Bondage to Arrogance and Superiority

If the only thing we are guilty of is arrogance or self-will that is enough to cause insecurity in us. Arrogance drives an addiction to be superior. It does not satisfy it dominates making crazy those who are addicted to it.

Keep in mind an arrogant person is deeply insecure, they have a driven desire to be more than they believe they are in the eyes of others.

Rather than being angry at an arrogant person, it is best to feel sorry for them leading us to pray that God releases them from their bondage and inclination to be superior to others.

It is one thing to be confident about our abilities in something it is quite another to be driven to diminish others to achieve superiority over them.

1 Peter 5:6 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,"

Philippians 2:3-11

"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men."

Speaking Truth without Flattery

"If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all", was an irrational mantra pulled out of a hat whenever it suited the one who didn't want to hear the truth.

"Don't judge" has been another rampant mantra in the world adopted by churchgoers. Even though we must evaluate things every day to protect ourselves, avoid pitfalls, and keep from entering into relationships that are destructive, this mantra pops up every time we attempt to tell the hard truths about someone's behavior or attitude.

God commanded us to judge righteous judgment, he told us to beware of false prophets and to avoid contentious people, all of this demands that we judge.

John 7:24 “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

God exposed Ananias and Saphirah for their lying showing it was so important that He killed them.

We are to judge according to the bible. When a believer is walking into sin we are to warn them and avoid them if they will not listen. We are also to recognize those who are not born again and heading toward hell. In order to give them the gospel, we must know if they are unsaved in the first place according to the Bible.

To tell someone they should not judge another person is to say that the Holy Spirit and the Bible are useless to enlighten us as to the character of another person. This could not be farther from the truth.

1 Corinthians 6:2-3 “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!”

Mark 8:15 “Mark 8:15 “15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod.”

We would not be able to discern those who are leaven unless we evaluated them according to God’s Word.

God tells us in His word the nature and actions of those who are not born again. He is our guide in judging and our speech. He also clearly shows us those who are wicked, their words, their actions, their attitudes are seen and Spiritually discerned. To say we should not judge people is to deny truth according to God’s Word.

If all we say is nice happy things we will enable the unsaved to enter hell without warning. If we do not judge anything we will allow believers to walk into deep pits without warning to experience the discipline of the Lord.

Those who use these silly and unbiblical mantras are being used by the devil to silence the truth-teller, leaving the unsaved and the believers to wallow in devastation without hope.

Romans 2:5 “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.”

Those who walk with Christ no better than to use these meaningless and destructive mantras. They know they need love according to the Bible that warns about hell and disobedience. There is no love in watching a person march toward a deep canyon to throw themselves off. It is not loving to allow someone we care about to destroy themselves.

I recall once a time when a woman rebuked her brother for his hateful behavior toward her. Because the brother was the golden child of the mother, the mother chastised the woman saying; “we shouldn’t tell people they are wrong.”

Notice something interesting in this exchange? The mother was telling her daughter she was wrong for telling someone they were wrong, a smattering of hypocrisy!

Unbiblical stances by those who defy God’s Word are always inconsistent and irrational at best. They are attempts on the part of the devil to silence truth and protect sin. The people who use these mantras often if not always ultimately end up protecting the sinful person rather than supporting the righteous ones. 1 Thessalonians 2:5 "5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness."

Romans 16:18 "18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."

Proverbs 29:5 " 5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet."

Let's not be those who use worldly mantras for the sake of enjoying our lives without discord. Let's tell the truth by doing the hard work of helping people to know the truth and become changed by Christ.

"Christians" Who Walk in Narcissism

People who say they are Christians but walk in narcissism can appear wonderful but their good deeds are done to impress others, they must talk about what they have done or it has no value for them.

Matthew 23:4-6 "…4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,…"

Our culture is full of those who do good deeds as transactions for elevating themselves. No good deed is wasted without notice.

I am not a fan of praising people who do good deeds, because we never know their motives, God must judge that. People say; "don't judge' but they are ready and willing to judge someone as good but do not like to judge the actions they can see that dishonor God.

If we are not to judge then that applies to both good and bad. Encouragement is good but praise is not good. I reserve my praise for God alone, He knows everyone's heart. We can discern a heart that does good deeds but never talks about them. It is a clue that they good deed was authentic.

Matthew 7:15-20

You Will Know Them by Their Fruit

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."

What is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in every believer?

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

The fruit of the Spirit is the character qualities of Christ that produce good works for the right reasons, that is to glorify God and not self.

As believers, we are much more satisfied with our works when it is God we are pleasing. Those who do good deeds to be able to boast must keep doing it over and over again to feel fulfilled. When we please Christ we are completely at peace without ever boasting to others for their praise.

Isaiah 32:17

17 And the work of righteousness will be peace,

And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever."

10 Signs Of A Troubled Jealous Person

Satan's Secret Weapon | Tipping Point | Jimmy Evans

Pretending is a Serious Matter

It is my personal opinion based on what I know to be the heart of God that we are not forgiven by God if we ask forgiveness over and over again for the same sin. Here's why I believe this:

1 John 1:9

"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

The passage that says "if he comes to you and says, 'I repent', seventy times seven," God is speaking about different sins, not the same one over and over again. The reason I believe this is because God will cleanse someone of sin they are authentically sorry for, He will not leave them helpless to keep trying in their flesh. Those who do not stop sin after saying they are sorry are not sorry, they are only saying words to appear so.

I am convinced God forgives those who desire to be cleansed. If someone continues the same sin without any movement toward removing it from their lives they want to be forgiven but have no intention of forsaking their sin. God will not cleanse someone who does not want to be freed from their sin.

Proverbs 28:13

"He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion."

It is possible to struggle with a sin going back to it but until we have confessed our disgust with it and desire to be cleansed from it, God will not remove from us that which we do not want to be removed.

When I became born again I acquired a disdain for the sin I used to love. Christ in me made me feel ugly and dirty at the thought of returning to the sin that He removed from me.

When our heart is changed we are no longer the same person. Someone who continues in sin and says they are "trying" is not really trying or they are depending on themselves without much effort. Even more egregious are those who defend their sin claiming it doesn't matter, that God is not offended by our sin because we are under the blood.

I worry about "Christians" who have never changed in 60 years but think they are fine.

Those who say sin does not matter because we are under the blood have denied Christ Who said this;

John 14:15-16 "15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever."

There are many "Christians" who defend sin, rage at those who expose it, and even malign others to weaken their witness for Christ.

Did Christ lie when He told us if we were born again we would obey Him? NO, He meant what He said and expects the Holy Spirit in us to guide us into righteousness.

Sadly many people who think they are going to heaven, even declaring they love Jesus, refuse to obey His word and reject those who follow it.

Matthew 7:21-23 "I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

Just because someone can quote scripture and claim to be a Christian does not mean they were born again.

Matthew 7:15-20

"You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

When someone defends their sin this is the time to make it clear that they are not sorry or they would forsake it to be cleansed by Christ. Then i would give them the gospel message all over again to have a chance to be born again, this time for real.

Brokenness is a Good Thing When God is in Control

In Japan when a vase or vessel breaks they repair it with gold filling, it ends up being more valuable and beautiful than originally.

2 Corinthians 4:7 "But we have this treasure in earthen containers so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;"

Never look at brokenness as a weakness, see it as a strengthening of character. We weep when we fail, then we pray and God makes us better and stronger than we were before the brokenness.

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