonies, have nothing to do with those parts that involve the spirits or witchcraft.

Courtesy of BibleTruthPublishers.com. Most likely this text has not been proofread. Any suggestions for spelling or punctuation corrections would be warmly received. Please email them to: BTPmail@bibletruthpublishers.com.

What the Bible Has to Say About the Spirits