Some Mistaken Ideas Among Christians

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Not only does the average Christian miss the mark by failing to understand the laws of answered prayer, or if he knows them, to obey these laws faithfully, but the average believer holds more or less to fallacies which hinder prayer.

Fallacy #1: God will not permit harm to befall a person who does the best he can

There are times the so-called best one can do is not enough to please God or to ward off attacks from demonic forces.  Man's performance cannot always be adequate because of his lack of knowledge to conform intelligently to the will of God.  People frequently think they are doing their best when they are putting forth all the effort possible to live as they please and be religious as they can while living a life of pleasure and selfishness.  The best a person can do, if he really wants to do his best, is to forsake all sin, selfishness, worldliness, and everything displeasing to God and give himself wholly over to the total will of God according to the scriptures.  Until a person has done this, he has not done and is not doing the best he can.  He merely uses this idea of doing his best as an excuse for his failure to please God according to the light he has received. 

Even if a person is fully consecrated, he should not become careless and indifferent by taking the attitude that he is eternally safe from all evil and harm.  If he truly wants to be kept from such, then he must watch and pray and live as he taught to live the 91st Psalm.  He must bring his body under subjection and crucify the lusts of the flesh (I Corinthians 9:27; Romans 6:1-23; 8:1-13; Colossians 3:5-7; and Ephesians 4:22-24.  It is folly for anyone to talk about doing the best he can until he has done this and unless he continues to do this.  In such a state, he can claim the full protection of the promises of God.  The minute he goes into sin and rebellion again he cannot claim that no evil shall befall him. 

Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap applies to the saved man as well as unsaved.  There is no place in God that one can get where he is forced to continue in unrighteousness and true HOLINESS contrary to his will.  God cannot and will not keep one saved who continues in sin.

Today among many "Holiness Pentecostal" groups is to move from conservative biblical moral values to secular humanistic possession.  This is done to try appeal to liberal searchers.  Some of the old line black churches are giving over to social appeal, and entertainment rather than adhering taking more hard lines stands on sexual and other habits and addictions.  Many are also looking at quotes from the Koran and other New Age doctrines.  These are some of the most ungodly and unscriptural theories that Satan and his hosts have manufactured to date.  God works according to certain fixed laws, and when they are broken the penalties must be paid, and the punishment must meet the crime.  Protection is promised only to them that fear the Lord (Psalm 34:7-10; Psalm 91:1-6).

Fallacy #2: God will not permit harm to befall a person who does the best he can

This is in itself a deception based upon ignorance of the fall of man and a misconception of the workings of both God and the devil.  God does not work except by spiritual and natural laws, and they must be understood and obeyed in order to secure His help for us.  Eve was as honest as could possibly be; yet she was deceived (I Timothy 2:14).  Other honest people have been deceived through the ages.  If God would not permit honest people to be deceived, then we would not have so many backsliding, divisions, and differences in doctrines as we have today.  It is so easy today for church leadership groups to give titles and political posts n the denomination without allowing them to study the word of God outside the church doctrine.

Demons constantly wage war saints to instill within them false concepts about God and make them weak, nervous, discouraged, and ruined spiritually, physically, and materially.  They do their utmost to keep men in poverty and failure in life in order to bring reproach upon God and His Gospel.  They must be resisted and rejected once and forever if complete victory over them is to be gained (James 4:7; Ephesians 4:10-18; I Peter 5:8-9; and II Corinthians 10:4-7).


Talk to you soon,
Pastor James P. Norman Jr.



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