How does a person "depart from God"? By reading or hearing the Word and not believing it. By blaming God for evil, for sickness and disease. By impuning His character. By denying the perfection of Christ`s sacrifice for healing.
You can`t "depart from God " unless you have been "with God". So, this Word is speaking to Christians - people who have received Christ as Saviour.
Why would a person "depart from God " who is in Christ? Not intentionally but by deception.
Satan never tells a lie which is obviously a lie. He tells lies that sound like truth and seem reasonable.
Unless a Christian allows his mind to be transformed into the mind of Christ he is Double Minded. He has the old creature mind and the New Creature Spirit.
Being Double Minded is an unstable state. It will eventually go one way or the other.
All Christians are Born Again Double Minded. On receiving Christ our Sin Nature is replaced with a New Nature by God`s Spirit. This enables us to choose the good and eschew the evil. It gives us power over willful sin because God`s Law is written in our hearts.
However remembrance of the Sin Nature is still in our minds. All we ever experienced is still locked up in our minds. Our minds are still captive to the Sin Nature.
Though physical carnality is the obvious battleground between the Sin Nature and the New Nature it is not the most important one!
God has judged sin once and for all in Christ. Any sin we commit after we receive Christ is just a hindrance - it causes us to suffer in the physical realm.
The most important battleground for a Christian is between faith and unbelief.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to the Lord must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  |
This is not a frivolous statement. It is stating a spiritual Law that must be observed for abundant life to manifest. Abundant life is what Christ purchased for us. Receiving it and operating in it pleases God.
Remember, what is in our mind will eventually settle in our heart. So, it is imperative that our minds be transformed as soon as possible,
Transformed to what? The mind of Christ.
Failure to do so will result in us staying in a Double Minded state which leads to having an Evil Heart of unbelief.
Many Christians live out their lives in a Double Minded state. They believe in Christ Jesus for salvation from hell. But they refuse to give up their carnal mind which resists faith and holds firmly to sight.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. |
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. |
Do You hear? Singleness of mind is critical to receiving anything from God.
Keep in mind that this is God`s Word. It is not negotiable. We ignore it at our own peril.
Unbelief is a sign of a closed heart. A closed heart cannot receive the things of God.
An open heart is one which trusts the Word of God without reservation.
A closed heart is an Evil Heart of unbelief.
An open heart is one which believes in the love of God and fully expects whatever God has promised to manifest.
Adults gravitate toward a closed heart - an Evil Heart of unbelief.
Jesus is telling us that we can Only experience the blessings of Grace (access to the heavenly) if we become as little children in terms of faith. Children are trusting. They believe what their parents say.
Evil is "profoundly immoral". Unbelief is "not believing ". So an evil heart of unbelief is one which is determinedly resistant to pure, unadulterated faith in God.
Anyone who discounts the Word of God in favor of their own belief system has an Evil Heart of unbelief.
Is God offended by such an heart? As our heavenly Father His love for us is unaffected. He is disappointed because we cut ourselves off from the Flow of Grace in our lives.
Decide today to believe what the Word says and distrust anything that conflicts with it.