Hi all,
Did you know your free will is stronger than both God and the devil? True. Neither of them can make you do anything.
Christians, especially charismatics or those who are around charismatic teachings, are known for blaming the devil for everything wrong in their life. If you carefully look at the New Testament at what the devil does, it becomes clear he gets blamed in our day for lots of things he isn’t responsible for.
In the Gospels, there was a spirit of infirmity that kept a woman bowed over. There was a deaf spirit that kept a man from hearing. There was Legion, the leader of at least 2,000 demons in the man in Mark 5:8, described as an unclean spirit (s*xually unclean) and so on. The devil hindered Paul from going where he wanted to, and that appeared to have been due to persecution. (I Thessalonians 2: 13; the riot that drove him out of town in Acts 17: 13)
Driving up credit card debt is not the devil.
Gaining weight to the point of obesity or starving oneself is not the devil. Giving in to a habitual sin isn’t the devil. Demons entice, but the lust for sin is in our flesh. We can’t go blaming our sin on the devil – all a demon can do is tempt, and it isn’t a sin to be tempted as Jesus was tempted. But giving in to that temptation is the sin. That makes our free will stronger than the devil, for we CAN resist temptation.
There is a devil for sure, but your will is stronger than him, all by itself. Every year, millions of people who don’t know God deliver themselves from addictions, habits, wrong thinking, and lifestyle just by their power of choice. They decide to be free, set their will, and the devil leaves them for someone who doesn’t have their will set.
Demons stop their oppression when they find our will is stronger than theirs. Demons work by intimidation, but in truth it is a battle of your will against their will, and once they find your will is set and you refuse to give in to their temptations, thoughts, emotions, then they will leave – at least for a time – and often try again later. Once a Christian realizes THEY can control their thoughts, their feelings, and actions, that they are greater than any demon, they can walk in freedom in Christ.
In Galatians 5: 19-21 we read ‘works of the flesh’.
What Paul lists are not demons; they are the result of an act of choice:
v19: “Now the works of the flesh are these: S*xual immorality (Greek: porneia), uncleaness (s*xually), lasciviousness (promiscuous, crude, perverted, offensive s*xual behavior).” These first 3 on Paul’s list of works of the flesh are s*xual sins. He doesn’t put the blame on a spirit of lust, or a spirit of adultery, though I have no doubt such spirits do entice people into giving in to their fleshly lusts, but the blame and responsibility is on the person not a demon.
These are works of the flesh, not demons, which means people choose to do these things. It is the power of choice at the root, not a demon. Yes, a demon entices and can become involved, but my point is not ‘the devil made me do it’, for the devil can’t make you do a single thing. A demon cannot make you think or feel anything – they work by suggestion, intimidation, deceit.
Paul’s list above does not put the blame on the devil, but on the individual Christian and their free will to choose the works of the flesh or fruit of the Spirit. Paul’s point being the power of choice. Choose to walk in the Spirit, by your spirit, not in the flesh.
He continues in v20:
“idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, strife, jealousy, fits of rage, contentions (intrigue, behind the scenes manipulation), dissension (separating from another due to strife/division), heresies.”
The word ‘witchcraft’ here, also translated ‘sorceries’, is the Greek word ‘pharmakeia’. It was the use of mind altering drugs for the purpose of contacting the spirit world, and from that the manipulation of others for selfish reasons. Perhaps the Oracle of Delphi is best known for this in the ancient world. It has since been found to be a series of caves leaking fumes from deep underground that made the prophets and prophetesses high, leading them to say all kinds of things which were taken to be inspired by the gods.
It should be noted that in Galatians 3: 1 Paul writes: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was clearly set forth as crucified?” The use of ‘bewitched’ is ‘baskaino’, meaning ‘to cast an evil spell on, wishing injury on someone else’. Paul states they were being manipulated to leave the grace of Christ to go back under the Mosaic Law.
Paul closes his list of works of the flesh in v21:
“envying, drunkenness, rioting (Greek, drunken parties), and things like these, for those who live like this, they will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
It should be noted that the Greek word translated ‘live like this’ is ‘prasso’, which means a regular practice, and not ‘poieo’ which means a single act. Some reading Galatians 5: 21 might be inclined to think they have lost their salvation because they have done one or more of the above, but Paul makes it clear in using ‘prasso’ that he is talking about a lifestyle, and encouraging his readers to make the fruit of the spirit a lifestyle instead. He is listing elements of what they’ve been saved from an encouraging them to keep going in the things of the Spirit and living by their born-again spirit.
What can you control today?
A choice is either raising a wall to stop someone, some thing, or some action from affecting us directly, or it is opening a door to allow someone, some thing, or some action to affect our lives. Adam and Eve had the power of choice, and they chose poorly. Their decision affects us all to this day. But within their decision which affects our daily life, we have the power of choice on how we will handle what they did and what Jesus did.
I like to say it this way, God often isn’t in an event, but He can be found in our response to that event. Demons can entice, intimidate, tempt our minds and bodies, but they cannot touch our spirits. Discipleship is the life-long process of making choices from our spirit, which causes our thoughts and feelings to change by coming into agreement and alignment with Christ’s life in our spirit, then we command our body to obey….and that is godliness. It is a process, but it all begins in making choices, for we are sovereign beings, so live from your spirit man out.
Next week, practical tips on doing that.
Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
