In
the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
When
Christ lived on this earth and Satan marshalled his legion of demons against
the Son of God, Jesus didn’t call on an army of angels to protect Him. And when
Satan stirred up the unbelieving world to reject and kill their Savior, Jesus
didn’t fit out His disciples with swords and lead them into battle against the
Jews and Romans. Christ cast out demons with His Word. He preached, He
suffered, and He died to defeat Satan and all the forces of evil. This is how
the Lord continues to work in His Church.
The story of St. Patrick is another good
example. When the pagan Irish were raiding
the coasts of Britain, enslaving, abusing, and persecuting Christians, God
didn’t respond to their warfare by sending fire
down from heaven. He responded by taking one of their former victims, Patrick,
and sending him back to evangelize his captors. Patrick didn't take up
arms against the pagan chiefs in the name of Jesus. He didn't organize armies
to tear down their idols and build churches on top of the ashes. Armed with
nothing but the Word and Sacraments, Patrick quietly spent his time preaching
to slaves, baptizing children, and communing widows. And, in time, the pagan
altars crumbed into ruins and the whole of Ireland belonged to Christ. When the
world assaults the Church with the sword and the spear, God wins the victory
with words and water, bread and wine. When the devil fights with fierce
warriors clad in armor, God defeats the devil with little children and other
frail people.
And this is still how it works. Christ’s
fight with the devil, driving him out of people and rescuing them from the
kingdom of darkness, that fight will not cease until the Last Day. And for this
fight Christ has given us His weapons: Holy Baptism, the Word and Absolution,
and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. With these, the Holy Spirit comes to
enlighten, kindle faith, cleanse, and free people from the devil’s power.
Every child that comes into this world is
born into the kingdom of the devil, who rules through the tyranny of sin. But
at Christ’s command we bring a child to Holy Baptism, speak the words of
promise which He commanded, and the child is born anew into God’s kingdom. When
that happens, the devil must surrender and get out.
Yet our Baptism has not completely removed
the sinful heart from within us, and so the Devil uses that to his advantage. He
tempts and entices us, then accuses and shames us, always trying to regain his
control. So when a person is greatly overwhelmed by the devil’s accusations,
and comes to me with a heavy heart, seeking forgiveness, comfort, and instruction,
then I have the command to comfort the person and pronounce God’s forgiveness
on account of Christ. And actually, every Christian has this command to share
God’s grace and forgive each other. So the devil must flee, not from me or you,
since we are just wretched sinners, but he must flee from the Word and
Absolution which Christ has given us to speak.
And of course, there is yet another gift, when
your conscience is weak and terrified, and you are unable to grasp tightly
enough the forgiveness and comfort that God graciously wants you to have, then
Christ has given the Lord’s Supper for you: His true body and blood to eat and
drink. When you trust those words and eat that food, then you have no reason to
doubt that Christ’s body was given, sacrificed, for you and His blood shed,
poured out, for your transgressions. When a Christian eats and drinks with
faith the crucified and risen body and blood of Christ, then it is impossible
for the devil to dwell there and hold sway.
So Christ’s work of casting out demons
continues today. The finger of God that drives out Satan is the Word itself. And
so by preaching and administering the Sacraments, the Christian Church is
spread throughout the world. Christ worked through Patrick to spread His
kingdom in Ireland. Christ works through the ministers and members of Immanuel
Lutheran Church to spread His kingdom in Charlotte.
This is not of our own doing. We vanquish
the Devil with no other power than simply opening our mouths, preaching and
teaching God’s Word. For that reason we should never dismiss God’s Word or
treat His Holy Sacraments in a careless way. It’s true that the words we speak
are ordinary words, the people who speak them are ordinary, sinful people, and
the elements we use are ordinary water, bread, and wine. But when these words
and elements come from Christ’s command and they are joined with faith, then we
possess and wield the kind of power that can make the Devil flee – the power of
Christ Himself, who is victorious over the Devil and frees people from the
slavery of sin.
However, since this power is not our own,
then we must be careful. We must still recognize our own weakness, our own sin,
and our own susceptibility to temptation. And we must recognize the Devil’s
strength. He is not almighty, but he is a powerful, evil spirit, and we need to
know he is a serious threat. We should not fear him or doubt that Christ is
victorious, but we also shouldn’t mock him as a little weakling, or boast that
we are safe and secure and too strong for him. He’s always looking for a way to
trap us, and until we are safe in heaven, the danger of Satan’s temptations
will always be around us.
The Jews thought too highly of themselves. They
thought they were so good and holy that they could mock the Devil and treat him
as no great threat. They called him Beelzebub, which is a disparaging name that
means the “lord of the flies,” as if he were no more dangerous than a little
gnat. But these Jews were deceived. They thought they were safe on their own, and
did not watch out for the Devil’s attacks. So they ignored God’s Word. And when
Jesus spoke God’s Word to them and demonstrated His truth and power by casting
out demons, they couldn’t stand it. Not only did they mock the Devil, but they
also mocked and judged their Savior. They claimed He was in league with Satan
because they didn’t like what He said. They judged Him on their own terms and
demanded to hear what they wanted to hear. In reality, they were more oppressed
by demons than that mute man was, but they didn’t know it. They had foolishly
underestimated Satan, overestimated themselves, and completely rejected Christ.
So Satan got the upper hand.
Christians know the Devil’s real power and
might. We know it can happen that a pious man who works hard to support his
family, can end up stealing from his boss. A devout wife who is living a decent
life in her marriage today can commit adultery tomorrow. And the faithful child
who honored his parents, can leave the Church and deny Christ. Christians must
take Christ’s warning seriously: “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes
through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will
return to my house from which I came.’ And
when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other
spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the
last state of that person is worse than the first.”
This is not talking about unbelievers. This
is a warning for us, Christians – those who have been rescued from the power of
demons. We are God’s children and we know the saving message of Christ. But if
we neglect Christ’s gifts of Word and Sacraments, if we think we are strong and
good enough to stand on our own, if we treat our sins like harmless play things
or suppose that we can always repent later, if we knowingly, persistently give
into temptation, then we are nothing but an empty house swept clean and ready for
seven more demons to move in. And the last state is worse than the first. Leaving ourselves open to the Devil’s
attacks and ignoring God’s Word will ultimately harden our hearts against
Christ, so that we no longer truly repent or trust in Him. It is possible to
lose faith, to deny your Baptism, and not be saved. This is precisely what the
Devil wants. He already has the unbelieving world in his pocket. He wants you.
So Christian, you must be on your guard. And
the best way to do that is to guard the Word of God. Right after Christ gives His warning, He also
gives a blessing: “Blessed
are those who hear the word of
God and keep it!” This doesn’t just mean you hear it once or
twice. It doesn’t just mean you try to follow and obey. The hearing is a
continual, persistent hearing. And “keep” really means “guard, watch over, hold
onto and never let go.” Blessed are those who keep hearing the Word of God and
keep guarding it. That is the only way for us to overcome and cast out Satan. We
can’t do it on our own, but Christ is still doing it today for us with His Word
and Sacraments.
Satan is a king with a very united kingdom,
tightly held together by the tyranny of sin. And whenever one demon is
provoked, all of them get riled up. When you are baptized, or hear the Word of
God, or receive the Lord’s Supper, you are taking your stand against Satan’s
kingdom and all the forces of evil will come out against you. A Christian’s
stance is not an insignificant thing. It’s not make-believe or a game with no
consequences. There is a strong kingdom against us, and every moment we are in
danger.
But Christ is our Stronger Man and His
kingdom is even more united and closely bound together. By His death He robbed
the Devil of his power and won us for Himself. And when the Devil attacks a
Christian he is also attacking Christ Himself and all His angel host. When the
Devil attacks you, the almighty God, the Lord of Sabaoth stands by you with His
grace. By the forgiveness of your sins He picks you up when you fall and He
strengthens you when you stand. His Holy Spirit dwells with you and steels you
for the fight.
Let us thank God for His grace and favor,
because He has sent His Son for help against the Devil, to drive him out. And
He has given us His Word through which today He still performs this work: destroying
Satan’s kingdom, while building and extending the kingdom of God. Thanks be to
God.
In
the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
Martin
Luther’s sermon: Baker, Vol. V, pp.329–343.
