Quit Arguing with the Enemy....Learn From Jesus

One of the hardest things I had to learn in my life and through relationships is that there is no point in arguing with anyone.

Why am I saying that?

Well, the Bible commands us not to. If you read the epistles of Paul and Peter, and the other apotles' , you will find scriptures that constantly say something like this:

1. Do not argue

2. Don't let the sun go down on your anger

3. Be gentle; the servant of the Lord doesn't need to quarrel, but show gentleness

4. Refrain from cursing, yelling, and screaming;

5. The anger of man will not produce righteousness in man; etc., etc.

There are so many scriptures on this topic. Evidently the disciples and the early church had trouble with these things, too, just as we do today.But, one of the things I really want to focus one today is why it is so important not to quarrel or not to argue.

First of all, because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. See, the Word of God tells us over and over that we are born again. We are renewed in our spirit to be a new man or woman. Then we are told to walk by the spirit, not by the flesh. That means we do not walk by what we feel, hear, smell, taste, or even think, but by the Spirit and our spirit. It is there where the Holy Spirit resides. So, arguing is a work of the flesh, right? And every time we try to use worldy methods to deal with a spiritual things we will not get anywhere. Arguments are soulish. They are negative in themselves and they do not come from the Lord. That is not the method God chooses for us to use in order to accompllish anything. Arguing is also a spiritual thing; it is a negative spirit, right, because it is not the Holy Spirit? So, if it is not white, then it is black. When you try to argue with someone, you are basically arguing literally with the devil himself. The devil speaks through that person and if you reply with anger and arguments, you just allowed the devil to speak through you. And how far can you get arguing with the devil? Not very far at all. The Bibke says in 2 Corinthians 5 that our weapons are not carnal, not human methods, but spiritual, strong enough to tear DOWN ARGUMENTS!!! It will tear down an argument, not build it. I learned this on my own skin and it was painful because I have allowed my tongue so many times to destroy with arguments. Once someone starts arguing, it is really time to stop. That person is NOT receptive anymore to anything you have to say because now they have allowed the enemy to speak through them and you cannot argue with the devil. You immediately have to start dealing with this on a spiritual level.

Husbands and wives argue. And if none of them realize that this is satan trying to tear us apart, that this is a spiritual warfare, that we do not war against flesh and blood, then it will lead to a broken relatiosnhip, lack of communication, and even divorce. Wise is the person that is aware of the spiritual realm and UNDERSTANDS what is happening in the spirit. For that you need to have maturity and the guts to say, " Listen, let's stop because at this point we will be yelling at the enemy and, he will never give up , but he will tear us apart". Just take some time to cool off and talk it over when you both are full of the Spirit or walking by the spirit, your spirit, not your flesh.

Second, we are in a spiritual warfare. I know I talk a lot about Curry Blake, but only because he is such a dear and humble brother. This man understands warfare.He understands spiritual warfare. He has a military mindset. I definitely encourage you to check him out. Just see the link under RESOURCES on this web page. So, there is a real war that is going on. Yes, it is different because it doesn't have guns and soldiers in it like in the world, but we see the effects of it, the devestation in our families when the enemy's forces are operating. Your kids on drugs, your teenage girl pregnant or anorexic, your parents splitting, your grandpa dying of cancer, etc. You think that is not a war? Satan is trying to destroy them and if we fight by the Spirit , we will defeat all these. Nothing is impossible with God! Only we have to use His laws of His Kingdom to deal with them. The spiritual realm operates by laws, too, and when applied in the spiritual realm, then we will see the manifestation on the Earth.

Third, it is sin to argue. Now, I know that the Bible says in Ephesians not to let the sun go down on your anger and that you can be angry, but do not sin. Our wekness is right there; most of us do not know how to be angry, yet not sin. John in 1 John actually even says that if you got angry with someone, you killed them!!! How many times have you murdered someone then? Yes, you were not put in jail from the world's standards, but from God's point of view you are a murderer every time you get angry with you wife, your husband, you children, your boss, the guy who cuts you off in traffic, the "idiot" who can't drive, etc.etc.WOW! That makes me think twice befaore I get angry again. Now that is the verse I should really have in my pocket and meditate on more. Be angry and do not sin. Yet, according to John, we should not get angry with people. Yes, that includes Obama!

So what are we allowed to get angry with? The facts. The actions of someone. But that is very hard to separate from getting angry with the person. Right? I know it is hard for me; very hard.

Yet, Jesus was angry and He did not sin. Evidently, He was not angry WITH the pharasees, but AT their actions, otherwise He would have sinned according to John.Wow! What a maturity Jesus displayed! What power of self -control and love towards people, the pharasees, too, then!

We are all guilty of murder. So, we need to stop judging the other people in our lives about their sin and look at ours. Now, that doesn't mean we have to be perfect until we correct someone. The Bible talks alot about correcting one another, but it says in gentleness and kindly, not quarreling. See, I believe something becomes judgemental when I start yelling at you, but if with a calm voice I point out something and show you that what you do is not right, you would receive it differently, right? Christians get confused about "judging others". The world tells us " don't judge me". Yes, let's not. But we misunderstand what judgement is. It is pointing out someone's faults in anger and pride and not doing anything to help. That is what Jesus called the hypocrites. But, if you judge=consider=discern right from wrong someone's actions and with gentleness you says, " Brother, sister, mom, dad, dear daughter, etc. this is not right" and show them why and a way out, then you are not "judging" the wrong way. You are correcting and you might even win over a person. Thank you Lord for speaking to me right now as I write!

So, we are supposed to judge, meaning discern right from wrong and we are supposed to correct. Why? Because we love. We love our children, so we judge(aka consider/think) that what they do is wrong and we correct them. We love our brothers and sisters in Christ and then we correct them. Love speaks up, but the treshold between judging and JUDGING is love and gentleness; the way you say it and what is your motivation. Is your motivation to tear down someone or help them out? God sees your heart. Motivation is everything. You know when someone is JUDGING you when they just as Jesus put it, " do not lift a finger to help". I can take someone's judgment of my actions when I know they love me and truly are seeking my best. That is not JUDGING to me, but now it is perceived as LOVE and LOOKING OUT FOR ME. So, go on do that. Until you have that atittude it is sin to just point out sin; if love is not the force that drives you to point out something wrong, then it is just your pride doing it and it is sin. But if you love, truly love, then please do speak up and give people a solution and then that is called as the apostle James put it, "saving a soul from the fire". We are called to save souls, right? And that takes "judging" aka discerning right from wrong and loving and giving people a solution and hope to get out of their mess.

No one wants to just hear someone badgering them, without giving them a solution. See, Jesus one time told the hypocrites, " Your father is the devil!" Now does that sound encouraging? We would immediately tell Him, " Quit judging!" They probably even said that to Him, because , remember, Jesus walked as a human being, and therefore I am sure most of them did not look at Him as God and THE perfect one. We do because we read the Scriptures and we know that beforehand, but those people just saw Him like a regular man who DARED to judge them! But Jesus did after that something else. He told them that He was the solution. Now, that is the key and the difference between "judging" and JUDGING! The right kind of judging doesn't bring condemnation, but a solution. So, go bring solution to people.

Ok. So, arguing. It is a deed of the flesh. You need to deal with it on the spiritual level. Use the weapons of the Spirit to tear down arguments! Ephesians 6 tells us which are those weapons: truth, righteousnesss, salvation, God's Word, peace; etc.

When you choose those "weapons" then your relationship will flourish. I wish I had done that in my marriage more, but I am glad I am alive to encourage you so that your marriage and your relationships will blossom before it is too late.