The human mind and heart filled with darkness will always resist and even
oppose spiritual truth and light from God. Why?
We know that it's impossible, in the natural world, for darkness and light
to occupy the same space at the same time. The same holds true in the
spiritual realm and in the minds and hearts of human beings. You cannot be
filled and directed by both darkness and light at the same time. You will
choose to obey either light and truth or darkness and error.
But there is more at stake here than simply being right or wrong about
some
things. Spiritual darkness is evil itself. It opposes God and truth and
life. It destroys all that is pure and innocent and good in the world. Yet
it only promises pleasure and entertainment and satisfaction.
Spiritual darkness reveals and expresses itself in many ways in our modern
society. But more im****tant, it has powerful allies in every human life.
The
body itself, and even the human mind, already trained in the past by the
desires of the body and the customs of this world, is a natural ally of
darkness. Why? Because the human flesh has only the wish to fulfill all
its
cravings and desires, and it willingly follows anyone and anything that
promises to grant such fulfillment.
Spiritual darkness does not fulfill anything, ultimately, except death -
both physical and spiritual. It makes many promises to lure human
attention
away from the light, away from God's help and rescue. But it has only one
goal: total and eternal destruction of the human life.
For example, see what the apostle Paul writes to the ancient believers in
Rome, late in the first century: "those who live according to the flesh
set
their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to
the
Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the
flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For
this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does
not
submit to God's law - indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh
cannot please God." (Romans 8:5-8, NRSV)
It would be impossible for anyone born into this world to escape the wiles
and deceptions of darkness had God not provided us with a Savior. God sent
His own Son to save us, to rescue us from the delusions, the enslaving
powers and the ultimate destruction of darkness. Jesus lived among us and
taught us the truth about God. (Read His teachings in the Gospel accounts
of
the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.)
But Jesus did far more than simply tell us the truth. He lived it out. And
then He even gave up His own perfect life in order to die in our place. He
suffered and died on a cruel Roman cross for our sins and shortcomings. He
paid the price for all our wrongdoings.
Still, He did more. After 3 days, Jesus Christ came up out of the grave,
defeating death and leading all who hope in Him to eternal victory and
life.
So we are set free, even to this day, when we trust in Jesus, placing our
lives in His hands.
How do we know He did all these things?
Well, we have the solid testimony of God's Spirit in the writings of the
Holy Bible. And we have the experience of life itself.
For a great collection of material of the resurrection of Jesus, visit
Christian Answers (http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t008.html).
Of course, real Christians already know that Jesus Christ is risen. They
have the witness of the Holy Spirit within, and the powerful testimony of
the Scriptures to confirm their convictions.
Millions of lives all around the world have been powerfully transformed by
the Spirit of God as a result of men, women and children believing the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that living testimony is already powerful
evidence that Jesus Christ really is all that He says He is. To this very
day He raises the dead to life again, cures many diseases, and saves all
who
place their hope in Him.
But there are still those in every generation who cannot bring themselves
to
believe the good news. Remember the time in Scripture when Moses sent out
the 12 spies to look over the land of Promise? Joshua and Caleb brought
back
a true re****t, and all of the spies helped to bring back the physical
evidences of how fruitful and blessed the land was. (See the core of the
story in Numbers 13:21 thru 14:10.)
But the people, including 10 of the spies, could not believe that God
would
given them the land. Only the tiniest minority trusted what God had said,
and could see the hand of God already powerfully at work. The New
Testament
letter to the Hebrews has much to say about the unbelief of the people who
refused to believe God in the wilderness.
Scripture says:
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Therefore,
since
a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem
to
have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as
to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being
mixed
with faith in those who heard it. (Hebrews 3:19-4:2)
And just before that the Scripture says: "Beware, brethren, lest there be
in
any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but
exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." (Heb 3:12,13)
And by this we see the real reason why people fail to believe God's
promises. They fail because of sin. For if a man refuses the warnings of
God, and refuses the truth of God that reveals God's will for daily life,
then how can he believe the promises of good things to come for those who
obey? Sin is the deadly enemy of faith. And faith in God is the deadly
enemy
of sin.
Scripture has more to say about these things:
In the Gospel of John: "For God did not send His Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who
believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son
of
God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For
everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light,
lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the
light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in
God."
(John 3:17-21)
And again, in Galatians, the Bible says to the believer: Live by the
Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the
flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is
opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you
from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not
subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication,
impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy,
anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and
things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do
such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit
of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such
things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh
with
its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided
by
the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-25)
Mark those, then, who do not and who cannot believe what God says in the
Bible. For we know that the Scriptures are inspired by God's own Spirit,
just as He says in 2 Timothy 3:16,17. And if the Bible is given to us by
God, then all who reject it or who refuse to submit to the rule of God
only
show who and what they really are.
As the Scripture says:
"Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is
antichrist
who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have
the
Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Therefore
let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you
heard
from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in
the
Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us - eternal life.
These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive
you."
(1 John 2:22-26)
But for all who believe the Good News of Jesus Christ, we rejoice in His
resurrection from the dead, and in all the promises of God. Amen.
Christian Believers
You can also find more helpful information at our website
(www.thegospelwitness.com). But the greatest source of help will be the
Bible, which is God's own Word. Other Christians are also a big source of
help. When you visit with people who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ,
they can share with you, pray with you and help you find the information
you
need.
Where can you find such people? One good place is the local church.
Christians often meet for wor****p, prayer and group study. Find a church
that believes the Bible, and you will find people who know the Lord. Ask
God to help you find real Christian believers to meet with.
Trust in Jesus today and follow Him with all that is in you. His eternal
and
perfect light will push out the powers of darkness - enabling you to have
a
life that is truly filled of life and light and truth.
Jim
free Bible software downloads: www.onlinebible.net
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free 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, or 2012 calendar download:
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Christian encouragement: www.thegospelwitness.com
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