The Devil in the Details

Berean Baptist on December 18, 2017

Satan is an intriguing character, is he not? It is with guarded interest that we delve into the subject of Satan because it is possible to become too fascinated with him until the interest itself becomes a snare he can use to lure us in and captivate our thoughts. Many have become too interested in the details of the occult and of the supernatural. People have always been enchanted with the spiritual world which has led many to delve too far into the subject to the detriment of their eternal souls. As Paul said, we are not ignorant of his devices. This should keep us at arm’s length when we investigate the Bible’s descriptions of him.

In light of this, what I am about to say may see strange. Each of us should have profound respect for Satan’s capabilities. We do not admire them for their virtues since he has none, but we do respect the craftiness by which he deceives. Like a man has respect for the quick strike and deadliness of a cobra, so we should respect Satan’s prowess. His counter wisdom in all ways of evil is unparalleled in the spiritual world. No person possesses the power to outwit him. Indeed, he was brazen enough to approach our Lord with temptation. If not for Jesus’ complete reliance on the Holy Spirit for His protection, we might well perceive that Jesus the man would have given in to Satan’s offers. While we do not believe Jesus was capable of sinning, we do believe God used means to protect Him. The means unfailingly kept Him from sin because He is God, but to tempt God certainly speaks to Satan’s confidence in his ability.

Jesus never dismissed Satan out of hand. He first took him to the Word of God to dispel any hope of his success. The Scriptures are also our means for nothing is accomplished against Satan without the power of the Word. I believe the temptation is the Bible’s most formidable example of Satan’s power. It is interesting that no demon ever challenged Jesus like Satan. Even thousands of them begged for a measure of mercy when they were cast out of the Gadarian maniac. Satan boldly approaches God as he did in his accusations against Job.

None of this speaks to any real threat to God’s supremacy. Satan’s courage in the face of God belies his uncommon wisdom. While he deludes us, no doubt his greatest deception is perpetrated upon himself. He is relentless in his pursuit of God’s throne without understanding he is more of a pawn in God’s scheme than he makes us to be in his. God is setting Satan up for a destruction that will exalt God in ways that could never be accomplished by any other means. Satan’s destruction will cry out a confession of the one true living God. God has never done anything that does not redound to His glory, so you can be sure this present time of putting up with the devil will find out the ultimate greatness of God.

God continues to tell us to fear Satan. He tells us to walk circumspectly with eyes always scanning for places the devil might attack. Even though God promised to defeat Satan, the danger is real. Satan’s potency teaches us to fully depend upon God, which is God’s way of using Satan to strengthen His people rather than demoralize them. We can defeat the devil now in this life, but only with God’s help.

All the myths you hear about him are part of Satan’s disguise. He uses them to throw us off track. Chasing the myths divert us from the truth about him. This will get you in trouble if you are too interested in the wrong details.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Thy People Shall Be Willing

Berean Baptist on October 30, 2017

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. (Psalms 110:3)

At the end of Matthew’s gospel is one of the most familiar of all texts concerning the work of the church. It ends with the commission of world evangelism given to the apostles by the risen Christ. The task of preaching the gospel to the nations was daunting to say the least, and seemingly unreasonable given the nearly wholesale rejection of the Lord’s own ministry. He was despised, rejected, beaten, humiliated, and crucified which was no indication the message He preached would gain widespread acceptance.

There was, however, a very important factor that made the task possible. It was His resurrection from the dead which told the disciples that anything was within His power. He was “declared to be the Son of God with power…by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). If the risen Christ commanded world evangelization, it was therefore possible. Jesus further declared the success of His commission by saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18).

This brings me to the 110th Psalm with its powerful message of the authority of Christ. In verse one of the psalm, David wrote, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” This is a conversation between two persons of the Godhead. God the Father spoke to God the Son promising He would receive all authority in His kingdom. The suffering and death of the cross would result in His exaltation to the right hand as the King of heaven and earth.

This psalm holds the distinction of being the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament. The importance of it cannot be overestimated especially as it relates to the closing verses of Matthew. There are two critical factors for the success of the commission of Matthew 28:19-20 that arise out of Psalm 110:3. The psalmist wrote, “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power…” As witnesses of the gospel, the disciples were not much willing as they forsook the Lord and despaired in His death. They saw no hope of a dead Messiah fulfilling His promise of being the King in an earthly kingdom. However, their hope was revived with the resurrection. The power of the risen Christ and His promise to remain with them by the presence of the Holy Spirit gave them the sorely needed motivation for gospel preaching. They were willing to attempt an impossible task because the strength to accomplish it was not their own.

It is wonderful to have courage induced by the strength of Christ, but as impressive as this is, it is not enough to complete the task. This alone will not turn wicked sinners with depraved hearts to Christ. The factor of a willing soul-winner is needed but another factor must also accompany it. The second factor is a willing lost soul. This is equally impossible without supernatural ability because no souls are willing to come to Christ. Man’s will is bent away from Christ and will be forever unless it is changed by the Holy Spirit. This is what the Holy Spirit does in regeneration. He brings dead sinners to life and enables them to choose Christ in repentance and faith. When scripture says, “Thy people shall be willing” we know the gospel will be successful because God makes it so. He empowers the soul-winner with the courage to preach and then guarantees the success of the preaching by empowering the sinner to believe.

This is a topic that requires much more time and space, but it should be noted the word says, “Thy people shall be willing.” No others become willing except those who have been chosen by God to believe the gospel. This powerful combination of enabled soul-winners and enabled lost souls is far more than enough to convert those intended to be reached. Thank God none of this depends on our power. There is no success without God’s power and nothing but success with God’s power.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith