"The Leaven of Liberalism" Part 5 A Spiritual Remedy for a Spiritual Problem

A Spiritual Remedy for a Spiritual Problem

The Bible speaks of a war going on in a realm we cannot see, it’s a spiritual warfare. Satan is at the center of this spiritual battle, and he has many victories under his belt. His weapons are specifically designed to target every weakness we have in the sin-nature. His tactics haven’t changed since he first tempted Eve. He appeals to our pride, feeds our fleshly lusts, annoyingly pricks our patience, provoking us to anger and he always offers the easy way out by allowing us to justify our sins. He raises doubts in our minds about the goodness of God and he seems to work overtime on people in leadership positions both in government and the church.  Listen to the apostle Paul:

“…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the ruler of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12).

As a former pastor I can testify to the truth of these spiritual attacks on leadership. I just thought I had problems when I was struggling with drugs and various other obstacles every average person has to deal with. However, when I stepped into a position of leadership in the church, the spiritual attack quadrupled.

The problem with our government and churches is not so much the people, but rather the sin-nature of those leaders being manipulated by the rulers of darkness. This is why it is extremely important for us to pray for the men and women in leadership positions in our nation. It is the will of God for us to do so.

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplication, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” (I Tim. 2:1, 2).

When sin controls those in leadership, it inadvertently affects the people under that leadership. As much as I disagree with the policies of our President and his administration, I pray for them. Sometimes it’s a struggle, but we all must find it in our hearts to do so. Of course I don’t mean to imply that Satan attacks only those in positions of leadership, he is absolutely relentless in his schemes against all of mankind. We would all be wise to understand this as the apostle Paul confirms:

“Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Eph. 6:11).

This word “wiles” is the Greek word “methodeia”. It is the origin of our word method. The word denotes cunning deceit; it came to describe a way of doing something, an art, or a craft. For instance, witchcraft is a “method” of manipulation and control, practiced and refined until it becomes an art (the black arts). Satan schemes and plots methodically for our ruin. He is lying in wait for us as we journey through life. He wants to alter our course. He wants to hinder our walk. He wants to get us out of faith and turn us away from God. He wants to destroy our churches, our government and the foundations upon which our families were once built. He has spent a great deal of time and energy on these elaborate schemes. Likewise, the apostle Peter agrees with Paul when he states:

“Be sober; be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (I Pet. 5:8).

The people who are devoured by Satan are the ones who refuse to acknowledge God’s principles. They are people who either don’t take this spiritual battle seriously, or they simply don’t believe in God’s Word at all. The sin-nature within man is the playground of the devil. If you fail to acknowledge this spiritual battle, you will become a literal puppet in Satan’s grand scheme and more than likely, you won’t even be aware of it because you will have become spiritually blind. Many of our nation’s leaders as well as many church leaders, along with droves of seemingly ordinary people are already being controlled by the enemy. Again, the apostle Paul confirms:

“…if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” (II Cor. 4:3, 4).

These are people who, on the outside, may seem to do much good and say all the right things yet they fail to either believe, or understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and honor the godly principles written in the Holy Scriptures. As a result their minds have been blinded to the goodness of God and the truth of His Word. Notice in the above Scripture; Satan is called the “god of this age.” Therefore, if we refuse to acknowledge the God of the Bible, the only alternative is to be serving the “god of this age.” America is headed in that direction. Most of our nation’s leadership is being controlled by the rulers of darkness; they’re serving the purposes of the “god of this age.” The corruption I see in politics and the church hierarchy reflects this opinion.

I know this all sounds absurd to people who do not believe in the Bible, but take my word for it, things are not going to get better, they are going to get worse and worse in these last days. Liberalism offers nothing but false hope and change. The idiotic philosophies created by human secularism and neo paganism have given people a false hope with their declarations of the coming Utopian society.

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (II Tim. 3:1-5).

So many Americans seem to have a form of godliness, but they are victims of a liberal theology which denies the power of the true gospel. I’ll tell you what, you can believe in your pipe dream of a Utopian society if you want, but I’ll take the truth of the Bible which, by the way, is blatantly obvious, given the painful truth of the world’s condition today. Those of us who are in Christ will continue to be persecuted by a world who is offended at Christ. As we continue to look for His second coming with eager anticipation, all others will fall deeper and deeper into deception as their sin-nature gains more and more control over the direction of their lives and thus, the direction of our nation.

“…all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (II Tim. 3:12, 13).

As I stated before, Christ has already taken care of the sin problem, but its powerful effects are still wreaking havoc on our world. Coming to Christ does not mean you will no longer sin or be tempted to sin, it simply means you will be forgiven of your sins and your spirit will be washed clean from sin and you will no longer enjoy habitual sinning as a lifestyle. It means you will begin to cling to His Word and stand in agreement with the principles stated in the Holy Scriptures, something our nation’s leadership desperately needs to do.

Any serious Bible student can see that America plays no part in biblical eschatology. I believe the reason for that is, America will no longer be a global super power. But if our nation’s leaders would repent and turn back to God’s Word, it could buy us some time to do some lasting good in a world being destroyed by sin. The sin problem was inevitably bound to destroy the world, but it doesn’t have to control our nation’s leaders and churches in the meantime.

I believe we are living in the last days. We are facing a spiritual problem and the only way to overcome a spiritual problem is with a spiritual answer. That answer is for America to repent and turn back to God with all our heart. We can pass all the laws we want, implement program after program, but until we take care of the sin problem, it doesn’t matter how many financial geniuses we elect, we will not prosper.

Shortly after 9-11, our nation’s churches were busting at the seams. Unfortunately, that revival was short lived. In a matter of weeks, things went back to the same old godless drudgery. We failed to see that God’s hedge of blessing and protection is eroding more and more with each passing sin. One day our cup shall be filled and when that day comes, all hell will break loose!

“…Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, “I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.” Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. (Rev. 18:4-8).

 We are living in the last days; the days of the apostate church. These are the days of strong delusion and great spiritual deception. The leavening of liberalism into church doctrine is directly responsible for this result. The apostate church continues to grow under the power of this "strong delusion" of the last days. A time when God will give us over to our own ways if we refuse to repent. It's time for the church to heed the call from God “…Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues."(Rev. 18:4). Liberalism is not the answer to the sin problem, Jesus Christ is! It’s time for true repentance and revival in America. Only then may we once again enjoy the blessings of prosperity and safety.