THE WORD 4 ev 1

Today’s Reading is Luke 4 (click here for link)

Do you renounce the Devil and all his works and all his ways? Well… do you? Jesus did. In fact. this question has some very serious implications: We are to live our lives resisting the devil in every aspect of our lives over which he tries to rule. Now I know that we’ve all been asked this question at least once in our lives—that is, if you were baptized. In fact, baptism is a type of exorcism. The Holy Spirit literally comes to dwell in us where before only the Devil dwelt. Martin Luther took this literally; so much so, that in his first catechism written in 1530, he included an actual exorcism in the baptismal rite. The pastor was actually instructed to address the evil spirit within the child and tell him to be removed by the power of Jesus name to make room for the Holy Spirit. How wide would our eyes be if a pastor did that today in the middle of the a baptism?

Yes, we know baptism makes us a child of God, but how many of us really take this seriously? How many of us actually renounce and resist… ALL THE TIME? Sadly, we too often justify our willingness to go along with Satan’s suggestions.

It could be just about anything… that attractive co-worker that takes lunch-hour with you; the one you find yourself flirting with more and more… it really doesn’t matter as long as you don’t get physically involved, right? Maybe it is the mundane and humdrum relationship between you and your spouse after 10 years of marriage that makes you more critical than you used to be… after all, after 10 years, some things just start to get on your nerves and you shouldn’t be expected to put up with it forever. Or perhaps it is the slow and steady weight of regret after a lifetime of hard work and you feel stuck at a dead-end job, with no fulfillment or excitement left in your work and you find yourself bitter to the core… in that case, why should you waste your time resisting Satan; just have fun with the time you have left.

Yes, Satan can use just about anything to make us forget who we really are. Of course, this battle is nothing new. It began with Adam and Eve who engaged in a similar battle, and tragically, we are all too aware of the result of that battle—humanity fell into sin. But, notice how Satan went about luring Adam and Eve. He never actually told them to eat from the tree. Rather, he merely proposed the idea and suggested a lie or two to get them thinking. “Did God really say…?” Of course he did! Satan then proceeds to lie some more, suggesting that the fruit really provides great wisdom and knowledge and it would therefore be a terrible waste not to eat from the tree—right? Satan suggests that God is keeping them from gaining wisdom and knowledge; he suggests such things are theirs by right. And suddenly our two hapless ancestors find themselves justifying their reasons for eating from the tree. It looks good and gives knowledge! Why not eat? The rest is history.

So what are we to learn from Luke’s account of Jesus temptation in the desert? Perhaps, like yesterday’s text about Jesus baptism, there are too many theological explanations for why Jesus endured the temptation of Satan. In fact, here again is another text that always gets the same questions… “Pastor, was Jesus “really” tempted? After all, He is God.” Well… yes he was, but he was also man. But answering such a question is not really my purpose for this morning. I want to get us back to that question—that question for YOU! Do you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways? If Luke is asking us that question through this text today, then I think the answer is very obvious: We are to renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways because Jesus did so.

You see, it would seem (and I speak from experience, and I am sure you could, also) that Satan’s most devious scheme—and his most successful—is to make us doubt at times that we are children of God. Oh sure… we know we were baptized at some point in our lives, but I’m in control of my life. I am my own man… an independent woman… this seems right… it feels good… did God really mean… maybe in the “old days” this was considered taboo, but not anymore… they had it coming to them anyway… it doesn’t matter, it is the truth… and on and on the devil whispers in our ears.

But are we forgetting the question? Do you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways? That is what a child of God does. Are you remembering that you are a child of God because of your baptism? Do you stand at the intersections in life with that in mind? Notice that the devil tried the same tricks on Jesus. Twice he asks our Lord, “If you are the Son of God…” But wasn’t that an absurd question? Of course Jesus was the Son of God—the devil knew it and so did Jesus. And yet, just as certainly as Jesus was the Son of God, so are we! We are sons and daughters of God through Jesus and our baptism into his body. But why then are we so easily tricked? Why do we so easily forget?

Perhaps such questions are a bit too harsh. It seems to be our lot in life—we struggle with the flesh and Satan knows just how much we struggle. So perhaps it behooves us to remember—intentionally—each and every day—exactly who we are and ask ourselves the question at those intersections in life, “Am I resisting the devil and all his works and all his ways.” It is a serious question and your answer will have serious consequences, one way or the other.

God bless you this morning, child of God,

Pastor Aaron