Quote from Forum Archives on May 13, 2002, 9:42 am

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

RENEWAL AS A WAY OF LIFE #5/8
THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT
(THE DEVIL)
May 12, 2002

TEXT: Ephesians 6:10-20

The title of this morning’s sermon, “The Devil Made Me Do It,” no doubt
conjures up familiar images to those watching television throughout the
1970s. The phrase was made popular by comedian Flip Wilson in several of
his skits and character sketches. Whenever any of his comedy
characterizations such as Geraldine or the pastor of the “Church of
What’s Happenin’ Now” or any of the others got caught in the act of
something “naughty,” Flip’s comeback line was always “the devil made me
do it!”

As we continue to consider renewal as a way of life, we have been listing
those things that resist and war against the Kingdom of God: the flesh,
the world, and the devil. Richard Lovelace, author of Renewal as a Way of
Life, calls these three dynamics the “Dynamics of Spiritual Death.” In
other words, if we let any or all three of these influences rule our
lives, we will experience not spiritual growth, renewal, and vitality,
but spiritual death. “The flesh” refers to our sinful nature - our
rebellion against God. “The world” refers to the larger version of “the
flesh” in which sinful humans create imperfect institutions which also
oppose, many times unintentionally, the advancement of God’s Kingdom.
“The devil,” not surprisingly, refers to the devil and all of his actions
that directly oppose God’s Kingdom as described many times in the Bible.

Of the three dynamics of spiritual death, the devil is most often the
most open in this conflict. Still, he is frequently one of the most
misunderstood powers opposing the Kingdom of God, as well as our own path
to spiritual vitality and renewal. Although humorous in Flip’s comedy
routines, the familiar “devil made me do it” tagline is indicative of the
difficulty even Christians tend to have regarding the person and the work
of the devil. More often than not, we are influenced by two extremes
concerning the devil. The first is a trivialization that reduces the
devil to a harmless, even sort of cute, folktale or myth. The second is a
tendency to so overemphasize the power and purpose of satan that he
overshadows God. Neither of these extremes, of course, are Biblically
correct. Nor do either of these extremes help equip us for dealing with
the devil in our own spiritual warfare as we seek renewal as a way of
life.

Ever since the period of world history known as the Enlightenment, most
civilized societies have been involved in demythologizing several
widely-believed tales. Vampires, werewolves, witches that can really cast
spells and harm us, and other things that go “bump in the night” have
been rightly reinterpreted and myth and folklore. One result has been
advances in medical and scientific research that were held back by
several cultural beliefs that had no bearing on truth and reality. So,
certainly, much has been gained by getting rid of some inappropriate and
false beliefs.

Now you know where I’m heading with this. The same new learning that
overcame some false beliefs also did some rather irrational things: it
also attempted to banish other sorts of spiritual beings such as angels
and demons. This, as it turns out, was a prelude to the frequent attempts
to banish God as a product of human imagination as well. And although
many Christians recoil from attempts to define God as a myth, many have
bought into the acceptance of the devil as a myth.

After all, can’t many things once attributed to satan and his demons be
explained by modern knowledge of natural forces? For instance, we no
longer define epilepsy victims in terms of demon possession. The same is
true for many other illnesses, even psychiatric illnesses. So is talk of
the devil and powers of darkness outmoded? According to some in serious
theological study, the answer has become “yes.”

One such influence has been the “social gospel” movement of the early
twentieth century. This movement clearly made some necessary reformations
to church life and beliefs of the period. It moved many believers to see
that the personal piety they practiced in the pews needed to become an
overt force out in the world of poverty and slums in their own community
backyards. Walter Rauschenbusch, a Baptist pastor, gave life to the
social gospel movement by giving up a rather prestigious ministry
position and literally serving in New York slum areas known as “Hell’s
Kitchen.” He literally gave life and feet to the Gospel by ministering in
places that were overlooked and ignored by thousands of born-again
Christians. He spoke and wrote against the evils of the sinful nature and
the world that created systems and institutions that subjected some
people to poverty and slum living. In this sense, the social gospel was,
and remains, a very necessary and positive influence for Christians
serious about serving Christ and living in His Kingdom.

On the negative side, though, Rauschenbusch and other social gospel
theologians began removing satan from their portrayals of “the kingdom of
evil” that opposes the Kingdom of God. For them, the kingdom opposing the
reign of Christ was a conspiracy of bad human beings and bad systems. For
them, to acknowledge a literal, personal devil was merely a device to
deflect the true source of worldly problems: human beings who established
themselves in power and lorded it over others through systems and
institutions devised to keep people in poverty. Just like Flip Wilson’s
application, “the devil made me do it,” attributing evil to the devil and
his demons was an excuse made by men and women who stood to lose personal
wealth or power if they acknowledged themselves as participants in the
“principalities and powers” that opposed the Biblical message of Christ.

At the other end of the spectrum is an “over-fascination” with evil. With
the rise of popular authors such as Stephen King and movie technology
that can so graphically portray bizarre scenes of horror, there is a
tendency to view evil as only a force that we can readily identify and
oppose. Even some Christian fellowships have been known for their studies
of the devil to such an extent that I wonder if they don’t know more
about him than they do Jesus.

But neither of these extremes characterize the Biblical worldview.
Richard Lovelace writes, “But it is also true that modern folklore and
comic literature have trivialized the devil. An imp with a fork in a red
union suit is certainly no threat to our spiritual lives or the kingdom
of Christ. ‘The devil made me do it’ is so obviously a cop-out that it
makes many Christians want to rule any such influence out of bounds.
Other literature has domesticated the devil, turning him into a con man
easily outwitted by the likes of Daniel Webster. Some horror films have
given us visions closer to biblical demonology, but these tend to
frighten us. And so when we hear about the powers of darkness, we either
smile and dismiss them, or feel creepy and avoid the subject….
[S]piritual growth and effective service in the kingdom of God are
impossible without [study of the subject]. How far will a gardener get
who is embarrassed to talk about bugs?” (Richard Lovelace, Renewal As a
Way of Life, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985, pp. 100-101).

The Biblical truth is that the devil is a reality, that he opposes the
kingdom of God, that our engagement in spiritual warfare is against him,
and that we can be armed to successfully defeat the prince of “the
kingdom of darkness.” The strategies used in the devil’s game plan are,
shall we say, demonically simple? The devil tempts, accuses, and lies.

In Matthew 4, the devil confronts Jesus in the wilderness. Matthew 4:3,
“The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these
stones to become bread.’” The devil is known as the tempter and even
tried to lead Jesus astray. He most certainly tries to lead us astray.
Now satan knows that he cannot steal anyone born-again away from
salvation. But he does know that if he can tempt even believers strongly
enough, so that they walk in conformity with the world, they will turn
others away from the Messiah. “If millions of Christians can be tempted
to neglect the church, the Scriptures, prayer and other dynamics of
spiritual life, they can be kept at a subsistence level of strength which
will offer little threat to the kingdom of evil.” (Richard Lovelace,
Renewal As a Way of Life, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985, p.
106). This should be a sobering truth: that satan actually tries to use
Christians, and he successfully does on occasion, to prevent
non-believers from accepting Jesus Christ as savior. That is the power of
the strategy of temptation. But let us not be satisfied with the pitiful
plea that “the devil made me do it.” Let us humble ourselves before God
and do His bidding. In Paul’s description of spiritual warfare from
Ephesians 6, he reminds us to keep our “breastplate of righteousness in
place.” In our relationship with God, righteousness is that dynamic that
moves us to do what God wants us to do, not what we or the devil want us
to do. Of course, when we are humble before God, we do want to do what
God wants us to do. So the devil’s temptations are thwarted by the
“breastplate of righteousness.”

A more insidious strategy of the devil than temptation is accusation.
Look at Revelation 12:10. “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now
have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the
authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses
them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.’” The devil is
actually attempting to accuse us before God, day and night! That is
certainly not comforting. The good news is that he will be thrown down,
and these attempts will be for naught. But that does not stop him. Nor
does it stop him from making accusations of one Christian against
another. The radio stations out of Tokyo and Hanoi in their respective
wars were particularly good at demoralizing troops. The devil is surely
not behind them in those skills. He can go around distorting our
self-image with our faults exaggerated and our virtues obscured. He tries
to destroy our confidence that God loves us. He divides us from other
Christians by whispering accusations about them in our ears and, at the
same time, accusing us in their minds. Sadly, we frequently fall for
them. We decide that so-and-so is not really that good a Christian, or we
wonder if God really loves us. All the time, the devil attacks and
attacks committed Christians as strategic targets in the Kingdom of God.
Paul reminds us that we can stand even these attacks. First, our feet are
“fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” We have
peace because of God’s love through Jesus. And, we have the “shield of
faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil
one.” We do not need ever give in to satan’s attempts to demoralize and
falsely accuse us.

Holding the devil’s strategies of temptation and accusation together is
the strategy of lying. Turn to John 8:44. Jesus, speaking sharply to some
of those who opposed his ministries, says, “You belong to your father,
the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a
murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no
truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a
liar and the father of all lies.” Sadly, so many of God’s precious
children believe the lies that the devil spreads. Some even become so
twisted that they worship satan as their source of well-being. God’s
holiness is brought into question. Writes Lovelace, “Thus the demons are
the motive power behind false religions, giving their leaders charismatic
force and seducing others into following them (1 Tim 4:1; 1 Jn 4:1-3). If
we judge from the experience of Peter, the devil can even insinuate his
ideas into dedicated Christian believers and make them his mouthpieces on
occasion (Mt 16:23). Every part of the church - Catholics and
Protestants, fundamentalists and modernists, Western and non-Western -
shows some marks of the devil’s ability to lead us into believing
falsehood, causing us to ignore or doubt biblical truth.” (Richard
Lovelace, Renewal As a Way of Life, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity
Press, 1985, pp. 107-108). Again, this should be a sobering revelation in
the light of the reality of the devil. It was to Paul, as he encouraged
the Ephesian Christians with his words to “Stand firm then, with the belt
of truth buckled around your waist…”

In truth, the devil “makes” us do nothing. He does not have that power.
But he does attack us. He uses all of these strategies against us as
necessary. He wants to topple the Kingdom of God. And, I am certain, that
he is particularly gleeful when he can get Christians to help him in his
endeavors. I hope that we are not so dull and foolish as to become a part
of the devil’s schemes. Remember what Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit,
wrote to Christians beleaguered by satan in the Ephesian and other
churches: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on
the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devil’s schemes…
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of
prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying
for all the saints.”

Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN

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