Ungodly beliefs are deadly. They rob you of the blessings that God desires to give you through Jesus Christ. Each ungodly belief attacks a truth of Scripture designed by God to produce in you freedom and abundant life.
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This blog post is part 24 of the series Seven Invisible Barriers to Spiritual Growth.
To see all the posts in the series click here. To listen to the audio version click here.
Ungodly Beliefs Place Us in Slavery
In Galatians 5:1 the Apostle Paul says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”
The yoke of slavery that Paul was talking about was the ungodly belief that the Gentiles needed to follow the Jewish Law and be circumcised to be saved. This was contrary to the Gospel Paul preached.
He taught that salvation came through faith in Jesus Christ and that it was a gift from God. Believers were set free from the Law because the Law could not make a person righteous. Believers are dead to the law and to sin but alive to God.
Those who taught these things had abandoned the truth of the Gospel for a different gospel. Paul says that their teaching is a distortion of the Gospel and they are accursed.
The reason Paul was so adamant against this teaching is because it would cause the people who trusted in the Law and circumcision to be cut off from Christ. Therefore, he told the Galatians to stand firm in the teaching that was delivered to them and reject the lies of the false teachers.
It was important for the Galatians to know the truth and to stand strong against every attempt by false teachers to deceive them. If they believed them, they would be brought back again to slavery.
Christ Saved You for Freedom
God delivered you out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of His beloved Son so you could walk in new life. Christ died to set you free. You are free only to the extent that you are walking in God’s truth.
Ungodly beliefs block the flow of God’s freedom. They stop you from experiencing life as God intends it to be. That is why it is vital for you to consider your thought life to see if any ungodly beliefs exist.
Ungodly beliefs should be considered a deadly poison that kills the life of God in you. They should be rejected and resisted with all your strength.
Ungodly beliefs come in every shape, size, and variety. The enemy will take every opportunity to deceive us with ungodly beliefs. You and I are no help either. How many times have you taken a situation and misperceived it and come up with the wrong conclusion?
Ever Had a Wrong Belief About Something?
Take some time to think back on a recent misunderstanding you had with someone in your life. What thoughts were going through your head? What were you thinking about yourself? What were you thinking about them?
After the situation was cleared up how did your thoughts change? Did your thoughts go from negative to positive? Did your thoughts go from judging and condemning to understanding and grace?
I think that we would be surprised at how many of the negative thoughts and feelings we experience have no basis in reality. They are all in our minds. We have either made them up ourselves or been told them so often that we believe them.
There are two major forms of ungodly beliefs that plague our lives. Ungodly beliefs about ourselves and ungodly beliefs about others. Below are listed the major ungodly beliefs that people believe and the major areas they affect.
Of course there are many more ungodly beliefs than the ninety-two listed below. This is a good place to start looking at your life to see if any of these lies, or ones like them, are negatively affecting your life.
Take an Inventory of Your Thought Life
I encourage you to take your time and go through this list. Before you start ask the Lord to help you recognize the lies you are believing about yourself or others. If you come up with something that is not in the list, write it down so you can remember it later. If what I have written is not exactly what you believe, change it to make it yours.
The purpose behind this exercise is to start shining the light of God’s truth on your thought life. It is to bring the lies you believe to the light of God’s truth.
Wrong Beliefs About Ourselves
Our Identity
- I’m bad. There is nothing good in me.
- I’m gay. God made me this way.
- I’m a female (when you are a male)
- I’m a male [when you are a female)
- I’m a mistake.
- I’m a sinner. I just can’t help sinning. It is who I am.
- I’m a loser.
- I’m naughty.
- I’m evil.
Our Physical Appearance
- I’m unlovely.
- I’m unattractive.
- I’m ugly.
- I can’t lose weight. I will always be fat.
Our Worth
- I’m worthless.
- I deserve what I get.
- I’m unworthy. I have done too many things wrong.
- I can’t expect God to bless me because I’ve messed up so much.
- I’m not good enough. No matter how hard I try, I can never measure up.
- I must be perfect.
Our Value
- My feelings don’t matter, so why share them?
- Nothing I say matters, so I will keep my mouth shut.
- I’m unimportant.
- I’m damaged goods. Who would want me?
- I never get credit for the things I do.
- I am only valuable because of the things I do for others, Therefore, I must constantly strive to make myself invaluable to others.
- I will never amount to anything.
Our Ability
- I’m incompetent.
- I’m stupid.
- I’m a failure.
- I’ll never measure up.
- I can’t do anything right.
- I’ll never amount to anything.
- I’ll never keep it up, so why try?
- I can’t do ________.
Our Relationships
- I never fit in. I always on the outside looking in.
- I am unlovable. No one can truly love me for who I am.
- I’m unwanted
- I will always be lonely.
- I’m the problem.
- When something goes wrong it’s my fault.
- I should have been a boy/girl, then my dad/mom/parents would love me.
- Everyone would better off if I were not here. I should kill myself.
- I must avoid conflict by all means.
- I am responsible to keep peace in our home. I must smooth everything out.
Our Satisfaction
- I can’t relax. I always have to be doing something.
- Men/women have it better. Life is way easier for them.
- I always get the short end of the stick.
- I’m unfulfilled.
Our Security
- The best way to protect myself from being hurt by others is to separate myself and live in isolation.
- I can never let people see the real me or they will reject me. So I pretend to be what I am not.
- I must control every aspect of my life so people can’t hurt me.
- If something bad is going to happen, it will happen to me.
- I’ll always have financial troubles.
Our Future
- My life is so messed up that it can never be fixed.
- I’ll never change. Things will always be the same.
- I’ve wasted the best years of my life. I will never receive the promises of God.
- I’ve made my bed, I guess I’ll just have to lie in it.
- It’s too late for me. I had my chance and blew it. God can’t use me now.
- I’m powerless to change.
- I’m broken beyond repair.
- I’m trapped with no way out.
Wrong Beliefs About Others
Trust
- Everyone takes advantage of me.
- People in authority will always abuse me.
- It’s not safe to submit to anyone.
- All men/women are jerks.
Security
- I must be strong and in control so others won’t hurt me.
- People will use my thoughts and feelings against me, so I must be guarded.
- Every man/woman will always hurt me in the end.
Acceptance
- No one wants to spend time with me.
- People will reject me if they know who I really am.
- Everyone expects me to be perfect and I can never measure up.
- No one accepts me as I am.
- Everyone talks about me behind my back.
Love
- Everyone hates me.
- No one cares if I live or die.
- No one will help me. I must do it myself.
- There is no one out there that loves me.
- No one would want to marry me.
Care and Understanding
- No one cares how I feel.
- No one cares about me, they just like me for the things I do for them.
- People just tolerate me. They don’t really care about me.
- No one is looking out for my interests.
- No one understands me.
Value
- No one appreciates me.
- No one values my opinion.
- Everyone thinks they are better than me.
- Everyone thinks I’m a loser.
God
- God loves others people more than He loves me.
- God answers other people’s prayers, but He won’t answer mine.
- God is never pleased with me no matter what I do.
- God is judging me all the time. I always feel condemned by Him.
- God is through with me, I’ve failed Him too many times.
- God has failed me.
If you are like me, many of these ungodly beliefs have affected or are still affecting you. I would encourage you to pay attention to the ones that the Lord is pointing out to you and seek His face for the Biblical truth that counteracts the lies of the enemy.
In the coming weeks we are going to look at four passages of Scriptures that give us insight into God’s antidote for ungodly beliefs and continue experiencing His victory as we walk in His truth.
God bless you as you live life the way God intends it to be.
P.S. If I counted right, there are ninety-two ungodly beliefs listed above. As you read this did any more come to your attention? If so, then please put them in the comments below. I know there are more. Maybe you can help make this list more complete.
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