Jesus Gives Us a Promise; Satan Wants a Contract
The works of Satan often times look like the real deal when it comes to believing in God, but it is a lie, a contract. Let us go to the Word of God and see what I am talking about:
Isaiah 28:7-22 – But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. 8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. 9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: 11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. 12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. 13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. 14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. 20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. 21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. 22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
This passage of Scripture refers to the northern kingdom of Israel making an alliance with Egypt to fight against Assyria instead of relying on God as their source of strength and hope. Thus the phrase, “We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement,” speaks out against the religious leaders of the time. These leaders drank wine to the point of being drunk and sought their own will and interpretation of God’s Word, which mislead the people and subjected them back into bondage while leading them to believe that they were actually obeying God’s Word. The “Covenant with Death” or a “Contract with Satan” is an agreement for life on this side of Heaven.
Reading the passage above and bringing it to the time we live in is like opening today’s newspaper. When you understand God’s Word, you’ll understand how Satan works in the church and in the lives of those that are seeking Him. If Satan can add works to the finished work of Christ on the Cross, then all you have is a contract and not a promise! Have you ever read contracts from companies like Verizon and Direct TV? They can change the agreement to whatever they want and you can’t change a thing. Yet Isaiah tells us that the coming of our Lord will disannul man’s agreement with death and Hell: “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”
All you have to do is read Bill Wilson’s words, the founding Father of Alcoholics Anonymous, on how he had taken the precepts and principles of Scripture and used them to form the Twelve steps to live by, in order to be free from the bondage of alcohol and, later, all the other myriad forms of addictions. The church’s foundation has slowly been chipped away to the point where Jesus is not the only source of total freedom from addictions. Many churches have outright accepted AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) like Chip Ingram and Andy Stanley—men I believe are Christian based on what I have heard them say on what it takes to go to Heaven!
Other programs have taken a more indirect approach. The local members of AA were trying to get into the Florence Baptist Temple, the church I am a member of. I attended those programs, only to be stopped once I exposed them to Bill Monroe my pastor. But there was still a need to help those with addictions in our church. Apparently, God’s method was not reaching the masses as it should. God’s message of repentance and be saved was just not enough. So along comes the founder of RU (Reformers Unanimous), Steve Carrington and his 10 principles to live by! Again, Satan’s contract or covenant with death: 10 Principles, 12 Steps are better than God’s way of repent and be saved!
Satan asks us to do it his way: Bow down and worship him and he will give us the world, which is simply recovery from a person’s addiction, whatever that may be! A contract!
Matthew 4:8-11 – Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Jesus offers us a promise:
Revelation 3:20 – Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Something has to happen at the moment of salvation when Jesus takes up residence inside of him. Only then can he know he is alive in Christ and that Jesus is in him. When I speak of Jesus, I speak of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit for the Three are one, and we are made one with them.
John 14:5-20 – Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
With Satan, you must do it his way to be free from the bondage of addictions, and as long as you do it his way, 12 Steps or 10 Principles, you’ll be free from your addiction and be in recovery. But once you stop, you will find yourself back in bondage, even worse, until you are back into the program!
With Jesus, we have life more abundant, because we do not want to do those things that displease the Lord, and He empowers us to overcome our sin. It does not mean we will not ever sin again, but if we walk with Him each day in studying His Word and praying, He walks with us. Our sin is what breaks our fellowship with Him. But once we are saved, it is for eternity! For He keeps His promise!
He did not promise it would be easy! He promised He will be with me!
Deuteronomy 31:6 – Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Hebrews 13:5 – Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
When I pray, I try to remind Jesus of His promises, because He can’t break them. I also try to remember there are conditions to those promises, such as I need to keep His commandments and statutes:
Deuteronomy 5:6-10 – I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
John 14:15-17 – If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for hedwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 15:9-17 – As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, got his 12 steps from Christian principles we should live by, which are only possible to do if Jesus is in us because we do them to show our love of Him for what He did for us at Salvation, but Bill Wilson and Satan uses the steps to remove guilt and gives sobriety as long as we work the steps, without Jesus, thus his contract to the world.
I have a dear friend and brother in Christ that had an opportunity to read this book, and he made some keen observations. On one hand, he could not be more right in observing that I have a program myself, and on the other hand, he could not be more wrong in believing that I do not have a name for it, but first I will give you his observations:
This is creating some level of confusion for me. You state that all a person needs to do to be free of any addiction is to repent and be saved. That anything else, any other step is more a work of the Devil. But here, you have added at least two steps (steps that can be broken down into more steps to aid in walking with Him and studying His Word) or 2 principles to being free of addictions.
You imply that once you stop following these last two principles, you will fall back into sin, and for an addict, perhaps back into an addiction. If you create a “program” around these 4 steps, you have:
1. Repent
2. Get Saved
3. Study His Word
4. Pray
You’d have a 4 step or 4 principal program. You seem to be somewhat contradictive in this. You claim that programs that help a person get away from addictions are of the Devil, but in essence, you’ve offered your own program to do the same thing. You just don’t call it a program or given it a name.
To be honest, I do not really see the difference. I do not know about AA (which to me has never been Christian), but other Christian programs that emphasize salvation, repentance, and walking with God seem no different than what you offer here. They too are trying to point people to Christ and have them walk in His Spirit.
In fact, your entire book can be labeled a “program” if someone wanted to. Each chapter represents a step that you feel is essential to a Christian’s walk with God. If someone fails to follow these principles that you list in your book, you fear they will fall back into sin, delusion, false doctrine, or possibly even addiction.
Again, I don’t see the difference. I say this because your attacks against what you feel is wrong with some addiction programs may be seen as hypocritical in light of what you’ve written in this book. There is a huge opening here for someone to attack you and thus trivialize or even marginalize your beliefs because of it.
One could easily argue that the Bible itself has many steps or principles for living a victorious Christian life beyond salvation. For example, the Bible talks of faith, humility, love, doing God’s will, becoming disciples, carrying your cross, being separated from the world, prayer life, bearing fruit, and many, many more things the Christian should do to continue growing in grace and maturity. If a program patterns itself after some of these other biblical principles, how is that any different than what you are doing in your book?
Just be careful. There are many parallels someone could draw from what you are doing to what some of these other Christian addiction programs are doing.
Now, the name of my program, which really is not my program, is called the Gospel or the Good News that Jesus died, so we don’t have to. Because when man understands sin, death, and hell, they will understand the C.R.O.S.S. and exactly what Jesus did there for them. Now I cannot save anyone, but I know Him who can and when a man is set free from sin, he is free indeed and does not stay in bondage to it. This is unlike 12 steps and 10 Principle, programs where you cannot leave and must live every day in recovery, one is actually Delivered and begins a Life walking with Jesus. Salvation is where you are delivered and empowered by God who is in you. There are two processes: first salvation, repent and be saved, and then sanctification. You do not get sanctified first and then be saved. Jesus said:
John 5:23-24 – That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
I guess if one does not understand Alcoholics Anonymous and how the church has adapted its philosophies to fix its problems with sin and continues to call them addictions and do not get back to doing it God’s way with the Gospel, there will never be a revival in the church.
My dear friend, the law was not given to us to save us, even though not killing, and not committing adultery are good laws, but when we are truly saved, He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world, and Jesus empowers us over the flesh, Satan, and the world.
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