The Gates of Evil

The Christian life is a life of absolutes and reality, not of uncertainty and unreality. Whenever the believer is spiritual, he is running toward the goal but whenever he is carnal, he is retrogressing from the goal of spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:17-19).

Spiral of reversionism:

• Negative volition toward Bible doctrine (2 Peter 3:18, 2 Tim. 2:15, 3:16-17)
• Creation of a vacuum in the soul
• Black-out of the soul – when the soul shuts down its functioning based on Bible doctrine. No recall and retention of Bible doctrine after hearing.
• Alienation from grace. Alienation is apallotrioomi meaning to be alienated or shut out from fellowship going into the opposite of grace.
• Build up of scar tissue of the soul – this the intensified process of searing the soul. Alpageo means to cease to feel becoming apathetic. It is losing the sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit and there is no hunger for the Word of God and for God.
• Frantic search for happiness. The phrase given themselves to sensuality is paradidomi in Greek which means to give over into one’s power or use. It is to give yourself to sensuality. A crazed search for something to satisfy the starving soul. The soul is needful of God’s Word but the man himself is seeking the things of the world for his fulfillment. As the search for happiness intensifies, the dissatisfaction and emptiness increases.
• Arrival at the point of implacability. Impurity of greediness (pleonexia) means insatiability, which destroy the capacity for appreciation. A believer described as a broken cistern or ruined vessel (Jeremiah 2:13). God takes no pleasure in giving pain and suffering. Man creates his own suffering and miseries.

Empowering of the believers (Zech. 4:6, 2 Cor. 12:7-10, 4:7-10): In 538 BC, the Jews started to return in Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the temple, to re-establish the Jewish worship and to fulfill God’s plan for the nation. They thought that they can accomplish their triple objective apart from the power of God. God reminded them that their only source of power comes from Him (Zech. 4:6). There are several things that the believers have to master doing:

• In spiritual growth – the ability to tap divine power in every applicable situation.
• Inside of himself – the desperate awareness of human inadequacy
• In personal life – the realization of human weakness and the desperate need for God’s grace.
• In spiritual life – the increasing ability to take hold of God’s grace in every details.

The believer in spiritual maturity – becomes a serious threat to Satan. In spiritual immaturity – is an asset to the enemy. The outworking of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer plus the metabolized Bible doctrine is the only way for us to overcome and win over own weaknesses.

A spiritually mature believer founded in the Word of God is a serious threat to Satan’s operation in the cosmic system. In standard setting, the doctrinal and grace oriented pastor is attack by carnal, reversionistic, negative volition, critical and judgmental believers who are being used by Satan. Those believers are asset to his campaign and operation against God.

2 Co 12:7-10  And so that I should not be puffed up with pride by the exceeding greatness of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger [or, angel] of Satan, so that it should be beating me with its fists [fig., treating me harshly], so that I should not be puffed up with pride.  Concerning this, three times I pleaded with the Lord that it depart from me.  And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, gladly I will rather boast in my weakness, so that the power of Christ should rest upon me.  For this reason, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in troubles, in persecutions, in distresses on behalf of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

The phrase “messenger of Satan” (aggelos of  Satan) refers to high ranking demons who were send by Satan and allowed by God to inflict severe pains upon the adult believer under the evidence testing. The pain of extreme severity is designed by God to teach the believer the maximum graciousness of God. Take note that Satan is going to buffet (to beat to a pulp) the believer without mercy. God is in charge of the human history and Satan executes his schemes under divine authority. There are five things to remember related to evidence testing:

• Evidence testing is only for the spiritual mature believer.
• Immature and carnal believers will never taste evidence testing but will suffer the pains and sorrow of self-induce miseries.

• Satan cannot go beyond the limit prescribed by God
  1. The manner, means, methods and mechanic of evidence testing are all clearly seen from divine viewpoint perspective.
  2. The duration of the suffering is under God’s discretions.
  3. The intensity of the suffering is so great but cannot go beyond the human realm.
  4. Only the Lord Jesus Christ’s humanity suffered supernaturally.
  5. Satan cannot touch the spiritual mature believer without God’s permission.
• Evidence testing is designed to teach the Church Age believer to teach the graciousness of God.
• Evidence testing is designed to promote and accelerate the believer’s momentum and advance in the plan of God.

Every generation has to choose between:

• The grace policy of God – accepting the finished work of Christ on the Cross
• The evil policy of Satan – accepting the satanic system of human good works

The issue of choice will continue all throughout the human history. Every moment of your life is a direct confrontation with your volition. Every moment prompts the individual to make choices between the grace policy of God and policy of evil of Satan. The issue is, are you under the influenced of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine or under the influenced of old sin nature and human good.

Eph 5:15-16  Therefore, be watching how carefully you* are walking about [fig., conducting yourselves], not as unwise _but_ as wise, redeeming [fig., making the best use of] the time, because the days are evil.

Evil will continue to exist and bother the believer as long as he is alive. Evil can be neutralized by maximum Bible doctrine in the soul and filling of the Holy Spirit. You cannot kill the “resident evil” but you can render it useless and inactive. Whenever the believer is residing and functioning inside the perfect plan of God, the old sin nature becomes none-operational futile. At this point, the spiritually mature believer becomes a serious threat to the operation of Satan.

2 Th 3:2  and that we shall be delivered from the perverse and wicked people, for the faith [is] not of all.

How does one keeps away from evil? By the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil. The more you have metabolized Bible doctrine in the soul, the more you will love the Lord and the more you will hate evil. The Bible doctrine in the soul results to believer’s personal love toward God, and furthermore resulting to a soul that hates evil. Naturally, the soul follows what and whoever it has decided to follow. Your daily reception, retention and recall of Bible doctrine, isolates you from evil and its subtle effects. Doctrine in the soul isolates and combats evil.

There are two things that you cannot change but both can change you:

• Bible doctrine
• Evil

The believer who seeks to change evil is changed by evil. How the Lord does protect the believers?

• God provides divine discipline for evil and blessing for positive volition for Bible doctrine.
• God terminates evil in sin unto death.
• Believers harvest self-induced miseries from evil.
• The memory of evil unbelievers is cut off (Isaiah 13:11)
• God judges evil (Psalm 34:16)

Pro 1:23  "Turn to me when I warn you. I will generously pour out my spirit for you. I will make my words known to you.

The Lord Jesus Christ controls human history in three ways:

• Directly – based on His sovereignty
• Indirectly – through divine establishment institutions
• Permissively – through the obedience of faith of the believers

Three requirements for a nation to survive and be blessed:

• Evangelism
• Spiritual advancement of believers
• The function of divine establishments

Mental attitude arrogance (MAA) is preoccupation with self leading to sin, human good and evil. It is satisfaction with self and dissatisfaction with others. There are 26 gates of arrogance:

• Negative volition arrogance – occupation causing apathy. The pastor/teacher is the first to be rejected by negative volition believers. This is the most damaging arrogance of then all.
• Impulsive arrogance – applies to those who are in position of authorities and abusing it. Their arrogance is manifested by their aggressive decisions.
•   Institutional arrogance – rejection of authority, policy, purpose and system of any legitimate institution.
• Blind arrogance – arrogance of legalism
• Conspiracy arrogance – arrogance to throw and dispose any system of authority
• Criminal arrogance – arrogance to solve problems by violence.
• Crusader arrogance – self-righteousness arrogance that tries to straighten the world from its error and mistakes
• Psychotic arrogance – intense emotional concentration on self, emotional control of human reasons. his is not genetic in concept
• Sexual arrogance – a preoccupation with self in sex.
• Genetic arrogance – assuming that greatness is in the blood
• Political arrogance – self righteousness that searches solution in politics
• Authority arrogance –
• Ignorance arrogance  - the failure to make transition from ignorance to cognizance
• Unhappiness arrogance – the martyr complex  trying to control people by guilt complex
• Iconoclastic arrogance –this is idolizing a creature only to be destroyed by his own disillusionment.
• Revenge arrogance – trying to re-gain self respect by destroying the destroyer of his false self-esteem.
• Morality arrogance – self righteous arrogance of man-made legalistic norms and standards.
• Emotional arrogance – when thought is replaced by substitute emotion.
• Pseudo-generosity  arrogance – giving for the sake of getting attention and human approbation
• Christian service arrogance – the self-righteous arrogance of making a show of out of his service and sacrifice for God, the motive of which is human recognition and approbation.
• Discouragement arrogance – enjoying the scenario of seeing himself in pain, sorrow and lost.
• Lustful arrogance – is the arrogance of preoccupation with one’s own desires. A legitimate arrogance when combined with arrogance becomes lust of arrogance.
• Pseudo-intellect arrogance – this is the super imposition of human IQ over spiritual IQ. Spiritual IQ is the ability and capacity of the believer to perceive, receive, believe, retain and recall Bible doctrine for everyday living under the grace of God.
• Pseudo-love arrogance – trying to duplicate the function and principles of true love while in cosmic system.
• Suicidal arrogance – is super-imposing his own will over God’s sovereign will at the limelight.
• National arrogance –the arrogance related to divine laws and spiritual leadership.
• Religious arrogance – exalting the creatures than the Creator.

J. R. Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries