I’ve been thinking about a couple of things I wrote in my last post, which I don’t want to correct, per se; rather, I want to expand those thoughts.  I made a comment that Satan   and his cohorts don’t show up at our front doors, (identify themselves), and offer a portfolio of demonic doctrines and faulty teachings for us to choose from, that he is much more subtle.  That is not to say that people are not going door to door pedaling the enemy’s lies.  However, it is only as we as we search Scripture, and surrender our lives to the indwelling Holy Spirit and allow Him to instruct us, that we can establish a strong basis for our faith, set up a perimeter of truth around our minds, and build a defense for our hearts.

Demonic strategies work to undermine, with “plausible arguments”, the authority and identity of Jesus, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge….For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority” (Colossians 2:3, 9-10).  Jesus is not a created being, He is not an angel, He is not Michael the archangel; rather, He is the Creator—“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16).

The enemy also takes fiendish delight in undermining our confidence in the finished work of Jesus.  For many years I had a sense of insecurity about my salvation and an overriding fear that I might be overlooking some sin—I knew that Jesus saved me, yet there was this nagging little voice telling me that I needed to be better and do more for God to be truly happy with me.  The saving grace of God was downright incomprehensible and His mercy was unfathomable.

The grace of God is a scary thing for many people—they cannot speak of grace without inserting a caveat to protect it from abuse; however, the Bible teaches that, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9, 10).  Only demonic doctrines teach that it is wrong to say you are saved, or that believing and confessing is not enough.  From the mouth of our Savior comes these words:  “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29).

But *gasp* what if people go crazy with grace and do all sorts of bad things?  That question presumes both that people want to go wild, and that the Holy Spirit is incapable of causing us to “will and work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).  As humans, we have an innate propensity to take on the responsibility for our healing and regeneration that God intends to do Himself—and our work is flawed, because, it is based on human endeavor and understanding.  “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasure, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.  But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:3-7).

The other comment I made in my last post that one could possibly have a, “no, they couldn’t be!” response to, was this:  “If we recognize the authority of Christ, and by faith have received Jesus’ generous gift of salvation, subtle deceptions will not take that away; however, it will affect our freedom in Christ, how we relate to others, and the message we communicate through our life story to the world around us.”  I write this from experience.  There was a time in my life when I turned away from God, believed a lie and did things I should not have done; there was also a time when I thought that I was responsible for my regeneration, and times when I thought my salvation rested on my actions—those actions and beliefs affected my relationship with Him but not the fact that I belonged to Him.

It is good to know that our salvation is not an on again, off again contract—we, like sheep tend to go astray, yet Jesus promises, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29).  When we begin to grasp all that Christ has accomplished on our behalf, there is no doubt that our spirits will soar with praise to Almighty God—the Son has made us free and we are free indeed!  …and when anything besides Christ, Him crucified and raised to life, becomes our story, then the message we are communicating is not truly the gospel.

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father;

We are the clay, and you are our potter;

We are all the work of your hand.”

(Isaiah 64:8)