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The Sin of Apostasy and Reprobate Mind

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The Sin of Apostasy and the Reprobate Mind

Curled from “Living in God’s Kingdom” by Joseph Agbi [my first book]

Scripture Reading:
28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them [Rom. 1:28-32; see also verses 25-27].

I stumbled on this topic when I tried to memorize the book of Romans. The soul can keep God’s law if it is trained to do so, and this is an antidote to sin. The soul naturally gravitates to the sins mentioned above because of the depraved nature of humanity after the fall of Adam and Eve. The mind determines what a man does; when a person has a reprobate mind (v28), such a person’s spirit is highly suppressed by a mind that becomes alienated from all that is righteous and God’s. That person would not want to hear or discuss intelligently about the one and only true God and about His Son, Jesus Christ. Such a person opposes the cause of the gospel and would not want the gospel to progress. Such were the cases of Hymenaeus and Alexander in 1 Tim 1:20, blasphemers who opposed Paul’s preaching, and Jannes and Jambres, two Egyptian magicians who withstood Moses before Pharaoh in Egypt [2 Tim. 3:8; Exod. 7: 11-22].

One who is reprobate has had his mind tested, but rather than love God, his mind pursues evil in preference to good all the time. Apostates have reprobate minds as they have been condemned. This is because there is no better sacrifice that can be paid for anyone’s sin since the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross of Calvary was the final sacrifice for sin. Therefore, they carry on themselves the badge of condemnation and parade themselves around as such, just as condemned prisoners are tagged.

If a man who was earlier a Christian refuses to return, having exhausted the longsuffering and forbearance of God, such a person has removed himself from the fold of the brethren, as Judas removed himself after being in the midst of the disciples of Jesus when he took the thirty pieces of silver to betray his master [Matt 26:14-16; Matt. 27:3-5]. Like Judas, the reprobate man becomes an agent of evil to perpetuate all the evils in the verses listed earlier.

When a Christian man succumbs to temptation, commits a sin which is contrary to his Faith and he refuses to repent or repents casually, not minding what the Spirit of God says, he is subjecting himself to the spirit of apostasy. This is often the case of the backslider.

Just as God will judge us concerning what we think in the privacy of our hearts, we must be careful how we behave in the open so we do not bring reproach to the name of Christ. Let everyone that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Prayer Points
1. I refuse to be manipulated by the enemy. Satan you have no control over my mind, my will, my emotions and my intellect. I refuse to succumb to all your evil suggestions in Jesus name.
2. Holy Spirit, flood my soul with your word. Let your word direct my thoughts and actions in the name of Jesus.
3. I am an overcomer in the name of Jesus. Satan, I overcome all your temptations in the name of Jesus.
4. You stronghold of besetting sin, be broken in the name of Jesus. You have no hold over my life anymore in Jesus name.

THE LOVING HUSBAND

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THE LOVING HUSBAND

Bible Nugget:
7Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered [1 Peter 3 v 7, KJV].

In this scripture, we husbands are counselled to be wise, honour our wives, realizing their physiological makeup as weaker persons. We are also told to realize we are kingdom inheritors together. When a husband does all these, he solidifies his oneness with his wife and his prayers, or better still, their prayers will not be hindered.

Valentine Prayer:
Father Lord, thank you for my wife. Thank you for your love for her and your grace upon her life. Thank you for transforming her heart into the image and character of Christ. Thank you for helping her as the mother of our home. Grant me the grace to lavish her with love and honour her as my own, bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh as you have ordained in marriage. Grant her good health and long life. She shall see her children’s children up to the third and fourth generation in Jesus name. Make her ways prosperous and grant her the desires of her heart as she looks up to you on this Valentine’s Day in Jesus name. Amen.

Warfare Weapons

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Warfare Weapons
When soldiers go to warfare, they go prepared. They load their armoury with different weapons. Similarly, when wrestlers are fighting, they strategize and change tactics to overcome their opponent. In both cases, quick and decisive victory is always preferred. The case of the believer is no different.

Ephesians 6:10-18 lists the spiritual exterior armour you and I must put on to wrestle down the enemy and his forces. With the Word of God you overcome the enemy. The armour of the blood of Jesus is another weapon you must use always. I recommend you use both combined. With the Word and the blood you have double advantage over Satan because you can knock him out with either weapon or both weapons combined. The word in the mouth of the saints and the blood of the Lamb are the ultimate overcoming weapons against the enemy for his final defeat [Rev. 12:11].

Jesus used the Word against Satan in Matt. 4:1-11 from which we see that you overcome the evil one when you stand your ground with the Word of God in your mouth. You literally become a witness for the efficacy of the Word.

Eph. 6:10-18 does not list the blood as a weapon because that chapter describes the exterior armour of the believer. As you use those exterior weapons to battle him to submission, he eventually becomes completely paralyzed unable to help himself. At this point you must ask him to surrender. In most cases, he will obey and flee as he did when Christ overcame him in the temptation in the wilderness. Remember the blood of Christ had not been spilled at that time when Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness.

If Satan refuses to obey, know that he is questioning your authority. Examine yourself whether unconfessed sin is the issue. Satan will readily disobey you when you are living in sin because he sees you as living a double life or a life of hypocrisy, knowing you will not be acceptable to God in that condition. If this is the case, ask for forgiveness and begin to plead the blood of Jesus, which is also a very powerful weapon for your total deliverance. The blood of the Lamb is like an explosive over Satan. Take it as your secret weapon which you bring out from your inside. “Pepper spray” the eyes of the enemy from time to time with the blood of the lamb in your prayers. Satan will be blinded, and so flee from you. When a soldier captures an enemy, the enemy becomes completely submissive to the orders of the soldier. Similarly, Satan comes under your complete control when you plead the blood of Jesus.

When you speak the Word of God, you are testifying of its truth, its creative power of the obedient (which you are by your position in Christ and your determination to abide by the Word), and destructive power to the disobedient. Since Satan is already wired to disobey, he does not agree with the Word and must submit to the Word since the Word is truth. That is how you overcome him by your testimony.

Note, when all else seem to fail or you are using the Word and Satan is not responding, he must respond to the blood of Jesus since that was the final knock out punch at Calvary. Living in sin will not allow the blood of Jesus to work for you. So you must repent and have nothing to do with sin, whether besetting or not. The blood of Jesus is the strongest antidote to the power of sin because it was spilled on your behalf on the cross which knocked out the devil for all eternity. Because Jesus conquered Satan and the power of sin through His death and resurrection, you can too if you use the weapons Christ has given to you. The devil’s muscles are seriously weakened. He cannot stand before you. Remind him of the defeat he suffered at Calvary and he will flee from you.

Bible Reading: Matt. 4:1-11; Eph. 6:10-18; Rev. 12:11

Prayer Point
Oh Lord, anoint me with the Holy Ghost and Power in the name of Jesus.

Victory of the Cross

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The Concept of Perfection
Before reading this article, pause and think of the following: What is your opinion of the word “perfect”? Do you consider yourself perfect or are you perfect? Perfection in this article is different from the concept of “holiness” or “sanctification”.

When Jesus said, “Be ye perfect as your heavenly father is perfect [Matt. 5:48], what did He mean? If Jesus said we should be perfect before we can see God, what are the modalities for achieving this perfection? When God told Abraham to walk before Him and be perfect [Gen. 17:1] is it the same perfection Christ meant in His sermon on the mount? In other words, how do we compare the New Testament concept of perfection with that of the Old Testament, where for example, some kings such as David, Hezekiah and Jehoshaphat were said to have walked with God with a perfect heart. Or even those prophets who many consider “holy” and walked closely with God in their days such as Enoch, Elijah, Elisha and John the Baptist, who by comparison should also have the term “perfect” prefixed to their names, does it mean that these men were sinless? No! Because we read, for example, that Elijah was afraid of Jezebel and Ahab and went into hiding [1 King 19:1-4].

The concept of “perfection” has to mean more than “sinlessness” becasue neither New Testament nor Old Testament saints qualify to be termed “perfect” on this merit. New Testament saints merit their perfection by the “grace of Jesus Christ” not because we are physiologically different from those of the Old Testament.  Before Christ came, Old Testament saints had to earn their “perfection” by their obedience to God’s word through the Law and the prophets.  God pointed His searchlight into their hearts and saw how much their hearts yearned towards Him [Psalm 42:1-2]. He does the same for New Testament saints but now looks through the prism of the blood of Jesus at man’s heart [1 Cor. 6:11]. So those who were termed “perfect” in the Old Testament really exemplified themselves above the mortals of their time. They walked closely with God (although missing some few steps here and there), lived holy lives and obeyed His word. For example, David claimed his ways was “perfect before God”, and that stands in Scripture. However, we know he was an adulterer and murderer, a weakling at his son’s rebellion, a failure at disciplining his sons, etc, etc.   Therefore “perfection” has to mean something other than sinlessness.

How then is perfection better defined and how is our perfection as New Testament saints superior to theirs? Old Testament had enough marks to pass on God’s scale of perfection but their perfection still was short of New Testament standards which is Christ. Our “perfection” is better than theirs because our perfection is Christ’s perfection IMPUTED to us. How do we receive this perfection? First by accepting Christ. It is through the blood of Christ that God now looks at our hearts giving us advantage over persons of the Old. Our perfection becomes reality when we are touched by His Spirit and desire His spotless nature so we can dwell continually in His presence in a clean state. Remember nothing unclean can dwell or be allowed into heaven.

How did the Old Testament saints earn their perfection? By their closeness to God. In Isaiah 6:1-8, where Isaiah entered into heaven bodily in an open vision, a coal of fire was used to touch the prophet’s unclean tongue which transformed him. This allowed him to stay in God’s presence and affirmed his call into the ministry as a prophet. We have the advantage of having Christ’s righteousness imputed to us but we still have to continue to yearn to be close to God so we do not fall out of grace. The type of touch Isaiah expereienced is what believers should yearn for so that we can experience the glories of heaven here on earth  while we are still mortal.

Enoch and Elijah did not allow the flesh to rule them, neither should we as New Testament believers. They were men full of the Spirit and power of God throughout their stay here on earth. In our effort at pleasing God, if we fall short in our perfection momentarily, through falling into sin for example, God sees the perfection of Christ and restores us to fellowship with Him again as we repent of our sins. However, please note that frequent wilful fall into sin and untoward repentance to God by a believer is toying witht the grace of Christ and we cannot continue in sin while at the same time calling on the grace of God to abound [Rom. 6:1]. Rather such believers should heed to the command of Christ, “go and sin no more” [John 5:14; 8:11]. The following Scriptures points out the big advantage we have in this dispensation of grace.

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:  2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world [1 John 2:1-2].

17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world [1 John 4:17].

In summary, having understood what perfection in the New Testament means with the proviso that we should stay clear of wilful sins, we see that it is the grace of Christ that distiguishes our perfection from the Old Testament saints since they too had to contend with the power of sin. However, from 1 John 2:2, it appears they too were covered in retrospect by the death of Christ for their sins. Hence the bible reckoning them as “perfect” is because Christ died for the sins of all mankind. Enjoy the grace that is in Jesus Christ and God will accept you as perfect before Him.

Prayer Points
1. Lord, purify my heart with your word.
2. Lord, saturate me with your spirit and your power in Jesus’ name.

Rest For Your Soul and Body

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Rest For Your Soul and Body

28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28, KJV

28Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls. Matthew 11:28, Amplified

Other References: [Gen 2:2-3; Ex 20:8-11; Ex 23:12; Heb 4:1-11, 1 Peter 5:7]

We have a most revealing statement concerning the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a 7th-day completion cycle which God designed solely as a day of rest. No work was to be done and in Israel, neither animal were to be burdened. The Oxen, Donkeys and Servants were to be rested. The sole purpose was to be refreshed. Note that God detests all forms of laziness, which is a discussion for another day. He worked in 6 days creating the heaven and earth (Genesis chapter 1) and designed the human body to be refreshed by periods of rest. That is why after tedious months of work we must take out time for vacations. It is not only cultural but more importantly of immense spiritual benefit. In the case of the Sabbath, it is a day to be spent in communion with him and rest for your bodies, soul and spirit (Exodus 20:8-11). [Read more…] about Rest For Your Soul and Body

Wisdom Fountain 04/18/2010

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The Wise Heart 

23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 [KJV]


26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. [Ezekiel 36:26-27]

The heart is the engine that generates life to the body. It is the strong room where the armouries of battle to keep you going are distributed to your body. [Read more…] about Wisdom Fountain 04/18/2010