THE SPIRIT OF RELIGION, THE GREAT IMPOSTER Hank and Myrene Morris HIS GLORY REIGNS B. Childress Aug 21 2009 08:00 AM To all of us who have received Jesus as Savior, there has come an expression of the sweeping grandeur of God's love. He has sent the Holy Spirit to live within us and empower us to fulfill the wonderful plan that God has for our lives. OUR SPIRITUAL IMMUNE SYSTEM Just as our bodies have a physical immune system to combat disease, so our spirits have an immune system to combat spiritual disease. And just as some diseases attack and destroy the body's immune system so that it has nothing to fight with, so our adversary, Satan, attacks us for the purpose of cutting us off from our spiritual immune system. This spiritual immune system is the strength and life we have in Christ under the direction and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. But Satan sends the spirit of religion to attack our spiritual immune system, causing us to live lives devoid of the presence and power of God. The spirit of religion is Satan's secret weapon. OUR ADVERSARY'S SECRET WEAPON The Bible refers to certain spirits by name: for example, a spirit of infirmity, a spirit named Legion, and a deaf and dumb spirit (see Luke 13:11; Mark 5:9; 9:25). But it does not refer to all by name. The Bible was not intended to be a textbook of demonology. It was intended to reveal God's character, the plan of salvation and the pathway to holiness and abundant life in Christ. However, since God does not intend for us to be ignorant of the devil's strategies to hold God's people in bondage (see Ephesians 6:11), the Bible gives us much information about the demonic realm. The spirit of religion, or the religious spirit, is one of those spirits that are not mentioned by name in the Bible, but it was nonetheless present and working in the events that are described there. This spirit deceived people and trapped them into "having a form of godliness but denying its power" (II Timothy 3:5). And it animated the murderous ire and wrath of the scribes and Pharisees against Jesus. In turn, these scribes and Pharisees were the objects of Jesus' greatest wrath and condemnation. He called them hypocrites who, like whitewashed tombs, "appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27). These were the men who directed the religious life of the people, but they did not live what they taught, and they rejected truth. The religious spirit knows that if spiritual leaders can be corrupted, those under them will also be corrupted. Leaders are its priority target. Although the spirit of religion is an ancient spirit, it continues moving through the world with a vengeance today. In the process of destroying churches, as well as multitudes of individuals around the world, it masquerades as "true spirituality," and in that way becomes the great imposter. Those who are under its control are deceived into believing that their actions are religiously correct, thus blinding their minds to the suggestion that they might not be following God's order. OUR SURE HOPE OF FREEDOM The apostle Paul testified of himself that in former times "according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee" (Acts 26:5). But as a result of his encounter with the Lord, Paul was delivered from the religious spirit, and he became a model of one who walks in the greatest sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit. In fact, he became such a yielded vessel that he wrote 13 of the books of the New Testament. We believe that this is one of God's ways of telling us that we can also be gloriously freed from the religious spirit. Freedom is possible because God's power is infinitely greater than Satan's, and God has given us authority to use that power so that we can be victorious over Satan. We receive power from the Holy Spirit, who is in us (Acts 1:8). This is the same Holy Spirit by whom Jesus cast out demons (see Matthew 12:28). James 4:7 reads, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you"; and John declared, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (I John 4:4). Believers have authority to cast out demons in the name of Jesus (see Mark 16:17), "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God" (II Corinthians 10:4). Before we discuss how we can use our authority to defeat the spirit of religion, we will detail how this adversary operates. THE LIES AND DECEPTION OF OUR ADVERSARY Lies and deception are the hallmark of the spirit of religion. Its target is the Body of Christ, both collectively and individually. Its ultimate purpose is to stop the move of God and the work of the Holy Spirit by cutting the Body off from the life and truth of God and from His Spirit. To do so, it fosters "religious" responses to problems and situations, responses that are devoid of the direction and power of the Holy Spirit. If we, the body of Christ, succumb, we cannot be in a position to partner with God in His work. But this spirit is subtle enough to render us unaware of what is happening, deceiving us into believing that God is directing what we do when in fact He is not. It comes as an imposter masquerading as the real thing. How does the religious spirit succeed in cutting believers off from relationship with God and blocking the work of the Holy Spirit?
love, thereby preventing us from truly loving Him or loving others. In doing this, it blocks revelation of the most fundamental understanding in life, namely that God loves us.
God's reality is so intense that all other considerations fade into the shadows; and our resolve to serve Him is strong. The religious spirit hates this and strives to block it.
God's Word describe the power and work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said to His disciples before His ascension, "but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8). If the religious spirit can get us to handle matters exclusively by our own resources, we will not see signs and wonders and other works of the Holy Spirit.
and lies of the adversary. Jesus told those who believed in Him, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"; but of Satan He said, "He is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:32,44). The religious spirit tries to enslave us with lies.
God promises that if we confess our sins, He will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Satan wants to keep us in torment and misery, so he constantly accuses us of sin and tells us the lie that our sins cannot be forgiven. That is why some Christians repeatedly ask for God's forgiveness for a particular sinful act they have committed. The religious spirit forbids them the joy of accepting the work of the cross. STRATEGIES OF THE SPIRIT OF RELIGION How does the spirit of religion accomplish its goals? The Bible's descriptions of the Pharisees show what the religious spirit looks like in people who are under its influence. Furthermore, after having often dealt with individuals under the influence of the religious spirit, we have seen three major strategies that it frequently employs: (1) It opposes the entry of spiritual vitality and fresh revelation in believers; (2) it causes believers to focus on self and on carnal things rather than on the Holy Spirit; and (3) it fosters ideas and attitudes that separate believers from God and weaken their relationship with Him. Opposing the Entry of Spiritual Vitality and Fresh Revelation Using a variety of methods, the religious spirit will oppose spiritual vitality and fresh revelation from entering followers of Christ. A number of these methods are as follows:
my quota and was pleased with myself because I knew that reading God's Word is a vital part of a Christian's life. After a while though, I noticed that my focus shifted to finishing that day's requirement so that I could move on to whatever was next on my agenda. Worse than that, I realized that I was reading the Word without owning it. I was skimming over God's truth without letting it be absorbed. Finally, God, in His graciousness, showed me that a religious spirit had been robbing me by prompting me to read the Bible as a routine. When I rebuked that spirit, God gave me freedom, and Scripture reading became alive. The goal was no longer quantity, but quality. The Scriptures became so thrilling that I often read six chapters or more; but more important, He began to change me through His Word in a way that couldn't have happened while that spirit was there.
Focusing on Self and on Carnal Things Another strategy of the spirit of religion is to entice its victims to focus on themselves and on carnal things, rather than spiritual things. The following are some examples of this strategy:
Fostering Harmful Ideas and Attitudes You may be wondering whether the religious spirit has an inroad into your life. Here is a simple checklist that you can use to evaluate whether you have ideas and attitudes that separate you from God.
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE RELIGIOUS SPIRIT The Bible says not to "give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:27). Demons can enter if they are given a place through sin. Sin puts us on common ground with the devil and gives him (and his demon spirits) a place from which to operate. "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning" (I John 3:8). Some ways that demons enter are through the embracing of false beliefs about God, unforgiveness, spiritual compromise, hypocrisy, fear, pride or inferiority. Generational sin can also provide a place of entry. The good news is that the spirit of religion, like any other spirit, must yield to the power of God. Through years of deliverance ministry, we have seen many demons expelled in a moment, never to return. However, we have observed that the religious spirit often requires more time and ministry to cast out than some of the others, because it permeates so many facets of life and it has gained strength through years of its victims' yielding to its influence, usually without knowing they are being affected. If you become concerned that you might be under the oppression of a religious spirit, you need to take action. In some cases, you yourself might be able to take authority and command it to leave. In other cases, however, you would be wise to seek out an experienced deliverance minister. Since Jesus, our deliverer, is the master strategist, it is important to inquire of Him which approach He chooses. After you pray, you may be uncertain as to the presence of a religious spirit or your authority to cast out the spirit, or you may have no revelation as to what might have provided an opening for the spirit to enter. In any such case, the help of a mature and experienced member of the Body of Christ is invaluable. He or she needs to be gifted to receive revelation as to what might have provided an opening for the religious spirit to enter. After you close that door or doors and yield to the Holy Spirit, the religious spirit's grip will weaken. Then, in the name of Jesus, it can be commanded to leave. When you seek deliverance from a religious spirit alone, begin by asking God to give you a revelation of how the religious spirit is manifesting. Since we want to be truly repentant for our sin of yielding to a religious spirit rather than God's Holy Spirit, asking Him to give us the gift of repentance and godly sorrow (see II Corinthians 7:9-10) will help us to have God's heart and perspective concerning our cooperation with that spirit. After you have repented in detail from your heart for the various ways you have obeyed the religious spirit, you may be led to take authority over the spirit and speak directly to it. Mark 16:17 says that we have authority in Jesus' name to cast out demon spirits. Acts 16:18 shows us that this is done by speaking directly to the spirit. Paul said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." We therefore might say something like this:
forbid you to influence me. I take back all I have relinquished to you. I break your control over me, and I command you to release me in Jesus' name. Lord Jesus, fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit. Help me be a person who walks in the Spirit and not under the control of a religious spirit. I ask You to dismantle every component of the false religious system in me. It is important to note that we should not use this same prayer as a formula. The Holy Spirit must be the one leading the prayer time, or else our time of prayer becomes another manifestation of the religious spirit! And we must be sure that we are waging spiritual warfare under the power of the Holy Spirit and not from the flesh. So before you begin, call out to the Lord for an anointing of power, and move in faith, believing that God has anointed you. Actively adopt a posture of submission to the direction of the Holy Spirit. When you do so, you invite the power of the Holy Spirit to work against the enemy. We know a man who loved God, but who was under the strong control of the religious spirit. We invited him for prayer. We asked the Lord for His anointing and that He would give this man revelation about the spirit's hold on him. Once the man received that revelation, he cried out for rescue. When we commanded the spirit to come out, the man shouted that his neck was paralyzed and that he could not move (much later we remembered Acts 7:51, where Stephen called the Jewish religious leaders "stiffnecked"). As we continued to come against the spirit, the man, who had been standing, suddenly emitted a loud sound and folded in half, his head almost touching the floor. When he stood up, we saw that his countenance had changed, and he had new freedom in the Holy Spirit. As time has passed since that day, he has come to know God more intimately, and he can receive God's love and give it to others more than ever before. It is God's desire that the works and devices of that great imposter, the religious spirit, be vanquished and that we have freedom to know the true and living God and be led by the Holy Spirit to live out the plan and purpose of God for our lives. Source: FREEDOM FROM THE RELIGIOUS SPIRIT, C. Peter Wagner, Copyright 2005, Regal Books. |
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