Christus Victor
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 BSB
Beloved! We are one day deeper into THE Great Awakening and things are changing rapidly. The dark is getting darker, and I take no pleasure in saying that, BUT… the light is burning ever more brighter because we, you and I, Beloved, carry that divine light of our Father’s creative power and love. We are the image bearers of the Genesis creation and the Christ bearers of the New Creation.
There has been so many dark occurrences lately that it is hard to keep the proper focus. From the FBI currently on a Stasi warpath of terrorizing and persecuting the, “enemies of the state,” otherwise-know-as, “conservative Christians and Patriots.” To the open grooming and physical/mental assaults on our children in public schools and even in churches now. If you did not hear, there have been multiple churches now in America who have PROUDLY hosted trans drag-queen shows for children. In the very place where God intends for His truth and light to shine, especially for the children who should be protected and defended. THERE of all places.
In the above verse, the word, “expressly,” means explicitly or clearly.
Here is the definition for explicitly: in a clear and detailed manner, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.
One of the reasons why I know that God is speaking loudly to this generation is because the Spirit is specifically uncovering, revealing the despotic, tyrannical, wicked, and lawless behaviors and attitudes of our culture and society. Many of the filthy, evil activities and intentions of these reprobate people and their subordinate institutions have been going on for decades if not longer. However, we are honored by the Spirit of God to have them revealed to our generation for the purpose of being heroes to the generations to come by bringing holy devastation to those cesspools of darkness.
Christus Victor (Christ is the victorious conqueror)!
Please notice in the scripture above the delineation of how that process of the explicit display of the Spirit happens for us to properly recognize it. Allow me to annotate it here quickly:
- Their consciences are, “seared with a hot iron.” The phrase, “seared with a hot iron,” was translated from one Greek word, “KAUTERIAZO.” This word literally means, “to brand (‘cauterize’), i.e. (by implication) to render un-sensitive” (Strong’s Concordance). This is describing the procedure of taking a hot iron and touching it to flesh to seal a wound and stop bleeding. In the process, the nerves are destroyed and all feeling is lost. This is a necessary first step because our conscience would scream at a healthy person about gender dysphoria as a blatant mental illness… or sexually grooming kindergartners as vile… or mandating a, “mark of the beast,” type activity with medical tyranny… or fomenting racism and hatred through CRT and SEL… or robbing hardworking people of their assets through inflation, endless nonsensical wars, and big government waste/corruption… or promoting murder by parents through redefining the term, “abortion.” The list is endless; the purpose is precise: to normalize evil in order to deaden the conscience of mankind. It has worked well.
- The rise of the, “influence by the hypocrisy of liars.” Look around our society and one thing that should stand out is the massive popularity of super-fake humanoids. It is like swimming in an ocean of plastic Lego people. It seems to be a daily thing now to see raging hypocrisy, on video and in direct actions, of these Frankenstein monsters created in the labs of socialist education institutions, the hypnotizing of glowing screens, and the unrestrained narcissism propagated as, “celebrating,” people. With every breath, they breathe out blatant lies of enormous proportion without any accountability or retribution, often to get elected to lie for money. And when someone dares to challenge their false narrative (like your pastor), they are immediately cancelled or publicly punished for daring to speak the truth. Remember… this is what every prophet, disciple, and Jesus Himself experienced, also.
- The, “teachings of demons,” have now been promoted to mainstream and prime-time. Oppression and depression are now badges of honor that people wear like an Olympic medal. The most devastatingly broken among us are now exalted as the professors of societal success. People in bondage to sin, addictions, depravity, mammon, sexual deviancy, and ignorance have the biggest platforms and the loudest microphones to spew the exact words they hear whispered in their ears by the very demons that are enslaving them. They sneer at biblical values and godly morality, while living in an open hell of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- They train themselves and others to, “follow deceitful spirits.” Reminder that the word, “spirit,” can also mean, “attitude, disposition, personal philosophy, the vital principle by which the body is animated.” This is an explosive reality in our time much more than some times past. These woes of ungodliness are being directly instructed as proper paths to follow. To have THE Spirit of God, THE Spirit of truth, THE Spirit of holiness exemplified by the person of Jesus is offensive and just plain wrong by today’s standards. This is amplified by the self-centeredness that our world is baptized in. Deception specifically targets the weaknesses in a person’s character that can justify them to be increasingly more selfish. Read that again, please.
- The end being to, “abandon the faith.” I do not believe this to mean a rejection of salvation through the atonement of Jesus making one to choose hell. I think it is more subtle and insidious than that. First, you abandon faith in your church… then, abandon faith in your marriage… then, abandon faith in some scriptures… then, abandon faith in yourself… then, abandon faith in God’s love or salvation or mercy or justice or promises. It is a slow fade that starts around the edges before it can touch the core of our values. Notice that it is, “abandon,” as the end result. Not flatly reject, not fight against, not ignore, but abandon. If one is to abandon a house, first, it has to get into a state of disrepair, then, behind on the mortgage, then, the property taxes are overdue, then, the utilities are shut off, then, it becomes unlivable and the family just walks away in humiliating defeat. Many folks today are just walking away from faith because of the sufferings inflicted by our woke culture.
Ahhhh! So much yuck… What do we do?
Look at verse six: By pointing out these things to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of faith and sound instruction that you have followed.
The solution to this culture, that is counter-culture to the Kingdom, is to revitalize the Kingdom-culture in our personal environments. The divine solution to bad philosophy, bad teachings of demons, liars, and the rest is TRUTH through the Word… specifically the, “words of faith and sound instruction.” This is what we do Beloved! Through our services, koinonia, Grace Groups, fellowship, discipleship, and the plethora of other Kingdom activities we all participate in, we become a force pushing back the dark culture and replacing it with light.
Now, look at the direct instruction of the Spirit who is speaking, “expressly,” in verses ten and eleven:
To this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things.
This is why we should be (and I am) so resolved in proclaiming the lies of darkness, BUT ALSO the salvation available in the light. Both of them have value if done with proper tension and balance. I am standing on my soap-box, commanding and teaching these things! Can y’all hear me?
If you can hear what the spirit is explicitly saying, then join us on this narrow road with just the beautiful and brave remnant as company. Heroes… mount up!
I love you greatly!
Steve
P.S. – Do not forget to tune into Expedition 44 and see the discussion on Nationalism between Doc. Ryan, Matt and me. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/F_zjffWpiGM
