Following In Jesus Christ Footsteps: 08/23/06

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Bondage and Sadomasochism (BDSM) – a Christian

Bondage and Sadomasochism (BDSM) – a Christian Perspective

I hope that as you read through this page, you will arrive at the same conclusion as I have concerning bondage, sadomasochism and their associated subcultures, i.e. that they are contrary to God's design for healthy living and healthy sexuality. God created us and gave us the wonderful gift of sex to be enjoyed in the intimate bond of marriage. God intended sex to be a loving, giving experience, as opposed to a selfish, lustful, or domineering experience. This page has been written primarily to Christians, but I encourage everyone to consider the points made.

Definitions:

Bondage: "A state of being bound usually by compulsion; servitude or subjugation to a controlling person or force" (Webster's Dictionary)
Domination: "supremacy or preeminence over another; exercise of mastery or preponderant influence" (Webster's Dictionary)
Masochism: "A sexual perversion characterized by pleasure in being subjected to pain or humiliation esp. by a love object; pleasure in being abused or dominated" (Webster's Dictionary)
Sadism: "A sexual perversion in which gratification is obtained by the infliction of physical or mental pain on others; delight in cruelty" (Webster's Dictionary)

Additionally, Encyclopedia Britannica says this: "The sadist, however, often seeks a victim who is not a masochist, as some of the sexual excitement derives from the victim's unwillingness. The level and extent of sadistic violence may vary considerably, from infliction of mild pain in otherwise harmless love play to extreme brutality, sometimes leading to serious injury or death. The satisfaction of the sadist may result not from inflicting actual physical pain but rather from the mental suffering of the victim. Sexual urges may limit the level of violence, but in some cases the aggressive impulse becomes predominant and the sadist progresses to more extreme expressions of his violent tendencies. Sadism may be a factor in some violent crimes, particularly rape and murder."

Sadomasochism: "The derivation of pleasure from the infliction of physical or mental pain either on others or on oneself" (Webster's Dictionary)
Submission: "An act of submitting to the authority or control of another" (Webster's Dictionary)

There are many ways in which people mix the above acts with sexuality. For simplicity of discussion, I will treat the above topics as one entity under the abbreviated acronym "BDSM." It is not my intent to explore each subculture of BDSM and make a judgment call on it. Rather, I will present principles of Christian living that are relevant to BDSM. You can then apply them to whatever area of BDSM you might be dealing with and decide for yourself if it is honoring to God.

Points about BDSM

1. BDSM degrades and dishonors God's temple: Our bodies are made in God's image and are intended to be vessels of worship (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20). When we mistreat someone's body, or allow our bodies to be mistreated, we degrade them and dishonor God. This is basically mocking the dignity of God's image. This dovetails with Satan's objectives of marring, abusing or destroying our bodies such that they cease to glorify God.

2. BDSM perverts sexual pleasure by mixing it with pain: Pleasure and pain are opposites, but BDSM attempts to bring them together for sexual gratification. Pain is a byproduct of sin (Genesis 3:16-17; Genesis 6:6) and was not intended to be part of creation. It will be eventually removed from creation by Jesus at the end of the age (Revelation 21:4).

God designed us to enjoy many different pleasures, including sex, food, work, art, music and sports. Our fallen nature tends to combine sinful acts with our outlets of pleasure. God does not take pleasure in evil - nor should we as his followers. David wrote, "You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell." (Psalm 5:4 NIV) Consider what Solomon wrote: "A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom" (Proverbs 10:23 NIV)

3. BDSM stifles the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives: When you consider the definitions of the words involved with BDSM and its associated acts, it's apparent that they are not based on love. Rather, they are based on malice, hate, cruelty, lust, selfishness, control, and domination. These attitudes are part of our sinful nature (Mark 7:21-23) and are directly opposed to the attitudes or "fruits" of the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV).

There are many scriptures that warn us not to have the attitudes featured in BDSM. For example, Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:31-32 NASB, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." (note: the definition of malice: "desire to see another suffer" (Webster's Dictionary). For more examples see the scriptures at the bottom of this page.

God commands us to walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit and not to gratify our fleshly cravings (Romans 13:12-13). Paul wrote:^"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24 NIV). When we ignore God's commands and pursue our sinful cravings, we stifle or "quench" the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Ephesians 4:30).

4. BDSM corrupts God’s perfect plan for love and sex in marriage: Let's first look at the below scripture to best understand God’s intent for marriage relations:

²²Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church-- Ephesians 5:22-29 NIV

Key ideas from the above scripture:

· Wives are to submit to their husbands as they do to God. Our submission to God does not involve punishment, wrath or abuse, because Jesus Christ bore all the punishment due to us on the cross (1 Peter 2:24; Romans 5:1). We have peace with God and submit to him in reverence and appreciation for the great sacrifice he made for us. A wife's submission carries no hint of sexual slavery, abuse, suffering or pain.

· The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. Jesus did not treat the church harshly, nor did he inflict pain for pleasure or seek to dominate them. Jesus loved the church so much that he sacrificed his own body to pay for our sins. His sacrifice was once and for all, eliminating any need for further pain and suffering on account of our sin (Hebrews 9:26; Hebrews 10:10). Following Christ's example, a husband has no business treating his wife harshly, inflicting pain for pleasure, dominating her, etc.. Also, the reverse is true as well - he has no business allowing his wife to do those acts to him. It simply would not be within the character of Christ.

. A wife should not mistreat her husband because this would be a perversion of the submission and respect that should characterize the wife's role. Paul likened the husband’s role to that of Christ and the wife’s role to that of the church. In Ephesians 5:22-24 he wrote, “²²Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” The question we can ask ourselves is, “Did God intend the church to abuse Jesus through pain and domination?” No! The church's attitude toward Jesus is to be one of reverence, respect and love. Likewise, wives should treat their husbands with reverence, respect and love.

· We are to nurture our body and our spouse’s body. We worship God in many ways, but especially in how we treat our body (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20), which is made in God's image and is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). It would be dishonoring to God for the wife to abuse her husband's body, and a husband is specifically commanded to cherish and nurture his wife’s body, as he would his own body (Ephesians 5:29-30). Nurturing, caring and feeding do not carry any connotation of bondage, pain or abuse.

5. BDSM brings you under the rule of a defeated enemy. Satan hates the fact that through our faith in Jesus Christ, we become co-heirs of God's kingdom (Romans 8:17). As adopted sons of God, we inherit authority and dominion over sin, Satan and his forces (see authority). Consequently, Satan seeks creative ways like BDSM to bring us back under his rule (through sin) and strip us of our "divine inheritance" rights.

God commands us clearly to not allow sin (or anything other than God) to be our master (Genesis 4:7). Also, Paul wrote: ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. " ¹⁶Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" Romans 6:12-14,16 NIV

We must remember that Jesus surrendered his own body to be punished once and for all for our sin. His sacrifice purchased our freedom from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2). To willingly place ourselves back into some form of bondage would be to make a mockery of the freedom Christ purchased for us. Paul wrote:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1 NKJV

If we allow ourselves to come under Satan's rule, we will be subjected to his "tools of domination," which he uses to keep people in slavery. Being subject to these tools is no fantasy! Here are some examples:

Torture: Matthew 18:32-35
Sickness: Luke 13:11, Acts 10:38
Affliction: Job 2:7,
Murder & death: John 8:44, John 10:10, Hebrews 2:14
Bondage/Slavery: Hebrews 2:14-15, Romans 6:19, 2 Timothy 2:26

6. BDSM can be progressive and may eventually lead to increasingly graphic fantasies (e.g. sex, death, rape, torture, mutilation, etc.). In an exclusive interview in the 1990's , the late serial killer Ted Bundy shared with Dr. James Dobson how pornography progressively helped him accelerate down the road to sadistic killing. Interestingly enough, BDSM was involved.

7. BDSM opens the door to perversion and confusion: People turn to perversions when they are not satisfied with the “normal” pathway of stimulation. In essence they are saying to God “your plan for my sexuality is not good enough…I want more gratification.” By doing this we open ourselves up to some very serious consequences. The apostle Paul captures some of those consequences in his letter to the church in Rome:

"²⁴Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.
²⁶Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. ²⁸Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. " Romans 1:24-31 NIV

Here are the key aspects of the peoples’ behavior:

They degraded their bodies with one another
They worship created things instead of God (sexual fantasy is a form of worshipping the body)
They explored additional areas of perversion (homosexuality)

The consequences of such actions included:

They were given over to shameful lust and a depraved mind
They received a "due penalty" for their perversion
They were filled with every kind of wickedness, including malice and murder
They became heartless and ruthless

Pursuing BDSM will produce similar results, because it too involves degrading the body, worshipping something other than God (sex, body, pain, control, punishment, power, etc.), and exploration of other forms of perversion. Once we open ourselves up to the associated consequences, it becomes very difficult to regain a clear and right mind. However, recovery is possible with God's help.

Other verses addressing BDSM:

^"Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" 1 Corinthians 5:8 NKJV

"But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth." Colossians 3:8 NKJV

"³For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.⁴But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,⁵not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" Titus 3:3-5 NKJV

"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind." 1 Peter 2:1 NIV

"Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts." Psalm 28:3 NIV

"²¹For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²²greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' " Mark 7:21-23 NIV

"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." Ephesians 5:3 NIV

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12 NIV

"Do everything in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14 NIV

Home Sex

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Freedom from Masturbation

Freedom from Masturbation

"Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?" Proverbs 6:27 NIV

Masturbation is often that one topic that people (especially Christians) really don't like to talk about. It's not something that is just a male problem these days, as many women also secretly struggle with it as well. Our culture tells us that there is nothing wrong with masturbation, yet our conscience often tells us otherwise...

I've written this study in order to encourage people at the very least to refrain from masturbation. Perhaps more importantly, I've written it to help people find and remove the roots involved with a masturbation addiction. Once you have dealt with the roots, controlling/eliminating the behavior becomes much less of a challenge.

This study is intended as an addendum or follow-on to my Freedom Journey 1 study which addresses many of the foundational issues involved with recovering from sex addiction. If you haven't yet gone through Freedom Journey 1, I heartily encourage you to do so.

I remember as an adolescent how I struggled with shame and condemnation concerning this act over and over. Even so, the shame and condemnation did not empower me to get free. I continued to feed my habit with porn and promiscuity for the next 20 years, but eventually returned to God for help to finally jettison the habit. He responded and I found complete freedom. I discovered that life without masturbation was not only possible, but also enjoyable.

This study will help you:

Decide if masturbation should be a part of your life
Discover the root causes of masturbation addiction
Go through the steps of resolving the root causes
Maintain freedom from masturbation

Study outline:

Proceed on Study: Masturbation: Good or Bad?

**This course is available in a single document (PDF format). (Click Here)

Home Online Courses Page Obstacles to Freedom

Paul Cook

Holding Forth The Word Of Life

THE OCCULT -

WHAT'S WRONG WITH EXPLORING THE "OTHER SIDE"?

People are fascinated by the occult - the dark, the mysterious, the X-files , the tarot cards and the Ouija boards. But "the truth is out there.." - is a falsehood! The truth is in Jesus who said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no-one comes to the Father but by Me" (John 14:6).

Participating in the occult is very dangerous - not just because of what may or may not occur - but because it brings God's anger down on you and your children for up to three or four generations.(Exodus 20:4-5 NKJV) "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; {5} you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

When Israel was about to go into the promised land Moses gave these warnings against being involved with idols, images or occult practices.(Deuteronomy 7:23-26 NKJV) "But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. {24} "And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. {25} "You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. {26} "Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.

Notice the penalty for bringing an object of occult worship into one's house "lest you be doomed to destruction like it... for it is an accursed thing". Idols carry the curse of God on them as do Ouija boards, tarot cards, things used in Satanic rituals, crystal balls, magic books, divination instruments etc. When these things are present in the home, alcoholism, mental illness, chronic diseases and even suicide soon follow.

But you don't have this stuff in you house - you just "get your cards done", have your palm read, read your horoscope etc...(Leviticus 20:6 NKJV) 'And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people." Consulting mediums and spiritists was so serious that it resulted in God's wrath falling in a particularly severe form - banishment forever from Israel.

Here is a catalog of verses about the occult.

The Torah

(Leviticus 19:26-31 NKJV) {26} 'You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. {27} 'You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. {28} 'You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD. {29} 'Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness. {30} 'You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD. {31} 'Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

(Leviticus 20:6 NKJV) 'And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

(Deuteronomy 7:5 NKJV) "But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire.

(Deuteronomy 7:25,26 NKJV) "You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. "Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.

(Deuteronomy 18:10-14 NKJV) 10 "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,11 "or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.12 "For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. 13 "You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.14 "For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you

Old Testament History

(2 Kings 17:17 NKJV) And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

(2 Kings 21:6 NKJV) Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

(2 Kings 23:24 NKJV) Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

(2 Chronicles 33:6 NKJV) Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

Old Testament Prophets

(Isaiah 8:19 NKJV) And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?

(Jeremiah 14:14 NKJV) And the LORD said to me, "The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.

(Jeremiah 27:9 NKJV) 'Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, "You shall not serve the king of Babylon."

(Ezekiel 12:24 NKJV) "For no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel.

(Ezekiel 13:6-7 NKJV) "They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, 'Thus says the LORD!' But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. {7} "Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, 'The LORD says,' but I have not spoken."

(Ezekiel 13:18 NKJV) "and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive?

(Ezekiel 13:20 NKJV) 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds.

(Ezekiel 13:23 NKJV) "Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD."' "

(Malachi 3:5 NKJV) And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien; Because they do not fear Me," Says the LORD of hosts.

New Testament

(Acts 19:19 NKJV) Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.

(Revelation 21:8 NKJV) "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

(Revelation 22:15 NKJV) But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

What Should I Do?

The early church used to have as part of the baptismal formula "I renounce all the works of the Devil" and those becoming Christians were required to destroy any idols or charms or magic books that they owned (see Acts 19:19 above for an example). Because the sins of idolatry, witchcraft, and involvement in magic or the occult are "abominations" that is very offensive to God - then they must be confessed and sometimes using a prayer for spiritual cleansing can be a big help. Here is a procedure for dealing with any occult involvement.

1. Do a personal inventory of both your involvement and your families involvement in the occult - could your grandmother tell fortunes, did you have an uncle who was a magician (not tricks - real magic), were your parents members of an organisation like "The Spiritualist Church". remember the punishment for these sins goes down the generations and could be affecting you. Confess all these that you know of to God and ask His forgiveness.

2. Burn everything that is associated with the occult -jade Buddhas, temple wind chimes, tarot cards, magic books, demon masks, even the "dark" kind of heavy metal music, things with pentagrams on it (the five pointed occult star), astrology books, love magic , charms, books from cults such as the JW's or Mormons, when in doubt destroy it. Many people are trapped by the value of these items as they can be covered with gold or silver or be "old and rare books" etc. The Ephesian Christians burnt 50,000 drachmas (about 5 million dollars worth) of magic books when they became converted. The Bible tells us (Deut 7:25) that we are not to covet the silver or the gold that is on them - its tempting but its dangerous.

3. Set yourself a program of bible reading and prayer and ask God to renew you spiritually and be Lord of your life. (John 3:1-17)

4. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit so you can know the true spiritual power that is from God and serve Him.

DEALING WITH CURSES , HEXES AND SPELLS

Curses are an unusual topic, but they are real, you can even buy numerous books on how to curse people in most bookstores especially New Age bookstores. They are now part of "teenage witch" type TV programs. However curses are not playthings and are profoundly emotionally disturbing for those who experience them. They are not just angry words or swear words; they are acts of power in the spiritual realm. Curses are mentioned over 200 times in Scripture, and were foundational to the Old Covenant (see Deuteronomy 28-30). God Himself was the first one to pronounce curses – on the earth, on Eve’s fertility and upon the serpent. Curses are not just a primitive superstition; they are spiritual pronouncements recorded in Scripture, that profoundly affect the very structure of reality in some way.

Curses And Creation

The world was created by the word of God and is held together by the power of His Word (Genesis 1, Hebrews 1:1-3, Colossians 1:17-20). Thus God’s words can change creation and Jesus’ curse caused the fig-tree, representing barren Israel, to shrivel up. Blessings and curses are first of all God’s words that operate at this fundamental level of creation and “tilt the playing field” of life one way or another. Secondly curses and blessings can be from evil spirits or flow from the human spirit. Goliath's curses against David were “by his gods” (1 Samuel 17:43) and were ineffective for reasons we shall see later. The David and Goliath encounter was a power encounter of one spiritual system against the other and both contenders came in the name of their respective deities. Shamans and magicians such as Balaam were hired to curse people in OT times and still do this today. Though curses from evil sources much less powerful than curses from God they still were feared and were able to do much damage. There are 22 references exhorting believers not to curse others. Curses are finally ended in the new creation (Rev 22:3).

The Origin of Blessings and Curses

The origin of blessings and curses is found in the book of Genesis. The first blessing is upon the living creatures, which were told to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:22). When God made mankind He also blessed them saying “be fruitful and multiply” and added a third blessing “have dominion over” (Genesis 1:28). These three basic blessings of: “be fruitful”, “multiply” and “have dominion over” form the basis of all future blessings, such as the Abrahamic blessings, and their reversal forms the basis of all future curses such as those in Genesis 3. Lets look at this a little bit further:

Fruitfulness is the ability to joyfully express your inner nature and feel that which you are doing is truly creative, worthwhile and significant. Its opposite is pain in creation especially barrenness.

Multiplication is exponential increase - increasing as in 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 not additively as in 2 , 4, 6, 8, 10, Multiplication is a huge increase in productivity for a small increase in effort. Its opposite is frustration and futility. Putting in a huge effort for little or no reward.

Authority to rule over means dignity, headship, authority, the ability to be ascendant, to be the head not the tail. Its opposite is being humbled, to eat the dirt, to be crushed and humiliated, to be unable to rise.

In Genesis 3 we see the first curses in operation. The woman is made unfruitful, the man is made to work in futility and the serpent is told he will eat the dirt. The three things that make life good are reversed. Life becomes unbearable. Thus when we are cursed we find life very difficult indeed. No matter how hard we try to rise we never quite make it. Time and time we get to the brink of success only to have it snatched away. Curses can affect health, particularly reproductive health. They can affect earning power and they can affect our ability to have authority and command over our lives and people who are cursed may have to endure lifelong humiliation.

The Effect of Curses And Witchcraft

As a missionary I can say that curses are real and in some cases they are even lethal; Ezekiel talks of magic charms that hunted lives (Ezekiel 13:18-20). Curses are on the rise in Western culture as people dabble more and more in the occult and in organizations where people take secret oaths that invoke curses (such as the Masons). Emotionally curses produce deep confusion and despair and an inability to think straight.

[There is not a lot of good literature on the topic of curses and all such books need to be read critically and subjective material carefully evaluated. Derek Prince’s book “Curses and Blessings” is reasonable, Ed Murphy’s chapter is good but gives no hint on how to break curses, and Francis Frangipane has some very good books on living in the place of protection from curses and spiritual attack.]

On one hand we do want to acknowledge the reality of curses and to deal with them and to break them on the other hand we do not want to become overly superstitious and fearful seeing curses everywhere. If your life is affected by sterility, barrenness, constant lack of success and failure to gain any sort of ascendancy no matter how hard you try then a curse may be in operation. If you think this may be the case then do some research on your life and family history and take the matter before the Lord.

The good news is that breaking curses can be surprisingly easy for Christians because we dwell under the protection of the blood of Jesus Christ. Curses have greatest power where the person who has been cursed has committed some great act of wickedness such as involvement in the occult. The reverse is also true, curses have little or no power over a righteous person and Proverbs says that a curse without cause will not alight on the head of a righteous man.

Curses may come upon you because of your own conduct because of : idolatry, participation in the occult, prostitution, fornication, sexual immorality, adultery, theft, injustice, direct defiant disobedience to God in an important area, and involvement in secret societies with rituals and vows.

Curses may be aimed at you by others because of: hatred, envy, greed, jealousy, the use of magic, spiritual conflict and the desire for revenge. In some cases parents curse their children, particularly the first-born son, in order to attain pwoer in a deal with Satan or his representatives. This is said to occur in Masonic rituals.

Preventing Curses Having An Effect On Your Life

Scripture reveals a number of ways in which we can break curses and/or be protected from them

1) Live a righteous life free from major sin and acts of injustice. Abide in the righteousness of Christ where no curse can penetrate. (Malachi 4:6, Proverbs 26:2, Romans 8).

2) Put on the full armor of God in Ephesians 6 :10-21 which is actually armor against spiritual attack. Ephesus was noted for its magic practices (Acts 19) and its curses and witchcraft. The primary purpose behind Paul writing to the Ephesians was so they could have some understanding of their power, authority and degree of protection in their pagan and occult city. The armor of God is like the Kevlar of the spirit world protecting the Christian against curses, magic and occult practices.

3) God is able to turn a curse into a blessing. He did this when Balak tried to get Baalam to curse Israel. (Nehemiah 13:2, Deuteronomy 23:5, Numbers 22&23). A brief prayer by Jabez that has received a lot of popularity lately is a case of a person appealing to God to have a curse turned into a blessing and succeeding. David is particularly bold when he says in Psalm 109 where he seems to have been the victim of a curse (see verses 17 & 18) (Psalms 109:28 NKJV) Let them curse, but You bless; When they arise, let them be ashamed, But let Your servant rejoice. David did not fear the curse, but instead asked God to bless him and outdo the curse, and then to turn the curse back on those who uttered it.
God can out-bless the most fearsome and disabling curses. It gives us hope that our prayers to God based on the name of Jesus can not only break curses but have them turned into blessings instead.

4) Understand and plead the fact that Christ has taken all the curses due to us when He became a curse on the cross (Galatians 3:10-14). In Christ that ground for curses to succeed against us is removed because on the cross Jesus became a curse for us and took all the cursing that may have been due to us due to our violation of God's laws.

5) Break associations with the sins of parents and ancestors particularly those involving the occult or idolatry. Exodus 34:6,7 says such sins bring a curse "to the third and fourth generation". We have to break ties with such sins by not participating in occult ceremonies that may be traditional and even confessing such involvement of your parents and ancestors and forsaking them in a prayer of renunciation to God. The essential thing is to make a clear break with the familial sin in your own heart, mind and spirit.

6) Get rid of objects that bring a curse particularly objects associated with pagan worship, idolatry or the occult. For instance if we have our Grandmothers pack of tarot cards we need to get rid of them. (Deuteronomy 7:25,26) The Ephesian converts were moved by the Holy Spirit to burn their magic scrolls and occult objects. (Acts 19:18-20).

7) Do not engage in secretive or dishonest sins that you think you can get away with unobserved. In Deuteronomy 27: 15-26 certain sins are singled out as bringing a curse notably the making of idols, incest, bestiality, treating parents with contempt, injustice against migrants, widows, the disabled or the poor, hiring a contract killer, and moving your neighbors landmark or boundary stone. Most of these are crimes that would never be tried in court because of the secret nature of the crimes, the lack of two or three eye witnesses willing to testify or the difficulty of proving of the case such as the “my word against yours’ case of the boundary stone. The curse was God’s way of making sure that such secret crimes did not go unpunished. People knew that if they did these things God would repay. Even in the New Testament God is referred to as the one who punishes those who defile the marriage bed. (1 Thessalonians 4:4-6, Hebrews 13:4). If you have done any of the things in the above list then repentance, restoration and an earnest appeal to God for mercy would be a good starting point in breaking the curse over your life.

8) Curses can alight where there is deep abiding injustice against an ethnic group. Saul’s bloodthirsty massacre of the Gibeonites, which lay uncorrected for years, later resulted in a curse and a famine in the time of David.

(2 Samuel 21:1 NKJV) Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, "It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites."

David broke this curse by going back to the offended ethnic group, humbly asking how they would like to see justice done and then enacting it. After ten of Saul’s sons were hung the famine ended. (2 Samuel 21:1-14).

9) Slackness in ministry can result in a curse. The priests in Malachi were under a curse because of their slackness in God's work (Malachi 2:2 ) and the prophet Jeremiah cries out "cursed be he who is slack in doing the Lord's work (Jeremiah 48:10). If you are in ministry do the work of the Lord diligently and obey His specific instructions if you have been given such instructions.

10) Put God’s interests ahead of your own. In the book of Haggai God puts a curse on the nation (Haggai 1:5-11, 2:16,17 )for being self-centered and neglectful of their duty to God. The curse is removed when the people obey the prophets and lay the foundation on the Lord's temple (Haggai 2:18,19) and a blessing is given instead.

There are over 200 verses on curses in Scripture and the above list just touches on some of the main causes and their remedies. Basically a curse can only alight on an area that God has already judged as being worthy of a curse – such as incest , idolatry or murder. Most curses generally last only 3-4 generations though some have lasted since Creation. Repentance from sin, breaking ties with the occult and taking refuge in Christ who has become a curse for us are the main strategies we can use to break curses.

Part of this is putting on the whole armor of God, which is designed to protect us from curses leveled against us in the course of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18). When the curse is lifted then the human spirit that has been affected by the curse and been bowed down with pain, confusion and futility will be quickly healed. The person will recover and emotional normality should soon follow.

A Prayer For Dealing With Curses

If you think that your life may have been affected by a curse then gather with a small group of believing Christian friends who support you and pray the following prayer:

We come in the name and authority of Jesus Christ to deal with curses pronounced over the life of X (your full name).

We ask the protection of the blood of Jesus Christ as we pray and we bind the activity of any evil spirits in Jesus name. We claim the full armor of God (read Ephesians 6:10-18).

We confess the sins of the parents and ancestors of X that may have given ground for a curse to alight upon him/her. (Name & renounce the sins esp. idolatry , witchcraft and murder)

We confess any sins in the life of X that may have given ground for a curse to alight upon him/her. (Name & renounce the sins esp. idolatry , witchcraft, sexual immorality and murder)

We claim the forgiveness and cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ and now assert that no ground remains for a curse to affect the life of X. We assert that X has been seated in the heavenly realms with Christ Jesus far beyond the reach of curses. (Ephesians 1:20, 2:6)

We renounce the curse and all its effects. We break the curse and all its power in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We plead the blood of the cross on behalf of X and say that Christ has taken all his/her curses on the cross according to Galatians 3:10-14. In accordance with the Scriptures and the will of God we pull down and destroy any strongholds in X's life (2 Corinthians 10:4,5) and we destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8)and turn back the curses and all effects of witchcraft destroying them in the cross of Christ.

We pray for the restoration and blessing of X in accordance with the Scriptures especially Ephesians 1:3 that says we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. We pray for the blessings of Abraham that are ours in Christ (Galatians 3:8-29) to be appropriated by X and given to him/herin abundance. We especially pray for the blessings given to all humans at Creation - that of fruitfulness, multiplication and dominion. We out bless all the effects of the curse and by the power of God we turn the curse into a blessing.

We ask Jesus to minister to all the places in X's life that the Devil has cursed. We ask for healing of body, mind and spirit and restoration of life and a just, fair and blessed prosperity in Jesus name. Amen.

You may need to do this three or four times. I have seen it work powerfully and bring peace to many.

Hexes & Spells

If you think your property may have been affected by a "hex" e.g. your computer or car inexplicably plays up then simply pray over it in the name of Jesus. Remove all items associated with the occult e.g a lucky charm in the car. (see Deut 7:24,25). Pray something like "In the name of Jesus I remove the effects of any hex or spell."

Spells cast on persons are not an area I have had much to do with but they seem to involve confusion, often involve a "floating" mental state, sometimes a loss of memory during which actions are performed and a weakening of the person's will so they are easily seduced/manipulated etc. Others are like a sharp stabbing pain in the head or abdomen that is without medical explanation and which is emotionally distressing. Drug addiction may sometimes be associated with occult activity and casting of spells against people.

Again the solution is to form a believing prayer group, and break the spell by applying the cross to the problem. Something like "Our son Jim seems to be being manipulated by witchcraft and may be under a spell Lord, therefore in the name of Jesus we break all spells and hexes, renounce all vows and free him from all occult bondages for the person you set free is free indeed. Free his will from the dominion of Satan and make him strong and full of the light of the Lord. In Jesus name. Amen." You can ask God to reveal the problem if you are unsure. Use the long prayer on curses as a model for how to pray in these other areas as well.

Astrology - "OH, BUT ITS ONLY A BIT OF FUN!"
An honest to God, down to earth, look at the stars.

Dr. P A Kraus

So many people love having a look at their horoscope. Of course they don't believe it, "its only a bit of fun," so they say. Many of these people have a firm belief in God. They wouldn't do anything against Him, they only look into astrology "at a very superficial level" where "it can't do any harm". Every newspaper and every women's magazine has several astrologers writing for each issue. People work out the "star sign" for a new born baby almost before they decide on a name for the infant.

Is a little dabble into the stars so harmless?

Lets have a look and see what God has to say.

There are numerous references to astrology in the Bible, from the books of Moses (1400BC) through to the New Testament (55 AD). Astrology is mentioned specifically by Isaiah in 700 BC (Isaiah 47:13). In a prophecy against Babylon, that ancient stronghold of the "New Age", Isaiah refers to "astrologers, stargazers and the monthly prognosticators." The words "soothsaying" or "soothsayers" and "divination" are mentioned more frequently. This meant foretelling the future by supernatural means, so including "the stars". Throughout the Bible all forms of witchcraft, mediums, familiar spirits, sorcery are all lumped together. You would have to be a little blind not to realise they still are.

Let's keep looking. We'll start with Leviticus, the third book of Moses.(Leviticus 19:26) "Do not practice divination or sorcery."That says it pretty clearly and in a nutshell!

"Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19 verse 31)

(God speaking)"I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people. Consecrate yourselves to be holy, because I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus chapter 20 verse 26)

Now turn to Deuteronomy, (the fifth book of Moses)"let no-one be found among you ...who practises divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or a spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. You must be blameless before the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 10 to 13).

In the second book of Chronicles, (written 400BC), we read of the evil king Manasseh:"He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshipped them....practised sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord.." (2 Chronicles chapter 33 verses 1-6).

Turning to the New Testament, the apostle Paul lists among " the acts of the sinful nature" (works of the flesh " in some versions) idolatry and witchcraft or sorcery. (Galatians 5:19-20)

Why

Why is God so down on a harmless giggle looking at this week's horoscope?

Because He says, "I am the Lord your God." We are to turn to Him, not "the stars", for our future security.

He, and He alone, is our God.

The very first of the Ten Commandments says "I am the Lord your God..you shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20).Having a little play with astrology is like having a little pretend breaking of the first commandment.

Don't play with fire. Understand that Satan hates God. Satan doesn't give a tinker's curse about us. He only wants to seduce us to spite God.

One of the most powerful forms of leading up the garden path is "gradualism". "Just a little bit of fun, don't take it seriously and its harmless."

Don't you believe it. Jesus called Satan a liar (John 8:44) and said

"The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they might have life and have it to the full."(John 10:10).

Some 1400 years earlier , Joshua said to the Jews he was about to lead into the promised land.

‘But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

What will you do?

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