The anarchy of the soul

 Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The oxford dictionary defines the word anarchy as:

1. a state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of authority or other controlling systems
2. absence of government and absolute freedom of the individual, regarded as a political ideal.

Origin: mid 16th cent: via medieval Latin from Greek anarkhia, from anarkhos, from an - 'without' + arkhos 'chief,ruler'.

The Bible makes it clear that society is moving towards a state of lawlessness -

"For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work" (2 Thess 2:7).

The power of lawlessness that is driven by the man of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:3) opposes God and the truth so that people are deceived and "refuse to love the truth and so be saved" (2 Thess 2:10).

"God is not a God of disorder," Paul writes but is the God who is the highest authority and in whom true freedom is found.

James writes, "the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:25).

The deception is in the idea that true freedom is the absence of a governing authority and any controlling system. In the name of tolerance and enlightened thinking, we are developing a society that is turning its back on God's authority and will and we wonder why our young generation is confused, abandoned, dislocated, hopeless and angry. The truth is that when man is left to himself, he moves toward the anarchy of the soul.

Without the governing presence of the Spirit of God within man, sinful man, who is seperated from God, is given over to the desires of the flesh (see Romans 1:18-32)! His mind, his emotions and his will are influenced by every sinful desire and every influence of the world. Left to himself, man experiences the anarchy of the soul that ultimately leads to self-destruction. The prodigal son left the place of authority and order (his father and home) to live a life of freedom. What that led to was the anarchy of the soul that led him to the pigs.

God wants His creation to live in fullness of life. Creation will only experience freedom when it submits itself to the authority and will of God. Creation is waiting to be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Rom 8:21)! Those who are governed by the Spirit of God are the sons of God who live in the glorious freedom of God's order (Rom 8:14). Hallelujah!

I believe God is calling His people to renew their trust in His absolute authority and His good, pleasing and perfect will. Only a people who rely on the authority and wisdom of God will experience true freedom and live life as God purposed it for man.

"Trust in the Lord will all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5

Are you building godly strongholds?

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Every thought that one receives, owns, relies on, defends and acts upon is a stronghold. The Greek word that we translate as stronghold (ochuroma) describes a castle, fortress, fastness; anything which one relies on; arguments and reasonings by which a disputant endeavours to fortify his opinion and defend it against his opponent.

Negative and positive strongholds

A stronghold is either negative or positive, a lie or truth. Whatever thought a person chooses to accept or receive, own or possess, rely or depend on, protect or defend and act upon is a stronghold in that person's life whether it is a lie or the truth.

Source of strongholds

Our thinking is formed by various sources of information. These include,

• Information from others (parents, friends, colleagues, media, literature, teachers, psychologists, etc.)
• Information derived from experience.
• Information derived from circumstances.
• Information from God.
• Information from Satan.

Whatever information we trust as the truth, we will accept, receive, own, rely on, defend and act on.

Deceptive assumptions

For example if a friend walks in the room and is unresponsive to you, you begin to think all sorts of things and have to choose what you think is true. If you choose to believe that the friend is upset with you, you accept that as the truth, you receive it, own it, depend on it and eventually defend it. Consequently this belief or assumption is the truth for you until disproved. However, every subsequent information or observed behaviour will be used to justify the belief and thus strengthen the stronghold. If the stronghold is further strengthened by faulty assumptions, you can become so convinced that you are right that even when the friend genuinely tries to convince you that he is not upset with you but had a headache, you still won't believe him. You have built a stronghold that you are now even defending! The initial information you received has been turned into a negative stronghold that is based on a lie - a false perception and subsequent false assumption strengthened to become a stronghold.

A battle of the mind

A battle is going on for our minds. Satan wants us to build ungodly strongholds whereas God wants us to build godly strongholds. Much of our thinking needs to be changed so that we live godly lives. That is why the apostle Paul urges believers to have their minds renewed in order to be Christ-like (Rom. 12:2).

Ungodly strongholds

Strongholds that are built on lies are ungodly fortresses that need to be torn down and replaced with the truth of God. Ungodly strongholds are exposed when we accept and receive the word of God as the truth. The writer to the Hebrews describes the word of God as "living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb. 4:12,13). In other words, the word of God exposes whether our thinking is in accordance with the truth or not.

Exposing lies

Ungodly thinking must be replaced by godly thinking before it becomes a stronghold that governs one's life. Paul says we must "take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." The believer must keep his thinking in check and always identify negative thinking in the light of God's word. Failure to do so allows ungodly thinking to poison one's mind and establish itself as a fortress is one's life! That is why Peter says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith" (1  Peter 5:8,9). The lies of the enemy are presented to us as truth. Words that have been said to us by our parents, teachers, psychologists and the like are not always the truth! We must recognise that not all information presented to us is the truth! If we accept every bit of information offered to us, we are certain to build strongholds based on lies as well as on the truth. The only way to identify what is true and false is to trust the word of God as absolute truth, accept it, receive it, own it, depend on it and defend it. Only then can one expose ungodly information that is contrary to God's word.

Truth or counterfeit?

A friend of mine works for a bank and has the job of identifiying counterfeit money and training people to differentiate between true and false bank notes. He explained that in order to identify the counterfeit notes, one must study the authentic notes and know everything possible about them. Only then can one expose the counterfeit notes. Similarly the believer can only expose the lies of the enemy that are presented as truth by knowing the real truth - the word of God.

Building godly strongholds

In order to build godly strongholds so as to be Christ-like, I believe the following principles are necessary for every believer:

A desire to be Christ-like.

Unless you believe that God's will for your life is to be like Jesus, you won't work on changing the way you think. The word of God is clear that it is indeed God's will for every believer to live as Jesus did on earth and that every believer has been joined to Christ to be like Him and to do the work He did whilst on earth (see Rom. 8:29; John 14:9-12; 1 John 2:6; 1 Cor. 11:1). Christ-likeness is commanded for "it is written: 'be holy, because I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:16).

A recognition that there is the possibility of having ungodly strongholds in one's life!

It is a humbling thing to admit that not everything one has built one's life on is necessarily the truth! Opening oneself to God's correction is choosing to submit to Him and His word. God's thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8) and so God doesn't seek to improve the way we think but replace our thinking with His thoughts. We are transformed by the renewing of our thinking and not the improvement of our thinking!

A trust in God's word as absolute truth.

Unless you trust God's word as absolute truth you will struggle to submit to it and allow it to renew your thinking. God's word is not one among equals. It is absolute truth. It is an offense to the post-modern worldview that accepts everything as truth. You will be labelled as narrow-minded and as a fundamentalist. Belief in, and submission to God's word sets you apart from the world as you become the revelation of truth in the flesh (see John 17:17,18). The believer can only be holy as he or she lives God's Holy Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.

A renewing of the mind

A renewing of the mind will only come about as the believer accepts God's word as the truth, receives it, owns it, depends on it and defends it. The believer that truly allows God to renew his mind and build godly strongholds in his life will act accordingly. Living according to the truth is what sets us free from ungodly thinking and behaviour. Just hearing God's word will not renew our thinking. The believer must accept it, receive it, own it, rely on it, defend it and act on it before it becomes a transforming belief. Jesus says, "If you hold to my teaching...you will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31,32). Belief without action is simply opinion or as James puts it, "Faith without deeds is dead" (James 2:26).

How to build godly strongholds

Once the believer accepts the above principles s/he will be ready to receive the truth in order to break down ungodly strongholds and replace them with godly strongholds. I believe every disciple of Christ should be a student of the Word of God on a daily basis - not just to aquire knowledge about the Bible but to encounter God's transforming presence and power as s/he allows God to renew his/her thinking. God desires to reveal Himself to His children to renew them from glory to glory (see 2 Cor. 3:18; 4:16)! Christ is formed in us as we build godly strongholds. Here are some steps that have helped me live in Christ-likeness:

• Ask God to give you spiritual revelation, understanding, knowledge and wisdom before reading His word. The Holy Spirit reveals the deep things of God and will use God's word to expose and demolish ungodly strongholds (See 1 Cor. 2; John 16:14).

• Honour the word of God as absolute truth and read it with humility, allowing God to correct your thinking and build godly thinking (See 1 Thess. 2:13). Your attitude toward the word of God will determine how you receive it (see Matthew 13:1-23)!

• Read the word of God slowly and with understanding. The word of God is "living and active" and works in those who believe (Heb. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:13). Read to gain understanding but also to receive revelation of God. Expect God to speak to you through His word.

• Pay attention to anything the Holy Spirit highlights as you read. As you read the Bible the Holy Spirit may show you something new or exciting or simply profound. When you notice something in particluar, write it down and meditate on it. God wants to impress His word on you. Let it dwell in you as you think about it, pray it and keep it in your heart.

• Take thoughts captive. When you read God's word and you realise that you think differently about God or yourself etc, confess the ungodly thought and replace it with God's truth. Reject the lie and receive the truth! For example, you may think that God doesn't love you because you believe the information your negative circumstances are shouting at you. When you read Romans 8:35-39 that tells you that "nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" you must choose to replace the ungodly thoughts with the truth. Having received the truth and replaced the lie, you must own the truth and make it yours. Then you can rely on that truth and defend it whenever the enemy tries to convince you otherwise!

• Meditate on and memorise the word of God! Reflecting on God's word is important for it to become part of you. Memorising scripture is helpful if you have spiritual understanding of the verse or verses. Simply having the scripture in your brain without understanding it is not much use. The word must move from your thinking to your heart, from your soul into your spirit.
• Act on the Truth! If you really trust God's word to be the truth you will be convinced that it is the truth. Consequently you will act on what you believe and are convinced about.When we don't act on God's word we don't really believe it is the truth. Obedience and submission to God's word are the evidence of genuine faith.

I encourage you to saturate yourself with the truth and to build godly strongholds as you accept, receive, own, rely on, defend and act on God's word. Then you will be a living epistle, set apart by the truth and living in Christ-likeness and freedom.

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Are you playing God?

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

Christ came to set us free but what exactly is the believer liberated from?

Freedom from guilt.

Jesus says in John 12:47 that He came into the world not to judge it but to save it. The apostle Paul writes,

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." Romans 8.1-4

Taking God's place!

Sadly many believers don't realise this truth and instead of walking in God's mercy and grace, they live a life of self-condemnation and self-righteousness! This comes about when believers usurp God's judgement seat and condemn themselves and others when they do not measure up to their own standard of perfection or righteousness. In their minds they still think that they have to attain perfection to be acceptable to God and so they try their best to live a righteous life. When they sin they condemn themselves until they have confessed their sin to be able to consider themselves to be righteous once again.

Who is on the Judgement Seat?

The problem with this mind-set is that the believer determines when he is righteous and when he is not. With the same usurped authority to condemn himself, the believer then considers himself righteous once he has confessed his sin or is living a righteous life according to his own standard. Those who have taken a seat on God's judgement seat try to live up to their own standard of perfection and expect others to do the same. They are burdened by a yoke of slavery to their own legal system - the very thing Jesus came to set us free from!

God's mercy

A woman was caught in adultery and was brought before Jesus by her accusers. Jesus' response was to say to the accusers (those who had placed themselves on God's judgement seat),

"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7

"At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' 'No one, sir,' she said. 'Then neither do I condemn you,' Jesus declared. 'Go now and leave your life of sin.'"

The One who was without sin had every right to judge the woman and condemn her but he did not (see John 8:7)! Jesus set her free by extending mercy and grace to her.

The pride of self-righteousness

The believer who condemns himself and others will also exalt himself in his pride. Many believers think that self-condemnation is humility but fail to realise that it is our pride that usurps God's right to condemn when we condemn ourselves and consequently exalt ourselves!

Paul writes, "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God." 1 Cor. 4:4,5

Depending on Christ

In other words, the believer cannot declare himself innocent just because he is not conscious of sin. Our righteousness is dependent on Christ's righteousness since it is in Him that the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us!

What are some of the indicators that the believer is walking in slavery?

• Sin-consciousness rather than grace-consciousness (Heb. 10:1-10; Gal. 5:4)

• Feelings of guilt rather than blamelessness (Col. 1:22)

• Experiencing condemnation rather than freedom (Rom. 8)

• Pride (depending on self) rather than humility (depending on Christ's righteousness)

• Judgemental toward self and others rather than loving, accepting and forgiving of oneself and others (Rom. 2:1-4)

• Legalistic toward self and others rather than gracious toward self and others

• Slave to self-created standards rather than living in the freedom of sonship

• Tendency to feel the need to confess sin before feeling able to "enter into God's presence" (however, see Heb. 4:16; 10:19-22)

The purpose of judgement in this life is to keep us on the right track but not to condemn us. 1 Cor. 11:32

Christ is our Righteousness

It is our dependence on the grace we receive in Christ that sets us free from guilt and condemnation.

"It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.'" 1 Cor, 2:30,31

Let's not play God and usurp His judgement seat! In humility receive and depend on the grace of God that has been revealed in Christ. Walk in the freedom of the sons of God! Don't allow the devil to accuse you and tempt you to condemn yourself when God has declared you blameless in Christ! It is for freedom that Christ has set you free!

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How to live by the Spirit

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with one another, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." Galatians 5:16-18

Every believer has an earthly nature and a heavenly nature. Paul says in Col. 3:5;

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature."

Why should we put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature? Paul says that in response to the fact that every believer has been joined to Christ and is seated in the heavenly realms with Him (Eph. 2:6). Further he says,

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Col. 3:1-3

Death to self

In what way has the believer died? Paul says,

"And he (Christ) died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Cor. 5:15

The death we have died is a death to self and a death to living for our own selfish desires.

Now that we are born again as a new creation in Christ with a heavenly nature, we are called to live according to our new nature and no longer live according to our old, selfish and self-centred nature.

We are to move from self-consciousness to God-consciousness.

Self-consciousness vs God-consciousness

Self-consciousness means we are primarily concerned with ourselves and what our selfish nature desires. God-consciousness means we are primarily aware of God and what He desires. Living in response to our selfish nature is idolatry. Living in response to God is to fear God - to honour God and respond to His presence.

The fear of the Lord

Believers who live in "the fear of the Lord" are people who carry an awareness of God's presence in them, with them and around them wherever they are. Because of their God-consciousness, they are sensitive to what grieves Him. They don't live their lives according to principles and rules but rather out of relationship with the Father who dwells in them and with them by His Spirit.

When the believer begins to change his behaviour and desires because of God he begins to live according to the Spirit of God or "by the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16).

Our choice

We have a choice. Either we choose to live according to what we want or what God wants. Either we behave according to our old, selfish nature or we behave according to our new nature in Christ.

"Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." Romans 8:12-14

Sons of God live according to what God desires.

Why do so many Christians struggle to put the earthly nature to death?

One of the main reasons is that we try to overcome the flesh in our own strength. We try to put a stop to the behaviour that is according to our selfish and sinful desires by prohibiting certain behaviour or actions. The problem with that is that we bring ourselves under law and consequently we break the self-made law because we cannot keep the law.

"..the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." Romans 8:7

Romans chapter 7 describes this "law of sin and death" that we cannot overcome in our own strength. That is why Paul says we must "put to death the misdeeds of the body" by the Spirit.

How do we do that?

We need to replace our sinful desires by becoming more aware of God's presence - God-consciousness. If I am faced with a situation where my flesh desires what is contrary to what I know is God's will, I don't try to stop the flesh but simply direct my attention to God: "on things above" (Col. 3:1-3). The more I become aware of God's loving presence, the less I want to do my own thing. The more God-conscious I become, the more I see how ugly my selfish desires are and the Spirit begins to change my desires from wanting to please myself to wanting to please my Father.

How do I know if I am living by the Spirit?

It's very simple. Since the believer's life is "now hidden with Christ in God" and he is joined to God, the normal state of every believer should be "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal. 5:22,23). The fruit of the Spirit is the nature of God and so when the believer dwells or abides in God, he abides in the heavenly nature. Because God dwells in us and we in Him, it is our right to remain in Him and in our heavenly nature. The world, the flesh and the Devil want to "draw us out" of our new and now, normal, heavenly state. We must choose to remain in God and not allow anything to "move us out" of our heavenly nature. When we allow anything to disrupt our new nature, we are not living according to the Spirit.

Peace

For example, let's take "peace." Since I am joined to Christ who is my Peace (Eph. 2:14) and who is the Prince of Peace, I expect to be in a constant state of peace if I am abiding in Him or living by the Spirit.

"..the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8:6

As soon as my peace is unsettled, I immediately check what is the cause of the disturbance. It is my right to abide in peace, since I am joined to Peace. If it is disturbed, I must check what the cause is. I immediately ask the Holy Spirit what is going on.

Peace disturbers

Some common disturbances are:

• Sin - if I disobey the Lord and grieve Him, I lose my peace. The Holy Spirit will always expose anything I am doing or have done that has grieved Him - not to condemn me but to bring me back to absolute intimacy with Him (see James 1:5).


• Attacks of the Enemy - if I cannot pinpoint why I don't have peace, it usually is the enemy trying to oppress me. The enemy tends to be vague but the Holy Spirit is clear. If I am being oppressed, I simply take authority over the feelings and reclaim my right to live in peace.


• Lies of the Enemy. Sometimes I can receive communication that I misinterpret or is simply not true. These thoughts can disturb my peace because I am believing a lie. The lie must be exposed and made obedient to what I know is the truth (see 2 Cor. 10:3-5).


• Worry. Worrying comes from not trusting God. When I am tempted to worry, I direct my attention to God and reflect on His ability to do immeasurably more than I can ask or think (Eph. 3:20) and I remind myself that God's grace is sufficient for me in every circumstance. God knows!

Living by the Spirit is living in God

John says the same when he writes,

"God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16

I want to encourage you to spend time simply reflecting on the truth that you are in God and God is in you (1 John 4:15). Become aware of His presence in you and with you. Acknowledge God's presence wherever you are, especially when you are likely to be tempted or are being tempted to "move out" of the Spirit (see Proverbs 3:6).

"Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.....Let us keep in step with the Spirit." Gal. 5:16,25