I can't speak for everyone who might read this, but a great number of people will be surprised to find out that none of these people are the devil, Antichrist or anything similar. Many Christians are in the habit of whining and complaining about spiritual warfare and will easily find cause to blame bad things on demonic activity. Unfortunately, we're usually too quick to label something as "the work of the enemy" when it's really just something unfortunate, inconvenient, upsetting, or tragic.
As a human race, we really don't understand the definitions of good and evil. We have a general moral compass built into our brains (some work better than others), but most of us could not define criteria that determines whether something is good or bad. If anybody would know the difference, it should be Christians.
1 Peter 5:8-9 says "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
When you're a Christian, you may read this verse and think, "This verse means that I need to be careful because Satan's out to get me! The devil wants to make me bad." But if you still think that's what the verse means, let me respectfully inform you that that is a very dumb interpretation of that passage. You're already bad and you don't need the devil's help to do awful things. Your sinful nature predisposes you to naughty behavior and nobody needs the Devil's help to do something terrible.
The #1 rule of context is that context rules. I learned that from Pastor Bernard Emerson and this is one of the truest statements that has ever been spoken. All of 1 Peter is not very long, so let's go to the beginning of the passage to put the verse in context.
1 Peter 5:1-11
1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers - not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
There's a lot in here so let me break down what I'm getting at. In verse 1, we get the "who." Peter addresses the elders (aka the leaders) and then identifies himself as a leader and apostle. In verse 2, the "what," the "why," and beginning of the "how," the apostle Peter extols the elders to be "shepherds of God's flock" that is under their care. Now, as you keep on reading, you will notice that while he covers a lot of points, the topic has not changed. He's still talking about spiritual leaders leading the "flock." So when in verse 8 he says to be "self-controlled and alert" because of our enemy, this is in the context of ministry. It has nothing to do with morality or your own personal salvation. That's not what this is about! He's talking specifically to people who are already believers. We're saved by grace, so as believers, our salvation is no longer in jeopardy. Why would he tell us to be cautious? Because this is part of the ministry. He is telling us this because of how our actions affect others.
The devil's ultimate goal is to destroy people. He does not want us to worship God because he wanted to be worshiped (Isaiah 14:12-15). Once we belong to God, we cannot be taken away (John 10:28). So as believers, the only thing Satan can take is our witness. In fact, Satan and his army will fight valiantly to destroy the credibility of the Church. And he works it brilliantly! Look at how stupid Christianity looks to the rest of the world. We are literally a laughingstock because Satan is brilliant at what he does.
But here are things that Satan DOES NOT CARE ABOUT! He doesn't care about your money and it makes no difference to him whether you're rich or poor. He has no interest in your cars or your house. He doesn't care if you get a good night's sleep, have nightmares, or get sick. He doesn't care if you cuss, drink, smoke, fornicate, masturbate, or do drugs. He doesn't even care if you're happy or sad. You will know spiritual warfare when you are faced with temptation that would discredit your testimony about Jesus's love. One of the biggest things you've got to watch out for, Christian, is that you are not the cause for someone else missing out on God.
Believe it or not, there are far worse things than poverty, genocide, war, rape, or taxes. But nobody you will ever meet has experienced the full horror of Hell. And if you are one of the people who says that they can't worship a god who would send people to Hell, you need to get your story straight. Until we have just once recognized Christ as King, we belong to Satan and will be subject to the same damnation to which he has been sentenced. God doesn't send people to Hell for being bad. Hell is not a punishment, it is a consequence: just like bleeding, blindness, and excruciating pain are the consequences for firing a staple gun into your eyeball. In our impurity, we cannot stand before God's glory and live. When Jesus died on the cross, he wrote a giant check to pay our ransom for all of our corruption. The blood He shed purifies us so that we might be able to stand in God's presence and not be vaporized. We can't not be bad, so that's why we must be saved.
Because God is good, He will not force us to be recipients of that grace if we will not choose to be. The good news is that all you have to do to be saved is acknowledge that this gift Jesus is offering us is a real thing. Don't expect that your life will get better, though. It might, but it probably won't. When Isaiah 53:5 says that "By his wounds we are healed," it doesn't mean God's going to fix our lives or heal our physical sickness, it means that Christ's suffering has the power to save us from eternal death.
Until every person on the planet earth has come to recognize and worship Jesus Christ, the Devil and his angels have lots of work to do. And because they are masters of disguise, their works seem benign to all but the discerning.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." -Eph 6:10-12
No comments:
Post a Comment