The Holy Spirit and Temptation

The holy Ghost revealed to me twenty nine years ago that one of Satan's favorite tricks is to get God's people into an old covenant mentality. Unfortunately he has been very successful in doing so, I must say. The way he's accomplished this cunning treachery is to simply carnalize everything about the gospel. He has deceived the body of Christ into thinking they have to keep carnal ordinances in order to be obedient to God, when in fact the scripture says that "God gives the holy Ghost to everyone who obeys him" (Acts 5:32). Not only so, but the scripture also says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14). And my friend, the Spirit of God does NOT lead anyone into observing and practicing carnal ordinances like water baptism, so called "communion," the Sabbath, etc. Those are clearly ordinances of the old covenant law, and the scripture clearly says, "If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are NOT under the law" (Mat. 26:19; Mat. 3:15; Mat. 5:17; Col. 2:16,17; Gal. 5:18). The scripture also plainly states the following on the matter: "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace" (Gal. 5:4). The only place God's Spirit leads to is holiness and the love of God (Rom. 5:5; Rom. 8:13). Okay, there's the kicker, and there is where Satan has gotten his wicked work done. The entire purpose of Jesus coming here was to make a way to get us out of the predicament of sin and death (Do you really need references?). But since the devil has tricked God's people into going backward from the leading of the Spirit, to keep the ordinances of the law; his trickery has put everyone back under sin as well. That is the only place one CAN GO when going backward from the Spirit of holiness. And again, by so doing he has managed to get the body of Christ to carnalize the worship and service of God, which Jesus and the apostles pointedly stated is a spiritual worship (Jn. 4:24; Philip. 3:3; I Pet. 2:5). So being made carnally minded, God's people have been relatively easy prey for Satan and his horde to convince that sin is actually something that we just have to live with, and we aren't accountable for it as long as we "trust in what Jesus did." Ohhhhh, that DOES sound enticing, doesn't it? Especially when people are unable to get sin out of their life and they don't realize why. So a lot of Christian rhetoric has evolved to suit those who are under sin but still want to feel that they will be saved. The apostle Paul foretold of this malady among God's people: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (II Tim. 4:3,4). You name it; "eternal security [once saved, always saved], "sinners saved by grace" [same thing as eternal security], "salvation at the beginning of your faith in Christ," etc. But it is all based on the same enticing principle of not being accountable for our sins because "we believe in what Jesus did." Just do the best you can, and accept the fact that you're a sinner, and deal with it.

That is the exact mentality that was under the old covenant, because the law did not and COULD NOT deliver anyone from sin (Rom. 8:3; Gal. 3:21; Heb. 7:19; Heb. 10:4). But again, the Bible very clearly tells us a different story when comparing faith in Jesus and the NEW covenant to the old covenant: "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect [without sin]... For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins... How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 10:1,4). So while it is true that the old covenant sacrifices could not deliver those under that law from the very nature of sin, it is NOT true that the same goes for the ultimate sacrifice that JESUS offered to God. Satan has successfully tricked God's people into effectively making just another bullock or goat out of Jesus, in effect saying he cannot "take away sins" either. If faith in Christ cannot completely deliver us from sin on the inside, then why did the beloved apostle give us this admonition? "And every man that hath this hope [of salvation - I Thess. 5:8] in him purifieth himself, even as he [Jesus] is pure" (I Jn. 3:3). And why did he say the following just a few verses later? "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he [Christ] is righteous" (I Jn. 3:7). Friend, Jesus suffered, died, and rose again, so that he could impart the HOLY Spirit unto us, which HOLY spirit is well able to make us HOLY! And if we will receive and follow that same HOLY Spirit, HOLINESS is exactly where it will lead us to. The only obedience to God that exists is true faith in his Son Jesus, resulting in the power of the holy Ghost in our lives enabling us to walk in holiness (Jn. 7:38,39; Acts 5:32; Rom. 6:6; Rom. 8:13; I Pet. 4:1,2; etc.). And the only true worship and service of God that exists is that which is "in spirit [not carnal ordinances] and in truth [not pretence]." If we depend on nothing but faith in Jesus and the power of his Spirit for righteousness, and purify ourselves thereby; then our worship and service of God will be without sin [really], which is the ONLY worship and service of God that is TRUE. If we do NOT depend only on faith in Jesus, but rather include the keeping of carnal ordinances from the law in our worship and service of God; the result will be that we are not under grace, but rather we will be carnally minded and back under sin and death (Eph. 2:8,9,15; Gal. 5:4; Rom. 6:23). And therein is Satan's grand delusion accomplished. My friend, that is not what we want or what we need. Amen.