Bible Studies

Part Three

. . .

 If the teachings of the Apostle Paul were held to intense scrutiny (Acts 17: 11), should not the information being communicated from one’s choice of spiritual edification be scrutinized, as well?

The problem with many Christians is their disobedience to the 2Pet. 3: 15 command (not an option) to grow in the knowledge of the Lord. As a result, his or her lack of having an edified soul structure to monitor and filter the information being presented, sets the stage for being easily deceived.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4: 6 NASB2020).”

Spiritually mature pastor-teachers will not be offended when questioned about a point of doctrine that they have communicated. Jesus was often questioned by both His disciples and His enemies. His disciples sought clarification, whereas His enemies desired to discredit Him. Jesus was never wrong, but often misunderstood by His disciples and His enemies.

With pastor-teachers, they must have the humility to acknowledge when they have gotten something wrong, or could have done a better job of communication. Being questioned gives them the welcomed opportunity to pause, review, perhaps clarify, and at times make some adjustments, as they too are a work in progress, along the road to spiritual maturity.

No one (clergy, parent, fellow-believer, etc.) can be of much use to God to bring another soul any further along the road to spiritual maturity than where he or she has first arrived for himself. I say of not “much “use, because the truth is the truth no matter who is presenting it, but if the communicator doesn’t walk the walk as well as talk the talk, his or her testimony will not be as readily received.

Keep in mind that Fallen Man does not come into this world with an edified soul structure. The only spiritual knowledge that one has at birth is the concept of eternity that God places in every soul that He creates (Eccl. 3: 11). E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g else, be it right or wrong, we learned from someone or something else. Point being, there was a time that we were just as ignorant of, and inherently hostile (Rom. 8:7) towards God and the things of God, as anyone else.  

There is no justification in looking down our noses at someone else who presently is where we once had been.

The ongoing prayer of any pastor-teacher that is worth his salt, is for him to get it right, so that he can teach it right, to all who look to him for their spiritual edification and guidance. The pastor-teacher is a key player on the battlefield of spiritual warfare.

No fallen human being has ever, now is, or ever will be 100% “infallible” when it comes to the accurate understanding, interpretation, or application of Scripture. The track record of many who have claimed to have such infallibility refutes such claim.

Peter, one of the Lord’s closest disciples, received one of the most stinging reprimands that a follower of Christ could ever receive, when he (Peter) wanted to dissuade Jesus from going to Jerusalem.

“Get behind Me, Satan! You (Peter) are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on (divine viewpoint) God’s purposes, but (on human viewpoint) men’s (Matt.16: 23 NASB2020 parentheses mine).”

People functioning under human viewpoint can be sincere, but can be sincerely wrong, and become stumbling blocks in the path of others on their road to spiritual maturity, or in the fulfillment of the plan that God has in mind for them.

Regarding spiritual combat, Jesus spoke of wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7: 15), and that one’s spiritual adversaries can be the members of one’s own household (Matt. 10: 36). Be it a wolf in sheep’s clothing who deliberately deceives and leads others astray, or be it a sincere, but sincerely wrong and misguided individual, who unwittingly leads others astray. after being deceived themselves.  

Keep in mind that a bullet (false doctrine) fired in ignorance can be just as lethal as one that is fired with malicious intent.

Know that the enemy will never surrender and is going to continue to resist and launch as many counterattacks as possible, right up to and including one’s day of departure.

Daily casualties should be expected, as we all have areas of weakness, often fail, and have the need to rebound, recover, and move forward.

Know that the devil, and or his Eph. 6:12 forces of evil, has your individual GPS coordinates and is aware of when, where, and how to fire his “flaming arrows-Eph. 6: 16 NASB2020,” for maximum effect. Like an enemy submarine, evil poses its greatest threat when we either deny or are ignorant of its presence, objective, and capability.

The devil converts the negative words or actions by other people or circumstances into flaming arrows that sink deeply into your soul, with the objective of trying to trigger an emotional, ungodly, response on YOUR part, and take YOU out of fellowship with God. 

 Once you have been taken out of fellowship, you are then likely to continue or to even increase your ungodly speech or behavior, resulting in a major defeat in the realm of spiritual warfare. The longer the fire burns, the more destruction, and the greater the defeat there will be.

Eph.6: 16 teaches us that it is by “faith” (spiritual knowledge and application) that the fires set by these flaming arrows can be extinguished. But like having a fire-extinguisher on hand, it will not do any good if it is not activated (James 1: 22).

The devil has other types of flaming arrows that are designed to raise doubts about the integrity of a born-again believer’s salvation. 

There is a purpose for a rear-view mirror, but one must be primarily focused on the road ahead. One will not be focused on his post salvation spiritual life as long as he or she spends time on trying to retain his salvation that cannot be lost (Rom. 8; 1).

All the doubts that the devil raises, can do nothing to reverse the sealing (Eph. 4: 30) and the (Titus 3:5) regenerating work of God that took place the moment one was born again. 

The secondary objective of these fiery arrows are to impede the forward progress of a born-again believer along the road to spiritual maturity. Having an edified soul structure with the knowledge of how the devil operates, can go a long way in detecting incoming missiles, but it is the unexpected ones that we fail to intercept that will hit us on our blind side with the potential of causing the most damage.

The front lines of spiritual warfare is an active combat zone and is anything but boring, uneventful, with “nothing to do.” 

End of Part Three