Stay out of the cookie jar . . .

 

If the Bible did not say otherwise, would I think the devil was only in my imagination? Or a skinny, ugly red being with a forked tail? Or a joke? Or that I had the power to tell him to get lost?

Actually, there is a hint of truth in that last notion. The Bible does say this:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Peter 5:8–9)

However, it also says this:

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” (Jude 9)

And this: “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)

Some think we can rebuke Satan directly even though angels cannot, perhaps because Satan is a fallen angel and one of them. Others think we have no power to do so and that spiritual warfare is a defensive matter, not an offensive attack. Some also think that the devil does not exist.

Another angle on this topic is that we have the ability to overcome Satan because Jesus lives in us. It is Jesus who gives us what we need to resist:

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:2–6, italics mine)

Without Jesus and the resources He provides, I know I don’t have a chance to stand firm against the lies and accusations of this persistent enemy. I must:

Take up the whole armor of God, that I may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:13)

Other verses tell me that I am helpless unless fully surrendered to the will of God. In other words, my greatest defense against the evil one is being obedient to the One who saves. Again, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

This is not to say that a fully submitted Christian cannot be hit by the enemy’s lies and evil tactics. It does say that when it happens, I am not to give up or stop obeying God and take matters into my own hands. I do not have what it takes to fight Satan without fully yielding to the power of Christ.

“Evil day” could refer to the sin that exists in this world. Satan is called “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), and eventually he will be dealt with (Revelation 20:10-15), but until then, my role is to remember that he has been defeated and like a chicken with its head cut off. He is trashing about, making a mess, but doomed. I must resist his lies and not let his accusations steer me away from the promises of God and my relationship with Him.

At the same time, I need to remember that “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and that same god lures pastors, Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, and many others who serve the true God away from their ministry into a godless lifestyle. They stopped resisting and need prayer and support to regain what they have lost.

PRAY: Oh Jesus, it breaks my heart when anyone wavers in their commitment to You. Forgive me when I also waver, or become too preoccupied to pray, or I become critical of the weakness in others rather than supporting them. Help me to battle on their behalf by asking You to give them the determination to claim the victory that You have secured for all of Your children. Grant me grace to yield to You and resist this enemy that You already have defeated.

PONDER: Read 1 Corinthians 9:23–27. How does bodily discipline and self-control affect my ability to minister to others? Do I realize the importance of saying no to whatever I might crave?

 

 

When God rebukes . . .

 

Today’s word is not very popular, whether it is coming from another person or even from God, no one likes to receive a REBUKE.

The OT verb has a broad range of meaning, but generally refers to arguing a case or issuing judgment with the intent to correct. It is also translated “correct,” “judge,” “punish,” or “argue.” While a rebuke can be motivated by selfishness or human pride, it is legitimate when God does it or is behind it.

Some examples include David’s greeting to some who came to him. In 1 Chronicles 12:16–17, David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship to help me, my heart will be joined to you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong in my hands, then may the God of our fathers see and rebuke you.”

God rebukes His people through the prophets and rebukes individuals. Several times, the psalm writers prayed, “O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!” While God said He would not rebuke them for their sacrifices, He also said that if they slandered their brothers, He would rebuke them. He also allowed no one to oppress them and rebuked kings to aid His people.

God’s people learned that God’s rebukes were valuable to protect them from sin, both the sin of others and their own. Psalm 141:4–5 says, “Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.”

This idea to accept rebuke is repeated in the NT in Hebrews 12:5–6 . . . 

“And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

If I am wise, I will gain knowledge from being rebuked and have a deeper relationship with the one who corrects me, particularly if that someone is God:

Proverbs 17:10. “A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.”

Proverbs 27:5. “Better is open rebuke than hidden love.”

The two NT words translated rebuke have the same basic meaning. They are about making someone aware of sin, convicting them of guilt, and refuting false doctrine. In our culture, tolerance is commended yet the Bible commends godly rebuke, calling it an act of love.

God rebukes to demonstrate His authority over the weather, demons, and illness.

Matthew 8:26. And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Matthew 17:18. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.

Luke 4:39. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

He rebukes also in warnings and with commands to help me stay on the right path. Again, open rebuke is better than hidden love. Proverbs 28:23 says, “Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.” That could mean that I will love God more because He cares enough for me that He will correct my sin.

Mark 8:33. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. God hates sin and never merely sits back and watches it. He either confronts it or uses it for His purposes. The greatest example of Him using it is the crucifixion — the worst sin yet the greatest act of God for our salvation.

When I see sin, I need to seek God’s will regarding my own reactions. Do I rebuke it? or not? As for rebuking Satan, in Zechariah 3:2, the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” In Jude 9, it says, “When the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’”

This refutes a teaching that we are to rebuke Satan — because the Bible says this is the role of the Lord. He sometimes uses Satan, such in when He allowed Job’s faith to be tested and when His Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness also to be tested. I’m not to usurp His role but to always seek His will. Even though I don’t like it, He can use the trouble Satan stirs up as part of His plan. Otherwise, it is up to Him to rebuke this enemy and up to me to resist and reject his lies.