Are You Deceived by a Political Spirit?
“Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod” (Mark 8:15).
Jesus tells us to be on our guard for the dangerous viruses of the religious spirit and the political spirit.
Those demonic spirits were prevalent when He walked the earth, and they are rampant around the world today. Don’t let them infect you; don’t let them have any place or foothold in you. You can love politics and even steward a call to influence in this arena, but be careful that you never begin to believe that politics carry the dominant solutions to humanity’s well-being.
God’s Kingdom can never be fully implemented at the political level because the political system is part of the world system. Politics can and should be influenced for good, and we should do all we can to call our civic leaders and systems to a higher standard of God’s justice. But political ideologies do not exalt Jesus Christ or bring Heaven to earth, and they are not the Kingdom of God. Therefore, do not place your hope in them.
Action
Renounce and repent of any ways you have knowingly or unknowingly taken on board any “yeast” from politics or religion: “Jesus, You are my rock. In You I trust. You alone bring life, justice, and righteousness. I renounce any ideologies, methodologies, systems, or rules of men that I have trusted in and put ahead of You. That even includes any man-made church traditions and rules that have become dominant in my life. I repent of choosing legalism over grace, and salvation by my effort, and works rather than by faith in Christ alone. I refuse to allow anything to come between me and You, Lord.”
Salvation is Not Found in Politics
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship (Hebrews 10:1).
When leaders set the laws of the land and vote in measures that set some national standards for your country, remember that no matter how good these laws might be, your access to the Kingdom of Heaven has never been granted on the basis of lawmaking and law-keeping.
The message of Jesus Christ does not come with a heavy-handed “takeover” mandate that enforces rules and codes of morality that everyone must abide by, whether they truly want to or not. The people of a nation are not saved by which political or religious leaders they have at the top of the system. The law never saved anyone. It may be a reasonable measurement of a wholesome society, but it is not the core of the good news. We are saved only by the sacrifice of Jesus, and the new covenant that He made for us is in our hearts and written in our minds by His Spirit.
This word is good news also to those who live in nations with ungodly leaders who set corrupt laws and celebrate immorality. Rejoice that these leaders and their laws will not stop the spread of the Gospel and the knowledge of the glory of God (see Hab. 2:14).
Decree
Choose to recommit yourself to Jesus and reacknowledge Him as your Lord and Savior: “Jesus, You alone are the way, the truth, and the life. You came into the world to seek and save the lost. I was one of those lost sinners, and You died for me. There is no other name under Heaven—no man, no leader, no political party or system, no law, no ideology or system—by which I can be saved.”
Additional content by: Sarah-Jane Biggart, John Hansford, Micah Hayden, Sam Robertson, and David Stark.
