The Truth About Spiritual Warfare

THE TRUTH ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Copyright © 2015 ASR Martins

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Introduction

Spiritual warfare. Ever since I was saved this term really bothered me. Just the sound of these two words clashed with my spirit since the first time I've heard it. This just did not make any sense to me. To the church, Jesus Christ Himself, the apostles and millions of Christians right through the ages tried to defeat satan but nobody could defeat him and his demons yet. The war goes on and on. Just the other day I saw a disgusting image of our Lord Jesus Christ engaged in an arm-wrestling contest with satan. Let us face the facts people, if there is still a war then satan is not yet defeated. This is literally what an ongoing war implies.

Through the years though I thankfully learned quite a different story. I was fortunate enough to be taught by Spirit-filled men of God who did not believe this lie one bit. These guys really studied the word of God. They were taught by the Spirit and in turn they taught God's people the truth.

It is absolutely amazing how easily people are being deceived into believing all sorts of false doctrine without even realizing it. The fact is that these people do not know the Scriptures. If they knew the Scriptures they would have realized immediately when somebody attempted to teach them a false doctrine. The mistake that we made through the years and still make today is relying on pastors and ministers to teach us instead of relying on the Holy Spirit to teach us. It is quite a different story when you take up the word of God yourself to study. You will be amazed at the results when you study the word of God yourself. If you really and honestly ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and to teach you that is exactly what happens. It is then a totally different story all together because when the Holy Spirit starts to reveal the word of God and the will of God to you, you supernaturally understand God’s will and God’s word.

What makes the difference? When you personally study the word of God you gain firsthand knowledge of the word of God. It is like planning your own trip to a really far destination. When you go through the detailed maps yourself you become familiar with all the information you need to know in order to reach your destination safely. If you rely on others to plan the trip for you though, you do not know anything except the directions that the person gave you. In such a case you just do not possess all the knowledge and all the information that you need to address all the difficulties and possible drawbacks that might cross your path. It is like being kept in the dark. You do not even know if the directions itself are correct in the first place.

We cannot rely on other people when it comes to the will of God and the word of God. We really do need to have a personal relationship with God. We do need to communicate with God and we do need to allow God to communicate with us and to teach us His word. This book gives some valuable insights into the subject of spiritual warfare but you need to be brave enough to proceed with your own studies if you really want to know the truth. You cannot rely on others. So many people have been deceived and therefore they deceive many people in return. There is a Scripture that confirms this statement to the letter:

2 Timothy 3:13-17

13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

This portion of Scripture makes it as clear as daylight. Verse 13 clearly says that there are people who are being deceived. It also says that these people also deceive others. Some of them might not do this on purpose but still, they have been deceived and they in turn deceive others. Many exorcists fall under this category. I have devoted a whole chapter in this book on the damage they cause in terms of doctrinal issues when it comes to generational curses and spiritual warfare. Verses 14-17 confirm that we have learned from God, if we allowed Him to, and that we do have the Scriptures which is able to reproof, correct and instruct us in righteousness. Each and every doctrine need to be supported by Scripture. If there is no Scripture to support it then it is just not true.

An example is the false doctrine of generational curses. Did you know that there are absolutely no Scriptures that state or indicate that Christians are or can be punished because of the sins of their ancestors? Did you also know that there are actually Scriptures that clearly state that the sons WILL NOT carry the sins of their ancestors and that the ancestors WILL NOT carry the sins of the sons? Yet people believe in generational curses. Did you know that the only reference to generational curses was made only to heathen nations and people who hate God? Did you know that there are Scriptures that state that God even took generational curses away from heathen people and unbelievers?

This implies that since the cross, even unbelievers and people who hate God do not have to carry the sins of their ancestors? They do not even have to carry their own sin let alone the sins of others. Did you know that there is not even one Scripture in the whole Bible that says that we must repent of the sins of our ancestors? Did you know that there is not one Scripture in the whole Bible that says that we must break generational curses? Did you know that there actually are a number of Scriptures that say that we must only repent of our own sin? Did you know that there actually are Scriptures that say that the sins of the one who committed sin will be on him and on him alone? Did you also know that there are actually Scriptures that say that the righteousness of a person can only save him alone? That implies that nobody can be made righteous by their ancestors just as nobody can be made unrighteous because of the sins of the unrighteous or ancestors. There are Scriptures for all the statements I made here. I am going to give you those Scriptures but first I need to discuss a very important Biblical principle with you. This principle is of the utmost importance. If you know and understand this principle you cannot be deceived.

What is this principle? No matter how unbelievable Scripture might seem to you, it always is and always means exactly what it says! Apart from a few symbolic issues it is therefore quite easy to understand the Scriptures.

The moment people ignore this principle, those people open themselves to deceit. The moment you expose yourself to believe something contrary to what Scripture says, at that moment you become a victim of deceit. Really! Does this principle always work with all Scriptures? Yes it does. There are no exceptions. You can test this principle if you want to. In fact, we call it the Deception test.

Chapter 1: The deception test

It is quite easy to determine whether you have been deceived, whether you are still being deceived and to what extend you are being deceived. This test proves these facts beyond any doubt.

The test is done in two easy steps:

Step 1 will determine whether you have been deceived and step 2 determines to what extend you have been deceived.

This is quite easy. Are you ready for the test?

Step 1: Just answer the following questions with a simple yes or a no:

Are there any scriptures that you know of that make certain statements, but you actually believe the contrary? This means you know of Scriptures that make some statements but you also know that you actually do not believe that those Scriptures are valid anymore.

Do you know of people who actually believe these Scriptures? This means that there actually are people who declare that they believe these Scriptures and that these Scriptures are true. They say that they do experience the results of what these Scriptures promise.

Do you believe the contrary without supported scriptures to prove the contradiction? This means you do not know any Scriptures that actually directly contradict those Scriptures.

Now that was easy! Did you answer these questions honestly? How do you feel about the following Scriptures?

Mark 11:23-24

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

John 14:13-14

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. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Matthew 21:21-22

Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Ezekiel 18:20

The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

If your answer on at least one of the three questions above was yes, then you probably have been deceived and are still being deceived. Step two of this test will prove the facts beyond any doubt.

When the Bible makes any statements, those statements are true unless it has been overruled by another Scripture. In such a case the most recent scripture cancels the validity of the first or the former Scripture. You will probably recognize such Scriptures by statements made to this effect by the relevant writer or person that made that claim in the Bible. Jesus for instance referred to some Old-Testament Scriptures that were changed with the following words: "It is written that… then something