We can depart from the core of our Christian faith even while going through the motions. Because of this, we must question and examine ourselves to determine if we’re still in the faith. Either our faith and love ...for Christ is alive as we press on to an ever increasing faith while being renewed by the power of Christ, or we are progressively becoming carnal, less Christ-like, and even worse, of a reprobate mind.
...even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate
...even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
...Titus 1:15b-16
What is a reprobate mind?
A reprobate mind is a morally unprincipled person whose mind is set the wrong way. It is a way of thinking that lacks proper judgment, and is a mindset that has lost all fear and regard for the principles of God’s Word, and for that which is right. Although God’s Word tells us to “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” the reprobate-minded person rejects and disallows the mind of Christ because he has cultivated his own mind and conscience which are defiled. The purity of our faith is directly related to the effectiveness of our conscience, and when the conscience is defiled, a man’s deeds become increasingly wicked. Ultimately the individual becomes reprobate unto every good work—worthless, good for nothing, and rejected by God. And although they declare that they know God and maintain their Christian profession, they are in effect abominable to God and are ultimately rejected by Him.
The Need for Self-Examination
...Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
2 Corinthians 13:5
The above Scripture is a call to self-examination. Just as we get physical check-ups to determine our physical health, we need spiritual check-ups to find out if we meet the biblical criteria of one who is in the faith and accepted by God. You should be able to examine the issues of your life from a divine perspective to see whether you’re producing the proper fruit of your faith—unless you’re a reprobate. Prove and evaluate yourself.
Give yourself a spiritual examination by asking yourself a series of questions. Do you manifest the fruit of the Spirit, or the works of the flesh?
Do you have the fear of the Lord—the craving desire to honor, please, and reverence God above every other desire that’s contradictory to the will of God?
Are you submitted to God and His servants, or have you become increasingly rebellious? Are you spiritually progressive and going from glory to glory? Do you still get convicted of missing the mark? Christ Jesus is in you—unless you fail to meet the test. Either our faith is alive and we’re pressing on to an ever increasing faith and obedience, or the opposite is happening. Either we’re being renewed by God’s divine power and are dying to self daily, or we’re becoming increasingly rebellious and are succumbing to the works of the flesh.
Understand that it is one thing to be spiritually weak, yet repentant and striving for maturity. Look at God’s servant David. David’s repentant heart positioned him for deliverance, and in spite of his failure, God considered him “a man after Mine own heart” (Acts 13:22). A tender heart goes a long way in God’s sight. But if your heart is no longer succulent to God with the intent of obeying and practicing the truth of God’s Word, and if you are no longer producing the fruit of your faith without any level of conviction, then you may have a reprobate mind.
Detecting a Reprobate Mind - Part II
Exchanging Truth for a Lie
...
a reprobate mind is a way of thinking that lacks proper judgment. It is a mindset void of all fear and regard for the principles of God’s Word, and for that which is right. Now let’s see how unchecked passions have the ability to lead you to a desensitized place where the truth of God is exchanged for a lie.
Who changed the truth of God into a lie…
…God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.
Romans 1:25a, 28b
We exchange the truth of God for a lie when we blatantly resist the revealed will of God. This prolonged and willful resistance of God’s truth sets one up to be turned over by God to a reprobate mind. A man cannot be brought to greater destruction than to be given over by God to fulfill his carnal lusts. What causes a believer who once loved God to exchange the truth of God for a lie? A desensitized heart. A desensitized heart may be the dominant cause of willful disobedience to the revealed will of God. It is cultivated over time and increases in power with each level of defiance and insensitivity to the voice and instruction of God.
The Deception of a Desensitized Heart
But King Solomon [defiantly] loved many foreign women…
They were of the very nations of whom the Lord said to the Israelites, You shall not mingle with them…for surely they will turn away your hearts a...fter their gods. Yet Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines, and his wives turned away his heart from God.
And the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord, the God of Israel, Who had appeared to him twice,...
-----1 Kings 11:1a-3, 9 AMP------
Solomon’s wisdom was no match for the deception of a desensitized heart. In spite of two appearances from God, the above scripture reveals that “Solomon defiantly loved many foreign women.” The voice of his passion overcame the voice of God’s instruction to the point that he ended up with 1,000 wives, many of which were heathen. A desensitized heart is a deceived heart that sets one up to exchange truth for a lie. Why? Because it has been desensitized to the point that it has lost all fear of the Lord—the craving desire to honor, please, and reverence God above every other desire that’s contradictory to the will of God. And in the life of a believer, a desensitized heart has nothing to do with not knowing God’s will. Instead, it has to do with the level of desensitivity allowed in the heart of the believer against the known will of God.
Detecting a Reprobate Mind - Part III
The Safeguard of Value
How a desensitized heart may be a dominant cause of willful disobedience to the revealed will of God. A desensitized heart has nothing to do with not knowing God’s will, and everyth...ing to do with the level of desensitivity allowed in the heart of the believer against the known will of God. Now let’s see how we can fortify ourselves from falling prey to a desensitized heart through the safeguard of value.
Now just as Jannes and Jambres were hostile to and resisted Moses, so these men also are hostile to and oppose the Truth. They have depraved and distorted minds, and are reprobate and counterfeit and to be rejected as far as the faith is concerned (see 2 Timothy 3:8 Amp)
In the above scripture, the Apostle Paul instructed his son Timothy on how to deal with the reprobates of his church. In a prophetic sense, Paul made an assessment of the spirits which were attacking Timothy’s New Testament church to the on...es that also attacked Moses in the Old Testament. In each case, there was a manifestation of great opposition, hostility, and dishonor against the truth of God and His messengers. To dishonor God’s revealed will and His delegated authority is to disrespect and dishonor God. Such was the case with Jannes and Jambres—believed to be the two Egyptian magicians who withstood Moses. Instead of honoring God’s divine instruction to let Israel go, Jannes and Jambres were hostile to Moses. And just as Jannes and Jambres devalued the will of God spoken through Moses, today’s reprobates devalue God’s revealed truth, and oppose God’s servants.
The Necessity of Value
Why then do you kick [trample upon, treat with contempt] My sacrifice and My offering which I commanded, and honor your sons above Me…?
…I did promise that your house and that of your father [forefather Aaron] should go in and out before Me forever. But now the Lord says, Be it far from Me. For those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.
1 Samuel 2:29a-30b AMP
Value is a necessity when it comes to serving God. What you don’t honor you will not value, and what you don’t value, you will eventually mistreat and abuse. In the above scripture, God had a couple of questions for Eli before discarding him from service. God asked, “Why did you honor your sons above Me, and why did you treat My instruction with contempt?” God then gave Eli the explanation for reneging on His promise with the house of Eli, and it was due to the lack of honor for God, and a God instruction: “…For those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” It takes a daily practice of honoring God to make our relationship with Him valuable, and it’s the safeguard of honor placed on our relationship with God that causes us to obey God’s voice, and the voice of His delegated authority.
Protecting the Strength of Your Heart in Warfare
Your heart strength is a major factor to your success in warfare, crisis or attack. Maintaining a strong heart and spirit in warfare is key to your success in battle. When we lose heart in the... midst of our warfare, we create an opening to become easy prey to the enemy’s attack. To lose heart means to loosen and relax in your courage in the battle at hand. And when you lose heart in warfare, you’ve lost the main thing that motivates you to believe for success in your battle. We all have a degree of that motivating thing in us which gives us the hope that one day our pursuit and our warfare will pay off.
Protect Your Zeal in Warfare
The strong spirit of a man sustains him in bodily pain or trouble, but a weak and broken spirit who can raise up or bear?
(see Proverbs 18:14 AMP).
The strong spirit of a man sustains him during pain or trouble, but a weak heart crumbles under attack. Adversity reveals your strength level and the strength of your heart. “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Pr...overbs 24:10). When you faint and quit during warfare, it shows that the strength of your heart is weak. When a believer loses the force that helps him keep believing and trusting in God, they have lost the most important ingredient to winning any warfare. The success to winning any battle and attack is not only dependent upon your weapons, but it is also dependent upon your will to fight and keep fighting. The will is the courage and passion for your battle that has been established in you. And as long as you maintain that passion for warfare, it is difficult for the enemy to defeat you in your fight.
[Therefore beware] brethren, take care, lest there be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart [which refuses to cleave to, trust in, and rely on Him], leading you to turn away and desert or stand aloof from the living God.
- Hebrews 3:12 AMP--
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