Isa 14:13-14 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
Tit 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
1Jn 3:4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
The “rush” of sin in the wicked is that feeling of exhilaration from having power. Serial killers for example are motivated by (even addicted to) this thrill. It thrills them to have absolute power of life and death over someone, to invade the most intimate parts of their victim’s life and ultimately to be “god” over them.
But serial killers are not the only ones who crave the rush of lawlessness. Evil people, domestic abusers, sexual predators and other brands of the kingdom of darkness hunger for it. Evil is thrilling to the evil man. This is why abusers for instance, abuse. They love that sense of deity they gain from exercising power and control over another. Like Satan, they say in their heart, “I will be like the Most High.”
Anyone who walks in evil, who is characterized by this lust for power over, is necessarily not a Christian. As the second Scripture quoted above tells us, Christ came to redeem us from all lawlessness. When the Spirit effects the new birth in us, joining us to Christ in His death and resurrection and makings us brand new creations, He gives us a heart that now loves God and loves the Law of God. We are redeemed from all lawlessness, though for now we must battle that flesh remaining in us by heeding the leading of the Spirit as He guides and directs us to follow Christ.
But those who are dead in sin, though they may practice religion meticulously and wear the most convincing disguise of christian saintliness, practice lawlessness. They defy God by defying His Law. They do this:
Rom 1:32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
I know a man who claims to be a Christian. He is an officer in his church. He gives a significant amount of money to his church. He observes his daily devotions and prays impressive prayers. But this man loves lawlessness. It thrills him to break the law. He is defiant in his law-breaking, daring the authorities to do anything about it. This man is not a Christian no matter how convincing his disguise. He is not born again. He is not redeemed from lawlessness. He has no conscience about it.
Make no mistake then. Do not let evil confuse you. If a person walks in lawlessness, they are not born again. They do not know Christ and He does not know them.
Mat 7:22-23 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.’
I feel sorry for the people who take a “Christian” at face value and refuse to look at or learn the things that Pastor Crippen points out. They do not want to believe that someone who labels themselves Christians could possibly be a real agent of the evil one. I had to learn this back in the late 90’s with a few wolves in sheeps clothing. It was not pretty or what you would say very “nice”. I have learned that the one who is the biggest “prayer warrior” at church and prays the most “eloquent prayers” be watchful of. They want the limelight and the motives are not pure from a humble heart. God is not looking for someone who has all the right words but a humble loving heart who will put people above their own agenda. Thank you Pastor Crippen for always exposing these charlatans.
MARANATHA!!!
Exactly. They want the limelight. Years ago, when I first came to this church as pastor, there was an elderly woman who would come perhaps half the time. But at EVERY service (the church had a “prayer and praise sharing time” in the service, which I later did away with) she would stand up in a very theatrical and loud manner and talk about how she has been praying, how she is one day going to “fly away,” and people would laugh and clap. I hated it. Fangs came out when I ended this. And get this- the previous pastor had actually gone to her house so she could pray over him and give him her “blessing.” In fact there is no evidence I could see that she was even a Christian. She was there for show. A wolf. And since then she has indeed “flown away.” One day we will find out if her flight was up or down. I am betting on the latter.
Amen! Pastor Crippen, you said, “He is not redeemed from lawlessness. He has no conscience about it.” That was one of the hardest truths that the Lord had to show me. My ex had no conscience about the lies, deceitfulness, adultery, pornography and other ungodly behaviors which he was consistently practicing. I could not understand how he could claim Jesus as his Lord and Savior, minister to others, and continue in his blatant sin.
I now know that he was never born again, although he responded to several “altar calls” over the years. The evil in his heart and spirit were being fed by his lawlessness. He really has no conscience to this day about what he did and continues to live. He has never admitted, nor addressed the fact, that he tried to kill me by strangling me. He thinks he got away with it, but our Most High God will bring justice his way in the end.
The lawlessness of wolves in sheep’s clothing is difficult for genuine Christians to understand because we do not think like they do. Narcissists and sociopaths have no conscience. It is all about what they want and they do not care who they hurt to get it. They mirror their father, the devil. This is a very painful truth for someone to realize about anyone with whom they are in a close relationship. However, our loving Father is so faithful to be there to comfort us once the fog lifts and we see the person’s lawlessness as evidence that they are not born again. Praise the Lord!
Just to clarify… I did call the police the day my ex was in his last out-of-control rage around me, and thank God, I did that. When the officer arrived, he witnessed my ex with both his hands around my neck, strangling me. The officer yelled at him to stop, but my ex cursed at the officer and would not stop until after the officer punched him in the face. I have a VERY detailed police report written by the arresting officer. If I had not called 911 that day, I would most likely not be alive today.
During the divorce negotiations, my ex repeatedly denied anything happened. He had been charged with aggravated battery against a household member with great bodily harm, a second degree felony. My ex did not serve any time in prison, only 1 night in jail due to loopholes in the law and an extremely poor decision made by a judge. It was a case of LAWLESSNESS at the most extreme level.
Our Most High God will judge my ex for everything he did to me and I would not want to be him at the judgment seat of Christ. I am free and finally living in a peaceful environment. I am very grateful to God for His intervention in my situation.
Oh my goodness Pastor Crippen! I would not have let that old woman touch or pray over me for any “blessing” that she might try to give out. The other poor pastor must not have had any discernment. He more then likely got more then he was asking for letting that old lady pronounce anything over him!! And people wonder why the bible has a verse that says lay your hands on no man suddenly. 1Timothy 5:22.
Praying Lady I am so thrilled that the Lord has rescued you so you can give Him glory and tell your testimony to others of how He rescued you from that demonized man that you were married to! And from what you had said the anti-husband did not get due justice yet on earth for what he did. But one day soon he and all the others will fall into the hands of the living God and it will not be a good day for them! They do not know or do they care that they have been abusing and trying to harm over and over again daughter’s of the most high God. They will pay the horrendous price for destroying their covenant vows and viciously messing with the Lord’s children!! Shalom and many hugs to you.
MARANATHA!!!