Spiritual Warfare

[popsthebuilder]

On 11/5/2020 at 10:37 PM, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

Yes, but you cannot let demons get a foothold however small.  I'd rather be too careful than not enough.

We are to fear no such thing. We aren't to do due to fear either. No spirit or demon can hurt you. Test you; okay, but they cannot hurt one hoping on the Lord.

[popsthebuilder]

I'm curious as to what scripture tells us to fear demons, or which scripture tells us to allow fear to dictate action.

[Speks]

I'm convinced that those who are firmly rooted and built up in Christ and established in their faith need never fear their spiritual enemy. However, it's not wise to underestimate the potential damage that can be caused by the evil forces of darkness.  

Our enemy takes the form of an angel of light. Sometimes he pretends or appears to be on the side of righteousness, claiming spiritual authenticity in the world and within the true Church. We need to recognise the devil's character and be wary of his activities in the world around us.

Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4, NKJV). We need this deliverance because “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1st John 5:19, NASB), and the devil is working in those who are disobedient (Ephesians 2:2).

Those who openly oppose Truth need to “come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will” (2nd Timothy 2:26, NASB). The god of this world works on the minds of those who do not believe to stop them seeing the truth (2nd Corinthians 4:4).

I posted about this recently after reading a few comments on this forum. In considering the works of darkness, what matters most is how effectively we wrestle against a wicked spiritual enemy whose influence causes untold harm throughout the true Church.

When we are wholly submitted to God, through faith in Christ's authority we can resist the devil and he will flee from us. He will be confronted by our spiritual awareness and will recognise the Person of Christ in us. But we should also realise that our enemy can stand in our way, or perhaps gain an advantage. Even if we are aware of his schemes, there will be times when he will hinder us: "...we wanted to come to you... and yet Satan hindered us" (1st Thessalonians 2:18). 

He can cut through our intentions and thwart our plans, so we need to be set apart (pure and sanctified), fully prepared for conflict. The spiritual forces of wickedness will do their best to disrupt good works, corrupt godliness, block spiritual progress and distort true teaching. We are constantly set against an enemy who wants to frustrate the Holy Spirit's work in and through us. The more we accomplish in Christ the greater the opposition will be. Are we prepared? (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Demonic activity can poison our attitudes and behaviour, which in turn causes "soulish" friction among true believers (consider James 3:15, 16). Paul's experience strongly suggests our spiritual enemies — working as messengers of Satan — can also cause humbling health problems (see 2nd Corinthians 12:7). It's worth considering.

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil" (Ephesians 6:11, HCSB).
 

[popsthebuilder]

12 hours ago, Speks said:

I'm convinced that those who are firmly rooted and built up in Christ and established in their faith need never fear their spiritual enemy. However, it's not wise to underestimate the potential damage that can be caused by the evil forces of darkness.  

Our enemy takes the form of an angel of light. Sometimes he pretends or appears to be on the side of righteousness, claiming spiritual authenticity in the world and within the true Church. We need to recognise the devil's character and be wary of his activities in the world around us.

Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4, NKJV). We need this deliverance because “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1st John 5:19, NASB), and the devil is working in those who are disobedient (Ephesians 2:2).

Those who openly oppose Truth need to “come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will” (2nd Timothy 2:26, NASB). The god of this world works on the minds of those who do not believe to stop them seeing the truth (2nd Corinthians 4:4).

I posted about this recently after reading a few comments on this forum. In considering the works of darkness, what matters most is how effectively we wrestle against a wicked spiritual enemy whose influence causes untold harm throughout the true Church.

When we are wholly submitted to God, through faith in Christ's authority we can resist the devil and he will flee from us. He will be confronted by our spiritual awareness and will recognise the Person of Christ in us. But we should also realise that our enemy can stand in our way, or perhaps gain an advantage. Even if we are aware of his schemes, there will be times when he will hinder us: "...we wanted to come to you... and yet Satan hindered us" (1st Thessalonians 2:18). 

He can cut through our intentions and thwart our plans, so we need to be set apart (pure and sanctified), fully prepared for conflict. The spiritual forces of wickedness will do their best to disrupt good works, corrupt godliness, block spiritual progress and distort true teaching. We are constantly set against an enemy who wants to frustrate the Holy Spirit's work in and through us. The more we accomplish in Christ the greater the opposition will be. Are we prepared? (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Demonic activity can poison our attitudes and behaviour, which in turn causes "soulish" friction among true believers (consider James 3:15, 16). Paul's experience strongly suggests our spiritual enemies — working as messengers of Satan — can also cause humbling health problems (see 2nd Corinthians 12:7). It's worth considering.

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil" (Ephesians 6:11, HCSB).
 

Yet being humbled is a good thing. 

Being aware of the schemes of the devil is not the same as being fearful or motivated by fear. And we know that all ailment does not come upon us due to sin or satan.

https://www.countryliving.com/life/inspirational-stories/g33039180/bible-verses-about-fear/#:~:text=“Fear not%2C O land%3B,LORD has done great things!"&text=“So have no fear of,that will not be known."&text="And do not fear those,soul and body in hell."

 

https://www.openbible.info/topics/fear_not

Edited December 4, 2020 by popsthebuilder

[Starise]

On 12/2/2020 at 11:19 PM, popsthebuilder said:

We are to fear no such thing. We aren't to do due to fear either. No spirit or demon can hurt you. Test you; okay, but they cannot hurt one hoping on the Lord.

Being careful is not being fearful.

[popsthebuilder]

22 hours ago, Starise said:

Being careful is not being fearful.

Yet the paranoid or fearful will generally say they are simply being careful.

Edited December 12, 2020 by popsthebuilder

[Starise]

On 12/12/2020 at 11:14 AM, popsthebuilder said:

Yet the paranoid or fearful will generally say they are simply being careful.

This may or may not be true in this case. You are inferring that someone is afraid. You don't really know the motive. Are Christians ever to do anything unprepared? Including how we deal with demons and demonic activity.

Careful is prepared. Fear won't even deal with it. I believe it was a concern for the OP er. A concern is not fear it's a concern. We are in a spiritual battle. How many soldiers go out onto the battle field unprepared? Careful means you check your preparation.

[popsthebuilder]

On 12/13/2020 at 11:38 AM, Starise said:

This may or may not be true in this case. You are inferring that someone is afraid. You don't really know the motive. Are Christians ever to do anything unprepared? Including how we deal with demons and demonic activity.

Careful is prepared. Fear won't even deal with it. I believe it was a concern for the OP er. A concern is not fear it's a concern. We are in a spiritual battle. How many soldiers go out onto the battle field unprepared? Careful means you check your preparation.

Actually the op spoke of things that go bump in the night. Quite literally the things little children are scared of. How does one "prepare" for bumps in the night?

 

No one said being vigilant was being afraid. That is your own attempt to discredit the words of another.

 

There is no room or need for fear in preparations for any sort of warfare. Cowardice and vigilance are not synonymous.

And ones motives can be known through their word and deed. Finally one need check their own motives and doctrines continually.

 

peace

Edited December 15, 2020 by popsthebuilder

[Starise]

15 minutes ago, popsthebuilder said:

Actually the op spoke of things that go bump in the night. Quite literally the things little children are scared of. How does one "prepare" for bumps in the night?

 

No one said being vigilant was being afraid. That is your own attempt to discredit the words of another.

 

There is no room or need for fear in preparations for any sort of warfare. Cowardice and vigilance are not synonymous.

And ones motives can be known through their word and deed. Finally one need check their own motives and doctrines continually.

 

peace

OK tough guy go after those demons. I'll get you hooked up. lol. 

I was attempting to balance the conversation. I hate blanket statements. You come out with both guns blaring here that people who are concerned are afraid. That's hogwash.

So yeah.....there's nothing to be concerned about at all ( sarcasm intended).

I agree with you God is not the author of either confusion or fear. Maybe fear is behind some of the people who talk about this. But to balance this a little bit, lets talk about just one spiritual entity- Angels.  Many of those who seen them in the Bible bowed down to them when approached by them. They are an awesome force. Only a few of them destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. You need a HEALTHY respect and yes, it's easy to become fearful if you really see it and this is why we need to go into anything like this with lots of prayer.  You seemed to me to be dismissive of this which is a big oversight.

[Your closest friendnt]

4 hours ago, popsthebuilder said:

Actually the op spoke of things that go bump in the night. Quite literally the things little children are scared of. How does one "prepare" for bumps in the night?

 

No one said being vigilant was being afraid. That is your own attempt to discredit the words of another.

 

There is no room or need for fear in preparations for any sort of warfare. Cowardice and vigilance are not synonymous.

And ones motives can be known through their word and deed. Finally one need check their own motives and doctrines continually.

 

peace

There is a word that has a place in this discussion. 

The word is being anxious. 

"In Anxiety"