Doctrine of Demons Christians believe in?

Mark Quayle said:

The obvious implication from, "...do not let sin reign in your mortal body...", and, "Make every effort...to be holy...", and, "consider yourself dead to sin", and any exhortation from a NT writer to believers to be obedient, pure, dedicated, etc, is the same thing spoken outright by John:

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The "old man" must be continually put to death.

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Yes, and sufficiently to satisfy God, apparently, since gross sins as outlined in Gal 5, for example, will keep us from heaven, from Him, while we'll nonetheless still struggle against sin, and sometimes fail. So John also says:
"Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." 1 John 3:7-9

We need to do the best we can with all we've been given, seeking perfection with God's grace while knowing that it isn't likely to be completed until the next life. We must find that balance, as the church has outlined it in the past, between antinomianism -or thinking that obedience/righteousness is unnecessary with the new covenant- and the notion that only perfect sinlessness should satisfy God. We must be on that road to holiness-and expect that He'll put the finishing touches on us in the next life, giving us a heart finally pure enough to be able to "see" Him.

Mark Quayle said:

WHAT are you referring to that is obviously evil? The OP? Or what the OP talked about? Or some other post? I can't tell to what you are responding.

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Christian philosophy

One simple Scripture comes to mind
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

ΙΑΚΩΒΟΥ 2:17-20​

οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις, ἐὰν μὴ ἔργα ἔχῃ, νεκρά ἐστι καθ᾽ ἑαυτήν. 18ἀλλ᾿ ἐρεῖ τις· σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω· δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου ἐκ τῶν ἔργων σου, κἀγὼ δείξω σοι ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν μου. 19σὺ πιστεύεις ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς εἷς ἐστι· καλῶς ποιεῖς· καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια πιστεύουσι καὶ φρίσσουσι. 20 θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν;

That alone should pretty much settle it.

But if one needs more consider the following:

Matthew 7:15-20


Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ​

Προσέχετε δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν, οἵτινες ἔρχονται πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐν ἐνδύμασι προβάτων, ἔσωθεν δέ εἰσι λύκοι ἅρπαγες. 16 ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιγνώσεσθε αὐτούς. μήτι συλλέγουσιν ἀπὸ ἀκανθῶν σταφυλὴν ἢ ἀπὸ τριβόλων σῦκα; 17 οὕτω πᾶν δένδρον ἀγαθὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς ποιεῖ, τὸ δὲ σαπρὸν δένδρον καρποὺς πονηροὺς ποιεῖ. 18 οὐ δύναται δένδρον ἀγαθὸν καρποὺς πονηροὺς ποιεῖν, οὐδὲ δένδρον σαπρὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς ποιεῖν. 19 πᾶν οὖν δένδρον μὴ ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλὸν ἐκκόπτεται καὶ εἰς πῦρ βάλλεται. 20 ἄρα γε ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιγνώσεσθε αὐτούς.

Mark Quayle said:
WHAT are you referring to that is obviously evil? The OP? Or what the OP talked about? Or some other post? I can't tell to what you are responding.

JohnW87 said:

Christian philosophy

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Is that a categorical statement? Is all Christian philosophy evil?

Mark Quayle said:

Who honestly teaches that? I have heard some say that dependence on works for salvation is false, and some say the opposite, and some who propose some sort of combination, but I don't know of anyone who says if you do works for God you are reprobate.

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Hello Mark! Perhaps from the circles I used to move in (Charismatic-Home), I have encountered some folks who throw the label 'religious' or 'pharisee' at some even Biblical things they don't agree with. By implication their 'non-religious' but perhaps subjective way is the way. God Bless You

timewerx said:

Which can be reduced to this phrase: "In order to be Saved, then you must work for the Devil".

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I don't believe we are saved by works but people who are saved do works. There are two extremes to be avoided.

Ephesians 2: 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

As Jesus said, by their fruit you will know them. As the Baptist said, produce fruit in keeping with repentance. God Bless

HTacianas said:

While that is in fact the belief of a good many people, it is nowhere near "the most popular / mainstream philosophy in Christianity today". You'll find that idea only among some protestant groups. The majority view within Christianity is that we enter into salvation by faith through grace, but it is our works that determine whether we remain in that salvation.

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So in other words, while Christ is our ticket, we still have to earn enough "good person points" to make it to Heaven. Let's explore the ramifications of this...

What if you had 995 points earned out of 1,000 required for Heaven and you get into a fatal car crash on your way to something that would have earned you at least five points?

How do you know if you have enough points earned? Do you receive a report card? How do you know if you are on track?

What if you came to Christ at the age of 85 and the doctor said you are living on borrowed time? How will you earn enough points in time?

And what would constitute "good works" anyway? Do you receive points for being a dependable employee at work? Or do only works of charity count?

Did the thief on the Cross somehow earn enough good person points, though he was likely a career criminal?

ZephBonkerer said:

So in other words, while Christ is our ticket, we still have to earn enough "good person points" to make it to Heaven. Let's explore the ramifications of this...

What if you had 995 points earned out of 1,000 required for Heaven and you get into a fatal car crash on your way to something that would have earned you at least five points?

How do you know if you have enough points earned? Do you receive a report card? How do you know if you are on track?

What if you came to Christ at the age of 85 and the doctor said you are living on borrowed time? How will you earn enough points in time?

And what would constitute "good works" anyway? Do you receive points for being a dependable employee at work? Or do only works of charity count?

Did the thief on the Cross somehow earn enough good person points, though he was likely a career criminal?

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The thief on the cross died sinless. Just as if a person who has just been baptized in water suddenly died he would die sinless.

As to the other:

Rom 11:22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

timewerx said:

This is probably the most popular / mainstream philosophy in Christianity today (see below)

However if you put this philosophy side-by-side with another philosophy that agrees with it, it begins to stand out in a bad way like spilling black ink in white dress.

Here it is:

After you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior >>

If you do works for God, you will be condemned to hell because it means you have not been truly saved yet and you still live in the dark, unable to see God's grace.

On the other hand, if you continue working for the devil (the world) but not God, you will go to heaven because it means you depend entirely on God's grace.


A grave example of Isaiah 5:20 and Jude 1:4?

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

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I can only come up with a lake of fire, in my bible. If you are judged and cast there you will lose your existence, your spirit will be destroyed.

HTacianas said:

The thief on the cross died sinless. Just as if a person who has just been baptized in water suddenly died he would die sinless.

As to the other:

Rom 11:22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

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The Virgin sacrifice is the ultimate sacrifice. That is why our sins have been forgiven. That is why Mary had to be a virgin to give birth to Gods only begotten Son. Everyone who believes in Jesus as our Savior and tries to honestly live their lives to treat others as they would be treated shall see Gods kingdom and populate his creation. What is his creation? The Universe. It is really BIG! Hope to see you there. Just remember, This life is not for here. The prince of the power of the air is the king here.