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「我能抗拒一切，除了誘惑。」
──王爾德
#OscarWilde
（圖片來源：https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/15/oscar-wilde-the-unrepentant-years-and-osscars-ghost-review-wilde-after-prison）
The Sting of Death is Gone
“Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will in any way hurt you.” (Luke 10:19 WEB)
Many troubles we experience in life are the work of Satan and his demons, represented by the serpents and scorpions in the verse above. When they attack, do you know what to do?
The power of a serpent is in its sometimes poisonous bite, and the power of a scorpion is in its toxic sting. The serpent’s mouth is in front, the scorpion’s stinger is at the back.
Jesus is saying that He has given you authority and protection against the front, back and everything in-between of the enemy.
When you understand how to tread on your demonic enemies, you become immune to harm.
““Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” (1 Corinthians 15:55-56 WEB)
Sin is the scorpion’s poisonous sting which produces death. Satan wants people to nurture their sins so that their sowing into the flesh brings forth the mature fruit of death.
Sin produces death because of the Law (the Ten Commandments). A transgression of God’s law brings the penalty of death and the curse of the Law. Without the Law, sin wouldn’t result in death.
For a born-again believer, sin has become powerless to kill him (the spirit) because the believer has shared in Jesus’ death and has passed from death into life. He has been irreversibly saved.
““Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24 WEB)
Sin is also unable to bring the curse upon a believer because Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse Himself at the cross.
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,” that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14 WEB)
However, many believers don’t know these. When up against a believer, Satan is like a scorpion without a sting. He still tries to deceive believers that they can lose their salvation and that God curses them when they sin. Making a Christian think that God is against him destroys his faith because who can resist the power of God?
Actually, the only way the sting can grow back is if you put yourself under the Law again. The moment you attempt works-based justification, it’s like Satan’s sting regenerates and is driven deep into your body, inflicting death through the curse of the Law.
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.”” (Galatians 3:10 WEB)
Satan may come with lies like a serpent and say, “You sinned again. You’re hopeless. God’s curse is upon you. God is going to destroy you because you keep repeating your sins and are unrepentant.”
He heaps accusations and condemnation upon you. The moment you believe him, you are stung by the scorpion. The curse of the Law takes effect in your life because you have effectively put yourself under the covenant of the Law as a transgressor.
Based on the principle of sowing and reaping, sin still bears the fruit of death, causing sickness, depression, infirmity, aging, and finally the death of the body, but sin cannot cause you to lose your salvation or bring you under God’s curse.
God is for you, not against you. His favor continually shines upon you and it is not by your performance, but by the grace of God, made possible through Jesus’ finished work at the cross.
When you fall because of sin, it is by the grace of God that you can immediately pick yourself up again. Do not cut yourself off from that supply by being self-condemned.
In your war against Satan’s temptations, sometimes you will fall—and God knows that. But you can dust yourself off and get up again by receiving the grace and mercy of God. Do not allow Satan to trick you into thinking that God’s curse is upon you.
The scorpion’s sting has been removed and the Law does not apply to you, so let it stay that way. You are a child of God under the New Covenant of Grace who is led by the Holy Spirit!
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Are We Baptized with Fire?
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.””(Matthew 3:11-12 NKJV)
I have read what some believers wrote about the passage above, saying that we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. I imagine that many well-intentioned preachers are also preaching this passionately in a loud voice to their congregation.
They totally misunderstood what being baptized with fire means.
If you read the passage above carefully, you will notice that the sentence about the baptism of Holy Spirit and fire is parallel to the next sentence.
In the next sentence, the “Holy Spirit” is a parallel with God’s “wheat” being gathered into the barn, while “fire” is a parallel with the “chaff” being burnt up with unquenchable fire.
The baptism of fire is not a good thing to experience!
When we read the Amplified Bible translation of the passage, the meaning becomes very clear:
““As for me, I baptize you with water because of [your] repentance [that is, because you are willing to change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret your sin and live a changed life], but He (the Messiah) who is coming after me is mightier [more powerful, more noble] than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to remove [even as His slave]; He will baptize you [who truly repent] with the Holy Spirit and [you who remain unrepentant] with fire (judgment). His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat (believers) into His barn (kingdom), but He will burn up the chaff (the unrepentant) with unquenchable fire.”” (Matthew 3:11-12 AMP)
The word “baptize” means “to immerse”, like when you dive into a pool, you are immersed with water.
Believers are baptized with the Holy Spirit, whereas unbelievers will be baptized with the fires of Hell and the lake of fire.
The wages of sin is death, and sin has to be punished. Being burnt by the fires of Hell is the way which unbelievers have to pay for their sins, since they rejected the payment which Jesus made on their behalf; it is not set to their account. This fiery eternal torment is what being baptized with fire means.
Therefore a person cannot be baptized with both the Holy Spirit and with fire—it is only one or the other, depending on whether he receives or rejects Jesus as Lord.
So please, don’t tell believers that they have to be baptized with fire, for being burnt up like chaff in unquenchable fire is NOT their portion!
Can you see how easy it is to misinterpret Scripture when not read in context, and without being led by the Holy Spirit? Learn to understand the four gospels through the lens of grace: https://bit.ly/understandeveryparable
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