Carol Swenson
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Be Wise as Serpents - Harmless as Doves
One of the first rules of true spiritual warfare is to know where you can tread in this life and where you cannot. God, in His word, very clearly and very plainly sets out the boundary lines of where we can go in this life and where we cannot go.
Since we have opened up this website, we have received many interesting emails from people all around the world. One of the things that has really come to our attention is the hunger that many people are having for knowledge in the area of spiritual warfare.
We have received quite a few emails from people who have unknowingly treaded into very dangerous territory - all because they were never taught that some of these areas were enemy territory by some of the churches they were raised up in.
One of the areas people have fallen victim to is some of the areas having to do with the Occult and New Age Movement. Many of the verses having to do with the Occult are back in the Old Testament. If you have not read much of the Bible, you will have very little knowledge on this subject unless the church you belong to is specifically teaching you about some of these things.
Some of the people we have heard from have been caught in such things as getting involved with mediums, fortunetellers, psychics, hypnotism, cults and other false religious beliefs. Many of them found the truth later on - but for some of them, there were some serious consequences that occurred as a result of falling into some of these dangerous dark side areas.
One girl wrote us, saying that if she had only known that what she was treading into was forbidden territory by God from His Word, that she would have never crossed over into this area to begin with.
Many of the churches are afraid to talk about some of these topics for fear of giving the devil his due. They are afraid if they start talking and teaching about some of these things, that too much attention will be given to the devil and people will start to get out of balance with all of it. As a result, they have taken one end of an extreme position on all of this, and have decided to talk very rarely, if at all, on these kinds of topics. As a result, some of their flock have fallen into some very dangerous dark side waters and have been severely hurt or wounded.
Some pastors have also taken too much for granted. They think their flock should already know that some of these areas are dangerous to begin with. As a result, they very seldom ever teach on any of these topics - not realizing that there are many who do not have the basic knowledge on these topics or a full understanding of why these areas are so dangerous to begin with.
The Bible says that God's people will perish and go into captivity for having lack of knowledge - and not teaching the flock the basics of true spiritual warfare and areas where they should not be going into is a perfect example of all of this.
In this article, I will give you several key basic verses pointing out some of the areas that God does not want any of us treading into. As you will see in the very first Scripture verse I will list, the Bible is telling us that we are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
To be wise as a serpent means to have basic and fundamental knowledge of what areas you can go into and what areas you cannot go into - and to always be on your guard against the snares, traps, and deceptions that the dark side will try and throw at you in order to try and knock you off course, or try to enslave you into a dark area or into a dark side group of people.
Believe it or not, there are some Christians who have fallen into some very dangerous cults who are experts in the area of brainwashing and mind control. Others have fallen into areas of the occult such as witchcraft and consulting mediums for séances trying to contact their dear departed loved ones. Witchcraft is continuing to grow in popularity, especially among our young teenage girls.
Some of these sheep are being led right into a slaughter - all because their parents and their churches did not give them the basic and fundamental knowledge from God's Word on some of these issues as they were growing up. As a result, a very weak spiritual foundation was laid causing many of them to become very easy targets and prey for the dark side.
To try and ignore Satan and the areas in which he likes to operate in this life is spiritual suicide. People need to be taught the basics on spiritual warfare so they can at least have a full and complete understanding of all of it and exactly why these areas are so dangerous to begin with.
Then if they do decide to cross over and experiment with some of these dark side areas - they won't be able to plead ignorance as an excuse on their day of judgment with the Lord. At least they will have been fully warned by the Lord Himself as to what His opinion really is on some of these areas, and exactly why He doesn't want them crossing over into some of these areas to begin with.
These verses are major basic foundational verses that should be taught to each and every Christian as they are being brought up in the ways and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Not to teach some of these basic principles is withholding very valuable and needed knowledge from the flock - especially in the day and age in which we now live in with the dark side growing stronger and an antichrist spirit starting to envelope the entire world.
1. Be Wise as Serpents - Harmless as Doves
These first three verses perfectly set the stage in this area of spiritual warfare. The first two verses are from Jesus Himself. He says that we are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves because He is sending us out as sheeps and lambs in the midst of wolves. The third verse comes from 1 Peter where it says that we are to be sober and vigilant because our adversary, the devil, walks about this earth seeking who he is going to try and devour next.
Put all three of these verses together, and God is telling all of us loud and clear that we have to be wise, be smart, be sober, be vigilant and be on guard against Satan, his horde of demonic spirits, and all of the bad and evil people who are living this life on the dark side.
As I've said numerous times in my other articles, whether we like it or not - we have all been born into a cursed and fallen world as a result of what happened in the story of Adam and Eve - and we are all stuck with having to deal with the reality of a dark side by way of demonic spirits and other people who are living this life out of the dark desires of their flesh.
Burn these first three verses into your memory banks and do not ever forget the solemn warning that our Lord is giving to us about the dark side of this life.
1. "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16)
2. "Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves." (Luke 10:3)
3. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)
Now the rest of the verses I will give you in this article, along with some of the commentary off of these verses, will give you some of the specific things and areas that you will need to avoid in this life.
2. Beware of Dogs and Evil Workers
These next four verses are really driving home the point that we are to avoid and stay way from people that are considered to be dogs, evil workers and unbelievers. When the Bible uses the words "dogs" and "evil workers," you know it is referring to the people who are living this life out on the darker side of things.
These types of people are the ones who are selling drugs to your kids in school, forming and running out the different types of hate groups, trying to work themselves into your families so they can gain your trust to either fleece you out of all your hard earned money or to try and set things up where they can molest your kids.
Many of the pedophiles are masters at manipulation and deception and gaining the trust of you and your child so they can set things up to do their thing. If more parents would have been more alert, more vigilant, more sensitive to the promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit - many of these pedophiles could have been stopped dead in their tracks before they even got close enough to get to your child.
The words "evil workers" are referring to those who are working evil - to those who are doing bad and evil things to whoever they can get away in doing it with. These people are your rapists, your scammers, your criminals, your pedophiles and your verbal and physical abusers. Many of these types of people are apples that have gone seriously bad and they have embarked on a path of violence, corruption and total self-destruction with the kinds of acts they are committing.
As bad as these people obviously are, it is quite amazing how many people, including some Christians, will get sucked into them and their evil way of living in this life. The verbal and/or physical abusers are also masters at luring women into their web - and then once they have them, they will then start all of their verbal and/or physical abuse on them. The same goes for all of the criminal scammers and swindlers. Everyday someone is getting cheated or fleeced right out of a lot of their hard earned money because people are not using good common sense to check out who they are dealing with.
The Bible is giving all of us fair warning in the way these verses are worded in that these types of people will always be with us in this life until Jesus comes back to set up His millennium kingdom. Until Jesus comes back, and all of these types of people are thrown into hell for the length of the millennium kingdom - we are all going to have to keep our radars up and watch out for these types of people - not only for ourselves, but also for our friends and other family members.
These next 4 verses should also be burned into your memory banks - and always be sensitive to any leadings, promptings or warnings that the Holy Spirit may want to give you with the different people that will come into your life.
1. "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!" (Philippians 3:2)
2. "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of God." (2 Corinthians 6:14)
3. "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light ... And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light." (Ephesians 5:8)
4. "The righteous should chose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray." (Proverbs 12:26)
All four of these verses from the Lord are telling everyone to draw their battle lines in the sand - and have nothing to do with the bad apples and unbelievers of this world.
The last verse sums everything up very nicely when it says that we should choose our friends very carefully in this life - and that if we don't, and we get hooked up with the wrong people or the wrong crowd - that these wicked people can lead us astray from our God, from our family, and from our real friends in this life.
Our world is littered with the casualties of people who have got caught up with the dogs and evil workers of this life. And sadly, many of these people who have been hurt or killed by these types of people have also been Christians. This is why the very first verse is starting out with the word "beware."
The word "beware" is a very intense word being used by the Lord. He is telling all of us, loud and clear, that we are to be sober, that we are to be vigilant, and that we should always be on our guard and lookout for these types of people who will try and work and seduce themselves into our lives. Many Christians are getting torpedoed in this life as a result of not following the basics of what these four verses are telling us to do.
3. Do Not Get Carried Away With Strange Doctrines
The very first verse I will list as the first of seven verses in this section is another major powerful foundational verse to burn into your memory banks. This first verse will tell us not to be carried about with various and strange doctrines.
When the Bible uses the words "various and strange doctrines," I believe this is an all inclusive type word - and that it will cover everything from false religions, cults, the occult to all of the other various and weird man-made doctrines that are out there.
As I said at the top of this article, many Christians have fallen prey to the false doctrines of many of the other false religions of this world such as Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism. Others have fallen victim to many of the different occult arts such as witchcraft, satanism, mediums and spiritists, fortunetellers and psychics.
Then you have others who have fallen into some of the weird cults who will brainwash them and seek total control of them and everything in their lives like with what you have with the Moonies and Hare Krishnas. Then others have fallen into some of the newer Hollywood crazes such as Scientology and the Kabbalah.
Jesus says that He, and He alone, is the way and the truth in this life. Any doctrine that does not preach His truth and His way of living in this life cannot be accepted and followed by Christians.
Many of these other false doctrines will try and trick you into thinking and believing that you are a god yourself, and that you have the ability and potential to realize and attain this state of godness in this lifetime. However, our Bible tells us that we are all sinners and that every single one of us has fallen way short of the glory of our God. This means that no one will ever become the fourth person of the Holy Trinity - either in this life or the next life to come.
However, some of these other false doctrines, especially those of the New Age Movement, will try and tell you otherwise. They will try and tell you that you are not a sinner and that you do not need a Savior because you have the ability and potential within your own being to become a god yourself.
Bottom line - each Christian needs to know his Bible and the basics of who they really are in Christ. If each Christian had a firm and solid grasp of the Bible and who they really are in Christ - then more Christians would not be so easily led right out of their faith and right off the end of some of these cliffs into some of these other false belief systems.
This is why the first verse I will list below uses the words that we are not to be carried away with other strange doctrines. Many Christians are following right long with whatever false doctrine that may blow their way - without stopping to examine and analyze exactly what they are walking into.
You have the knowledge from the Word and the help from the Holy Spirit on the inside of you to help you sort through all of this - and to make sure you don't chase and follow after other false doctrines that the Lord would not want you to follow in this life.
Here are 7 very good verses warning all of us not to be duped into following some of these false doctrines and belief systems.
1. "Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines." (Hebrews 13:9)
2. "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds." (2 John 1:10)
3. "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)
4. "For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect." (Matthew 24:24)
5. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:15)
6. "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." (Colossians 2:8)
7. "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them." (Ephesians 5:6)
Again, notice some of the intense wording God is using in some of these verses when He is telling us not to be partakers with these kinds of people, and that we are not to even let them step foot into our houses. Once again, the Lord is asking us to draw a major battle line in the sand. He is telling all of us to stay on our side of the fence and that we are not to have fellowship or hang out with these kinds of people, groups or beliefs.
This is not to say that we can't witness to them to try and get them saved as the Holy Spirit will lead - but we still have to stay on our side of the fence until we can get them saved and brought out and delivered from the bondage they have been in all of this time. You can witness to someone who may be living in a false cult - but that doesn't mean you have to be going to their meetings, to their churches or to the actual organizations they may belong to.
Notice in the verse from 1 Timothy 4:1 that it says that the Holy Spirit is giving us fair warning that in the latter days there will be some Christians who will be falling into some of these false doctrines and beliefs, and that they will literally be falling away from their faith in the Lord Himself. The verse from Matthew 24:24 says that the signs and wonders coming in from some of these false prophets and false christs will be so good, that even some of the elect are going to be fooled and duped.
All of this is enemy territory - and any believer who starts to follow after any of these other false doctrines and belief systems will not only be opening up the door to demonic activity to start coming into their lives - but they will also incur the wrath of God Almighty Himself on them and their lives. The very last verse specifically says that the "sons of disobedience" will have the wrath of God come upon them if they start to partake in any of these kinds of activities.
Once again, God the Father could not make things any more clear than by the way that He has worded all of the above Scripture verses.
More at:
http://www.bible-knowledge.com/wise-as-serpents.html
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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