Watchmen on The Walls

       The recent school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, has stirred the simmering flames of two major news topics, topics of considerable attention and contention in modern America (gun control and LGBTQ debate). On March 27th a biological female, claiming to be “trans” violently entered a Christian elementary school shooting through a glass door and thereby gaining entrance into the school where she shot and killed three children and three adults. The rapid response of the police department is to be commended, for in less than three minutes after entering the school, they found the shooter and ended her killing spree by their professionalism. The shooter, twenty eight year old Audrey Hale, knew her life would end that day, for she had texted a friend while sitting in the school parking lot preparing her entrance into the school.

        Of course those who are anti-gun immediately began calling for stricter gun control while others are concerned about how the LGBTQ crowd are becoming more and more aggressive and even violent. The LGBTQ movement is endeavoring to force everyone to accept their perverted lifestyle. Tennessee had the previous week passed a law barring drag shows in any venue where minors are present, whether that be in libraries, on public streets or on private property where children might happen to pass by. Some are concerned that this school shooting will be the beginning of attacks on Christian churches, schools, and other Christian facilities by those in the LGBTQ community. Whether that is the case is yet to be seen but as with so many shootings of this nature, it puts the idea in the minds of those who hate and those who are copycats. It appears that it takes very little for people in the twenty-first century to go out and do the unimaginable.

        While not all the facts have been released at the time of this writing, it has been revealed that Audrey Hale had some psychological issues and this seems to be where the focus is going to rest. There is no question but that some people do have mental disorders which cause them to behave in improper ways and can be dangerous to themselves and others. What is troubling is that psychological problems seem to be becoming more and more common and are blamed for so many of the catastrophes that America has experienced in the last twenty-five or thirty years.

        Actually, there is something more sinister going on which most politicians, psychologists and psychiatrists are missing, and that is the influence of evil spirits. America’s rejection of God has opened the doors for evil to increase and as evil increases, evil spirits are allowed to influence and cause evils beyond what are normal mental disorders. Without an understanding of how evil spirits operate and what opens up one’s life to that influence, things will continually grow only worse. Evil spirits must be fought with spiritual weapons, weapons which God has provided. Yet, when a nation rejects God they reject the only solution to her problems.

        Scripture gives us some understanding and a perspective of some of the means by which evil spirits find entrance into a person’s life. In Matt. 12:43-45 Jesus teaches concerning evil spirits actually possessing a person. He stated, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.” (Take note of this last sentence: this happens because people are wicked.) 

In this case the man’s house was empty. What does that mean? It means that God had worked in this man’s life, cleaning it up, but he had not the Holy Spirit abiding within, thereby making it empty. This still leaves us with a question. How did the first evil spirit inhabit this man’s body? In response to this question, let’s refer to a couple of men in scripture; Legion and King Saul.

        The account of Legion is found in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 9, verses 1-19 and in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8, verses 26-39. This man lived in a cemetery, cutting himself with knives, and was unable to be corralled because he had many spirits residing within and those evil spirits empowered him with extreme strength. While Mark and Luke relay to us the account of this man and how Jesus cast out a legion of evil spirits, yet they do not tell us how the spirits gained such control over him. It leaves us to mere speculation. Scripture, however, does give us some plausible answers.

        King Saul is one very good example of how a person can come to be influenced and then possessed. King Saul started out well but he came to the place where scripture says, “… the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him” (I Sam. 16:14). Considering briefly some of the events in Saul’s life before the evil spirit came upon him, we find that God chose Saul to be Israel’s very first king. Up to this point Israel had been governed by judges. The Israelites wanted a king to go out before them and fight their battles, and though this displeased the Lord, He consented to their demands and chose Saul to be king.

        In the beginning Saul was a very humble man and he followed the Lord, obeying God’s directions in governing Israel and dealing with Israel’s enemies as God instructed him. As time went by and through God’s leading Israel triumphed over many of their enemies under Saul’s reign. Yet with these victories, pride crept in and Saul began to think himself as the means of Israel’s successes.

        The real test for Saul was when God commanded him to go up against the Amalekites. He was told to destroy everything; men, women, children, and even the animals. Saul just could not let all the animals be killed so he spared the best of them and also spared Agag, king of the Amalekites. It is evident from the chapters before I Samuel 16 that Saul had become careless and begun to slip in his obedience to God’s order. It was because of Saul’s careless and gradual disobedience, which didn’t happen in one episode or overnight, that he opened his heart for an evil spirit to gain entrance and begin to trouble him. Saul gradually drifted far from God through disobedience, and that departure was vividly seen in his hatred toward David, whom he sought for several years to kill. Extreme hatred is one door, when opened, will allow evil spirits to gain control. It begins by influencing and encouraging the hatred (as well as other sins) that already exists, but it ends with possession. This is what took place in King Saul’s life. In light of this account of Saul, one must ask: What caused this young twenty-eight year old woman to be so filled with hate that she would go out and kill; especially innocent children? Was it all mental or was there something more?

        Coming back to Legion and to our topic, it seems fairly obvious that Legion had committed some grave sins in his early life, which over time opened himself up for evil spirits to enter. God was very gracious to this man and it is a testimony of God’s power, love, mercy, and grace toward him but also, it is written for our learning. God has provided the means by which evil spirits can be cast out and people delivered but only if we know God and recognize the real problem.

        As a person violates his conscience over and over, disregards instruction and forms a pattern of deliberate sin, refusing correction or admonition, he becomes more and more sinful. As his sin becomes greater and greater and the root of sin grows deeper and deeper, he in time, consciously or unconsciously opens a door and evil spirits gain control. This is why what is often termed “psychological” or “mental” is often the influence of evil spirits which are attempting to control the person. It is most unfortunate and truthfully inexcusable that the church has lost the power to cast out evil spirits when the need is present. Jesus, the Apostles, and the early church cast out evil spirits when they confronted them, and those bound were set free. Today we give medication and counseling and hope for the best. What an inferior method!

WHY THE PROBLEM WILL BECOME WORSE...

        Christians are one of the groups hated by the LBGTQ community. We are considered intolerant, homophobic, xenophobic, and haters of these people. It is true that there are many on the right and even some in Christian organizations which exhibit hatred. However, true Christians do not allow hatred of any kind to exist in their hearts. Jesus commands us to love our enemies, do good to them that hate us, and pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us. True Christians live by Jesus’ words and as He loved sinners and reached out to them, He commands His followers to do the same.

        It was the love of God that has reached down for any man, woman or child that is saved. We recognize that we were sinners (and we still often fall short) to whom God’s love was extended to us delivering us from our sinful lives. We are cognizant of our fallen natures and know that only God can change that nature. We know it because He has changed us. There are many former prostitutes, murderers, thieves, liars, and those who have lived in debauchery and abominable sins who have been washed in the precious blood of Jesus Christ. God changed them and made them new and they will never go back to their once perverted lifestyle. There are many homosexuals and lesbians who have found deliverance from their sexual bondage through Christ, and you can find many of their testimonies online if one is interested.

        Genuine Christians do not hate anyone although we strongly oppose sin and desire for those in bondage to any sin to be freed. The problem with every sin, and that includes sexual sins of all types, is that God speaks against them. Sin separates us from God. God is holy, righteous, and totally pure. There is no taint of sin in Him nor can it be found in His heaven. God is also just. In order for His heaven to remain holy, He must judge sin. In order for God to accept sinners and forgive them, the issue must not only be addressed from His love but also His justice. Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that He did not desire that any should perish but that all would come to repentance and gain eternal life through Him. God created man in His own image and desired to have fellowship with men. However, when Adam sinned, that sin separated God and mankind. God still loved His creation and He showed His love by providing a sacrifice to atone for men’s transgressions. The fall of Adam did not cause God’s love to cease, nor did it cause God to hate men. In fact, it caused Him to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for men’s sins so that any who would believe in Jesus could be forgiven for every sin they ever committed. The sacrifice of His Son makes possible that fellowship with God can be regained and when a believer’s life ends, he will have gained eternal life and the privilege and honor to be eternally with God in heaven.

        Jesus’ sacrifice was not only sufficient for those sins we consider lesser sins but for all sins. Jesus died for homosexuals as well as those plagued with other sins. The message for the LGBTQ community is that God hates all sin but loves all sinners and He showed that love by paying the price for sin, thereby satisfying God’s justice. It is very simple: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Alfred King