Church hurt is very real.
I’ve heard this a lot: “Growing up I had a bad experience with the church.”
Or, “Christians have attacked me online.”
Many individuals experience church hurt to some degree in their lives.
Whether it occurred in an actual church or caused by a religious individual or even an entire religious group, religious trauma is nothing new.
I mean, Jesus had quite the horrendous experience with religious people Himself!
There is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
That’s why it’s important to understand the spirit operating behind this arrogant religiosity.
Once you see the origins of its operation, you’ll learn how to diagnose, handle, and overcome a Religious Spirit.
And, most importantly, diagnose this spirit within us. There is nothing worse than being the very tool the enemy uses to hurt another!
Spot the Tactic
It’s easy to fool a fool.
Which is why God’s Word instructs believers to be anything but.
In fact, most Bible translations mention foolishness 150 times, respectively.
This means the enemy has to get real clever in fooling a follower of Christ.
He has to infiltrate from the inside out.
Evil spirits weasel their way directly into the establishment of believers: they target the church.
Satan and his minions will use church platforms, pastors, online influencers, religious people, anything related to the body of Christ, to attack and trick Christ followers into believing lies.
Demonic spirits use all sorts of tactics to manipulate followers, even non-believers, into feeling shame and condemnation.
The world of darkness wants you second-guessing yourself and who you are in Christ Jesus.
And this might be the most important thing you’ll learn about the Religious Spirit: it will speak truth! It speaks truth alright, but with an evil spirit behind it.
It will mimic the Holy Spirit.
It’s a foolproof plan. No pun intended.
And never forget, the Pharisees, the religious people of Jesus’ time, were some His biggest enemies!
Meaning we should be prepared to have similar experiences with religious hypocrites in our lives, too.
That’s why it’s important to stay strapped with the Sword of the Spirit (God’s word!) And be close with God, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you.
Keep these verses in mind when being shamed and condemned by religious people:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed. (Proverbs 3:34)
Recognize This Spirit’s Behavior
In Acts 16:16-18, we read about a slave girl with two male handlers.
She is a fortunte teller operating in divination, and known for making the men a good fortune.
For days the slave girl follows behind Paul and Silas while repeatedly exclaiming “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
There is no falsity in this statement. Her declaration was true.
The spirit powering her words was not.
Paul became so annoyed, so grieved by this spirit, he eventually turned and cast the demon right out of her.
The Holy Spirit in Paul was grieved by the demonic spirit operating in her!
In verse 19, the slave girl’s handlers were so angry for losing their meal ticket, they got authorities and the rest of the town involved. An angry mob ensued and Paul and Silas were beaten, imprisoned, and chained up.
This spirit is angry with the truth and those who are willing to face the religious lies head on!
You will know in your spirit when something is off. That’s why 1 John 4:1 says to test the spirits.
Many Christians are being misled and abused by other alleged Christians who may be speaking truth, but their words are powered by something sinister and demonic.
Because this spirit they’re engulfed in is not of God!
If someone appears to be godly and quotint Bible verses, but their spirit causes chaos, confusion, even just simple uneasiness, take it back to God.
He reveals all truth, and all spirits!
The Other Spirit Behind the Religious Spirit
Have you ever been in conversation with someone, maybe even a Christian, who always has to be right?
They just need to have the upper hand in every single situation?
So you find yourself in a circle conversation where there never seems to be a solution, and the topic never progresses.
Sometimes it’s as if they respond to you by taking the conversation 30 steps back so that they can have full control over the narrative.
And it feels like there’s a constant reverting back to why that person is ‘right’ and you’re supposedly wrong?
Yeah, you’re dealing with Leviathan.
And maybe you’ve been guilty of allowing this spirit to operate in you, too.
I know I have. Especially in the early days after being saved.
Once Leviathan (the spirit of pride detailed in Job 41) takes hold, it’s real easy to operate in a Religious Spirit.
And once you embody this spirit, you’re in Pharisee territory!
The Religious Spirit, also known as the Pharisaical Spirit, is exactly what the Pharisees inhabited. Hence the name…
As stated many times on Maverick Pearl, the Pharisees were the religious people of Jesus’ day.
They were full of pride. Hypocritical. Self-righteous. Haughty. Arrogant. The Pharisees upheld man-made, legalistic traditions over God’s word.
They were judgmental, loved to be in control, and absolutely obsessed with the outward appearance.
Jesus had a few names for them: Brood of vipers. Hypocrites. Blind guides. Children of hell. White washed tombs.
Pharisees are the epitome of the “rules for thee but not for me” take.
The Pharisaical spirit was directly involved in carrying out Jesus’ crucifixion.
Of course it’s no light matter that we all nailed Jesus to the cross from our own sin.
But God knew the very people to instigate Jesus’ execution would be the religious people – and yes, God uses evil people for His good purpose!
But this fact should really make us stop and think the next time we get upset with someone oozing out this spirit. Or the next time we embody Leviathanic traits due to our own pride and ego.
I have found myself many a’ times arguing with a modern-day Pharisee.
I’ve even had an argument with one about how to handle modern-day Pharisees!
Like Paul, it is easy to feel agitated by this spirit.
It’s hard not to snap back. But Jesus never did.
I learned the hard way, but nonetheless, I still learned what to do.
I began to think, WWJD? What would Jesus do?
What DID Jesus do when He was on earth dealing with Pharisees in real time?
When the religious people hounded Jesus with questions, he responded with a question.
When being accused of wrong-doing, Jesus responded by directly addressing their hypocrisy.
He practically flashed a shiny mirror right in their eyes to display how two-faced they are.
And then He moved on.
Jesus physically, mentally, and emotionally went on with His day. And He advises His followers to do the same:
“And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town” (Matthew 10:14)
Jesus is the best example for every single situation, ever.
And Jesus’ handling of a Pharisee is no exception.