God has enemies—the enemies of the cross. We have enemies. Those who have aligned with our adversary, the devil who comes to kill, steal, and destroy all that God created for good.

Some Christians have bought into Christian pacifism, where we bring no correction to a wrong idea out of a false love that has no degree of judgment or truth. God sets before us life and death and tells us to choose life. The devil sets before us death and death and doesn't care what we choose. Most don't realize the option of life in Christ and choose from the lesser of the two options the devil gives: death.

Once we become born-again, we are drafted into a new war of the ages. The war is all around us and even in us. Our new spirit is at war with our soul, that is to be renewed and transformed to the kingdom of God and his ways. The war and the enemies I am discussing today are the enemies in and of the world.

We are told to cast down every lofty idea that exalts itself against God. We are called to judge ideas, principles, thoughts, concepts, opinions, and anything that exalts itself over the truth of God. We are not told to cast down people. But we must remember we are in a war of words that significantly impact our world of flesh and blood. So, people sometimes need to be removed from among us or vice versa.

We do have enemies of the gospel. We are to respond to these enemies with patience and kindness, remembering that we were once enemies of God. We are told to feed and give drink to our enemies. Our light must shine before our enemies. We also need to know our enemy and his allies in the flesh. Too often, friendly fire kills the person and leaves the lofty ideas of the world in power. The letter kills, but the spirit brings life.

We are commanded not to judge until the time comes when everyone's works will be revealed, whether good or evil. However, if we rightly divide the word of God as good stewards, we must also contrast the command to know them by their fruit.

We do well when we judge words and actions and do not make conclusions to final judgment and destination. Cast down the wrong idea of God and his kingdom, not the person. The government is given the authority to cast out the person who does evil. But the church's duty is casting down ungodly thoughts.

Jesus said we are to know them by their fruit. What type of fruit? We need to keep several areas of fruit in mind to cast down ideas, not people.

The fruit of the spirit is a good indicator that someone is seeking God versus their own—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. If we have these, no law can convict us of ungodly ideas. I practice paying more attention to someone's fruit than their doctrine. Doctrine matters, but we don't know where a person is in their understanding of truth. Good teaching can easily be applied to their knowledge if their fruit is good.

In an earlier newsletter, I taught how Jesus saw a fruit tree and was hungry from afar, but when he arrived, there was no fruit, only leaves. So, Jesus cursed the tree and moved along to the temple only to have the same experience of being hungry but with no good fruit, so he also cursed the temple by overturning the change tables.

According to our standards of morals and ethics, a good person looks like a Christian but is not biblically. We are told from the Garden of Eden that we can eat any seed-bearing plant for food. The fruit of the spirit can be imitated by manmade doctrines and traditions, making the power of God effective. What makes the word of God effective? The power of the cross. Jesus, the seed that crushed the head of the serpent of lies. Fruit without this seed of Jesus is useless in creating disciples in Christ. Fruit may taste good, but without seed, there is no discipleship that leads to a new creation in Christ.

But the seedless fruit of the spirit is not always false fruit. Many fruits get picked for harvest before the seed can mature. The fruit continues to ripen, but not the seed. For the seed to come full, it must remain on the vine until it is made whole.

If you understand the natural, then you will understand the spiritual. That is what Jesus told Nicodemus. We have both seedless Christians and immature seeded Christians in the church. Sometimes, it can be challenging to know the difference.

To know them by the fruit, one must taste good and have the seed of Jesus propagating everywhere we go.

But that isn't the only fruit we are to judge. There is the fruit of the womb. Paul commands Timothy that elders in the church must be able to rule their families in the love of God and the fear of the Lord. We have great men of God in the Bible who failed this test regarding their families, but it is still a type of litmus test to whether we should sit under them for godly teaching. To whom much is given, much is required. We have the inward-living Holy Spirit to lead and direct us that the Old Testament saints did not. More is required from us, the New Testament saints. Moses's anger, David's adultery, Samson, and the like are not tolerated in the new creation of Christ. Solomon's wisdom and apologetics cannot cover our moral failings. But still, we don't cast them down, and we cast down the thoughts that there is nothing wrong with living a double life or staying in a place of influence when our influence doesn't represent Christ in his glory.

The fruit of words is also important, and it is a test. Our words should be salty to cause a thirst for the Lord. Our words ought to be encouraging to build up and not tear down. Our words are to benefit those with ears to hear. No corrupt communication should come from our mouths. Yet Christians sound like the world, even from behind the pulpits. We are to talk like people alive in Christ and not dead in sin. Jesus said we will be held accountable for every idle word we speak. We are known by the fruit of our words. Whether they are gentle or sharp, smooth or coarse, filled with love or hatred.

The fruit of our fields is found in Deuteronomy 28. The work we do speaks to who we serve. Jesus called out those who called Him Lord but did not do what he said to do. Jesus called them workers of iniquity even when their works were preaching, teaching, healing, and casting out of devils.

We can imitate or do everything God says in vain. We can pray like the pharisee did in the temple: thank God I'm not like those people. We can go to church, always learning but never coming to the truth of repentance toward God and faith in Christ alone. We can give everything away to the poor to be seen for the applause of man. We can be heralds of truth, but leaving our first love in God, we become like clanging symbols and eventually have our light removed by Jesus himself.

Remember, we are talking about casting down every thought that exalts itself against God but not casting down people. We don't want to throw out our witness by throwing out the baby with the bath water. We must know who the children of God are and who they are not. We must know our arch-enemy and his minions, in which we were once.

We need to leave the final destination to God. However, John, the disciple that Jesus loved, tells us we should know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. We must rightfully divide the word of God. And we can only do that by contrasting the whole counsel of God. The final judgment belongs to God. We must warn people that if they stay on the path of what the Bible calls sin, they are once again making themselves objects of God's wrath.

The love chapter in the Bible tells us to think the best about someone. And we should until we have considerable reason not to. From afar, the fig tree looked inviting to Jesus. It isn't easy to judge someone's fruit if we don't get close to them. Motives of the heart are only revealed through fellowship and walking together. From afar, not only do we not know if the fruit is imitation or natural, but we jump to conclusions as to the motive.

We have heard the adage to trust but verify. I can confirm that we all have flesh that cannot be trusted. Even the most disciplined among us cannot be trusted after the flesh. With a heart after God, we still do the things we don't want to do, and we don't do the things we want to do. Our new spirit in Christ is at war with our flesh. But when you are close to someone, you can see the anguish of coming up short and the joy of being lifted up and out by the Lord. You can also see the indifference to God and his ways.

We are to cast down every thought that does not align with a holy, loving God. We are not to cast down people, leaving them without a way to redeem themselves through godly sorrow. We are told to divide the word of God rightly. We are not to divide the wheat and the tares. In doing so, we destroy the good along with the evil. It is the angels of God who are giving that task at harvest to divide. An opportunity will present itself for divisive correction to take place.

We are to cast down every thought that does not align with a holy, loving God. We are not to divide the sheep from the goats or throw back fish that we don't think belong. That job belongs to Jesus. Jesus is a good shepherd and knows his sheep. And his sheep follow him.

As long as we talk about Jesus, let's hear what else he says about this subject. Jesus has sheep from other folds. At the time, Jesus spoke to the Jewish disciples about opening salvation to the Gentiles. But the principle can be applied to our divisions in camps, tribes, or denominations. I don't think yours or my tradition has all the boxes checked. We are a body of Christ larger than our part of the world.

Jesus said if they are for you, they are not against you. There are ministers whose doctrine is off, and sometimes a lot. I am not in fellowship with them, so I can't judge their intentions; I only judge their doctrine. They aren't haters, so I cast down where they are in error rather than call them out. If they aren't cursing Jesus, we must be careful lest we tear down what God is building up. Cast down the unbiblical truth but not the person.

Jesus talked about a codependency relationship between the hearer and the speaker. People with itching ears will always be drawn to those who tell them what they want to hear. If you have ever interjected yourself into a codependency relationship, then you know the two-front war you just entered. Jesus said to leave them alone and let them both fall into the ditch. Cast down the ideas that exalt themselves against God but let the people find out for themselves. Yes, disagree with them; just let them find out.

When the storms of life come, we find out what we built our house on. If on the sand, destruction will be great. If we are on the rock of Christ, we will survive. Let us not be co-conspirators with the destroyer. If our words given in gentleness go unheeded, let the storm destroy and not our tongue. Then, during the cleanup, they may have ears to hear.

We will all one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ and God. Those in Christ will be held accountable for how well we handled the resources given to us. Don't waste your time judging the faithfulness of another disciple of Christ. If two can't agree, they can't walk together. Paul and Barnabas disagreed and separated, so find a place where you can walk together. One puts a thousand to flight; two puts ten thousand to flight.

Cast down every thought that exalts itself against God, but don't cast down the brethren deemed unfit for the kingdom. Like the days of Elijah, countless people have not bowed their knees to the culture war. If you are a bold, confrontational Christian, please remember that it is not what we have done and can do for God but what he has done for us. We must keep our eyes focused on the work of the cross that Jesus fulfilled. Highly productive sacrificial people can forget the greater work of Jesus and forget the work on the cross. Keep yourself in check with the fear of the Lord.

I also need to remind you that none of us are required. John, the disciple that Jesus loved, wrote that no one needs a teacher because the Holy Spirit teaches us. Anything we do in Christ has been granted to us as co-labors, not a dependency on God's part. Part of the new, better covenant is that we have all been seated in heavenly places with him. No one needs to tell his neighbor what to do because we all have the same indwelling teacher. If we are given a role to teach, God has granted us a place out of his will to share and not necessity.

While we are casting down every thought that exalts itself against the words of God, we are to cover the brother who got it wrong. Love covers it doesn't expose. When we see a saint in sin, we pray for them from a distance so that God may grant them repentance. And there are sins unto death that need exposure, and we are not to pray but to expose.

Paul had questions about the motives of a few preachers, but instead of casting them down by name, he thanked God for the essential gospel being preached. God's word can be used to build up the kingdom of God, but it also can be used to enrich yourself and your will.

We need to have more patience for the fleshy saint. We should expect and adjust for and when injustice comes our way. It is best when we can have a win-win with each other. But to the mature in Christ, we must learn to take a loss or two. Jesus commanded us to rebuke and forgive seventy times seven times if necessary. And we are called to the ministry of reconciliation, even restoring the fallen saint. Expect some bruises.

But we are not called to be pacifists in the body of Christ. There is a time we must cast out if it means stopping the propagating of false teachings and living.

We are to mark them who bring division for division's sake. The word of God divides the spirit from the flesh. And this is good. But when we argue with pride about the non-essentials, we separate ourselves from the love of God. There is no class system in the kingdom of God. We must remind ourselves to work out our salvation in trembling and fear of the Lord. We can work out division among us with patience and fear. But we are to mark those intent on dividing us to conquer and not build up. However, this doesn't mean we must go public with those we have marked. We need to mark them mentally.

There is a time when we are to go public with those who bring division into the body of Christ. Those who are not qualified or, more importantly, have disqualified themselves from a position should be made public. Sometimes, that public is the local church. Sometimes, it is a region, and sometimes across the nations.

When there is continued heresy or blasphemy without repentance, and when correction is not received, the person should be removed from among us. When a Christian remains in sin without remorse and repentance, a godly sorrow, we are not even to have dinner with such.

If a Christian is caught in sin against a brother or God but does not step aside for repentance and reconciliation, it is time to name names. Paul talks about turning over people to the devil in hopes they will come to their senses and repent.

Paul even called out Peter, who walked with Jesus and was arguably Jesus' right-hand man, for presenting a different gospel when Peter pulled away from eating with the Gentiles. Someone who teaches or lives outside the essential gospel should be called out.

This is not an easy subject. We do good when we abide by the word of God and his love. Love corrects but does so for the benefit of the individual and not the self. Love confronts but does so in humility. Love chastises but does so in the hope of redemption. As often as people are called out by name in scripture, there are just as many times they were not. I hope to have humility and remember that God hasn't called me out publicly for everything I have gotten wrong. I want to remember, as I believe you do as well, that we are to cast down every thought that exalts itself against God, but we are not called to cast down people.