Turning the World Upside Down - Part 5
This article has been updated and compiled into the book, "Turning the World Upside Down" The Spirit of Homosexuality and the Last Days"
This article is part of a series which might be better understood by starting at the first post.
At the Center of Self is a Sodomite
One key descriptor that sums up Satan's character is selfishness. He thinks only of himself and places himself above all others. "For God so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3:16) Love gives of one's self for the benefit of others; selfishness takes from others for the gratifying of one's self. God is self-less and sacrifices Himself for man (and calls for us to do the same), while Satan sacrifices man for himself.
The inverted soul is by nature a sodomite because it is focused on itself only. Not able to hear from God because the spirit of man is held captive by the soul, such persons are only able to receive input from the soulish, demonic realm. Just as a woman operating in false authority allows the devil to set-up a stronghold in the natural, the soul operating in false authority allows Satan to set-up a stronghold in the spiritual.
Man was created to be conscious of God and what He desires, but the inverted soul (fallen man) is only concerned with what he wants. This is why the full manifestation of the sodomite nature is seen in homosexuality. Homosexuality is an act of self-love. Because man is so in love with himself, he can only desire that which is just like himself. So women only desire other women; and men only desire other men.
Every inverted soul is a sodomite; homosexuality is merely the culmination of that nature. Satan takes man on a journey into degradation which starts with a rejection of God's order for creation. Let's break down Romans Chapter 1:18-28 which describes Satan's plan for mankind:
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"
What may be known of God has been made manifest in us. We are created in His image and as a reflection of His Godhead. There is no excuse for man not knowing who God is because He has established creation in a way that would accomplish just that (impart to us the understanding of who He is).
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things."
Although the nature of God is obvious in His created work, sinful man challenges God's representation of Himself. Man makes himself the arbiter of who God is and creates a perverted image of God to justify the upside down kingdom his rebellion has established.
"Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen."
The next step in Satan's plan is an introduction to sexual sin. Any sex outside of the boundaries that God has ordained IS sin. This includes masterbation, fornication, oral sex (even between hetereosexuals), anal sex, etc. If you have participated in any of these acts, you WERE on the road to becoming a homosexual - and still are if you have not repented and turned to the Lord in those areas.
Sodomy is not just an act performed by homosexuals. Sodomy is defined as: 1). anal or oral copulation with a member of the opposite sex; 2). copulation with a member of the same sex. Engaging in oral or anal sex with a member of the opposite sex is sodomy. Once you have engaged in acts of sodomy, you become a full candidate for homosexuality. It is merely the next step of your digression into the sodomite nature.
Sex, as designed by God, is a self-less act. This is completely contrary to worldly thinking where sex is something for "me". It is to be an expression of love and giving to be shared with one's spouse (I Corinthians 7:3-5). This is how the marriage bed is kept in honour (Hebrews 13:4). Yet every act of sexual sin is an attempt at self-gratification.
Fornication has been so romanticized in our society, that it is uniformly presented as the natural expression of love between people. In truth, fornication is an act of hatred. If you loved someone, you would not engage in activities that alienate them from God and damn their souls to Hell just to satisfy your own lust. When you love someone you want to esteem them, not degrade them by having them perform acts only a dog would do. In each of these instances, someone is driven by a need to satisfy their own desires at the expense of others. It is a manifestation of the selfish sodomite nature.
This is why God accuses man of worshipping and serving the creature more than the Creator in the above text. Who is the creature being worshipped? Yourself! You ignore the dictates of God and destroy others for your own selfish fulfillment.
"For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;"
Here we see the full effect of reprobation: blatant homsexuality. God calls these desires "vile affections." Please note that it is God who gives man over to these vile affections. For this cause - the cause that man continues to worship himself in sexual sin - God gives man over to the full manifestation of that selfish, sodomite nature.
Don't think that you can just choose how far in sin you will go. You may start off choosing sin, but sooner or later, sin is going to choose you. You may start off experimenting, but soon you become the experiment. Without the grace and mercy of God to restrain the sin nature, sin will take you over. When God removes that restraint, you will do things you never thought you would do.
Ask anyone who has ever had an addiction. No one ever starts out in sin thinking that it will bind them, but that is the genius of Satan's plan. You start off thinking that you are in control, but with each step into sin, Satan places more of himself in you - often undetectable by you until it is too late. Eventually, you become so demonized that he no longer needs your complicity to engage in sin. Even when you no longer want to, you are driven to feed the appetites of the unclean spirits that have made you their home.
So many times people share their regrets of, "I never thought I would..." or "I always said that I would never..." Let me tell you, sin will take you places you never wanted to go. Sin is not an inanimate act, it is a nature with lusts that cannot be appeased. You aren't just dabbling in a little fun; you are being taken purposefully on a journey down a road to reprobation. What you might see as momentary and lightweight is really the unfolding of Satan's strategic plan to make of you what he is: a sodomite. You may not see how Satan is directing your path, but that doesn't mean your destination is any less sure outside of intervention by Jesus Christ alone.
Turning the World Upside Down
This article is part of a series which might be better understood by starting at the first post.
At the Center of Self is a Sodomite
The inverted soul is by nature a sodomite because it is focused on itself only. Not able to hear from God because the spirit of man is held captive by the soul, such persons are only able to receive input from the soulish, demonic realm. Just as a woman operating in false authority allows the devil to set-up a stronghold in the natural, the soul operating in false authority allows Satan to set-up a stronghold in the spiritual.
Man was created to be conscious of God and what He desires, but the inverted soul (fallen man) is only concerned with what he wants. This is why the full manifestation of the sodomite nature is seen in homosexuality. Homosexuality is an act of self-love. Because man is so in love with himself, he can only desire that which is just like himself. So women only desire other women; and men only desire other men.
Every inverted soul is a sodomite; homosexuality is merely the culmination of that nature. Satan takes man on a journey into degradation which starts with a rejection of God's order for creation. Let's break down Romans Chapter 1:18-28 which describes Satan's plan for mankind:
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"
What may be known of God has been made manifest in us. We are created in His image and as a reflection of His Godhead. There is no excuse for man not knowing who God is because He has established creation in a way that would accomplish just that (impart to us the understanding of who He is).
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things."
Although the nature of God is obvious in His created work, sinful man challenges God's representation of Himself. Man makes himself the arbiter of who God is and creates a perverted image of God to justify the upside down kingdom his rebellion has established.
"Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen."
The next step in Satan's plan is an introduction to sexual sin. Any sex outside of the boundaries that God has ordained IS sin. This includes masterbation, fornication, oral sex (even between hetereosexuals), anal sex, etc. If you have participated in any of these acts, you WERE on the road to becoming a homosexual - and still are if you have not repented and turned to the Lord in those areas.
Sodomy is not just an act performed by homosexuals. Sodomy is defined as: 1). anal or oral copulation with a member of the opposite sex; 2). copulation with a member of the same sex. Engaging in oral or anal sex with a member of the opposite sex is sodomy. Once you have engaged in acts of sodomy, you become a full candidate for homosexuality. It is merely the next step of your digression into the sodomite nature.
Sex, as designed by God, is a self-less act. This is completely contrary to worldly thinking where sex is something for "me". It is to be an expression of love and giving to be shared with one's spouse (I Corinthians 7:3-5). This is how the marriage bed is kept in honour (Hebrews 13:4). Yet every act of sexual sin is an attempt at self-gratification.
Fornication has been so romanticized in our society, that it is uniformly presented as the natural expression of love between people. In truth, fornication is an act of hatred. If you loved someone, you would not engage in activities that alienate them from God and damn their souls to Hell just to satisfy your own lust. When you love someone you want to esteem them, not degrade them by having them perform acts only a dog would do. In each of these instances, someone is driven by a need to satisfy their own desires at the expense of others. It is a manifestation of the selfish sodomite nature.This is why God accuses man of worshipping and serving the creature more than the Creator in the above text. Who is the creature being worshipped? Yourself! You ignore the dictates of God and destroy others for your own selfish fulfillment.
"For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;"
Here we see the full effect of reprobation: blatant homsexuality. God calls these desires "vile affections." Please note that it is God who gives man over to these vile affections. For this cause - the cause that man continues to worship himself in sexual sin - God gives man over to the full manifestation of that selfish, sodomite nature.
Don't think that you can just choose how far in sin you will go. You may start off choosing sin, but sooner or later, sin is going to choose you. You may start off experimenting, but soon you become the experiment. Without the grace and mercy of God to restrain the sin nature, sin will take you over. When God removes that restraint, you will do things you never thought you would do.
Ask anyone who has ever had an addiction. No one ever starts out in sin thinking that it will bind them, but that is the genius of Satan's plan. You start off thinking that you are in control, but with each step into sin, Satan places more of himself in you - often undetectable by you until it is too late. Eventually, you become so demonized that he no longer needs your complicity to engage in sin. Even when you no longer want to, you are driven to feed the appetites of the unclean spirits that have made you their home.
So many times people share their regrets of, "I never thought I would..." or "I always said that I would never..." Let me tell you, sin will take you places you never wanted to go. Sin is not an inanimate act, it is a nature with lusts that cannot be appeased. You aren't just dabbling in a little fun; you are being taken purposefully on a journey down a road to reprobation. What you might see as momentary and lightweight is really the unfolding of Satan's strategic plan to make of you what he is: a sodomite. You may not see how Satan is directing your path, but that doesn't mean your destination is any less sure outside of intervention by Jesus Christ alone.
Turning the World Upside Down
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