Be Sober, Be Vigilant, Abiding in the Spirit of Adoption

Mr. M

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1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

I have always believed that the enemy knows us because the seal
we speak of is of God and is God.

2 Corinthians 1:
21
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God,
22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

I am hesitant to mention this because I am skeptical of survey results, but a supposedly
significant percentage of Americans do not believe Satan is real, but just an "avatar" for
evil. I do not believe Satan places any priority on people who do not believe he exists.
There are plenty of other malignant spirits to prey upon those whose faith is in science,
medicine, etc....worldly wisdom, many who remain consistent in church attendance and
some
level of involvement, with an wide array of insincere motives.
Peter has stated "your adversary, the devil".
Surely the devil is able to recognize the presence of God and prioritizes assemblies that
are speaking the Word of Victory over him in the name of Jesus.


2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty.

Religion has many devices of man, empowered by thrones, principalities and powers of
darkness, which have little freedom. This is what Paul wrote:

Romans 8:
14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the
Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Be Sober, Be Vigilant: Liberty as a theme in Galatians
Galatians
2:4
And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy
out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be
entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity
for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Here is an idea, Satan can sniff out a true believer, for he knows the Lord's fragrance.
2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ,
and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

The idea of liberty, and the spirit of adoption that grants that liberty, comes across to me
as something tangible, that we can recognize in others, and in vigilance remain abiding
in the presence of that Spirit, lest we fall back into bondage, to be devoured.

James 1:
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural
face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful
hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives
his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.

An important distinction which must be made is that religion can be useless, particularly
at the judgment.

James 2:
12
So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.

If I could indulge you all a little longer, to return to Peter to close.
1 Peter 2:
15
For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance
of foolish men—
16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bond servants of God.

All blessings of Christ
 
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