Staying Faithful through Grasping Truth

What takes women captive to spiritual error?

“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:6-7)

• False teachers are influential fakers—they look good on the outside but have no spiritual power on the inside.
• Influential fakers worm their way into homes of any woman who leaves the door open. Once inside, they gain control over the gullible, weak-willed women.
• Women become especially vulnerable to influential fakers when they are loaded down with guilt from their sins or when they are on the constant search for the latest new thing to satisfy the restlessness in their hearts. Various lusts feed their discontentment.
• Women who never recognize and grasp biblical truth will be taken captive by whatever flashy teachings that come along and live unsatisfied, unstable lives.

Grasp this truth: By faith in Jesus Christ, your sin and guilt is taken away. You are completely forgiven.

• All of our debt of sin before God is enormous. But, God stepped in and did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. He transferred our sin to a substitute, Jesus, and it was taken away.
• Once you place your faith in Jesus Christ, whatever you’ve done that was wrong in God’s eyes from the time you were born through the time of your death has been canceled. Your forgiveness is complete and continual. Colossians 2:13-14; Ephesians 1:7
• As long as you live in your earthly body, sin will happen—whether intentionally or unintentionally. As an already forgiven Christian, you can follow a biblical process for dealing with recognized sin—remember first your identity as child of God, then agree with God that you’ve sinned against Him, mourn your sin and depend on the Holy Spirit to help you obey God in the future. Then, trust in Him to help you overcome the consequences of any sinful choices you’ve made in a way that brings glory to Him.

Grasp this truth: By faith in Jesus Christ, you are redeemed, no longer in bondage to sin and lusts.

Fed by lusts

• A lust is a passionate or overmastering desire or craving for something. It is any desire, craving, or longing for what is generally forbidden or not good for you.
• Any woman who allows herself to feast on her lusts increases her discontentment with life as well as increases her guilt when she acts on that lust. The Bible describes that as being in bondage to sin as a slave master.

Released from bondage

• On the cross, Jesus paid the purchase price out of our slavery to sin with His blood (Mark 10:45). We have been released into freedom to serve God with our bodies and souls in obedience to Him. The Bible calls this whole process “redemption.”
• Redemption means you become the possession of a loving, merciful God and can live in the security of your freedom from bondage to sin. A greater power than sin moves in—the Holy Spirit. He sets you free from the power of that old slave master.
• You have to claim that freedom whenever you get signals from your body or mind saying, “I want to do what I want to do.”

Grasp this truth: Dwelling in the truth of God protects you from being taken captive by influential fakers.

• Vulnerable women are “always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” They could not recognize the truth when they saw it.
• We can become willing participants in our own deception when we become bored by, apathetic to, or annoyed by established Christian truth—sound doctrine. 2 Timothy 4:3-4
• Women need to not only be exposed to truth but to grasp it and hold vigorously to it so we won't be taken captive by the enemy’s schemes. Dwell in the truth of God you can know. Humbly accept what you don’t know or understand. And then, discern any teaching that you read or hear through the complete revelation of God’s Word.

The more we choose God’s truth and God’s way, the easier it becomes to resist the lies of the enemy and turn away from the temptations of the flesh. (Teasi Cannon, Mama Bear Apologetics, p. 91)

Let Jesus satisfy your heart with His faithfulness. Then, make the choice to stay faithful to Him for the rest of your life.

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