The devil tempted mankind with the lie, that if man would eat from the fruit of the forbidden tree, man would not surely die, as God said, but that the eyes of man would be opened and man would be as God, knowing good and evil (创世纪 3:1-5). With this lie, the devil deceived man and caused man to doubt God and His words and eventually ensured that man became separated from God. Instead of believing God and staying faithful to God by obeying His words, man considered the words of the devil as the truth. By acting upon the words of the devil and by eating from the forbidden fruit, man had not only rejected the words of God, but man also rejected God as Father and made the devil his father. And so the devil had taken the place of God in the life of man and (illegally) received dominion over the earth and all there is within. The devil has not changed and still deceives today. The devil deceives Christians and makes them believe his words instead of God’s words and so the devil has succeeded and God is rejected from many churches.
The temptations of the devil in the life of Jesus Christ, 神的儿子
When Jesus Christ, 神的儿子, 来到地球, the devil tried everything in his power to tempt Jesus during His life on earth and to enter His life and take the place of God in His life, but his plan failed (另请阅读: '我会给你全世界的财富’).
The temptations of the devil in the lives of the sons of God
From the moment, the new creations; 神的儿子们 (男性和女性) were born on earth and the era of the Church; the Body of Christ began, the devil has done everything in his power to tempt the Church, make the Church passive, and to silence the Church.
Little by little, the devil has managed to find his way into many churches, mainly through false teachers, science (knowledge of this world), (东) 哲学, 媒体, 娱乐, ETC。, ensuring that the believers would doubt the words of God and would believe his words above the words of God.
With his lies, the devil has persuaded many Christians and made them believe that his lies are the truth, just like the devil did in the garden of Eden.
Very slowly the devil has transformed the mind of people with his words, which represent 他的旨意, so that they would think like him, and speak and act according to his will.
The worldliness of the church
Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off (箴言 23:17-18)
因为这是神的旨意, 甚至你的成圣, 你们应当禁戒淫乱: 你们每个人都应该知道如何拥有自己的器皿成圣和荣耀; 不在于情欲, 就像不认识神的外邦人一样: 任何人在任何事情上都不能超越并欺骗他的兄弟: 因为主是所有这些人的报应者, 正如我们也预先警告过您并证实的那样. 因为神并没有召我们去行不洁的事, 但为了圣洁. 因此，他藐视, 不藐视人, 但上帝, Who hath also given unto us His holy Spirit (1 帖撒罗尼迦人 4:3-8)
Many churches don’t separate themselves from the world unto God, by doing the will of God, instead many churches have harmonized Christianity with the world and have become world-like. Therefore they think, speak and act like the world (according to the world system).
The same worldly spirits, who reign in the lives of carnal people, who belong to the world also reign in the lives of people, 自称为基督徒的人, 但实际上, belong to the world. How do you know? Because they bear the same fruit as those, who are carnal and belong to the world.
And so the devil has found a way into the lives of people, by twisting the words of God with his lies and by preaching half-truths, and led them astray on paths that lead to eternal death, instead of eternal life.
The fear of the Lord has left many churches
我儿子, if thou wilt receive My words, and hide My commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 是的, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God (箴言 2:1-5)
The devil attacked the church and succeeded in removing the fear of the Lord, that was present in the lives of previous generations.
Many modern believers call the fear of the Lord legalism, in contrast to the Word, Who calls the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction (箴言 1:7)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding (箴言 9:10)
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility (箴言 15:33)
Everything begins with a fear of God. Without a fear of the Lord, you shall not submit to God, 他的话, 和他的旨意 (他的诫命), but you shall rebel. Without the fear of the Lord, you shall exalt yourself above His knowledge and wisdom and walk in pride. Without a fear of the Lord the flesh shall reign, sin shall abound and be accepted and the devil and his demons shall (暂时地) triumph. And without the fear of the Lord the spiritual man shall die.
敬畏耶和华，就是憎恨邪恶: 自豪, 和傲慢, 和邪恶的道路, 和嬉戏的嘴巴, 我讨厌吗 (箴言 8:13)
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil (箴言 16:6)
The fear of the Lord tends to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil (箴言 19:23)
The warning for false teachers
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, 谁会私下带来可恶的异端邪说, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 许多人将遵循他们有害的方式; 真理之道将因他而受到谩骂. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not (2 彼得 2:1-3)
The fear of the Lord was present in the lives of the apostles. The apostles were not prideful, but they loved God with all their heart, 灵魂, 头脑, and strength and they yielded to God and Jesus Christ and followed Jesus; 这个单词.
They warned the churches of Christ of false teachers, who were among them and privily tried to sneak in false doctrines, that deviated from the truth of the gospel.
Because even in those days, the devil tried to enter the churches through false teachers and tried to lead the churches astray and cause apostasy.
But the apostles were spiritual and discerned the spirits. They knew the will of God and they knew the 魔鬼的作品 and recognized the false teachers, who were among them or tried to enter the church with their vain and compelling words.
很遗憾, nowadays this is hardly the case anymore and many false teachers preach behind the pulpit or those, who preach behind the pulpits, promote false teachers, who preach according to their own knowledge, 观点, experience or research and prophecy from their own insights and imaginations, what people want to hear.
神被许多教会拒绝了
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death (箴言 14:26-27)
By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, 和荣誉, and life (箴言 22:4)
The Holy Spirit has been rejected from many churches through pride, the will, and the flesh that reigns. 这 Word has been rejected from many churches through the opinions and philosophical and scientific knowledge of man; 世界的智慧和知识.
The rejection of the Holy Spirit and the Word from many churches has ensured that many churches don’t discern good and evil and because of that sins and iniquities are tolerated.
Many people don’t know the will of God and therefore they approve of everything, which is evil in the eyes of God. This is mainly because they keep feeding their mind with the carnal things of this world and because of that, they have the carnal mind of the world, which represents the will of the devil.
Through their speech and actions that derive from their carnal mind, they do those things, which go against the will of God and they obey the will of the devil and because of that, they bow before the devil. And so they have given the devil a place in their lives and in the church.
Repent and make Jesus Christ the Head of the church
The fear of the Lord is gone and by the rejection of the Spirit of God and the Word of God, God is also rejected from many churches. The devil managed to find his way in and take the place of God and established his throne in the lives of people, who believe his words and obey him and therefore worship him.
But as long as Jesus has not returned, fortunately, there is a way back, namely the way of 悔改.
Don’t let the devil triumph, but let the church repent and return to God, His Word and receive His Holy Spirit and walk after His will.
Let the church look at Jesus Christ and follow His example of how He resisted the devil and refuted his lies with the truth of God.
Let Jesus Christ; the Word reign again in the church and let the church obey His words and do what Jesus has commanded to do, so that the church shall represent and bring the Kingdom of God on this earth instead of the kingdom of darkness (世界).
Let the church no longer be a social institution, where the devil reigns and the people are the center and rule and the flesh is entertained and fed. But let Jesus Christ become the Head of the church again and let the Word reign and let the will of God and His Kingdom be the center of the church and the spirit be fed.
‘成为地球之盐’
