June 28
NO MIDDLE GROUND
He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters
The early church included in its public declaration of faith, "I renounce you, Satan, and all your works and ways." The Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and many other liturgical churches still require this renunciation as part of confirmation. For some reason it has disappeared from most evangelical churches. Consequently, we have mislaid a very important truth: We must not only choose the truth but recognize and renounce the counterfeit. There is no middle ground with truth. Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters" (Luke 11:23). There are not many paths to God; there is only one way (John 14:6). Christians are not being narrow-minded when they stand on what God has declared.
The literal meaning of repentance is a change of mind. This is not merely mental acknowledgment. The idea is that "I used to think, believe and walk one way, but now I think, believe and walk a new way." People who say "I believe the Bible, but I also believe what I learned that is contrary to the Word of God" are deceived and living in bondage.
The first step to freedom in Christ is to renounce previous or current involvement with satanically inspired occultic practices or false religions. Any activity or group which denies Jesus Christ, offers guidance through any source other than the absolute authority of the written Word of God, or requires secret initiations must be forsaken. No Christian has any business being part of a group that is not completely open about all they do. God does everything in the light because in Him there is no darkness at all. We are to walk in the light.
Prayer: Great Deliverer, bring to my mind deceptions from Satan I need to renounce and remove so I can walk completely in the light.
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