Jeff Crippen, Pastor | Tillamook, Oregon
Podcast + Codes
Sermons Embed Enjoy sermons from this broadcaster on a variety of mobile devices.
MyChurch: crc | Set MyChurch Code#: 05792
Magic, Superstition, and Biblical Faith
Acts 19:18-19 ESV Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. (19) And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.
Magic is an attempt by man to direct and manipulate the spiritual realm. By means of incantations, spells, potions and other methods that are really witchcraft (forbidden by the Lord), practitioners of these dark deeds believe they can assume God’s role and bring about outcomes of their liking. These evils have no place in the life of the Christian, as the new Christians in Ephesus recognized immediately.
Much of what parades as Christianity is actually superstition and magic. Prayer becomes a christianized form of incantation (remember Jesus told us that we are not to pray like the Gentiles with meaningless repetition). Satan and demons are supposedly rebuked and defeated by assorted formulas that allegedly are derived from the Bible. They are not.
How does all of this relate to dealing with evil, including the evil of the domestic abuser? Simply this – we must never dictate to God. We must not claim to know the details of His will in a given situation. We know His ultimate will – Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire – but what we know with certainty, we know because the Lord has revealed it to us in His Word. I know that God loves me and that He is working everything together for my good. But I do not know exactly how He is going about that. I have to trust Him. I have to have, faith.
Magic and superstition are traps. We set up in our minds the outcome and the course that we want to happen, and then we set about telling God what to do. And what happens? Things usually do not turn out as we insisted. In the end, for the Christian, we will look back and see that God’s plan was far better than anything we could imagine. Duh! Ha, we should know that, right?
1 Corinthians 2:11 ESV For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
Many professing Christians and church leaders are guilty of these things. They tell abuse victims how God wants things to go, and how things are going to turn out if only the victims will…… They insist that the wicked man/woman will miraculously change and that it is God who is going to pull this off. They are wrong. God does not save the unrepentant. And abusers, especially those who are parading as Christians, are unrepentant.
Finally, it is vital that the victim of abuse not fall for this magical approach to following Christ. We simply do not know the details of the course He is going to take us on. We know what He has told us. He loves us. He is in control of every detail of our lives. He hates the wicked. He is going to enact perfect justice for us. But when and how this is going to play out – well, only He knows right now. We must not write the script. God does that, and it is a very good thing that He does.
(article originally published at unholycharade.com )
Our Blog
-- recent blog posts -- 08/27/2022 - But He has Changed! 08/25/2022 - Abusers Expose Themselves: Some Early... 08/25/2022 - If a Victim Divorces Her Abuser, She is... 08/23/2022 - Honor is not about Deserving - Really? 08/20/2022 - He is Just the Nicest Man I've Ever Met... 08/18/2022 - Does the Bible Teach Meritorious... 08/16/2022 - Can You Change a Wolf into a Sheep by... 08/13/2022 - How Evil Lies 08/11/2022 - A Fresh Look at Evil and an Open Call... 08/09/2022 - Bunyan's Insights into The Devil's... 08/06/2022 - More Thoughts on How Evil Isolates in... 08/04/2022 - The Tentative Love of Counterfeit... 08/02/2022 - Being Abused does not Justify Abusing 07/28/2022 - They Go too Far - Watch Out for Leaders... 07/26/2022 - Do as they say, Not as they do?? What... 07/21/2022 - Challenging the No Divorce for Abuse... 07/19/2022 - More Thoughts on Why an Abuser Cannot... 07/12/2022 - Our Suffering is Not Redemptive - We do... 07/07/2022 - Divison as an Abuse Tactic 07/07/2022 - Divison as an Abuse Tactic 07/05/2022 - Desiring Justice or Craving Revenge?... 06/30/2022 - The Lord's Other Prayer - Psalm 109 06/28/2022 - If Your Plumb Line is Off...Everything... 06/23/2022 - Some More Thoughts on Perpetual... 06/21/2022 - Let me Tell You the Story of Randy 06/16/2022 - Twisted Theology Produces a Den of... 06/14/2022 - You Must be Born Again 06/09/2022 - And a third Piece of Wisdom (from Lynn) 06/07/2022 - A Second Vital Truth (from Lynn) 06/02/2022 - Some Very Important Points (from Lynn) 05/31/2022 - I have Married three Abusers - Am I... 05/26/2022 - More Thoughts on Getting Free from... 05/24/2022 - Words of Wisdom About Abuse 05/19/2022 - Why Couple's Counseling is a Disaster... 05/17/2022 - Christ Can Heal Us 05/12/2022 - The Comforter 05/10/2022 - Right Back at Ya! The Abuser's Tactic... 05/05/2022 - We Have a Choice: Follow Christ or... 05/03/2022 - Moving Beyond Victimhood 04/28/2022 - One Bad Apple... 04/26/2022 - The Do-Nothing Pastor 04/21/2022 - This is a very Damaging Teaching that... 04/19/2022 - Forsaken by a Traitor's Kiss 04/14/2022 - Are you Flawed? Is it your Fault? 04/12/2022 - Zeal Without Knowledge: Interpretation... 01/03/2022 - Foolish Naivete About Evil Disqualifies... 01/02/2022 - You Have the Right to Choose Your... 01/01/2022 - Abuse and Divorce: The False Teaching... 10/28/2021 - Wayne Grudem isn't Sorry for the Damage... 10/27/2021 - Incompetent to Counsel 10/25/2021 - Another Accusatory Letter from Pastors... 10/22/2021 - Psalm 64 - Protection from the Secret... 10/21/2021 - The Disguised "Friend" 10/20/2021 - More on Revilers I Have Known 10/19/2021 - Abuse of Pastoral Authority is Rampant 10/18/2021 - Info: Here is a link to an Excellent... 10/15/2021 - The Lie of Toxic Positivity - A Guest... 10/14/2021 - A Common Evidence that Most People... 10/13/2021 - Let's Talk about "Peace" 10/12/2021 - A Rotten Apple...? 10/11/2021 - Fruitless Searches for a Church, and... 10/11/2021 - Hezekiah's Prayer as a Model for Us 10/08/2021 - Wising Up to the Abuser's "Christian"... 10/07/2021 - Is He a Christian? 10/06/2021 - When You Can't Benefit Them Anymore -... 10/05/2021 - Let's Talk About "Marriage Intensives" 10/04/2021 - Some Thoughts from Proverbs 10/01/2021 - How many Sins are Required to... 09/30/2021 - Thank You to Carma for this Term: Toxic... 09/29/2021 - This What Enables Evil to Hide in Our... 09/28/2021 - The Haughty Evil of the Wicked and... 09/27/2021 - Kelly Orr Tells Her Story of Abuse 09/24/2021 - Seeing, Yet not Seeing Evil 09/23/2021 - Loyalty is a Fundamental Quality of Love 09/23/2021 - Abusers are not Your Average Sinner 09/22/2021 - Be Sure to Read This Comment by Lynn -... 09/21/2021 - Tell Me What You Think of These Claims 09/20/2021 - Love Does Not Always Conquer 09/17/2021 - This Evil of Matriarchal Abuse Deserves... 09/16/2021 - Let's Talk about FEAR - a Red Flag in... 09/16/2021 - The 10 Commandments of a Narcissist... 09/15/2021 - Classic Abuseer From the Old Testament 09/14/2021 - Straining a Gnat to Swallow a Camel -... 09/13/2021 - Silence as a Sign of Abuse 09/10/2021 - Exodus: Getting Free of "the Family" 09/09/2021 - Still More About Background Checks 09/09/2021 - Let's Talk More About Background Checks 09/08/2021 - Let's Think Some More about What it... 09/07/2021 - Listen to Me! - A Common Demand of... 09/06/2021 - The Matriarchal Kingdom of Abuse 09/03/2021 - Friends May Desert Us - Christ Never... 09/01/2021 - We Become Like the Master We Choose 08/31/2021 - What Does a Real Church Look Like? 08/30/2021 - What if Timothy Continued to Hang Out... 04/23/2021 - Image Maintenance is Idolatry 04/22/2021 - Exposing Sin andEvil is not Gossip 04/21/2021 - Be Sure that Justice is Coming 04/20/2021 - The Power of Love - Really? 04/19/2021 - Does 1 Corinthians 3 Teach that an... 04/18/2021 - The False Appearance of Godliness Has... 04/18/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness: Case... 04/17/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness: Case... 04/16/2021 - Wisdom from Proverbs about Abusers 04/15/2021 - Is Social Justice only for the liberals? 04/14/2021 - Divorce for Abuse - An argument from... 04/13/2021 - The Infernal Circus Perpetrated on... 04/12/2021 - Focus-Shifting: It's The Tool of... 04/11/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness: Case... 04/10/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness: Case... 04/09/2021 - Does 1 Corinthians 13 Requires us to... 04/08/2021 - Please Watch this Video Bible Study -... 04/07/2021 - The Trap of Assuming Everyone is "Good" 04/06/2021 - A Chief Reason that "friends" Betray Us 04/05/2021 - "I will never leave you" - A Certain... 04/04/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness: Case... 04/03/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness: Case... 04/02/2021 - The Pain of Being Shunned - by Tiffany... 04/01/2021 - The Error of Regarding the Wicked as... 03/31/2021 - An Abuser is a User: an Ab - User 03/30/2021 - A Warning Sign - Counselors who are... 03/29/2021 - Why is Forgiveness Even Possible? 03/28/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness: Case... 03/27/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness - Case... 03/26/2021 - Don't Fall for the OPC's New Horizons... 03/25/2021 - Rudeness is a Sign of Evil 02/25/2021 - We are Children of the Promise - Take... 02/24/2021 - The Lord's thoughts Really are Higher... 02/23/2021 - What did Jack the Ripper look like? 02/19/2021 - Life After Abuse - How to Move On 02/18/2021 - The Remnant - this is an extremely... 02/17/2021 - Sorry, not Sorry - Thoughts on False... 02/16/2021 - Can God Save Anyone? 02/15/2021 - The Letter of the Law is not Enough and... 02/12/2021 - Scandalizing the Worship of God 02/11/2021 - Is Suffering Required by God? Is it a... 02/10/2021 - These Words of the Lord in Isaiah are... 02/09/2021 - Arrogance is the Friend of Evil 02/08/2021 - Idols are False Gods, a dream, an... 02/05/2021 - The Blinding Work of our Enemy in this... 02/04/2021 - A Warning to Those who Harbor the Wicked 02/03/2021 - Some Common Sense from the Ananias and... 02/02/2021 - Watch Out for this Leaven - It has... 02/01/2021 - More Wisdom About the Wicked 01/29/2021 - Christ Can Heal Us 01/29/2021 - With Out for the Usual Suspects 01/28/2021 - Blind Leading the Blind - Don't be led... 01/27/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness - Case... 01/26/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness - Case... 01/25/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness (Part 7) -... 01/22/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness - Cases... 01/21/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness - Case... 01/20/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness: Case... 01/19/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness: Case... 01/18/2021 - An Appearance of Godliness: Case... 01/15/2021 - A New Series: An Appearance of... 01/14/2021 - Judgment of the Wicked is Part of the... 12/04/2020 - Is Your Faith Supernatural or... 12/03/2020 - Some Thoughts on Churches that Abuse... 12/02/2020 - Don't be One of These False Prophets... 12/01/2020 - Betrayal by Friends and Family is... 11/30/2020 - Let's Think Some More about the Popular... 11/27/2020 - Most Professing Christians Tell Christ... 11/25/2020 - When the Church becomes the Enemy 11/24/2020 - A Central Scripture on the Evil of... 11/23/2020 - The Domestic Abuser is Actually a... 11/20/2020 - Even the Best Bible Teachers Get it... 11/19/2020 - A Primary Handbook for Understanding... 11/18/2020 - A Short Post Consisting of Just one... 11/17/2020 - Evil People Lie - They are of their... 11/16/2020 - Lessons from Laodicea 11/13/2020 - What "Do Not Think Too Highly of... 11/12/2020 - Watch out for Flattery 11/11/2020 - The Lord Knows Who are His Own - and... 11/10/2020 - A Huge Defense Against Abusers and... 11/09/2020 - Boys' Clubs in the Church 11/06/2020 - Trusting Experience Over Scripture - a... 11/05/2020 - Growing Accustomed to Evil 11/04/2020 - Saul - A Case Study in False Repentance 11/03/2020 - When Family Forsakes Us 11/02/2020 - "If You Only Understood..." Using... 10/31/2020 - When Anger is Godly 10/19/2020 - The Other Way to Peace 10/16/2020 - Magic, Superstition, and Biblical Faith 10/14/2020 - The Wicked Demand Secrecy - Darkness... 10/12/2020 - Child Custody and Solomon's Wisdom 10/09/2020 - Beware of Marriage "Intensives" and... 10/07/2020 - "Everyone is a Christian" - Another Lie... 10/05/2020 - "Never Say Anything Negative About... 10/02/2020 - The Persistent Widow of Luke 18 09/30/2020 - She's marrying a sociopath and there is... 09/28/2020 - The Wicked Sow Evil in the Fields of... 09/25/2020 - "Friends" of Victims who Refuse to... 09/23/2020 - One of the Worst Letters I Have Seen... 09/21/2020 - The Wicked Work to Alienate Others... 09/18/2020 - Pharaoh Pursuing the Israelites is a... 09/16/2020 - Follow Up to the Abuser Seeing his wife... 09/14/2020 - Churches Need to Stop Practicing... 09/11/2020 - Most Local Churches are Actually... 09/09/2020 - Usually, "Loving the Sinner" means... 09/07/2020 - The Double Standard of the Wicked
Older
Newer
Top