What is the
answer to sin? Christ is our
answer! He is the one who ended the
curse of sin.
Jesus
removed (defeated) the curse of the law which was sin by defeating death
in His own body, which means that a higher law is now in force, the law of
grace. We are not identified as “sinners
saved by grace”, that has never been our identity, our new identity is “sons
and daughters of the King”, sin does not have control over us.
We have been
given access to the Father through Jesus, and if we do sin, it doesn’t change
our identity any more than a leopard can change its spots, we are still sons and
daughters of the King, we repent and move on into right relationship with
Jesus and with others.
We live in a world that is full of blessings and cursings, James details this:
“For every wild animal on earth
including birds, creeping reptiles, and creatures of the sea and land have all
been overpowered and tamed by humans, but the tongue is not able to be tamed.
It’s a fickle, unrestrained evil that spews out words full of toxic poison! We
use our tongue to praise God our Father and then turn around and curse a person
who was made in his very image! Out of
the same mouth we pour out words of praise one minute and curses the next. My
brothers and sister, this should never be!” James 3:7-10 (TPT)
Blessings are
self-evident, but what are cursings? Are
they just foul words or are they much more than that? The word that defines a curse is an “imprecation”. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines imprecation as
the act of invoking evil on anyone; a prayer that a peril or calamity may befall
on someone. To utter a wish of evil
against one; to imprecate evil upon; to call for mischief or injury to fall
upon; to execrate.
Cursing is
more than just speaking a “bad word”, it is the intentional desire for something
bad (or evil) to fall upon another person or thing.
Paul makes
it very clear in Romans:
“Speak blessing, not cursing, over those who reject and persecute you.”
Romans 12:14 (TPT)
Paul takes
straight aim this problem with the tongue, we are to have the mind of Christ
when we speak with (or about) others so that each man or woman no matter what their
proclivity must receive a blessing from us because God made them in His image. To speak against (or curse) another man
or woman is to slander the God who created them, for they too need the grace
that leads to salvation as we are agents of that same grace.
Our struggle
must be clearly identified, it is not against other men or women, it is against
the demonic realm which still has its grasp on mankind and influences people to
speak curses and make decisions which are contrary to the life of Christ.
Your hand-to-hand combat is not with
human beings, but with the highest principalities and authorities operating in
rebellion under the heavenly realms. For they are a powerful class of
demon-gods and evil spirits that hold this dark world in bondage. Ephesians
6:12 (TPT)
When we
speak to (or about) others (Christian and non-Christian alike) we
must always be aware that what we say is being heard by the spiritual realm
and there is a response that is mustered either to bless or curse the subject
of our focus. With us being
Christ-followers the demonic entities pay strict attention to our words to
twist and use them against us to bring dissension and discord into the minds of
others, which is why we are told to “bless and not curse” anyone because of the spirit we have been called to brings us freedom from sin, and that is to be a blessing to all.
Cursing can
be as simple as recognizing the sin of someone else and speaking it to others,
it and can have a profound effect on us.
Consider the story of Noah and his sons:
After he (Noah) drank some of the wine, he
became drunk, took off his clothes, and lay naked in his tent. When Ham, the
father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked, he went out and told his two
brothers. Then Shem and Japheth took a robe and held it behind them on their
shoulders. They walked backward into the tent and covered their father, keeping
their faces turned away so as not to see him naked. When Noah sobered up and
learned what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “A curse on Canaan! He will be a slave to his brothers. Genesis 9:21-25 (GNT)
We have to
be extremely careful with our tongue that our words convey the blessings of God
for others and not detriment or cursings.
Being careless with our words like being a gossip can give the enemy of
our soul permission (or access) into our lives to afflict our minds and
our bodies in negative ways which are contrary to God’s grace.
When we bless others we release ministering spirits to do our bidding to bring God's favor and blessing to an individual or situation. We can release much power through our words, and there could be much good that is done for God's kingdom by releasing blessing into the world through our words.
We are
ambassadors of grace which offer the blessings of God to others, even if we are
being persecuted we are still to be a blessing. Jesus left us the example that even when He was tortured in His
innocence He never spoke out against His accusers, but completely forgave them
for He said, “they don’t know what they are doing”. The accusers of Jesus had no idea that they
were being manipulated by spiritual entities that were opposed to Jesus and
wanted to destroy Him.
How much
more should we bless others since we have the mind of Christ imparted to us!
May you be a blessing to others and speak from a heart of grace and peace so that others may know that there is a God in heaven and He operates through you as an instrument of His love.
Be Blessed;
Stephen
Barnett
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