Being in Debt is Itself Bondage to the spirit of Mammon, and the Inroads of the spirit of Mammon into your Heart. Pray for the Church that she will repent from serving money and that God will have mercy on her.
Many in the modern Church in the west deny the exists of real demons which seek to tempt people into sin. Nothing can be more misguided than this. They ridicule and mock all talk about the spirit of mammon, and to look "biblical" and thinking they are so "biblical" and "holy", simply retort that they find many verses in the Bible about sin from the human heart. Yes, the human heart is inclined to sin and can but only sin (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19; Mark 7:21). However, this does not mean that there are no evil demonic spirits out there who seek to seduce people, including true believers of Christ into sin, to snatch the faith out of their hearts.
There is a such thing as deceiving spirits. Just as how there are many verses on sin from the human heart, there are also multiple verses on demonic spirits who seek to tempt people away from the faith in Jesus Christ:
But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils (1 Corinthians 10:20).
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils (1 Timothy 4:1).
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).
If you still don't believe in that there is a such thing a temptation from satan and his demons to stop people from worshiping the true God, you need to read your Bible. In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus Himself was tempted by the devil. This is the greatest proof of satanic or demonic temptation to stop people from persevering in the one true faith, faith in the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost:
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”[a]
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you,[d] Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”[e]
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
If you still deny the existence of demonic or satanic temptation after reading this passage, you really are an unstable and ignorant person who 2 Peter 3:16 refers to. That is who you are and there are many of you out there in the modern Church who are exactly that: unstable and ignorant.
One such demon is the spirit of mammon. Such spirits can only be discerned. You may say that the Bible does not name a 'spirit of mammon', so as to imply that he does not exist. Well, simply because the Bible does not name a demon does not mean it does not exist. That is where the role of spiritual discernment comes to play. If God does not give you the gift of discernment, and you can't discern the spirit of mammon, that does not mean it does not exist. To think that the spirit of mammon does not exist just because you don't think exists, and to impose your view that it does not exist on others is the height of all arrogance.
You probably can't see it because you are under the spirit of mammon yourself. That is the best explanation. That would explain it. One of the signs that a person is under the spirit of mammon is that he can't discern it and froths at the mouth at any talk, and despises anyone who talks about it. Indeed, one very godly pastor who God works through greatly and is empowered greatly by the Holy Spirit once said that one of the things a righteous faithful person has to do is to face opposition from the Church, yes the Church, when speaking on matters that a hard for the many, even within the true Church to accept.
Many people in the west, if not almost every person is in debt, or has been in debt. What the Bible means by debt is money that a person borrows from another. It is not money that a person demands another pay him against a money that he has not borrowed.
There are two reasons for this:
1. The Biblical definition of debt is not what the world defines a debt as any money a person believes should be paid to himself. The world's definition of debt is a self-centred one defined according to what a person would demand of another, out of his own self-centredness and selfishness (1 Corinthians 3:3). Debt, in the eyes of God is that which must be repaid for borrowing from another, because one has been lent something that is theirs (Psalm 37:21).
2. Usury is prohibited by the Bible. It is money that a person demands from another that he has not borrowed (Exodus 22:12, 25; Deuteronomy 23:19-20; Leviticus 25:35-37; Ezekiel 18:17; Luke 6:34; Luke 19:20-23).
Debt itself will cause a person to be in bondage to the spirit of mammon. The Hebrew word for debt is 'nasha' which means to beguile and deceive, that which imposes a burden on someone, perhaps without them realising it.
When a person is in debt, a burden is imposed on him to repay it back. It is because of this imposition of a burden on him that he must seek for money, which is exactly what it means to serve mammon. Jesus told His followers not to worry about their earthly basic needs, that is, to not seek these things, because it is a lack of trust in God. It is akin to what the unsaved do.
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6:25-34).
Thus, as followers of Christ, we are not to seek money. Rather, we are to trust that God will give us our needs. Do not be like the world who seeks all these earthly basic needs (Matthew 6:31-32), which are perishable, and which have no value once one dies. Seeking money is itself to serve mammon, whether one intentionally strives to or not. As long as one is seeking money, by being obliged to pay off debt, one is under bondage to the spirit of mammon. Jesus said no one can serve both God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).
Debt is a snare to the soul. Flee from debt. If you are in bondage to debt, repent of serving money and cry out to God that He will have mercy on you and deliver you from the bondage to debt and the spirit of mammon.
Pray for the Church that God will destroy all the ties that true fellow believers in Christ have to debt and the spirit of mammon, that they will repent and God will have mercy on them. Pray that God will destroy these ties so that they will be able to fully serve Him and further His Kingdom, and to seek first the righteousness of God.
There is a such thing as deceiving spirits. Just as how there are many verses on sin from the human heart, there are also multiple verses on demonic spirits who seek to tempt people away from the faith in Jesus Christ:
But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils (1 Corinthians 10:20).
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils (1 Timothy 4:1).
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).
If you still don't believe in that there is a such thing a temptation from satan and his demons to stop people from worshiping the true God, you need to read your Bible. In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus Himself was tempted by the devil. This is the greatest proof of satanic or demonic temptation to stop people from persevering in the one true faith, faith in the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost:
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”[a]
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”[b]
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”[b]
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”[c]
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you,[d] Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”[e]
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
If you still deny the existence of demonic or satanic temptation after reading this passage, you really are an unstable and ignorant person who 2 Peter 3:16 refers to. That is who you are and there are many of you out there in the modern Church who are exactly that: unstable and ignorant.
One such demon is the spirit of mammon. Such spirits can only be discerned. You may say that the Bible does not name a 'spirit of mammon', so as to imply that he does not exist. Well, simply because the Bible does not name a demon does not mean it does not exist. That is where the role of spiritual discernment comes to play. If God does not give you the gift of discernment, and you can't discern the spirit of mammon, that does not mean it does not exist. To think that the spirit of mammon does not exist just because you don't think exists, and to impose your view that it does not exist on others is the height of all arrogance.
You probably can't see it because you are under the spirit of mammon yourself. That is the best explanation. That would explain it. One of the signs that a person is under the spirit of mammon is that he can't discern it and froths at the mouth at any talk, and despises anyone who talks about it. Indeed, one very godly pastor who God works through greatly and is empowered greatly by the Holy Spirit once said that one of the things a righteous faithful person has to do is to face opposition from the Church, yes the Church, when speaking on matters that a hard for the many, even within the true Church to accept.
Many people in the west, if not almost every person is in debt, or has been in debt. What the Bible means by debt is money that a person borrows from another. It is not money that a person demands another pay him against a money that he has not borrowed.
There are two reasons for this:
1. The Biblical definition of debt is not what the world defines a debt as any money a person believes should be paid to himself. The world's definition of debt is a self-centred one defined according to what a person would demand of another, out of his own self-centredness and selfishness (1 Corinthians 3:3). Debt, in the eyes of God is that which must be repaid for borrowing from another, because one has been lent something that is theirs (Psalm 37:21).
2. Usury is prohibited by the Bible. It is money that a person demands from another that he has not borrowed (Exodus 22:12, 25; Deuteronomy 23:19-20; Leviticus 25:35-37; Ezekiel 18:17; Luke 6:34; Luke 19:20-23).
Debt itself will cause a person to be in bondage to the spirit of mammon. The Hebrew word for debt is 'nasha' which means to beguile and deceive, that which imposes a burden on someone, perhaps without them realising it.
When a person is in debt, a burden is imposed on him to repay it back. It is because of this imposition of a burden on him that he must seek for money, which is exactly what it means to serve mammon. Jesus told His followers not to worry about their earthly basic needs, that is, to not seek these things, because it is a lack of trust in God. It is akin to what the unsaved do.
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6:25-34).
Thus, as followers of Christ, we are not to seek money. Rather, we are to trust that God will give us our needs. Do not be like the world who seeks all these earthly basic needs (Matthew 6:31-32), which are perishable, and which have no value once one dies. Seeking money is itself to serve mammon, whether one intentionally strives to or not. As long as one is seeking money, by being obliged to pay off debt, one is under bondage to the spirit of mammon. Jesus said no one can serve both God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).
Debt is a snare to the soul. Flee from debt. If you are in bondage to debt, repent of serving money and cry out to God that He will have mercy on you and deliver you from the bondage to debt and the spirit of mammon.
Pray for the Church that God will destroy all the ties that true fellow believers in Christ have to debt and the spirit of mammon, that they will repent and God will have mercy on them. Pray that God will destroy these ties so that they will be able to fully serve Him and further His Kingdom, and to seek first the righteousness of God.
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