Christ Church

Easter 2012: The Father of all the Living (Father Hunger 4)

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a glorious sermon that was preached by God the Father. When the Father said that He was well-pleased with the Son at His baptism that declaration was not all the Father had to say. In the resurrection, He now declares the entire truth, holding back nothing. In the gospels, Jesus told the demons to keep their knowledge of who He was to themselves, but now we are told to tell every last creature about it. Why the change? Now that the Father has declared His message fully, we may do so also. Not only may we do so, we must do so.

The Text

“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead . . .” (Rom. 1:4).

Summary of the Text

For many Christian apologists, the resurrection is something which needs to be proved. But in the Scriptures, the resurrection is itself a proof. For example, God has proven that Jesus will judge the whole world, and He proven this by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:31). In our text here, the resurrection is God’s declaration of Christ’s identity—He is declared to be the Son of God by this great event. But this declaration is not a mere datum in theology. The power that raised Jesus from the grave is a power that attends the ongoing declaration of Christ’s person and work. “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:19-20). The power at work in the resurrection is not a power or authority that was cordoned off in the first century. Neither is it a power limited to Christ’s grave site. Christ’s life is everlasting and eternal, as is the declaration of that life. This includes the potency of His life in us, and particularly in the ways we echo the great declaration of the Father. We are privileged to declare the gospel in and through everything, but particularly through fatherhood.

Life and Power

The resurrection means that Jesus has life—the kind of life that rose from death. And this means in its turn that this is a potent life. All life is potent, actually, but we take things for granted so easily that it requires a drastic elevation of life from non-life to enable us to see it clearly. God the Father gave life to the Son, such that He would see the travail of His soul and be satisfied (Is. 53:11), and even though He was bruised in death, He would be able to see His seed flourishing (Is. 53:10). Jesus has life and power, but He also models for us how this is to be obtained. Life is given to those who have died, and power is given to those who have died in humility. There is no by-passing the cross in order to obtain the crown more readily. The grave is a place of corruption, but for those who have risen, it may be considered a detox center, now left behind.

Fruitful Intent

So the resurrection shows us what God the Father is up to. The barren woman is the New Jerusalem, the Christian Church, the bride of Christ (Gal. 4:26-27). And we Christians are the children of promise. This is talking about us.

Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: Spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; And thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited” (Is. 54:1-3).

Couple this with the charge that Paul gives to Christian fathers (Eph. 6:4). We are to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And why? The answer is because we and they are the children of promise.

The Barrenness Bane

Christian men should love fruitfulness. Godly men should honor and glorify their wives. The glory of an apple tree is the fruit of it. The glory of a man is his wife, and an important part of this glory is the grace she has been given—the grace of fruitfulness. A man cannot just “declare” himself a father. If fatherhood is a crown, a woman must be the one to place it there.

A man by himself is barren. A man with another man is barren. A man who pays for abortions is barren. A man who is an eco-freak is barren. A man who impregnates and then leaves (in various ways) is barren. Barren souls, barren minds, barren hearts are all reflections of an anti-gospel. Fruitfulness is a blessing (Gen. 9:1,7; Lev. 26:9; Dt. 28:2-6; Ps. 127; Ps. 128). But this is not an automatic blessing for lazy fathers. A son who sleeps through harvest is an embarrassment to his parents (Prov. 10:5). Having five sons doing that is not an improvement. And so when I said a moment ago that a Christian man should love fruitfulness, it should be noted that this is not the same thing as being opinionated about it.

Just as fatherhood is a gift of grace, so widespread cultural barrenness (instigated and led by rebellious men who ought to be fathers), is a judgment from God. It is not just something for which there will be later judgment, self- inflicted barrenness is itself a judgment on men (Rom. 1:18, 26; Prov. 22:14; Eze. 20:26).

Humble Potency

The call is therefore for Christian fathers who will sacrificially die. This is not because God wants you dead and gone, but rather because God wants you really alive. When we say as Christians (as we often do) that we are to die to ourselves, this is just another way of saying that we are to die to death. And when you die to death, the result in God’s blessing in life.

And when you die, you are not establishing the gospel (as Jesus did when He died). When husbands are told to give up their lives for their wives, this is not a reduplication of that atonement. But it is a sermon preached about that atonement, and not only so, it is a powerful sermon. And so fathers, teach with authority, and not as the scribes.

Read Full Article

The Gospel and Thanksgiving

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

The gospel is good news for everyone, and this includes all those who have already heard and believed it. The gospel is food, not just information, and so when the gospel is declared rightly it creates and reinforces true faith. The gospel does not unsettle true faith. You are a congregation of God’s people, a congregation of saints. So if I address you this morning with a charge to believe the gospel, it is not because your faith in Christ is doubted, but rather because we must all believe the gospel, and we must do so always. At the same time, to encourage you—not unsettle you—I want to declare the gospel to you. Established saints will be strengthened by it, professing Christians (but unconverted) may be quickened by it, and unbelievers who are visiting us may be called to Jesus Christ.

The Texts

“And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:17-22).

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet” (Rom. 7:7).

Summary of the Texts

When a young man runs up (whom I believe to have been Mark himself), he asks Jesus the way to eternal life. Jesus points him to the law of God, giving him a list of the commandments from the second table of the law, all but one—the prohibition of covetousness in the Tenth Commandment. The young man answered that he had done well on all that. All that obedience and he still did not have eternal life! So Jesus tells him that one thing was still missing. He gives him an assignment that touches the nerve center of his ongoing disobedience to the Tenth Commandment. He went away sad, it says, because he had great possessions, which he wanted to keep.

Saul of Tarsus was another young Jewish man who was prepared for the gospel by that same Tenth Commandment. He would not have known sin except for the law. He would not have known lust if the law had not said “Thou shalt not covet.” The second table of the law can be summarized. The law leads us to Christ by posing the fundamental question, which is, “what do you want?”

Wanting and Thanking

We are told in Scripture not to let anyone beguile us with enticing words (Col. 2:4). We are told to overflow with thanksgiving (Col. 2:7). Thanksgiving and covetousness are therefore mutually exclusive. Being seduced or enticed by covetousness (by what you are wanting) is therefore not possible in a thankful heart.

The Arc of the Story

One of the reasons the doctrine of regeneration is so important is because the doctrine of generation is so important. God fashioned man out of the dust of the ground in the first place, but it was the breath of God that established us after His image. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). First God formed, and then God breathed. When God breathed the breath of life into our first father, it was then that he became a living soul, created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). This scriptural language of “image” is closely connected to the reality of generation. When Adam had a son, it was a son in his own image, in his own likeness (Gen. 5:3). This is language that plainly echoes what God had done initially with Adam. Adam had a son after his own image just as God had a son after His own image. In some sense, Adam was son of God by generation.

The way it was with Adam downstream was also the way it was with Adam one generation upstream (Luke 3:38). And keep in mind that Adam means man, or mankind. We may therefore read it as “mankind, the son of God.” Now when Adam sinned, what he was sinned. He was a son of God who sinned. This meant that a new form of generation was established. In some sense, the sons of God became sons of the devil. The mechanism that accomplished this was the mechanism of separating us, as a race, from the life of God. “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:18). First there was generation, then degeneration, and then, for the elect, regeneration.

Here is the fundamental question behind each of these categories. Who’s your daddy? Never seek to define your identity apart from your relationships. When did we become sons of God? We were generated in His image when He breathed the breath of life into our first father. When did we become objects of wrath, children of the devil? When our first father took the fruit that had been forbidden to him, but which he coveted anyway (Gen. 3:6; 1 Jn. 2:16). When were we born again, when were we regenerated? When we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ in truth, moved by the Spirit to do so, and God the Father became our Father once again. In short, it happened when the central covetousness died, and the central thanksgiving was born. What is it to be born again? It is the death of covetous wanting, and the birth of thankful wanting.

The Grace of God’s Law

Theologians refer to the three uses of God’s law. But the first use refers to a revelation of God’s character, the righteousness of God that condemns the unrighteousness of man. With regard to the rich young ruler, we are talking about the first use. In order to come to Christ, the old man must die (in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, which is the glorious gospel). But do not grab the old man, and cut his fingernails, or give him a haircut. Do not arm wrestle with him. He must be crucified—his beating heart, which is wanting, always wanting, must die. When that man is raised in Christ, his grasping covetousness has been replaced.

Read Full Article

KJV 400

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

As you all no doubt have noticed, I preach from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV). This version is also sometimes referred to as the Authorized Version (AV), being authorized by King James I of England. This edition of the Bible came out in 1611, making the year 2011 its 400th birthday. I thought that this would be a suitable occasion for me to explain this particular pulpit oddity of mine. And if anyone does not pay attention to this explanation, what goeth on, he wots not.

The Texts

“What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:1-2).

“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).

Summary of the Texts

In the Romans text, Paul mentions in passing that one of the privileges that the Jews had was that they had been entrusted with the oracles of God, very plainly referring to the Old Testament Scriptures. In the transition between the covenants, clearly the responsibility for the New Testament would not lie with unbelieving Israel, with the Israel that had rejected and crucified the Messiah. No, the covenant, and all attendant covenantal responsibilities, were transferred over to the Christian Church, the new Israel of God (Gal. 6:16). This church is the church of the living God, and is responsible to support the truth. This would naturally include the repository of all God’s revealed truth—the Scriptures.

Four Basic Issues

There are four basic issues when it comes to selection of a Bible translation, and we will consider each one of them in turn. The first is the one already alluded to—who is responsible for the task of guarding “the oracles of God”? Is the church, or some other entity? The second is which manuscripts are being translated. The third has to do with translation philosophy. And the fourth has to do with intelligibility for the modern reader.

Responsibility

As it currently stands, the decision to release a new translation of the Bible is a decision that is made between academics and businessmen. A corporation or business decides that the market will bear yet another translation, and they sign up experts in the original languages, usually men from the academy. The church is viewed as the target marketing demographic, and is not seen as an entity that has anything whatever to say about the translation or publication of a new Bible. The sure fire sign of this is the fact that new translations are all copyrighted. The KJV is in the public domain.

Manuscripts

The earliest complete manuscripts belong to a different manuscript “family” than do the thousands of later manuscripts which are spread around the ancient world much more broadly, and which were in common use down to the invention of the printing press. Let us call the two basic families the Alexandrian and the Byzantine (sometimes called the textus receptus). The KJV is based on the Byzantine and almost all modern translations are based on the Alexandrian. When we consider it carefully, nothing is more apparent than that this is actually the “battle of the paradigms.” In some respects, this is very much like the reconstruction of the evolutionary fossil tree, 98 percent of which is missing. The Byzantine text type is a very broad river which we can trace to about a century after the narrow river called the Alexandrian.

Two of complete Alexandrian manuscripts are held up as the closest exemplars of what the NT autographs supposedly contained. But they differ between themselves in the Gospels over 3,000 times, and they are about 300 years after the autographs. To applaud them therefore as the “most reliable” means that reliability is an elastic term. This means scholars are not really submitting to the authority of the Alexandrian texts, but rather are using them to overthrow any idea of a settled textual authority. This gives them room to speculate in a scholarly way.

Dynamic or Formal

Suppose we agree on which manuscript family we translate from. There is still quite a bit of diversity possible. Translations can range from very strict, and formal, trying to reproduce the original wording as much as possible, or they can be very breezy. This debate is between the school of dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence. There is a spectrum on this of course, but here is a drastic example:

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful” (Ps. 1:1, KJV).
“How well God must like you—you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon, you don’t slink along Dead-End Road, you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College” (Ps. 1:1, The Message)

Thees and Thous

This is the one place where the KJV lies at a disadvantage. There are many archaic words and expressions which are widely misunderstood. For example, we see many people, even today, who believe that thees and thous are pronouns for talking to God—as though they were spiritual talk. But thou is actually singular, while you is plural.

At the same time, for those who want to write ably and well, ignorance of the cadences of the KJV is no more reasonable than ignorance of Shakespeare.

Recommendations

So as you are choosing a Bible, I would recommend that you limit your choices to these. And I recommend you grade them accordingly.

Let’s look at four translations, and give each of them four grades, for responsibility, manuscript, translation, and readability respectively. The KJV would A, A, A, and C. The NKJV would get F, A, B, and A. The ESV would get F, C, B, and A. And the NASB would get F, C, B, and B.

At the same time, don’t fret about all this. Trust God in two respects. The first area is that if God providentially preserved His Word throughout all history, as the Westminster Confession puts it, He didn’t quit preserving it in our day. So don’t worry about the Bible. And secondly, trust God by actually reading your Bibles. This issue must not be an academic one for you—as in, what translation of the Bible is sitting untouched on your shelf?

Read Full Article

Romans 65: The Commandment Of The Everlasting God (16:21-27)

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

We now come to the final blessing, the final benediction. In this letter, Paul has given us a mere synopsis of his gospel, and that synopsis is overwhelming. If the entire gospel were to be laid out for us all at once, we would be crushed by the glory of it. Never forget that God is in the universe business; we are not servants of some local baal or tribal deity. As Thomas Chalmers once put it, “Regardless of how large, your vision is too small.” Far too small.

The Text

“Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen” (Rom. 16:21-27).

Summary of the Text

Paul has sent his greetings to his friends in Rome, and he now sends greetings from those who are with him. He begins with Timothy, Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater (v. 21). Paul’s secretary, the man who did the actual writing of Romans, a man named Tertius, sent his greetings (v. 22). Gaius, the host of this apostolic entourage, and of the whole church as well, sent his greetings (v. 23). Erastus, a city official, presumably of Corinth, sent his greetings, as did a brother named Quartus (v. 23). Paul appends a benediction to this set of greetings (v. 24). He then turns to deliver a powerful benediction, one encompassing all of them, in accordance with all that he has said thus far (v. 24). He commends everything to Him who has the power to establish the Romans according to Paul’s gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, and this in accordance with the revealing of the mystery, a mystery kept secret from the beginning of the world (v. 25). But that which had been hidden is now made manifest (v. 26). That which was secret is now made known to all nations (so that they might obey) by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God (v. 26). We render glory to the only wise God, and we do so through Jesus Christ, and we will do so forever (v. 27). And amen (v. 27).

Apostolic Entourage

You can learn a lot about the center by looking at the group standing around it. You can learn a lot about Paul by looking at the kind of men he collects to work with him. Just as Jesus gathered disparate characters—like Levi the tax collector and Simon the John Bircher—so also with Paul. Timothy had been his co-laborer for many years. We don’t know much about Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater. All we know about Tertius is that he worked as a secretary taking dictation, and that the apostle Paul dictated this letter. Paul was hosted by Gaius, but he was a most hospitable man. He hosted the whole church. There was Quartus, another man we know nothing about, and Erastus, a city official. His position is described as, literally, city economist, probably the treasurer. We can see from this that the Pauline strategy for the Roman Empire as a whole was “infiltration without compromise,” and not, as some would have it, “separation for the sake of perfection.” This kind of thing happens naturally if we pray for, and evangelize, everybody (1 Tim. 2:1-2; Acts 26:29). Politics is dirty, sure enough, but so are monasteries. So is dirt, but we still walk around on it.

Kept Secret in the Types

For the apostle Paul, a mystery is not something we do not yet know. It was something that was not widely or fully known from the creation to the resurrection of Jesus. Some, like angels and prophets, knew it partially (1 Pet. 1: 10-12), but for the most part God kept His plans for the world hidden away in secret. How did He do this? How is it now manifest?

When Christ rose from the dead, and His followers went out to preach that resurrection, they were not simply reporting on a remarkable fact, but were also preaching Christ as the great Antitype of all the types and shadows. When Paul refers to the “mysteries,” he is talking in part about Adam, and David, and Sarah and Hagar, and Abraham and all the other types (1 Cor. 4:1; 1 Cor. 13:2; Eph. 3:9; Eph. 5:32; Col. 1:26-27). A typological reading of the Old Testament is certainly dangerous—and absolutely necessary to the health of gospel preaching. In order to guard ourselves against fantastical interpretations, what do we do? How do we stick close to the interpretive shore? Christ is the shore, and the Scriptures of the prophets are the map. And if it is not aimed at the obedience of faith for all the nations, then it is an erroneous reading of the text.

Eternity in their Hearts

Christians are to be established by the gospel, and not by middle age. Christians are to feed on the preaching of Jesus Christ, Lord of Heaven and earth, and they are to glory in the sweep of God’s redemptive design for the whole world.

God has established eternity in the heart of man. He has put the world in our heart, and He does not want us settling for the petty (Ecc. 3:11). We are certainly to glory in the mundane, knowing that nothing is really ever mundane. So why are so many submerged in their pettiness, and blowing bubbles in it? God created you for more. Lift up your heads.

You will live forever. Shouldn’t your goal be loftier than getting teen-aged boys to look at your body at the pool? How hard could that be? God intends that you be more than a curvy little dope. Shouldn’t your goal be more noble than getting the papers from this side of the desk to that side of the desk? God intended that you do more with your life than just shuffle stuff around. Shouldn’t you be less concerned about the muddy footprints your kid left on the entry mat, and more concerned about the muddy footprints you are leaving on his heart? God intended for you to be great in the law of kindness. We are all of us small, but we were not designed to be petty.

And nothing better than the book of Romans to lift you up out of yourself. Amen and amen.

Read Full Article

Romans 64: The God Of Peace Who Crushes (16:17-20)

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

In this small portion of the last chapter of Romans, the apostle arranges a number of profound and important truths. If we have eyes to see the sweep of redemptive history, we will get it. If we do not, then we are missing some crucial aspects of the gospel.

The Text

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen” (Rom. 16:17-20).

Summary of the Text

Paul then pleads with the Romans, and what he asks them to do is identify those who are schismatic, and to have nothing to do with them (v. 17). These are men who, despite their presence within the church, do not serve Jesus Christ, but rather worship their own belly (v. 18). They are deceptive and dangerous (v. 18). Paul knows that the obedience of the Roman church is known to all men (v. 19), and he is glad for this. But at the same time, he has a caution for them—they should be good-wise and evil-simple (v. 19). If they are, then the God of peace will fulfill His glorious promise (Gen. 3:15) through them, and bruise Satan under their feet shortly (v. 20). Paul then pronounces a benediction over them (v. 20).

Division and Dividers

There is a kind of simplistic liberalism that wants to evaluate everything as though right and wrong were not real categories. So if you strike a child, they say, you are simply teaching them violence. Actually, if you spank with a sense of love and justice, then when you spank, you are actually teaching your son not to clock his little sister over the head with his plastic fire truck. This is faux-profundity, like those who think that pro-lifers who support capital punishment are being inconsistent. Let’s see, we support executing the guilty after a fair trial, and oppose executing the innocent who never get a trial. Right, wrong? Guilt, innocence? These are strange words. You tell me who’s being inconsistent.

So they say that if you follow what the apostle says here, and you divide from those who cause divisions, then have you not joined them? Hmmm? But in the world God made, the antithesis is inescapable. This means that you must divide the way God says, or you will divide in another, destructive way. We do not have the option of “not dividing.” We will either divide from the schismatics, or we will divide from those who love Christian unity. There are no other options. There is no way to love the wolves without hating the sheep, and vice versa.

Note the character of these schismatics. First, they cause divisions and offenses. Right and wrong—some are guilty and some are innocent. We are responsible to know which are which. Second, God has given us a way to do this. The measuring rod is the “doctrine” that we “have learned.” What does the Bible say? Third, though these people are in the church they are not of the church. They do not worship Jesus Christ. They do not serve Christ, but rather they serve their own bellies. The rumbling of those bellies gives unction to their eloquence, and so with smooth flatteries, they deceive the hearts of the simple. Anyone who believes that these belly gods have disappeared from the church since Paul’s day is not paying attention . . . or is one of them.

The Right Kind of Simple

Paul says that these smooth talkers deceive the hearts of the simple. And yet in the next breath, he wants our hearts to be a certain kind of simple—simple with regard to evil. We are to be wise in what is good, and simple in the convolutions of evil. Keep it simple. Love God, hate sin. Read the Bible, love your neighbor. Trust in Jesus. Love the good people, fight the bad people. Enroll in the graduate schools of goodness, and repeatedly flunk the kindergartens of sin. In the devil’s kindergarten, you should not even be able to figure out how to hold the crayons.

The God of Peace is a Warrior

The glorious promise of verse 20 is packed with implications that we must draw out. First, we conquer evil, crushing it, bruising it, because the God of peace enables us to do so. Remember the earlier point about dividing from division. There is no contradiction when the God of peace crushes the serpent head of all discord. Peace is brought into this sorry world by means of conquest, and not with a therapeutic group hug. Secondly, notice how Paul shows that the Messianic promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head is a promise that is not limited to Jesus Himself. It is partially fulfilled by means of the body of Christ—it is “your feet.” Third, Paul says that this will happen “shortly.” The Roman Christians he was writing to did not have to wait for the Day of Judgment for this to happen. Fourth, we see here how Satan is connected by the New Testament writers with the events in the Garden of Eden. Genesis doesn’t mention Satan by name, but Paul places him there. Other writers do the same (1 Jn. 3:10, 12; Rev. 20:2). And fifth, the fulfillment of this promise is connected to the instructions he has just given. If we mark and identify the sowers of discord, pursuing goodness with deep and profound wisdom, and avoiding evil with a very simple revulsion, then what? Then the God of peace is at work in our midst, and He will use our feet to crush the serpent’s head.

Good Words and Fair Speeches . . . from Satan

Emissaries of Hell don’t show up at your door like they were straight out of a zombie movie. They don’t say, “Hello, I am here from the devil, and I have come to lead you astray. Come with me to the hellish inferno.” Satanism is not characterized by severed goats’ heads, pentagrams on the floor, troubled teenagers, and guttering candles. Jesus was tempted to become a Satan worshipper (Matt. 4:8) , and He was tempted by something glorious. The apostle Paul tells us that Satan is an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), and it is no wonder if his ministers come off looking like ministers of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:15). So what does not crush disturbances in the church? It is the conviction that certain people have that their wants and desires are right, righteous, true, and holy. They don’t want that deeper right than being right. The only serpent they want to be crushed is out there.

But the godly plea is this—bruise in us the serpent’s head.

Read Full Article