FAITH VERSUS FEAR part 2

Understanding The Spiritual Law of Reciprocals

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8: 1-2 (NIV)


God didn't abandon the earth and leave man forever enslaved to the devil and the Law of Sin and Death. He sent His own Son in the form of man to reverse what Adam had done. He sent Jesus not only to the cross, but into hell itself to pay the price of sin and bear the penalty of it. Then, by raising him from the dead, God reinstated the Law of the Spirit of Life for whosoever would believe on Him. Romans 8:1-2 says it this way: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

Two Master Laws
That means there are now two Master Laws functioning in the earth. God's original-which is the Law of the Spirit of Life-and Satan's reciprocal, or counterfeit-which is the Law of Sin and Death. As far as God is concerned, every believer has been delivered from Satan's law and all its effects. Jesus has done everything necessary to set us free. Yet, in spite of that fact, vestiges of the curse often seem to dog the steps of many Christians because they unknowingly activate the Law of Sin and Death and give the devil entrance to our lives. As Hosea 4:6 says, they are "destroyed for lack of knowledge."
Look at the chart below and you will see exactly what I'm talking about. There I have listed the two Master Laws along with their authors and some of the results they produce. You'll notice that each part corresponds with its reciprocal. It is the same-yet opposite.


The Law of the Spirit of Life The Law of Sin and Death
Jesus Christ Satan
the new birth spiritual death
the Baptism in the Holy Spirit demonic oppression
righteousness unrighteousness
healing sickness
prosperity poverty
love hate
success failure

Study the left-hand side of that list for a moment, then see if you can answer this question: What is the force that activates the Law of the Spirit of Life? It is faith!
We receive the new birth by faith. We receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit by faith. We receive healing by faith. Nothing happens in the realm of life without faith. Now apply the law of reciprocals and you'll see that since fear is the satanic reciprocal of faith, the Law of Sin and Death is activated by fear! Not just occasionally-but every time.

Get Rid of FEAR!
"Well, I wasn't afraid and I still went bankrupt and the devil stole everything I had." That's impossible. The devil cannot prevail in your life apart from fear any more than God can prevail in your life apart from faith. Just as "faith is the substance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1), fear is the substance of things not desired. Faith reaches into the unseen realm of the spirit and manifests the promises of God. Fear reaches into the unseen realm and manifests the threats of the devil. Faith is the power God uses to create. Fear is the power the devil uses to destroy. Hebrews 2:14-15 says Jesus became flesh and blood "...that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." It is fear of death that keeps us in bondage.

You must understand, however, that fear of death does not necessarily mean you're afraid to leave your body and head for heaven, as believers do when they die physically. (You're probably looking forward to that day!) The fear of death referred to in Hebrews has a much broader meaning than that. It includes the fear of sickness, lack, failure, and everything else that is included under the Master Law of Sin and Death. If you grew up in a poor family, for example, you might spend your lifetime in bondage to the fear of poverty. You might even try to apply the principles of God-giving and confessing and doing all the things that bring prosperity-but if you retain the underlying fear of being poor, it won't matter how much wealth you accumulate, the devil will rob you every time you turn around. And he'll keep on doing it until you go before God, repent of that fear and get rid of it!

The same thing is true of sickness. If you're afraid of it, you can expect to be sick. The fear will produce the sickness. So many times we just try to deal with the superficial, fleshly manifestations of disease in our bodies. But disease doesn't start with the flesh. The flesh is just where it ends up! As Ephesians 6:12 says, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world...." What do those rulers use to rule? Fear! Fear is their source of power. So if we'll take authority over it and break its power, the poverty, sickness and failure that fear was designed to bring will never have the opportunity to manifest in our lives!

You can take authority over fear, you know. The devil will tell you that you can't. He'll pet you and say, "Oh you pitiful little thing. You've suffered so much, you can't help but be afraid." But that's bologna! (that's not a Greek word)
God said, "Fear not!" more than 60 times in the Bible. He wouldn't have given us that command if we didn't have the power to obey it. In Psalm 118:6, David said, "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear...." Notice he didn't say, "I'll pray and ask God to take the fear away." He didn't say, "I try not to be afraid." He said, "I WILL NOT FEAR."