Religious Spirits

[Tobias]

Personally, I see "religious spirits" as a function of the spirit of antichrist. Antichrist spirits attack the Church, and our belief in God. So why should we be surprised to encounter a spirit of anti-Holy Spirit?

We read in Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.


What exactly happens to all those who have encountered God, but choose not to love Him? It is a simple thing, really. To reject that still small voice inside of us that leads us away from family and tradition. It says in v21 above that they "became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

It also tells us that they found other forms of religion to replace Him! Back when this was written, the popular thing was to worship other gods. Now however, it is more vogue to worship other forms and descriptions of God besides what the Bible teaches. I do not think that fact nullifies this passage. People re-create God in the image that they want Him to be!

These "religious spirits" take over a person who has said "no" to the Spirit of God. Most often, they try to teach us to also say "no" to the Holy Spirit ourselves, and use the Bible as a weapon against our faith. They create doubt in the true Word of God, just like the serpent did with Eve in the garden. But Jesus was able to counter all of Satan's misuse of scripture by knowing God's word for himself.

Ps 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You

...Not just His written word memorized and interpreted by Man, but the spoken Word of God as well; that which God has made alive to our hearts as He communicates with us!

 

[K2K]

Certainly a religious spirit can take over a person that rejects the Lord, but even those who don't reject the Lord and are trying to follow Him still have a battle with powers and principlities. Ultimately a person seeking the voice of the Lord and trying to make Jesus Christ their Lord is going to follow the Lord, but the battle still is there. Paul wrote that he did the very things that he did not want to, but if he didn't want to do it then it was not him but sin in him. I don't think Paul was taken over, but he (like us) still have a battle with powers and principalities.


It is important to understand this. Without this understanding we will not check what we pick up with our spiritual ears. Without this understanding, it will likely be us who get decieved. Without this understanding, we are more likely to be used to decieve others.

The Galatians we an example of this. They were going back to making it about works instead of hearing with faith. This happen become there were some disturbing them. I believe the some referred to were religious spirits which try to get us to make it about works, traditions, and such, instead of hearing the Lord by faith.

Gal 1:6,7 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Gal 3:2 This is the only things I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

So we have to becareful, look at what we are doing, and make sure we are taking everything to the Lord to find out what He thinks.

I like the church the Lord has me going to. It is a very nice Charismatic church and many people hear from the Lord there. Yet we too get into works without realizing it.

The Lord was showing me that my church has made a tradition about laying hands on people when they pray for people. He reminded me of how because the people of Nazareth had so little faith, all He could do there was lay hands on a few people and heal them. And that was where He grew up.

Sadly He made a comparison with my church and Nazareth. He said He was growing up in people at my church, but He can only heal a few people there by the laying on of hands because we don't listen to Him more. (Remember faith comes from hearing) He was wanting to have healing services where a couple of hundred people would be healed, and that wasn't going to happen by the laying on of hands. It was going to have to happen like you see at a Benny Hinn service, where the Lord tells Benny that He is healings the people of this and that, and it happens.

You see, at my church we make a call for people to come forward for prayer. They come forward and those in the prayer ministry ask the person what they need, lay hands on them, and ask the Lord for help. This is all fine, but where is the hearing what the Lord has to say in all this? And how did this nice church get like this?

I've seen three religious spirits hanging out and acting like they run the place, and I think they have convinced my church to make a tradition out of the laying on of hands, thereby getting us to fail to seek the Lord voice to find out what He wants.

I don't think my church is all that much different than many others. We don't take the time to listen to the Lord and replace that with our understanding of the Bible. It's not that the laying on of hands isn't right, but it is the right things to do when the Lord tells you to do it. What if He just wants you to say, 'be healed', or explain that you are hearing Him tell you that there is someone there with this problem and He is healing them. That is how the Lord works through Benny. I think Benny listens to the Lord more than we do.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Actually, they can know a Jesus on a personal level, just not the Jesus revealed in the scriptures.

You want to tell a Mormon they don't know Jesus because He speaks to you personally, all they have to do is recount the numerous 'burnings' they've had in their bosom from the "spirit", and the personal revelations from Jesus which their 'prophets' receive on a regular basis, then you might wind up in an idiotic circular argument that your personal experiences trumph their personal experiences.

If someone wants a "Jesus" to talk to them in their head or visit them, it's not a stretch to figure there is some spirit out there that will oblige them.

The authority is not that a "Jesus" talks with someone, but that the Jesus whom we have our faith in, is indeed the one revealed in scriptures and no other, and that by hacking away at the foundation, their prophet Joseph Smith, by mentioning that the scripture reveals a prophet of God is monotheistic (Deut 15), and that the time of the prophets revelation from God ended with John (Matt 11:12, Luke 16:16, Heb 1:1-2), and not by saying "God talks to me".

A cult member might hear a "jesus" speaking, but it is actually a religious spirit posing as Jesus.

But there is a level of relationship that a true Christian can have with the Lord where the Holy Spirit within him reveals Jesus and there is a sense of His presence and closeness that goes further than just believing in the character written about in the Gospels. He has a voice and His true sheep know it, because He has a way of speaking to their hearts and they are able to recognise that the voice really does come from Jesus Himself.

Dead orthodoxy can believe in the Jesus in the Gospels but He never comes out of the written page for them, therefore their orthodoxy is dead. They don't have an "alive" relationship with Jesus. Even the demons know about the Jesus in the Gospels, but they don't have a personal relationship with Him.

 

[Leimeng]

~ Whatever one wants to call religious spirits, it seems pretty certain that this topic has gotten quite a few of them stirred up!
~ Continue to discuss amongst yourselves...

Peace,

Leimeng

Flatulo Ergo Sum ~~~

(***Insert Personal One Liner Here***)