Deliver me from Evil Idols
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Deliver Me from Evil Idols

By Rev. & Evang. John Caesar, (December 15th, 2005)
Christian-Way Gospel Outreach

Throughout history individuals have been linked by one thing or another and have formed groups that share in their beliefs, values, and cultural identities. Today, many Christians claim to have difficulty in fellowshipping with each other based on doctrinal and ethnic differences, while others admit that they can easily bond together under Christ's death, burial, and resurrection and also feel a family connection with other believers of different denominations.

The unbelievers in Christ have the same issues of differences, but easily unite against Christian beliefs and values beyond race or ethnicity. So perhaps, the interpersonal conflict between different groups of people comes from whom or what they are joined too.

We often hear people using phrases like, "Their just like me; we are tight; we are joined at the hip; I'm stuck to them, we're on the same frequency; we seem like brother and sister; we were part of the same spirit; we seem to be made of the same thing; we think the same thoughts". The words being joined, fellowshipping, bonded, cleaving, covenant, or yoked, knit together, are found throughout the bible. It can be understood as a strong relationship or agreement among two or more individuals. This condition can also be described as being glued together or sharing with. Some Christians use the term soul bonds or soul ties to describe the condition of being joined to something other than God. The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language (2000) uses several terms to describe the word "join" such as combine, unite, link, connect, relate, and associate.

In our lives, there are good and bad relationships that can direct us in positive or negative directions. The most dangerous example is having our identities programmed with a negative alter ego or personality traits that works behind the scenes like a virus to influence our actions or thoughts. Proverbs 12:26 and 1 Cor 15:33 expounds upon how good people can be turned bad by evil influence.

Hosea 4:17 reads, "Ephraim has attached himself to idols; Do not go near him! (Net Bible). In this King James Version, the same verse says, "Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone." In the Old and New Testament, we find people in covenant relationship with God being told to separate from people who continue to commit sin after being warned about it. Proverbs 1:10-19 and Proverbs 22:5, 24-25, warns its readers to avoid people who tempt you to hurt others for money, along with those whom are perverse and angry. Some idols for the modern day Christians are money, power, sex, fads, lying, stardom and leaders, the past, the dead, racism, rebellion, stubbornness, lawlessness, being a victim, depression, anger, and feeling good (pleasure addiction).

Paul outlines in 1 Cor 5:5 and 2 Tim 2:25,26 of the effect and remedy for believers who will not repent from being joined to sin and sinful relationships. He further outlines in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, the consequences of staying joined to deception. In any case, it is also proper Christian conduct to pray for those whom are out of the will of God.

It is commonly believed among many Christian communities that demons or unclean spirits can enter into a person's life when God's laws for relationships become violated. When this occurs, unclean soul bonds to sin and sinful relationships can and often do happen. Some describe it as sharing an umbilical cord with the evil source or being under a spell. The person or persons can be influenced or programmed mentally to react in ways that are contrary to their own beliefs. Obviously, any amount of sin can multiply itself in anyone's life, if they permit it. In Mark 8:15, Jesus warned his disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees . Why? Because yeast causes bread to rise and using this same example, sinful influences by corrupt people can increase sinful behavior in our own lives. An example of this is found in Genesis, where the influence of Satan over Eve to sin causes her manipulation of Adam to sin.

Even Christians who break God's laws can be oppressed by these unclean spirits if they do no repent and turn back to God, like King Saul in the Old Testament. Whether or not Christians want to believe this or not, if we break natural or spiritual laws, we will reap the consequences like everyone else. See the example of King David and other biblical saints that made sinful choices.

Being joined to something poses a bigger problem, in that we become yoked together and over time lose control and the direction we are going or lose control altogether of ourselves. Proverbs 4:23 warns us to guard our hearts, for out of them flow the issues of life. In Luke 21:34, Jesus notes that believers should not allowtheir hearts to be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life. One does not need to be a scientist to figure out that if a healthy or unhealthy person follows after negative behavior or sinful situations that produce extreme stress upon physical and mental health, the repercussions on the brain and other organs will show themselves sooner or later in the person's life in the form of disease or decisions that produce trauma.

I have known a few mature Christian men and women in church leadership positions and the congregational pews, whom for some reason or the other changed from their normal Christ like personalities and faithful behavior to committing egregious sinful acts. Some claimed that it was due to past traumas where they protected their insecure feelings of rejection with an evil alter ego(s) that took them over. Whereby the reason for not keeping their word or sinning was because the other person inside them did not agree. While others claimed to have heard voices, or when even another said that events made them depressed, which caused "anger, hopelessness in God and self condemnation" to take them over and drive them to commit the sinful acts. Obviously, any beleiver that is in this condition should seek professional mental health and Christian counseling. However, because of the fear of the rejection of not being perfect as leader, being looked upon as a failure by the church, and losing their status in the community, they do not seek help.

The Bible records that soul ties or joinings can occur from a few things:

These "joinings" are bad because they deny or diminish the power of God in the believer's life and block God from working to save a sinner's soul. Ultimately, for the beleiver or non-believe, separation from God is asking for evil or its curses to come into your life and destroy you. In Number 25:3 Israel joined themselves to Baal-peor and the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel. Several times throughout the Old Testament history of the Israelites realtionship with God, we find them committing adultery with idols, which brought demonic customs and practices that were contrary to God's laws. This caused strife and separation between God and Israel and ultimately brought judgment upon them (2 Chronicles 6:36,1 Kings 8:46-50, Nehemiah 9:27,33,36, and Psalms 106:40-41).

We need to take note of Israel's relationship with God and correlate it to our own relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, God's son. First Corinthians 10:22 and James 4:4, 5 outline God's jealousy about us. Rightly so, for God is jealous of anything or anyone that gets in the way of the holy union of redemption (John 3:16). After being married in covenant relationship to God and still wanting other lovers like we did in our old lifestyle is saying God is not enough to fulfill our life.

Jesus came to rescue us from the deadly influence of Satan. He provides a way for us to disconnect from our self destructive ways and fill us with his eternal life (John 10:10). In being joined to Christ, we have abundant life to overcome any circumstance we face in this life. We have Christ as our friend in the midst of our joys and suffering.

In the last days of this world we live in, we see in the book of Revelations where people will have to make a decision to join Christ or the Anti-Christ. The sad fact today is that many Christians are being influenced out of Christ by the evangelistic tools of Satan such as modern music, media, and video games. Their minds become divided and their faith in God diminishes. In turn, the modern church is plagued by marital problems, no respect for authority, violence, and increased sexual and ethical immorality. These types of people can act as religious viruses that slow down the progress of the church to deliver the Gospel and even act as "Judas's" that sell the church out from within. In 1 Timothy 4:1, the Holy Spirit noted that some men will abandon the faith in later times and obey lying spirits and follow the teachings of demons. Based on this scripture and others, we can clearly correlate the effects of an unholy joining on the modern Christian.

We should not be making excuses for people with double minds (James 1:7). We should confront them with the words of God and warn them to repent; otherwise they will suffer the judgment of God. In the mean time, they may cause much damage and suffering in the church. Most importantly, we should confront ourselves first and remove any hint of a plank out of our own eyes by repenting from sin, before dealing with anyone else (Matthew 7:-5).

Soul ties with ungodly sources and relationships, would explain why so many Christians are struggling in their walk with Christ. They are knowingly or unknowingly committing spiritual adultery with idols whom control their inner life instead of the Holy Spirit. If one is joined to an idol, it would explain why marriage couples and children cannot submit to one another. When we are bonded with another person or thing, it blocks the power of unity in our lives with Jesus Christ and other Christians. Our identity and purpose can be altered and confused with the world. From my experience, Christian values will clash with self-driven and "survival of the fittest" philosophies. Often times, many Christians become assimilated and joined to the perverse culture because they are afraid to stand alone against the "group". They are not prepared to contend for their faith in Christ, nor do they know who they are in Christ. Just because we live in the world, we do not have to "be apart" of the world to survive in it.

How do we prevent ourselves from being joined with unholy relationships?

In essence, following basic Old Testament and New Testament Christian doctrine on relationships is the key. The laws of God were given to protect us. When we transgress them, we open up the judgment of the law on our lives and its consequences.

If a Christian is joined to anything sinful, they must repent (Luke 13:3 and Revelations 2:5) and turn from ungodly relationships, places and things that caused it (Deut 7:25,26). Even people whom were addicted to drugs, sex and gambling often return to a life of addiction because they simply get around the wrong people, negative environments, or feel strange living a non-addicted life. God's wants to relationship with us and can show us how to live free from sin if we let him. We have a savior called Jesus Christ whom walked in this mortal flesh and understands the sufferings that we face (Hebrews 4:15, 16).

We need healthy relationships in our lives. Healthy relationships include:

In the end, our only true relationship is with our Creator. It is vital that we all count up cost, take up the cross, deny ourselves and follow Christ as his disciple. The Strongs Concordance translates the Greek word "ekklesia" or church as "the called out ones" (2 Timothy 1:9 and 1 Peter 2:9). We should understand that we were called out from being joined with relationships of this world to be joined with Jesus Christ (2 Cor 6:13-18).

Obviously, we cannot serve two masters (Matt 6:24). The bottom line is that we cannot let anything come between us and God (Romans 8: 38). After reading this article, we should understand why John said, "little children keep yourself from idols" (1 John 5:21). Let's pray how Jesus taught his disciples to pray; "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Luke 11:4).

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By Rev. & Evang. John Caesar,
Christian-Way Gospel Outreach