All posts tagged: evil spirits

Spiritual Warfare 101

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Part 6 Sin and Suffering Proponents of EMM make two major arguments: Because Jesus and the apostles cast out demons, we should do likewise. Because EMM is not forbidden by Jesus or the rest of the NT, there is no reason not to use it. Powlison argues that the Bible does not teach us to wage spiritual warfare using EMM. Rather Scripture teaches us a different way to live the Christian life and fight our ancient foe. The Dominion of Darkness Entails Sin and Suffering One key to understanding spiritual warfare in the ministry of Jesus Christ is to notice that he mounted a twin-pronged offensive against the powers of evil—against moral evil and situational evil. Jesus employed two modes of warfare to address two different facets of the evil works of the devil. Moral evil = the evil people believe and do. Situational evil = the evil we experience (suffering, hardship, unpleasant and harmful events, death) The two meanings of evil are closely linked; Satan employs both for his evil purposes. God consistently portrays inhabiting …

Spiritual Warfare 101

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God’s Sovereignty in an Evil World God uses evil for his glory and the comfort of God’s people. EMM advocates simply do not articulate this understanding of God’s sovereignty in the mist of evil. Consequently, their understanding of spiritual warfare becomes skewed. The demons become increasingly autonomous; sin becomes demonized; the world gains the look and feel of superstition rather than biblical wisdom. EMM advocates rightly seek to reestablish a worldview that recognizes spirit beings, both good and evil. But the drift in EMM thinking toward demonological explanations creates a world more precarious and spooky than the Bible’s world. Ironically, in the end, the EMM worldview has more affinities with the occult worldview than the Bible. The Bible gives an opposite, theocentric explanation. There the love of God—love for his name’s glory and his people’s welcome—strikes the deciding blow in the battle. Psalms and Proverbs are the supreme manual for spiritual warfare, for fighting both flesh-and-blood and spiritual enemies. Knowing that the devil is God’s devil brings us incalculable joy and confidence in battle with our adversary. A Different …

Sprirtual Warfare 101

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Part 4 Cultures Dark with the Occult There are three important features of the occult worldview and its degraded existence. Demonological explanations for all events and actions—good or bad—predominated. Occult idolatry and practices were the norm. Nations that practiced the occult also pursued other generic addictions, such as gluttony, drunkenness, varied forms of immorality, greed, blood thirst, and power. All the contemporary “causes” are in place in the OT, but the Scriptures never identify or address spirit inhabitants as the problem nor cast them out as the solution. The OT, as a voice into these demon-filled cultures, exhibits two striking features. It minimizes Satan. The OT maximizes human responsibility. Lifting the Curtain Every so often in the OT God lifts the curtain to show the spirit realities at work behind the scenes. Six major passages: Genesis 3:1-15 1 Samuel 16:13-23 1 Samuel 28:3-25 1 Kings 22:6-28 Job 1:6-2:10 Zechariah 3 Reblog from Between Two Worlds

Spritual Warfare 101

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Part 3 What Is Spiritual Warfare? Three competing visions vie for our allegiance: Capitulation to the spirit of the age by radically reinterpreting the Bible’s “spirit” realities as mythical projections of psychological, sociological, political, and medical phenomena. (Inadequate for all serious followers of Christ.) The demon deliverance ministries The “classic” Christian mode of spiritual warfare The “Ekballistic Mode” [EMM] of Spiritual Warfare An invented term to describe the demon-deliverance movement that might seem awkward at first. It is a grassroots practical theology that finds varied expression both in pastoral ministry and in methods of personal growth. It envisions the warfare of Christians as a battle against invading demons, either to repel them at the gates or eject them after they have taken up residence. Obviously based on the key assumption that demons of sin reside within the human heart. The “Classic Mode” of Spiritual Warfare Evangelism, discipleship, and personal growth. Follows the pattern of Jesus facing Satan in the desert. The textbooks are the Psalms and Proverbs, the ways that Jesus addressed moral evil, and …

Spiritual Warfare 101

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Part 2 Powlison’s Intentions Truly all Christians believe in spiritual warfare; we all believe that Christ delivers us from evil. Powlison seeks to answer two crucial points of confrontation regarding spiritual warfare. The first question engages how we understand the Christian life. What are we fighting? How does the evil one actually work? How does he exert—or attempt to exert—his dominion? The second question engages our practice of the Christian life. How should we fight? What is the way God delivers us—and tells us to deliver ourselves and each other—from bondage to the devil? What is the mode of warfare? Our Common Ground The large majority of Christians give assent to four propositions, whatever our other differences. We are involved in spiritual warfare. Jesus Christ is the triumphant Deliverer and King. The modern age deadens people to the reality of spiritual warfare. Errors and excesses occur in deliverance ministries. If deadly rationalism saps spiritual vitality on the one hand, the exorcistic mentality spawns mutant spiritualities on the other. Both the disenchanted world of modern rationalism and …