Would Christians Dance With the Devil?
I seriously doubt that any real Christian would knowingly and
willingly allow the Devil to use them for his desires, but there
is a real problem with godly people not recognizing the Devil's
schemes. There are many places in the Bible where it says,
"Do not be deceived." We are told to renew our minds
in Romans 12:2. The Lord himself issued a dire warning in Hosea
4:6 stating that, "My people are destroyed from lack of
knowledge."
The purpose here is not about finding a demon hiding around
every corner. The issue is that Christians are called to a
higher standard. The world system is, has always been, and
always will be, very wrong. If your ideas are even remotely
similar to the world's ideas, I recommend reexamining them.
A religious mindset is equally dangerous, perhaps even more
dangerous. Jesus warned that tradition is actually strong enough
to nullify the Word of God. That is a powerful statement! God's
Word is His bond, His authority, and yet it can be nullified.
You can be sure of this; if the Devil can introduce lies into
Christian theology, he can hinder or cripple those who believe
those lies.
This article will be way too short to butcher very many sacred
cows, or even the most important or dangerous ones. This is the
most crucial point I can make: read the Bible! Try not to
let church theology get in the way of understanding what it
says. It is not hard to understand if you have the Holy Spirit
helping you. Religion all too often complicates the message.
I have long been concerned over some very unbiblical ideas being
taught in many churches, perhaps even most churches. There is a
lot of teaching on stewardship, which is good, but shame on the
way many leaders are teaching it. Certainly, the Devil has a lot
to gain by perverting our ideas to render Christians ineffective
in fulfilling God's purpose.
Over the centuries, the Devil has had ample opportunity to water
down the gospel and get people to believe lies that sound wise.
The idea of stewardship being taught as glorified budget
counseling certainly makes sense on the surface, but God's Word
presents His ideas, not ours. Your mind is the real battleground
and this is a spiritual war.
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the
world. On the contrary, they have the divine power to demolish
strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that
sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive
every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Cor.
10:4-5, NIV)
The byproduct of misinformation being perpetrated on the church
is that many Christians believe stewardship means having enough
to take care of their needs, living on a budget, and taking
advantage of every bargain they can find. Although there is
nothing inherently wrong with any of that, none of those items
are on the biblical list of good stewardship.
When Jesus told the parable of the good steward, only those who
were profitable and doubled what they were given according to
their ability were rewarded. There is an important principle in
that parable that is about both life and money. The idea that as
long as you have your daily bread and don't expect any more from
God because you don't want to seem greedy, may seem very
spiritual, even commendable. In reality, it's very selfish.
This information will not set well with tradition, but
Christians are supposed to be blessed in abundance so they can
do more good in this pathetic world. Money is not evil, the love
of it is. Having enough to meet more than just your own needs is
not just a good idea, it is a command from God. This does not
necessarily mean you need to be a millionaire, but you are
supposed to be blessed so you can be a blessing.
"Now he who supplies bread to the sower and bread for food
will also supply and increase your store of seed and will
enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich
in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and
through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of
God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of
thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved
yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that
accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for
your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone
else." (2 Cor. 9:10-13, NIV)
Did you catch the part about obedience? Have you been duped into
believing that this is only talking about spiritual blessings
and not money? Read it carefully. Being blessed is more than a
privilege, it is a responsibility and a command. I know you are
not likely used to being told that, because the last thing the
Devil wants is for Christians to be blessed enough to accomplish
God's will. Do you think you can fulfill the will of God without
money? If so, read the Bible more carefully.
Because of the erroneous teaching that prevails about
stewardship, I have seen Christians do things they should not be
doing, even shameful things that ought to violate their
conscience. They have been taught to believe they are saving
"God's money" when in fact, they are behaving like
non-believers. Even many non-believers would not consider some
of the things being done in the name of stewardship.
One example is to shop for an item they know very little about
by going to an expert to get reliable information, someone whose
livelihood is based on helping people make informed decisions,
then go buy the item from a bargain seller just to save money.
This is the behavior you can expect from people who do not share
the Christian faith, but it is totally inappropriate for
Christians. If you are taking advantage of someone to save God
some money, wake up. He is holy and cannot reward you for
that.
Satan's most effective tools are doubt and fear because they are
the exact opposite of faith. If you obey the Word of God,
believe it, proclaim it before the demons of hell, read it and
speak it, especially in areas of money because that is the
ultimate test of faith, you will not dance with the Devil. You
will defeat him at every turn. He has to seek whom he may devour
because he cannot devour just anyone. Resist him, submit to God,
and the Devil will run from you in stark terror.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
(NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible
Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers