That is the problem. It is not really what is true that is important. It is what you and others like you want to believe. You say "I have no idea." You ought to think about that and get an idea. Why would you, as a follower of Jesus, want to make someone worse off?Godzchild said:Yes that's the one!
I have no idea, but I cannot subscribe the notion that God's children can be touched by the wicked one.
No because it must agree with all the other parts of the Bible.Oh come on! Why? Because you don't want it to?
I never said anything about "possess." That is your word. The whole point is that this verse indicates that the devil can touch us.No because as I said before, the devil can influence and tempt us but he cannot possess us. So both scriptures are correct.
Of course I realize that, but the "Lord's Prayer" is for all time and all people. People say the Lord's Prayer every day all around the world. Why would one phrase only apply to before the coming of the Holy Spirit and not the rest of it? Jesus did not say, "Oh, after the Holy Spirit comes, you should leave out that part about the evil one, because you won't need it then." That is very shoddy biblical exegesis. There is no verse that says that the Holy Spirit automatically makes us invulnerable to the enemy.Do you realise that that was before the HOly Spirit was poured out?
Of course I understand the power and authority we have over demons. I have cast thousands of them out of people (all Christians, by the way). How many demons have you cast out?As above. Do you realise the power and authority we have over Demons? If, all we must do is submit to God and the enemy will flee then that kind makes the enemy mighty powerless dont you think? I think people Give the devil more credit than he's worth!
It does not say that "all we must do is submit to God and the enemy will flee." It says submit to God (which means obey Him) and resist the devil. Resist (Grk: anthistemi) means to fight back, go on the counter-attack. It does not mean just ignore him.
Of course I do. That was my whole point. Read what I said again--the whole thing. Read the actual words, not what you think I said.Yes and you don't think that both those scriptures can harmonise?
But the verse (the one you referred to) says we are to keep ourselves. That is the point of the verse. We are to be on our guard. That's what "keep" means. The fact that we fail and sin is the whole problem.We shouldn't be keeping ourselves anyway - that's why we sin. If we keep ourselves, we fail and we sin.
There is no biblical reason to believe that. That is wishful thinking.Look I'm not disputing the fact that satan can have influence over the flesh and tempt and deceive us. What I'm saying is that Satan cannot possess or dwell inside a believer. He cannot ATTACH himself - if you will.
Gal 5:1 Christ has set us free so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. So keep on standing firm in it, and stop attaching yourselves to the yoke of slavery again. (ISV--emphasis mine)
We have to actively work on being and staying free. It is not automatic.
I am talking about Satan because so many, like you, are ignoring him. In the meantime, the churches are filled with people who are horribly bound and are not free because they don't know how to be free, and no one is telling them.We are in the world but we are not of the world.
Quite frankly, I appreciate what you're saying but you don't understand the dangers and the implications of what you're saying. Becaus when you start preaching about how powerful Satan is and how we must be careful of him etc etc - you put undue power and credit onto him that doesn't belong there. People who are weak in faith need to know who they are in Christ - not who satan is! People who are weak in faith need for you to tell them "Greater is he that's living in me than he that is in the world". Take note how often the bible warns us of the devil himself - not very often!! You will notice that God puts more emphasis on His own authority to protect than he does on the Devil. Why give the Devil more credit than he deserves?
I am fully aware of how much more powerful God is than the devil. I am more aware of that than you are. Only those who have faced the demonic hosts head on and have won victory, as I have done multitudes of times, can really have any idea of just how wonderful and powerful the name of Jesus Christ is.
You are living in a make-believe Pollyanna world. Open your eyes. Wake up and smell the coffee!
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