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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Sons of the Kingdom, #3
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. (II Timothy 2:20,21)
There are people in the world who have had the good seed of the Kingdom sown in them, although there still are tares in them. There are other people in the world who have only the seed of Satan in them.
Can an individual who has the good seed of the Kingdom purge himself or herself from the seed of the wicked one? Definitely yes!
We would suggest that the division in the world is not between those who profess to be Christians and those who do not. The division is between that which is born of the Kingdom and that which is born of Satan. Receiving the Lord Jesus provides us with the opportunity to become a son of the Kingdom. If after having received the Lord Jesus we do not through the Holy Spirit cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, taking full advantage of the grace of God, but continue to live our life apart from the Lord, we remain a son of Satan. It may be true that there is no other truth in greater need to be proclaimed in the churches of Christ.
Is a believer in Christ who persecutes another believer reflecting the seed of the Kingdom or the seed of Satan? How you answer this question will reveal your understanding of the Kingdom of God.
When we think about wicked people we are apt to picture in our mind the rapist, the murderer, the thief. There are many such in our day. Some of them behave far worse than animals.
However there is another kind of wickedness that is more destructive in its consequences, and, in fact, is the origin of rape, murder, and robbery. The wickedness of which we are speaking appears throughout the Scriptures. It accounts for the murder of Christ and the vicious persecution of Christians. It is the desire of man to live in his self-will. As long as we live in our self-will we will reveal in our behavior the personality of Satan whether or not we profess belief in Christ.
Four characteristics of Satan. There are four characteristics of Satan's personality:
Satan does not wait on the Lord in order to discover His will and act on it.
Satan will never admit any wrongdoing on his own part but continually accuses others. He is the Accuser of the brothers, the Accuser of the true people of the Lord.
Satan lacks understanding of God and God's ways.
Satan is proud and arrogant, filled with personal ambition and the desire to be preeminent.
From these four characteristics of Satan (self-will, denial of personal wrongdoing and the accusing of others, lack of understanding of God, and personal ambition and the desire to be preeminent) proceed much of the wicked behavior of God's creatures in the heavens and on the earth.
To be continued.