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This movement focuses on the struggle of the Christian against sin, demons, and Satan. Although this concept can be seen throughout the Bible, and there are various high points in Scripture which embrace almost wholly the concept (like the Temptation of Christ in Mat 4), this movement or focus has been kidnapped by some Pentecostal-Charismatic people to twist it into an ugly, unbiblical teaching.
Contents
Biblically Defined:
Biblically we can say that it is true that sin and evil are factors in the real world which push and pull against the Christian to place him into a sinful disposition and relationship with God. This power cannot be underestimated. The Bible principally places man’s will at the center of this dynamic, placing the greatest responsible agent of sin as man’s own will. God admits that good influence from God, His word, His Holy Spirit, other Christians living holy lives all influence a person toward good (complying with God’s will). Also that person’s own inclination towards sin, Satan and demons tempting us into anything that is not God’s will, as well as other forces and people which provoke us to sin, or provide sinful examples all influence us likewise.
But the Bible places the responsibility on each individual for the sins that he or she commits. There is nobody in the universe that will force you to sin against your own will, even though there can be pressure applied to the degree of dying in trying to force you to sin. None-the-less, nobody BUT YOU are ultimately responsible for your sins.
Current Corruptions:
Pentecostal “Proctor and Gamble Tokenism”
I take the name of this error from a story I was told by a person who fell under a Pentecostal’s group influence. This person (Mexican) was told that they would come to her house and have a “cleansing” of her house, and various articles such are products with Proctor and Gamble’s image (stars and moon) were causing her spiritual difficulties and sin. There is probably no image that would do that, and certainly not against the person’s knowledge. Pictures of undressed women might immediately cause a man to sin, but no moon and stars. These images are everywhere, and most people never even notice them. What the Bible condemns is worship of false gods through images or idolatry, and if there is no heart disposition or worship or reverence (there wasn’t even knowledge on the part of this lady), then there is not a tripping up into sin.
General Mysticism
Most spiritual warfare literature quickly degenerates into just simply insane mysticism. What is mysticism? It is the belief that things cause sin instead of your own will. It removes the emphasis on sin is caused by your willful disobedience of God’s commands, will, and obligatory examples, and places it on elements and people that really are not the cause of sin. A false victory is claimed by removing a can of Chicken and Stars soup from your kitchen, as if all a person’s spiritual struggles, conflicts, and fallings into sin was conditioned on a token (something insignificant that supposedly represents something greater and more important).
Additional Literature:
Passantinos – Spiritual Warfare: Designer Weapons for Contemporary Christians
Baxter Directions for a Peaceful Death is an article of 15 points on a Christian approaching his death and what he should be thinking about. This theme is good for the sick, but everybody should also meditate on these things. (Baxter is reformed).
This is a great website!!
I’ve been a Christian all my life, and have faced almost all of these theological systems. It has driven me out of the organized church, which saddens me. However, many people are controlled and manipulated into all kinds of influence of weird theology, losing focus completely. Eventually, without fail, they realize they’ve been pretending for years. The propensity at that point is to reject Christianity altogether, rather than refocus on Christ. Of course, that is the goal of the enemy.
Please keep up the great work. It was your pages on Calvinism that brought me here in a Google search. I’m with on you rejecting all 5 points completely. I believe I’ve proved, to my way of thinking anyway, that Calvinism is pure pagan mysticism, that it morphed out of theocratic systems for the purpose of suppression of the individual and oppression of the people. Most people won’t go that far in their criticism, but you were spot on. Calvinism’s God is closer to Greek myths of the Nephilim – a hybrid human-god that plays games with the earth. A schizophrenic being that can’t figure out what he’s saying or trying to do.
If God’s word, in His call to the earth to come to him, is only true for the “elect”, then it is a lie to the non-elect, who cannot respond. It cannot be any other way. God is a liar. Either His word is true for all and always ture, or His word is a lie and He is not faithful.
Calvinists love to drop scripture bombs of multiple references that no one can respond to quickly. However, in every single case, in every single scripture they use, every single time without fail, the text of scripture does not say what they say it says. They MUST use inference and speculation to magically interpret it.
I’m going back to reading your articles…. have a great day 🙂