Packer: The devil is on a chain.

Altogether, the devil is an enemy who has to be taken very seriously. Yet we should not panic in the face of his attentions. Christ has overcome him (Jn. 12:31); Satan is now a defeated foe, a lion on a chain, and what he can do against us is sovereignly restricted on a day-to-day basis, for “God … will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear” (1 Cor. 10:13). We who are Christ’s should detest Satan but not dread him, since God now provides us with all-purpose combat equipment for use against him. It is the Christian’s privilege to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground” (Eph. 6:13).

Running scared of Satan is not the Christian way; it is, rather, an expression of unbelief. Wisdom directs, not that we should spend our time worrying about Satan, as if there is no limit to what he can do, but simply that we should watch for signs of his being on the move—that is, for actions, passions, and circumstances that make war against the cause and the honor of the Creator. Such events call for precisely the reaction of prayer and countermoves that we see in Nehemiah. Nehemiah’s battles as the wall went up can teach us much about winning our bit of the war into which, with Nehemiah, we who seek to serve God have walked.

Packer, J. I. (1995). A passion for faithfulness: wisdom from the book of Nehemiah. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Comments

John Stott on the "old man" and the "body ruled by sin" in Rom 6 v 6

There are, in fact, two quite distinct ways in which the New Testament speaks of crucifixion in relation to holiness. The first is our death to sin through identification with Christ; the second is our death to self through imitation of Christ. On the one hand, we have been crucified with Christ. But on the other we have crucified (decisively repudiated) our sinful nature with all its desires, so that every day we renew this attitude by taking up our cross and following Christ to crucifixion. The first is a legal death, a death to the penalty of sin; the second is a moral death, a death to the power of sin. The first belongs to the past, and is unique and unrepeatable; the second belongs to the present, and is repeatable, even continuous. I died to sin (in Christ) once; I die to self (like Christ) daily. It is with the first of these two deaths that Romans 6 is chiefly concerned, although the first is with a view to the second, and the second cannot take place w...

Boice: “... the federal way of dealing with us was actually the fairest and kindest of all the ways God could have operated. ”

Adam had been appointed by God to be the representative of the race so that if he stood, we too would stand, and if he fell, we would fall with him. Adam did fall, as we know. So death passed upon everyone. “But isn’t that terribly unfair?” someone protests. “Isn’t it cruel for God to act in this fashion?” ... the federal way of dealing with us was actually the fairest and kindest of all the ways God could have operated. Besides, it was the only way it would later be possible for God to save us once we had sinned. In other words, federalism is actually a proof of God’s grace, which is the point the passage comes to (vv. 15 ff.). It was gracious to Adam first of all. Why? Because it was a deterrent to his sin. God must have explained to Adam that he was to represent his posterity. That might have restrained him from sinning. A father who might be tempted to steal his employer’s funds (and would if only he himself were involved), might well decide not to do it if he kne...

Repackaging the gospel? It's more like obscuring the gospel!

Preface : I recognize this post may make me unpopular with some, but I think it is an important issue to blog about here. I’ve had time to reflect on this video and in my opinion, I think what is in this video raises some questions. This gentleman featured below is slotted to speak at the SBC's 2020 Pastors' Conference and it prompted me to think more about this illustration. I want to note that I don't know him and I have no personal issue with him. I assume he is a brother in the LORD. Having said that, I see some significant issues here that relate to this type of preaching being clear on the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it appears to be obscuring it in my observation. Concern: Should the SBC or churches, in general, be in the habit of holding this up as a good and healthy example? Let's think about it some together. (Watch this clip below here first.) Context: The clip was posted to stand on its own a...

Search This Blog