unPHILtered: The Way I See It (17 page)

In today’s world, our children are being taught that there are no such things as good and evil, and they’re being told that it is wrong to suggest that something is good or evil. When Adam and Eve were first created, they weren’t expected to know the difference between good and evil. It wasn’t until after they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil that they understood the difference. The fruits of the trees weren’t evil; it was the disobedience of Adam and Eve—who had been told by God not to eat the fruits—that was evil. We inherently understand the difference between good and evil—even without being taught. Remember the Golden Rule? Whatever you want someone to do for you, do that for them. We are born knowing what we want done to us; that’s how we know what’s good and evil.

The Scripture tells us that there is an absolute truth. John 17:17 says that God’s Word is truth, and John 8:44 reveals that the devil is a
“liar and the father of lies.”
God’s words are not just temporary truths; they’re eternal and always true. The Bible is full of words like
good
,
evil
,
sin
, and
wicked
. The Scripture tells us time and time again to embrace things that are good and shun things that are evil. And if we don’t reject evil, we’ll face God’s wrath. The only way out of our entrapment is through the blood and grace of Jesus Christ. None of us can live the perfect life—but we can get out from under the control
of the Evil One. That’s what Jesus offers, and that’s what I’m talking about.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the Evil One exists. If you know anything about my story, I spent the first twenty-eight years of my life living among the sinners. I was an alcoholic and was consumed by my desires for immorality and lawlessness. I even kicked my wife, Miss Kay, and our three young boys out of our home for a while. There’s no doubt about it: I was among the disobedient and I was controlled by the Evil One until I was called to follow God and lead a life of faith.

This description in the book of Ephesians is talking about me:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
(Ephesians 2:1–3)

Paul the Apostle was writing to a group of people who had gotten out from under the control of the Evil One. He was talking about people like me.

Galatians 3:22 tells us that the whole world is a prisoner of sin. Let’s see: the Evil One is controlling, he’s working in them,
and he literally has imprisoned them. That’s a pretty good bind to be in, don’t you think? I was once dead in the eyes of the Lord. I was controlled by the Evil One and was among his prisoners. But God used his servants to “gently instruct” me in the Good News of Jesus, and God granted me repentance—as Timothy explains:
“The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading them to a knowledge of the truth,”
(2 Timothy 2:24-25).

Yes, God will grant the disobedient repentance, but I’m showing you where most of the world is right now. Paul’s description in Ephesians 2 is an indictment of America. You’ve probably heard this phrase your entire life:
You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
Well, now you know from whom you are being set free. If the Evil One has someone under his control and is causing them to be disobedient, then he has imprisoned them. But there is hope, and that hope comes through hearing the message of Jesus.

In Acts 26, Jesus personally took his message to a known murderer. The murderer’s name was Saul of Tarsus, who was later renamed Paul the Apostle. Saul of Tarsus led a life of great wickedness; he was a persecutor, a blasphemer, an injurer, an unbeliever, and the chief of sinners—according to 1 Timothy 1:12–15. Saul was dragging Christians out of their homes in Jerusalem and having them stoned to death. That’s what he did
for a living! He was killing the people of God. Is that still going on today? Yeah, it still happens today.

As Saul of Tarsus made his way to Damascus, a brilliant light from heaven shone upon him and struck him to the ground. Saul then heard a voice demanding to know why he was persecuting the Man behind the voice. As it says in Acts 26:14–18:

We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

Then I asked, “Who are you, Lord?”

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” the Lord replied. “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

Saul of Tarsus was on his way to the next killing field when he experienced a vision of the resurrected Jesus. It didn’t take Saul very long to refer to Jesus as Lord because he knew whoever He was, He was way bigger than he was. Jesus had Saul’s attention. Jesus appointed Saul as a servant and a witness of
what he had seen and what he would see. In essence, Jesus said, “I’m choosing you and you’re going to go out and tell people what went down right here. You’re going to tell them why you’re doing what you’re doing. I’m talking to you personally, Jack, are you listening?” Yeah, Saul was listening, and he set out right then and there as a servant of God and as Paul the Apostle.

Like Saul of Tarsus, I’m going forth to open the eyes of the nonbelievers, turn them from darkness to light, and turn them from the power of Satan to God. The spirit of the Evil One is working in everyone outside of Jesus. Those who live outside of Christ are prisoners of sin and have been taken captive by the Evil One. If you look at the playing field on earth, those under the control of the Evil One far outnumber the people of Jesus, and the gap is getting bigger and bigger every day.

What has changed between when Paul the Apostle lived in the first century and now? Nothing has changed whatsoever. We as believers are fighting the same battle he fought. We’re fighting the same evil power he was fighting. We’re dealing with the same human beings he dealt with. According to Ephesians 2, people outside of Christ are dead in their sin. The only thing that saves any of us is the grace of Jesus. Those of us who follow Christ are trying to share this message and deliver people from the power of Satan.

How are we going to win? Ephesians 6:10–20 provides us the battle plan:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Now, many Americans will think I’m speaking in some foreign language when I say we’ve got to be strong in the Lord and
in His mighty power so we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes. We need to put on the full armor of God. Say what? What’s this nut talking about? From then until now, it’s the same battle and same enemy. It’s the same sins and same solution—Jesus. Humans were in the crosshairs of Satan then and still are today. Turn your back on Jesus, and you’ve got hell to pay. God loves you, and He proved that by sending Jesus to earth. But God will not be mocked.

I’m talking about war. But we’re not at war with
people
; we’re at war with the Evil One who
controls
those outside of Christ. As it says in the Scripture, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” It’s God versus Satan and good versus evil. Regardless of the depth of their sins, we still love the people outside of Jesus, and we’re trying to set them free from Satan and sin. The Gospel of Jesus does that.

Hey, I’m a human being living on planet Earth and so are all of my neighbors in America. And some of those people are shredding our country to bits and pieces. But our struggles are against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Make no mistake: evil is here and it’s organized. Satan and his mighty throng of evil demons that are with him gained control of the hearts and souls of men and women worldwide, and therein planet Earth is a big battlefield.

What do we do? We go forth and we’re armed. Not with
guns, but with the full armor of God. It’s invisible, but it’s real, and it provides rock-solid protection against the Evil One’s onslaught. When the day of evil comes, we’ll be able to stand our ground with armor God gives us.

It starts with the
Belt of Truth
buckled around our waist, and that truth is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We’ll be able to see through Satan’s lies by holding them against the truth of the Bible.

Next, we’ll put on the
Breastplate of Righteousness
because God—by His grace—has made us right with Him based on what He did through Jesus; our righteousness has nothing to do with what we do—nothing. When we accept the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross as our righteousness, and through our faith, God makes us righteous. We can’t make ourselves righteous through our own good works. We’re not good enough. The Breastplate of Righteousness keeps our hearts strong and pure for God.

Our feet will be fitted with the readiness that comes from the
Gospel of Peace
. Only the gospel of Jesus can bring us all together. If you want peace and harmony in this country, or wherever you are on earth, only the gospel of Jesus can do it. Where there is no Jesus, evil reigns. The Gospel of Peace reminds us that it is by grace that souls are saved.

In addition, we’ll take up the
Shield of Faith
, which can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. He’s alive and well and shoots doubt at us. By holding the Shield of Faith, we know our Father can be counted on.

Finally, we put on the
Helmet of Salvation
and the
Sword of the Spirit
, which is the weapon we fight with. The Helmet of Salvation protects our heads, where we know the truth of salvation sets us free. The Sword of the Spirit is the Bible, which is the Word of God.

When we’re fully clothed in God’s armor, we’re ready to go forth and do battle against the dark forces of this world. We’ll be equipped to teach others about Jesus and save those who are lost. Our cause is God’s cause. It is right, it is just, and I for one will not relent, back up, or back off. I am all in for Jesus. Even though we’re outnumbered, I like our chances. Are you with me?

W
hen A&E TV executives came to West Monroe, Louisiana, about three years ago and told us they wanted to produce a reality TV show about our family, they told me they were looking to make a show about family values. Having watched some of the disgusting filth we see in reality TV these days, I kind of scratched my head and had my doubts.

“You want to film a TV show about rednecks shooting ducks?” I asked them. “Do you actually think that will work?”

“Oh, we think it will work,” they told me. “We’re looking for a show about family values.”

“Well, let me guess how this thing went down and then tell me if I’m correct,” I told them. “You guys were probably sitting in your big boardroom in New York, and a bunch of you suits
were tossing around ideas. A guy in the back of the room stood up and said, ‘I know this is way out there, but is it possible to make a reality show about a functional American family?’

“ ‘Functional family’?” another guy probably said. “ ‘Now, Bob, that’s a novel idea! But where would you find one on this earth, let alone in America?’ ”