August 18, 2002
A sermon by Rev. Dr. John K. Luoma
The Gospel today focuses our attention on a topic we rarely discuss. Nevertheless, it is a topic at the center of the ministry of Jesus. The topic is: the Devil and how one resists the power of the Devil or escapes the power of the Devil.
Given our disregard of this aspect of Jesus’ ministry, you would think that it constitutes just a footnote in the Gospels. The truth is that it is at the heart of Jesus’ ministry. Every Gospel begins with an encounter with the Devil, i.e. the story of Jesus’ temptation and testing in the wilderness. And the battle continues throughout his ministry. Again and again Jesus is freeing people from the control of the Devil. Every Gospel tells us that the kingdom of God is initiated in the ministry of Jesus and that means that he enters into battle against the kingdom of Satan. The cross is the moment in which Satan is defeated. Jesus says of his crucifixion: “Now is the judgment of the world, now the ruler of this world shall be cast out.” (John 12:31) The writer of the First Letter of John states it even more directly: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the Devil.” (1 John 3:8)
Jesus public ministry had two aspects: proclaiming the good news of the inbreaking of God’s kingdom and demonstrating its power through the casting out of demons, healing the sick, and raising the dead. We might put it this way: Jesus came as a divine invader to release us from bondage to the Devil, renew us and give us eternal life. Jesus commissioned the apostles and the 72 and the church to carry out that same ministry. We are engaged in spiritual warfare, liberating territory for Jesus Christ.
Who is Satan? It is important neither to magnify his power nor to diminish it. Satan is vastly more powerful that we are but vastly less powerful than God is. Though he has been conquered through the death and resurrection of Jesus and though his fate is fixed, he is still active. He can cause problems and wreak havoc, but his end is certain. As C.S. Lewis puts it, “Satan, the leader or dictator of devils, is the opposite, not of God, but of Michael.” We flatter Satan and misunderstand God’s goodness and greatness when we raise Satan to the level of a god.
Scripture describes Satan as a rebellious angel. Again, C.S. Lewis writes, “(Satan and his demons) do not differ in nature from good angels, but their nature is depraved.” Two passages in scripture describe their origin and current situation. Revelation 12:7-12 describes a war that took place in heaven in which Satan and his angels were cast down to earth where they lead people astray. 2 Peter 2:4 says, “ God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment.”
The goal of Satan and his minions is to destroy the power of Christ, and they attack him through his followers. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us: “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.”
Satan attacks in three ways. The first is temptation or testing. Here we talk about the war between good and evil that goes on within us. The Lord’s Prayer says, “Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.” Actually, a literal reading is, “Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from the evil one.” The more we yield in temptation, the more territory in our lives we yield to Satan.
The second way Satan attacks is through opposition. He sets up obstacles to the preaching of the gospel. He presents as many roadblocks as possible to prevent a person from coming to Christ or from growing in Christ.
The third way Satan attacks is demonization, i.e. somehow getting a grip on a person’s personality or physical life. The Bible does not speak of being possessed by a demon. The actual word indicates that someone is afflicted or influenced by a demon. Though it does occur, it is a rare thing for a person to be totally controlled by a demon.
In our time, certainly one of the most vivid accounts of the power of evil in people’s lives and of actually being controlled by evil is found in M. Scott Peck’s book, People of the Lie. Peck is a Christian psychiatrist who has been an observer at exorcisms and believes that he has truly seen the face of the Devil.
Of course, this raises an important question: can a faithful Christian be possessed in that sense? No, absolutely not. Scripture says that to those who walk faithfully, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them (the devil and demons), because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) But Christians can be afflicted and especially so if we live in unconfessed and serious sin or in some way invite Satan into our lives. One of the great concerns I have these days is that people seem to be inviting him in through a variety of ways.
I’m especially disturbed by the program, “Crossing Over”, which features a man named Jon Edward who bills himself as a medium and confesses that throughout his life he has been in contact with a variety of spirit guides who enable him to communicate with the dead. In spite of the fact that I question his credibility, I do believe that you can open yourself to the spirits. I think it is scripturally forbidden, but it is possible. The biggest question I have of people who do it is: how do you know you are contacting loved ones? How do you know that you are not contacting a malevolent and lying spirit who is posing as your loved one in order to afflict you and destroy you?
A Christian shouldn’t allow room for such things. We should not invite spirits into our lives. These days we are told that séances, ouija boards, pendulums, tarot reading, magical charms and so on are just innocent ways of gaining access to information about our future or to events that will influence our lives. Do not believe it. These are all ways in which evil spirits gain a foothold in our lives and can move on from there to gain even more ground.
Of course, all of this raises an essential question: how do we protect ourselves from the forces of evil? What I will tell you now may sound incredibly boring and pedestrian and not nearly as exciting as exploring the occult and gaining access to secret knowledge from the spirits. On the other hand, it just might save your life and the life of your loved ones and keep your from incredible harm.
We protect ourselves by doing what the Apostle Paul urges us to do in Ephesians 6, which summarizes the wisdom of Scripture on this point. He calls us to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil.” First, there is the defensive armor. We are called to do all we can to clothe ourselves with the truth as it is revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Baptism, Holy Communion, prayer are some of the many gifts that allow us to create a shield of protection against the evil one. He cannot pierce this shield.
Paul also urges us to take up the sword of God’s Word that enables us to fight off all the lies of the evil one.
The Devil and his spirits are more powerful than us. They are not more powerful than Jesus. He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world!
copyright 2001 by Rev. Dr. John K. Luoma