#6 IM Culture: Christian Ambiguity
AMBIGUITY | Dr. Stephen Phinney: People who suffer from this demise typically have a damaged conscience. Not only that, but their lies confess they are harkening to the voice of demons.
AMBIGUITY IS THE CHILD OF DOUBT
Ambiguity, a term often met with both intrigue and uncertainty, refers to the presence of multiple meanings within a single statement, situation, or concept.
It is a fundamental self-created darkness that perpetrates a dark culture, where clarity is not always attainable. Ambiguity challenges our perception and interpretation of Truth, pushing us to question, explore, and seek answers that please selfish interests. It can be a source of both confusion and oppression, as it invites us to embrace the complexity of half-baked truths. This cultural ideation compels us to look beyond the surface and delve into the depths of a more Biblical meaning.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
(James 1:5-8)
THE PASTOR WHO WAS “BORN GAY”
The ideology buried deep within the sin of ambiguity reminds me of a counseling case I had a few years back. A youth pastor of a megachurch approached me for discipleship. He is the father of three lovely children and was the husband of a Godly wife. He held one of the most coveted church positions within their denomination. After six months of quality Christ-as-Life discipleship, he stops me mid-sentence, saying, “You probably should know I am joining the gay community.” Not knowing his motive, I asked what he was confessing. He explained that he believed he was born gay and would be leaving his wife and church to lead a gay church in the inner city. No matter what angle I approached the subject or the Scriptures I presented, he remained loyal to his self-proclaimed philosophy of being open to more than one interpretation of the Word of God. He decided to discontinue the discipleship and divorce his wife. A few weeks later, his story hit front-page news in our city’s paper. This story is a perfect example of ambiguity.
Ambivalence is the greatest enemy of counseling/discipleship and is now the greatest threat to the Church. This pastor’s equivocation disrupted his family and church and provoked a youth movement within the church community.
If you are unfamiliar with equivocation, it means “concealing the truth” or “avoiding committing oneself to absolute Truth.” In other words, doublespeak - it is a nasty habit our Millennial generation popularized.
Ambiguity is a meaning in which a phrase, statement, or resolution is not explicitly defined, making several interpretations plausible. A common aspect of ambiguity is uncertainty, but passion and feelings dominate logic when uncertainty is fronted. Thus, it is an attribute of any idea or statement whose intended meaning cannot be resolved according to the governing mandates stated in documented absolute Truth. Logic becomes flawed, while passions take the forefront of reasoning. When ambiguity becomes habitual, a spiritual stronghold is established. Therefore, I believe ambiguity is the gateway to demonic spiritual strongholds. As per the norm, the world captures words and phrases to define age-old issues in the Bible. Ambiguity versus spiritual strongholds is one of them.
A stronghold is an area of darkness within our mind, will, and emotions that causes ongoing spiritual, emotional, or behavioral problems. It is a mind bound by an oppressive demonic spirit. We can be genuinely born-again, indwelt by Jesus, and sincere in our faith, but constantly struggle with thoughts, emotions, and habits that wage war against our relationship with the indwelling Christ. We pray, study, and attempt to discipline ourselves, but we often find our problem is resistance to allowing the Life of Christ to manage our lives - ending in being ambivalent to Yeshua/Jesus.
A stronghold is the fruit of death, resulting from believing a lie for an extended period. While it is true that authentic believers have the mind of Christ, the human mind allows a distorted or confused view of the views contained within the mind of Christ. The lie begins to dominate unless the believer has a healthy perspective of this passage.
“For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:7-8)
AMBIGUITY IS A DOUBLE-MINDED PERSON
People who believe and live lies might pray, but when they don’t get the answers that support their lies, they adjust all of life to manipulate the Truth, ultimately forming their view of answered prayers – stamping God’s approval on their sin, which is how they justify sinful behavior while proclaiming Christianity. Unfortunately, the inward lie will ultimately affect their faith, often leading the ambivalent person to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ.
People of ambiguity must face the facts. The Word of God tells us that Satan is the father of lies. Realistically speaking, this reveals the deepest problem.
Since full-on Truth is from Jesus’s Heavenly Father, we should understand that every lie is rooted in spiritual darkness and, more importantly, from the father of lies. A stronghold is formed as soon as the lie appears to overpower the Truth regularly, and then the nature of darkness becomes the individual's identity.
When stuck with an identity of darkness, a question must be asked: does Truth truly overcome lies? The quick answer is, of course, it does. Those trapped in a lifestyle of lies find Truth as the enemy that blocks their wants. Worse, they use the Truth to confirm their lies. As a counselor, I have learned the only way to combat this trap is by reinforcing this passage:
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)
You can learn what the full Armor of God practically looks like by reviewing Ephesians 6:11-20. But honestly, this passage is for willing, indwelt believers who have proper respect for authority. People of ambiguity rarely respect authority. Most say they respect authority; however, their behavior confesses the opposite. Therefore, they are unwilling to be told what to do – via the Bible or leaders. In such cases, we must wait for that person to come to the end of their self-life, which is nothing short of a willingness to be instructed, corrected, and told what to do. However, in my experience, few allow the Lord to bring them to the end of themselves.
The Biblical Root Reason
Lies seek control over self, others, and even God. Lies produce momentary pleasure. Lies are typically rooted in emotional trauma. Lies produce false-memory syndrome (FMS). FMS is when the lie creates false memories to justify present behavior. Once the new memory dominates the human mind, restoring the individual without a miracle from God is impossible. You can prove to them that the memory is false, but it is to no avail in most CASES. It is important to assist the person of ambiguity in determining if they are authentically filled with the Holy Spirit. If they are not born-again, their mind is darkened and controlled by their unregenerate nature. Always remember, fake Christianity is Satan’s greatest tool.
People who suffer from this demise typically have a damaged conscience. Not only that, but their lies confess they are harkening to the voice of demons - paying more attention to deceitful spirits rather than the Spirit of the Lord.
“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3)
This passage reveals the “why” it is difficult to reach an ambivalent mind. In fact, transforming a mind of ambiguity is impossible without a miracle from God.
Here are a few pointers that can renew your mind and bring it back to clarity if you suffer from ambiguity but DO have a conscience.
Study Ephesians passage on the Armor of God. Apply Biblical Truth to your life daily. Set your mind on resisting the Devil right when you wake up.
Apply all the Armor pieces as actions of Jesus who lives within you. In other words, He does the living out of the Armor through you.
Claim the Truth that Jesus has given you a sound mind.
Maintain the reality that the power of your sins from the past has been broken.
Decide to stop recycling memories – false or real.
Just as sin produces dark fruit, allowing Jesus to live through you produces the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit lived out is what renews the mind.
When you learn Truth, give it away immediately.
If you suffer from an abusive past, turn it into a testimony. Tell others of the redeeming value of how Jesus delivered you from ambiguity.
On the days when Satan tempts you with your past, call him a liar and move on.
Get involved in a ministry that speaks Truth to lost souls. Particularly one that focuses on indwelling Life.
Find a high-quality discipler who can speak Truth into your life. Make sure they live His Life from within.
Most importantly, fight anti-authority by being willing to be guided by an authority figure you love and respect.
I agree that ambiguity is the leading problem in our culture today, without a doubt. I believe this degenerate cultural disease is destroying the Church and the culture where we live.
The lie of ambiguity is generally contrasted with vagueness. A person of ambiguity, particularly our youth, thrives on specific and distinct interpretations that defend their sinful habits, permitting them to be vague with Jesus Himself. Since Jesus doesn’t “do” vague, it would even be difficult for Him to form an acute interpretation of Biblical accuracy. Therefore, this puts the Lord in a position to act.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.” (Romans 1:18-24)
We need to reach the minds of those who suffer from ambiguity – before it is too late. The “too late” is not when they die; it happens long before that; before their minds harden and enact the Romans' passage. I am all about Grace, but I am also realistic about the warnings stated in the Holy Scriptures. I believe every verse is for correction, reproof, and warning. Since this is the case, who has an ear to hear? It most likely won’t be those who suffer ambiguity. Sadly!
Review authentic Salvation HERE.
These questions are not mere words; they are the keys to chambers where wisdom resides. So, my reader, prep your fingertips to type your answers:
How much of your Christian life do you practice ambiguity?
When you are fronted with Truth by a strong leader, what is your classic response within the first 15-minutes of being fronted?
Please pick one question and comment on this post with your answers. Your comments will help others in the battle against adopting cultural darkness.
You once again very clearly and Biblically sound called a sin what it is - a rebellious mind cannot be led by the Holy Spirit. Praise our triumphant Creator God that you have listened to His teachings and proclaim them in such a clear-cut manner, Dr. Phinney.
So glad I 'found' you on Substack.
Shalom, brother in Christ!
We need to get past our attempts to “set people straight.” Only the Holy Spirit can do that. We are to take every breath in prayer with the Spirit to be the instrument of His working in the world around us. Those souls belong to God and not to us. They must be considered God’s trophies and not ours. Our job is to pray unceasingly and be ready when he directs us. And then we must be totally willing to get out of the way when He goes silent. He knows that person’s heart like we never can and only He knows how to reach them. We just focus on our walk with the Lord and be willing to be used. On the one hand it relieves us of the responsibility for that person’s salvation. On the other hand, we have an oftentimes much hard task: that of aligning our life with His will.