CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS Monday:
Every child of God must contend with "imaginations" – speculations and arguments that have no spiritual substance. These are thoughts that seem very real and logical, yet are nothing more than human speculations at the best, and Satanic delusions at the worst. Yet, these "imaginations" can gain such control over the hearts and minds of people that they are viewed as absolute truth. In their most subtle form, these are religious thoughts and views of Scripture that lead us in the wrong direction. In the most obvious form, they are baser lusts that view fleshly appetites as primary, considering they are to be fulfilled with zeal and immediacy.
Working through the erroneous teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus, Satan actually overthrew the faith of some (2 Tim 2:18). That faith, received from God in the first place, was cast down to the ground with an erroneous thought. There are words – theological views – that "will spread like cancer" (2 Tim 2:17, NKJV). They may be found in a particular teaching, like that of Hymenaeus and Philetus, a modern song, or some form of literature.
There is something common in all faulty thinking. It demands prominence in the mind. False thoughts, or "imaginations," will settle for nothing less than the throne of your mind and heart. They are aggressive and powerful, and, if not thrown down, will push you away from God and closer to the lake of fire. They must be overcome. The contemporary exaltation of intellect, logic, and human disciplines has made men more vulnerable to such thoughts.
In His mercy, God has provided us with spiritual weaponry that is wholly adequate for the circumstance in which we find ourselves. These weapons are "mighty through God," and fully capable of "pulling down strongholds" of thought that stand between God and man. With them, "imaginations," or "arguments" that keep men from embracing the truth, can be violently "cast down," or "demolished" (NIV). This casting down is not accomplished through polite dialog and gentle reasoning. Rather, with these weapons, the truth of God aggressively attacks false thought, pummeling it into the ground. It shows how utterly foolish and profitless erroneous thoughts really are. It makes them repulsive, suitable only for the trash heap of worthless thought.
These powerful weapons can be employed to demolish thoughts other people are having, as well as those that seek to invade our own minds. In fact, that is the point of the text in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. Ponder the effectiveness of these weapons when Peter used them on the day of Pentecost. He was speaking to the very people who had rejected Christ and called for His crucifixion. They were dominated by "imaginations" concerning the Lord of glory. Yet, using this heavenly weaponry, Peter dashed these thoughts to the ground with such effectiveness the people cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" The same thing happened a few years later when Saul of Tarsus confronted the Lord of glory, and the imaginations he had been entertaining were pulled down and thrown to the ground.
Here is an area of spiritual life we cannot afford to neglect. There is grace available to use these weapons effectively in the overthrow of erroneous thinking. Let us encourage one another to appropriate and use them wisely.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for effectively arming us for effective combat with the very one who once held us captive.