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Written by Joel Horn
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What is spiritual abuse? For most of us, we haven’t the foggiest idea of what it is, nor did we even know that it could be identified or defined as an abuse. We have heard of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and may be familiar with emotional abuse; however, spiritual abuse – what is that and how is that type of abuse demonstrated.
Some of us might have a hazy idea of what it is or if it might be occurring. But our understanding develops more as an emotional understanding to what it is, rather than codified in an intellectual sense. From experience, we just simply know that it hurts and it makes us mad – thus it must be some kind of abuse, and so let’s call it “spiritual abuse” since it involves spirituality. But that is just about all we know.
However, some scholars, in the field of psychology and counseling, have done well in providing an in depth intellectual framework for understanding spiritual abuse. Probably one of the best in this field of study is Jeff VanVonderen, who co-authored a ground-breaking book with David Johnson called, “The Subtle Power of Abuse”. (Much of the definitive material in this article will draw upon VanVonderen’s work in this area.)
When one is presently receiving the brunt of spiritual abuse, whether it be from a pastor, a church, a Christian or spiritual group, from Christian or religious friends, or from a spiritual mentor, it is most comforting and the best counsel for the victim of spiritual abuse if someone can define, explain and bring some understanding to the person going through the spiritual abuse. I will attempt to do just that, to introduce, in a definitive sense, the topic of spiritual abuse.
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GRACE - Most Important, but Least Understood |
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Written by Joel Horn
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The grace of God, the most important subject in the entire Bible, and yet the least understood. Of course, Christians believe in grace, in fact, Ephesians 2:8-9 is our theme verse: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (NAS)
We are not only saved by grace, but we also live by grace every day of our lives. Study and review what this verse means,
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." (Colossians 2:6,7 NIV)
The way in which we came into the faith, is also the same way we must continue in the faith. Can we save ourselves any more today, than we could of yesterday, or before we came to Christ? Absolutely not! So, why do we go back to the old way of believing that we can save ourselves, become better people, or prove ourselves worthy of something by the strength of our own moral character or ability. Just what is it? What kind of faith and lifestyle has God called us into?
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Three Principles Which Cannot Exist With Grace |
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Written by Joel Horn
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There are three principles which cannot coexist with grace, or even within this present age. This present age, is the age of grace, the time period by which God has chosen to deal with mankind by the merits of God’s grace. There is a start and a finish to this present age that we live in. God will not always deal with mankind according to his grace. But for now, this is the age of grace. Therefore, once God has extended his grace, and mankind has received that grace there can be then now no recognition of guilt, no recognition of human obligation or any recognition of human merit. These three principles, if permitted to do so, will antagonize and frustrate the pure principle of grace,[1] and this is the reason God has cancelled them out. The divine annulling of these opposing principles to pure grace, is not only natural because of Christ’s provision on the cross, but is also necessary for our salvation and for the completion of God’s purpose for this age. |
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Written by Excerpt taken from Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ
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It began after the Last Supper. Jesus went with his disciples to the Mount of Olives – specifically to the
Garden of
Gethsemane. There he prayed all night. Now, during that process he was anticipating the coming events of the next day. Since he knew the amount of suffering he was going to have to endure, he was quite naturally experiencing a great deal of psychological stress. [1]
Sweating Drops of Blood
 The gospels tell us he began to sweat blood at this point. Isn’t that just a product of some overactive imaginations? Doesn’t that call into question the accuracy of the gospel writers? This is a known medical condition call hematidrosis (Excretion of blood or blood pigment in the sweat; an extremely rare disorder.) It is not very common, but it is associated with a high degree of psychological stress. What happens is that severe anxiety causes the release of chemicals that break down the capillaries in the sweat glands. As a result, there is a small amount of bleeding into these glands, and the sweat comes out tinged with blood. It is a very, very small amount. What this did was set up the skin to be extremely fragile so that when Jesus was flogged by the Roman soldier the next day, his skin would be very, very sensitive. [2]
Roman Floggings
Roman floggings were known to be terribly brutal. They usually consisted of thirty-nine lashes but frequently were a lot more than that, depending on the mood of the soldier applying the blows. The soldier would use a whip of braided leather thongs with metal balls woven into them. When the whip would strike the flesh, these balls would cause deep bruises or contusions, which would break open with further blows. In addition, the whip had pieces of sharp bone as well, which would cut the flesh severely. The back would be so shredded that part of the spine was sometimes exposed by the deep, deep cuts. The whipping would have gone all the way from the shoulders down to the back, the buttocks, and the back of the legs. It was just terrible. [3]
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Written by Joel Horn
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Grace who needs it? Many who have professed Christ as their Savior have secretly wondered, “Is this all there is to it? Surely the Christian life is meant to be more?” They know that they are supposed to be experiencing the abundant life Jesus promised, yet they find themselves in a life of mediocrity. These Christians want a victorious Christian life, but they don’t know how to find it. [1]
OUR EXPERIENCE
When Jesus talked about the abundant life he said the following:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
“You Christians claim to have or you claim that God has the monopoly on life that we, who are quote, “sinners”, can never hope to live a fulfilling life outside of a relationship with God. If your claim about the abundant life is true, then why do some of your people seem miserable or the salvation you claim to speak of fails?”
Or put in another way, as a skeptic who told a pastor:
“Your Christians seem to have just enough religion to keep them from sinning, but not enough to make them happy. They remind me of a man with a headache. It hurts him to keep it, but he doesn’t want to cut off his head.”[2]
This is a good point. Criticism is well taken. There does seem to be, at times, a real problem among Christians. So let’s take a look at some of the examples of the apparent “abundant life” that we claim we have versus the life we actually do have and if it relates to anything of what Jesus spoke of in regards to the “abundant life”.
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For God So Loved the World |
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Written by Joel Horn
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“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Most of us have heard of this verse quoted at one time or another. Living in America, we have heard Billy Graham on TV, during one of his evangelistic crusades, quote this verse. Some of us even remember seeing someone holding up a sign, at a sporting event, such as the Superbowl or the Olympics that says, “John 3:16”. We, in American society, have seen it so much and probably understand so little, that we poke fun at it, as an all-star wrestler did by quoting, “Austin 3:16”. And, maybe we deserved it by not speaking in more explicit terms in regards to the gospel, but rather dusting our culture with cliches and references, like “John 3:16”, that people don’t understand or relate to. So, just what does it mean that “God so loved the world”? |
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You learn about God’s love in sending His Son to earth to die for your sins and contingent upon you accepting God’s payment of your sin, God will forgive you of all of your sins, no matter how bad those sins might be. The only thing you have to do is confess those sins to God, ask God to forgive you of those sins, and to ask Jesus to come into your life and to be your Savior, and then God receives you as His child, you’re now part of the family of God, you are born again as a new person, all of your sins are forgiven just as though you have never sinned, and you are going to heaven. The gospel as we call it or the “good news” is so simple, so easy, so full of the knowledge of God’s love & power to save you that it truly is a wonderful experience that we will never forget and marks the beginning of our new life in Christ.