Teaching Resources International

Y2K: What Is Your Greatest Fear? (Originally Posted Summer 1999)

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

January 1^st, 2000, could be the worst day in modern history. The year 200 bug, or Y2K, affects computer systems that control everything from heart monitors to air traffic control. The problem stems from the use in computers of two digits to represent the year in dates. While this does not sound like a very big problem, when the calendar reaches the year 2000, many computers will not know what day it is, and systems that control the flow of electricity in power grids, the interest on your loans, or the service schedule for industrial equipment may grind to a halt.

Are you afraid of Y2K? A lot of experts who have been studying the problem for many years now, while not advocating panic, are recommending a healthy dose of caution, because this is a problem that has the potential to have devastating effects in nearly every area of our lives.

Why did this happen and what is being done about it? Many years ago computer resources were much more limited than they are today, and every effort was made to conserve those resources; using two digits for the year was one of those efforts. Many programmers knew there would be a problem in the year 2000, but they did not think their programs would still be in use today. As a result, businesses and governments are now spending billions of dollars and devoting countless hours in an effort to find and fix all instances of the problem. This is certainly not an easy job, as there are billions of lines of computer code that must be checked and corrected, much of it manually compounding the problem is the fact that many computer chips, such as those found in telecommunications satellites, security systems, home computers, and machinery of all kinds will not be able to recognize the turn of the century. The search is on to find and fix these chips.

One of the greatest fears regarding Y2K is that public utilities, including water, gas, telephone, and electricity suppliers may suffer disruptions or total collapses of their service. Power outages are possible, but the size and scope of these blackouts is impossible to predict, because of the complexity of the power production network and the difficulties involved with finding and fixing all of the affected chips and programs.

The banking and securities industries are also affected, since computers deal with everything from deposit and withdrawal dates to interest calculations. While most banks expect to have their own problems fixed in time, many services relying on the transfer of accurate information from one bank to another, including ATM transactions, the clearing of checks, and so on, may be affected as corrupted data invades the systems. The global economy, which has proven itself to be delicate and volatile, could also feel the impact of Y2K.

While the world begins to realize and deal with the problem of Y2K, an even larger problem looms. It is a problem that will not go away, threatens more than the loss of power and heat, and will bring loss greater than the loss of all the wealth in the world. It is the problem of sin and the judgment of sin by a holy and righteous God. Just as programmers didn’t think their actions would affect the future, do you mistakenly believe that when your life is over that that’s the end? You have a never-dying soul. God’s Word says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Are you afraid of losing power and heat in the middle of winter? You should be more afraid of spending eternity in the “blackness of darkness for ever” (Jude 1:13), in the “fire that never shall be quenched” (Mark 9:43). Jesus said, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

Are you afraid that your money might be misplaced or lost, or that a global depression might affect your life? You should be more afraid of losing your soul. “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). Even if you lost the wealth of the entire world, this would not compare to losing your soul.

Are you waiting for someone to step forward with a solution to Y2K? Those who understand the enormous scope of the problem know that this is impossible. But with the problem of sin—a much larger problem already affecting everyone in the world—Someone has already provided the solution. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stepped forward “to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). When Jesus was crucified, He “bare our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). The problem has been identified and the answer has been provided. “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life, and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). Have you received Jesus Christ as your lord and Savior? Do you believe that His blood is able to wash away all of your sins? (1 John 1:7). Have you trusted Him, and Him alone, for the safety and salvation of your immortal soul?

Then, no matter what the year 2000 brings, you will have peace within knowing that you are prepared for eternity and that your future is secure in Christ.

NOTE: Much has been written about the Y2K problem, often describing apocalyptic scenarios. We have included this article, not as a commentary on what may or may not happen as a result of Y2K, but as a sober means of reminding one another of a far more important problem facing modern man—the problem of sin and judgment.

This article comes from a tract published by a missionary in Dominica, West Indies (Daniel Shanks). We are not sure if Daniel is the author or not, but we certainly appreciate the timeliness of the message.

Posted in Uncategorized |

The Gospel of Satan by A. W. Pink

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

Satan is the arch-counterfeiter. The Devil is now busy at work in the same field in which the Lord sowed the good seed. He is seeking to prevent the growth of the wheat by another plant, the tares, which closely resembles the wheat in appearance. In a word, by a process of imitation, he is aiming to neutralize the Work of Christ. Therefore, as Christ has a Gospel, Satan has a gospel, too; the latter being a cleaver counterfeit of the former. So closely does the gospel of Satan resemble that which it parodies, multitudes of the unsaved are deceived by it.

The Existence of Satan’s “Gospel”

It is to this gospel of Satan the apostle refers when he says to the Galatians, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another, but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). This false gospel was being heralded even in the days of the apostle, and a most awful curse was called down upon those who preached it. The apostle continues, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” By the help of God, we shall now endeavor to expound, or rather, expose, this false gospel.

Characteristics of Satan’s “Gospel”

The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor yet a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war, but aims at peace and unity. It seeks not to set the mother against her daughter nor the father against his son, but fosters the fraternal spirit whereby the human race is regarded as one great “brotherhood.” It does not seek to drag down the natural man, but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation and appeals to “the best that is within us.”

It aims to make this world such a comfortable and congenial habitat that Christ’s absence from it will not be felt and God will not be needed. It endeavors to occupy man so much with this world that he has no time or inclination to think of the world to come. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, charity and benevolence, and teaches us to live for the good of others, and to be kind to all. It appeals strongly to the carnal mind and is popular with the masses, because it ignores the solemn facts that by nature man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, and dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.

Satan’s Gospel Seeks “Reform” rather than Repentance

In contradistinction to the Gospel of Christ, the gospel of Satan teaches salvation by works. It inculcates justification before God on the ground of human merits. Its sacramental phrase is “Be good and do good;” but it fails to recognize that in the flesh there dwelleth no good thing.

It announces salvation by character, which reverses the order of God’s Word—character by, as the fruit of, salvation. Its various ramifications and organizations are manifold. Temperance, Reform movements, “Christian Socialist Leagues,” ethical culture societies, “Peace Congresses” are all employed (perhaps unconsciously) in proclaiming this gospel of Satan-salvation by works. The pledge card is substituted for Christ; social purity for individual regeneration, and politics and philosophy, for doctrine and godliness. The cultivation of the old man is considered more “practical” than the creation of a new man in Christ Jesus; whilst universal peace is looked for apart from the interposition and return of the prince of Peace.

Satan’s Gospel Has “Apostles”

The apostles of Satan are not saloon-keepers and white-slave traffickers, but are for the most part ordained ministers. Thousands of those who occupy our modem pulpits are no longer engaged in presenting the fundamentals of the Christian Faith, but have turned aside from the Truth and have given heed unto fables. Instead of magnifying the enormity of sin and setting forth its eternal consequences, they minimize it by declaring that sin is merely ignorance or the absence of good. Instead of warning their hearers to “flee from the wrath to come,” they make God a liar by declaring that He is too loving and merciful to send any of His own creatures to eternal torment. Instead of declaring that “without shedding of blood is no remission,” they merely hold up Christ as the great Exemplar and exhort their hearers to “follow in His steps.”

Of them it must be said, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:3). Their message may sound very plausible and their aim appear very praise-worthy, yet we read of them—”for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves [imitating] into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of Light. Therefore, it is no great thing [not to be wondered at] if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Satan’s Gospel Imitates the Gospel of Christ

In Proverbs 14:12, we read, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” This “way” which ends in “death” is the Devil’s Delusion—the gospel of Satan—a way of salvation by human attainment. It is a way which “seemeth right,” that is to say, it is presented in such plausible language that it appeals to the natural man: it is set forth in such a subtle and attractive manner, that it commends itself to the intelligence of its hearers. By virtue of the fact that it appropriates to itself religious terminology—sometimes appeals to the Bible for its support (whenever this suits its purpose), holds up before men lofty ideals, and is proclaimed by those who have graduated from our theological institutions, countless multitudes are decoyed and deceived by it.

The success of an illegitimate coiner depends largely upon how closely the counterfeit resembles the genuine article. Heresy is not so much the total denial of the truth as a perversion of it. That is why half a lie is always more dangerous than a complete repudiation. Hence when the Father of Lies enters the pulpit it is not his custom to flatly deny the fundamental truths of Christianity, rather does he tacitly acknowledge them, and then proceed to give an erroneous interpretation and a false application. For example: he would not be so foolish as to boldly announce his disbelief in a personal God; he takes His existence for granted and then gives a false description of His character. He announces that God is the spiritual Father of all men, when the Scriptures plainly tell us that we are “the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26), and that “as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12). Further, he declares that God is far too merciful to ever send any member of the human race to Hell when God Himself has said, “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the Lake of Fire” (Rev. 20:15). Again; Satan would not be so foolish as to ignore the central figure of human history—the Lord Jesus Christ; on the contrary, his gospel acknowledges Him to be the best man that ever lived. Attention is drawn to His deeds of compassion and works of mercy, the beauty of His character and the sublimity of His teaching. His life is eulogized, but His vicarious Death is ignored; the all-important atoning work of the cross is never mentioned, whilst His triumphant and bodily resurrection from the grave is regarded as one of the credulities of a superstitious age. It is a bloodless gospel, and presents a crossless Christ, who is received not as God manifest in the flesh, but merely as the Ideal Man.

Satan’s Gospel Blinds Men to the Truth

In 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, we have a scripture which sheds much light upon our present theme. There we are told, “if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” He blinds the minds of unbelievers through hiding the light of the Gospel of Christ, and he does this by substituting his own gospel. Appropriately is he designated “The Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev. 12:9). In merely appealing to “the best that is within man,” and in simply exhorting him to “lead a nobler life,” there is afforded a general platform upon which those of every shade of opinion can unite and proclaim this common message.

Again we quote Proverbs 4:12—”There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” It has been said with considerable truth that the way to Hell is paved with good intentions. There will be many in the Lake of Fire who commenced life with good intentions, honest resolutions and exalted ideal—those who were just in their dealings, fair in their transactions and charitable in all their ways: men who prided themselves in their integrity but who sought to justify themselves before God by their own righteousness: men who were moral, merciful and magnanimous, but who never saw themselves as guilty, lost, hell-deserving sinners needing a Savior. Such is the way which “seemeth right.” Such is the way that commends itself to the carnal mind and recommends itself to multitudes of deluded ones today. The Devil’s Delusion is that we can be saved by our own works, and justified before God by our own deeds; whereas, God tells us in His Word—”By grace are ye saved through faith… not of works, lest any man should boast.” And again, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.”

Perhaps an illustration from personal experience may be pardoned. A few years ago the writer became acquainted with one who was a lay preacher and an enthusiastic “Christian worker.” For over seven years this friend had been engaged in public preaching and religious activities, but from certain expressions and phrases he used, the writer doubted whether his friend was a “born again” man. When we began to question him, it was found that he was very imperfectly acquainted with the Scriptures and had only the vaguest conception of Christ’s Work for sinners. For a time we sought to present the way of salvation in a simple and impersonal manner and to encourage our friend to study the Word for himself, in the hope that if he were still unsaved God would be pleased to reveal the Savior he needed. One night to our joy, the one who had been preaching the Gospel (?) for seven years, confessed that he had found Christ only the previous night. He acknowledged (to use his own words) that he had been presenting “the Christ ideal” but not the Christ of the Cross.

The True Gospel Is Knowing Christ, Not Just Knowing About Him

The writer believes there are thousands like this preacher who, perhaps, have been brought up in the Sunday School, taught about the birth, life, and teachings of Jesus Christ, who believe in the historicity of His person, who spasmodically endeavor to practice His precepts, and who think that that is all that is necessary for their salvation. Frequently, this class, when they reach manhood, go out into the world, encounter the attacks of atheists and infidels and are told that such a person as Jesus of Nazareth never lived. But the impressions of early days cannot be easily erased and they remain steadfast in their declaration that they “believe in Jesus Christ.” Yet, when their faith is examined, only too often it is found, that though they believe many things about Jesus Christ they do not really believe in Him. They believe with the head that such a person lived (and, because they believe this imagine that therefore they are saved), but they have never thrown down the weapons of their warfare against Him, yielded themselves to Him, nor truly believed with their heart in Him.

The bare acceptance of an orthodox doctrine about the person of Christ without the heart being won by Him and the life devoted to Him, is another phase of that way “which seemeth right unto a man” but the end thereof are “the ways of death.” A mere intellectual assent to the reality of Christ’s person, and which goes no further, is another phase of the way which “seemeth right unto a man but of which the end thereof “are the ways of death,” or, in other words, is another aspect of the gospel of Satan.

The True Gospel Calls Men to Examine Their Life

And now, my reader, where do you stand? Are you in the way which “seemeth right,” but which ends in death; or, are you in the Narrow Way which leadeth unto life? Have you truly forsaken the Broad Road that leadeth to death? Has the love of Christ created in your heart a hatred and horror of all that is displeasing to Him? Are you desirous that He should “reign over” (Luke 19:14) you? Are you relying wholly on His righteousness and blood for your acceptance with God?

Those who are trusting to an outward form of godliness, such as baptism or “confirmation,” those who are religious because it is considered a mark of respectability; those who attend some Church or Chapel because it is the fashion to do so; and, those who unite with some Denomination because they suppose that such a step will enable them to become Christians, are in the way which “ends in death”—death spiritual and eternal? However pure our motives, however noble our intentions, however well meaning our purposes, however sincere our endeavors, God will not accept us as His sons, until we accept His Son.

A yet more specious form of Satan’s gospel is to move preachers to present the atoning sacrifice of Christ and then tell their hearers that all God requires from them is to “believe” in His Son. Thereby thousands of impenitent souls are deluded into thinking that they have been saved. But Christ said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). To “repent” is to hate sin, to sorrow over, to turn from it. It is the result of the Spirit’s making the heart contrite before God. None except a broken heart can savingly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Again, thousands are deceived into supposing that they have “accepted Christ” as their “personal Savior,” who have not first received Him as their LORD. The Son of God did not come here to save His people in their sin, but “from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). To be saved from sins, is to be saved from ignoring and despising the authority of God, it is to abandon the course of self-will and self-pleasing, it is to “forsake our way” (Isaiah 55:7). It is to surrender to God’s authority, to yield to His dominion, to give ourselves over to be ruled by Him. The one who has never taken Christ’s “yoke” upon him, who is not truly and diligently seeking to please Him in all the details of his life, and yet supposes that he is “resting on the Finished Work of Christ” is deluded by the Devil.

In the seventh chapter of Matthew, there are two scriptures which give us approximate results of Christ’s Gospel and Satan’s counterfeit. First, in verses 13 & 14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Second; in verses 22 & 23, “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied [preached] in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.”

Yes, my reader, it is possible to work in the name of Christ, and even to preach in His name, and though the world knows us, and the Church knows us, yet to be unknown to the Lard! How necessary it is then to find out where we really are; to examine ourselves and see whether we be in the faith; to measure ourselves by the Word of God and see if we are being deceived by our subtle Enemy; to find out whether we are building our house upon the sand, or whether it is erected on the Rock which is Christ Jesus. May the Holy Spirit search our hearts, break our wills, slay our enmity against God, work in us a deep and true repentance, and direct our gaze to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

Finally, just a word upon Satan’s inevitable doom: Revelation 20:10 brings before us the last of the great conflict between Satan and God—”And the Devil that deceived them was cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the Beast and the False Prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.“ Powerful though the great Adversary be, he has now to reckon with One whose name is “The Almighty,” by whom he shall be cast into that fire “prepared for the Devil and his angels.”

The current formatting and editing is copyrighted by Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in A. W. Pink |

Blinded by Satan by Charles Spurgeon

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

“The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.” — 2 Corinthians 4:4.

The practice of blinding men is a horrible process, too horrible for us to say another word about it. But there is also a spiritual blindness which comes upon some men. These are, to begin with, unbelievers. The god of this world does not blind believers; but he blinds the minds of them which believe not. It is, therefore, a very dangerous thing not to believe on the Son of God. The penalty of unbelief is death and condemnation; and that penalty begins to fall on men when, in consequence of their unbelief, their foolish heart is darkened, their intellect loses the power to perceive spiritual objects, and the god of this world blinds their mental vision. Ah, my hearers, how anxious Satan is to secure your destruction, since, rather than that you should see the saving light, he takes the trouble to blind your eyes! God grant that no man here may die under this dreadful deprivation of light, which is caused by Satanic influence upon the minds of men who have not believed in Jesus!

Remember that this blindness to spiritual things is quite consistent with much sharpness as to natural things. A man may be a very keen politician; he may be a first-rate man of business; he may be an eminent scientist, a profound thinker, and be blinded as to spiritual truths. How often is it true, “Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes!” As an old writer says, “Poor, ignorant men often find the door to heaven, and enter in, while the learned are looking for the latch.” Yes, a man may have clear eyes for worldly things; he may be very keen as to his insight into the problems of life; and yet the god of this world may have blinded his eyes.

What is more remarkable still, a man may have much Scriptural knowledge; he may understand, in the letter, the things of the kingdom of God; he may be very orthodox in his beliefs, and may be able to give an answer to those who ask him what he believes, and why he believes; but still he may have no spiritual perception of the reality of these things. A person may know something of botany from books, and he may even understand the system of classifying plants; but he may never, after all, have seen the primrose by the river’s brim, nor have gathered a single flower out of the garden. He is a poor botanist, is he not? We have many round about us, who can talk of heaven and hell, and sin and salvation, and Christ and the Holy Spirit, who nevertheless have never had one true perception of the meaning of any of these words. They see, but perceive not; they hear, but do not understand; they are unbelievers, and the god of this world has blinded their minds.

Now, I am going to say to-night, first, that this blindness is very common; secondly, that it is wrought by the evil one upon men in different ways; and, thirdly, I shall speak upon the kind of treatment that this blindness requires.

I. First, then, THIS BLINDNESS IS VERY COMMON.

It is manifested in some by occupation with this world. Here is a man, who has lived in this world for a good many years; and all that while he has been thinking, working, proposing, projecting, but what about? Why, about this world! He has generally been concerned with a trinity of questions — “What shall I eat? What shall I drink? Wherewithal shall I be clothed?” This man believes that he is to live forever in another world, that this present life is only like the porch of a house, but that the state to come is the house itself. All these years, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy — may I say eighty years? — this man has never thought about the eternal world, but only about the temporary world; he has never thought about where he is to dwell for ever, but has spent all his power and strength upon the passage to it.

This is so unreasonable that I am sure he must be blind; I cannot account for his folly anyhow else. Surely, the soul is more important than the body. We think more of the body than we do of the garment it wears; but the body, after all, is only the garment of the soul; the true ego, the I, myself, is my soul. Am I never to think of that, but only to be thinking of my earthly house, my food, my garments, my daily work?

That is the kind of thing that a brute would think of; oxen and asses think of what they shall eat, and what they shall drink, and where they shall lie down, if they think at all; and is this all of which you and I think? Surely, that occupation of the mind upon what must be of secondary consideration is a proof that the god of this world hath blinded the mind.

I will give you another token, from a different quarter, and that is, the extreme easiness of conscience which we see in many men and women. They can commit a great sin, wash their hands, and then have done with it, as if the very washing of the hand or the wiping of the mouth was quite enough to put away all thought of the wrong. Many will sit here to-night, who have, through a long life, committed a hundred sins of which they would be ashamed to be reminded, and yet they are not ashamed of them.

They would only be ashamed to be found out; they are not ashamed of the sin itself. A man truly awakened by the Spirit of God feels the remembrance of his sin to sting him as with scorpions. He cannot bear it. But the great mass of people do a thousand wrong things, and yet they are not troubled, but feel quite at their ease. Some of you are probably within a very short time of death and judgment, and yet you can make sport of sin.

How often does it happen that people come to the place of worship, and go their way, having rejected solemn appeals: and they will never hear any more! They have bad their last warning. Oh, if they could but know that, during the week, they will fall down dead, or be laid aside by sickness, never to leave the bed again! Yet they trifle, on the brink of fate, on the very verge of everlasting woo. If you saw a man going straight on to the very brink of some dreadful precipice, and you saw him about to take another step, you would say, “That man is blind. I am sure that he is, or else he would not act like that.” People do not go into terrible danger with their eyes open; yet there are many of our fellow-men, perhaps many of ourselves, going right on, carelessly and heedlessly, to the very brink of the awful abyss without a thought of danger. They must be blind. This horrible peace of conscience, this quenching of the Spirit whenever conscience does stir itself, this playing and trifling with death and judgment, prove that they are blind.

To give you another specimen, there are many who have presumptuous hopes about the future; at any rate, they do not trouble themselves. I do not know why they are so easy; but there are different forms of presumption which enable them to look into the future without fear. One says, “Well, you see, I was christened when I was a child, and I was confirmed as a youth.” Another says, “I have always attended the meeting-house. I am never absent from any of the services. I am kind to everybody. I think that most people would give me a good name.” Their dependence is on that sort of thing; and they have never looked at what is really [lacking]. They will not stay to hear that word, “Ye must be born again.” They will not listen to Christ when he says, “He that believeth not shall be damned,” whatever his profession or moral character may be. No; but they go on dancing to destruction with a light and merry heart. Surely these people are blinded by Satan.

Then see another sort of people, and note their readiness to sin. They yield to the tempter, they yield at the first request; there is no need for Satan to importune them to evil. They seem always ready for it, especially if they think that they can escape from trouble by doing wrong. Why, are there not many persons who would tell a lie to save a sixpence? to save a penny? How many are selling their souls, not to gain the whole world, nay, not to gain a fourpenny piece!

Ah, sirs, such people must be blind! People who have had their eyes opened spiritually have been known to die sooner than do the least thing that was wrong. Men of God have cheerfully laid down their lives to defend oven a slight point of God’s eternal truth; but these men who think nothing of such holy heroism, and are willing to lose their souls for a paltry pleasure, why, they must be blind!

I need not stay to say more except this one thing. This blindness shows itself in trifling with eternal things. There is a person here who, not long ago, was very greatly aroused and awakened, even resolved to seek the Savior there and then; but when in the inquiry-room he put off the final decision. There was no reason why he should put it off, except the reluctance of his mind to accept Christ. That was not the first time that he had procrastinated, and postponed; yet he is still putting off his reception of Christ. He is not sure that he will live to go home tonight; he is not certain that, should he fall asleep to-night on his bed, he will wake up in this world in the morning; yet he leaves his soul in jeopardy, as if it were a matter of very small concern.

A person came here, not long ago, who had taken off a diamond ring when he washed his hands; and all the while he was sitting here, he kept wondering what would become of that ring, whether, when they emptied the water out of the basin, it would be thrown away. He was so anxious about his ring, that he hurried home as quickly as ever be could after the service; he did not wait a week to see about it; yet there are here men who have waited weeks, months, years, ah, many years, procrastinating, and procrastinating! They would not leave their worldly business like that; but they leave the eternal business of salvation or damnation as though it were but as a sere leaf that might be blown whichever way the wind might please. Such people must be blind.

I could heap up many proofs that this blindness is very common; but I have not the time to do so, for we must pass on to consider the next point.

II. Secondly, I want to prove to you, very earnestly and very pointedly, that THIS BLINDNESS IS WROUGHT BY THE EVIL ONE IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

In some, it comes by utter worldliness. There are some people who say, “We cannot attend to that matter; we have enough to do to earn our living.” Your house, your horse, your wife, your money, these, of course, are not trifles; these must come first. The world, the world, the world, this is in your heart, and occupies it all. Said the captain of a whaler, one day, to a man of God, who spoke to him about his soul, “Mr. Bertram, it is of no use for you to speak to me about my soul, or ask me to come to the service to-night. You see, I am out here after whales; and all the while that I was sitting, and you were talking, I should be thinking about whales; and when you gave out a hymn, I should just be thinking of whether there was a whale anywhere about. If I were to pray, I should be praying about whales. I have whales in my heart, Sir; and there is no room for anything else.” It is so with many, many people. They have their business, they have an invention, they have all the materials of a building inside their hearts; and there is no room for God. Their hearts are blinded by utter worldliness.

Some, again, are blinded by the devil in a very desperate way, by love of some favorite sin. I do not hesitate to say it is a general fact that, when men kick against true religion, and when they get offended by being spoken to about it, if you could track them home, you would find in their conduct some very good reason for their opposition.

There is a reason for men being wroth with the gospel, and turning away from it, when it strikes at some of their favorite sins. Such and such a man says that he does not believe in Jesus Christ. It is not likely that he should; I will not tell you why, but his wife knows. There is another man who keeps a shop. He says that he does not want to be converted. No; if he were, he could not keep that shop; or if he did, be would have to alter the line of business in which he is engaged. Ah, the god of this world blinds men’s eyes with sin! I cannot go into all the particulars; but if there is any man here who has a pet sin that he cherishes, do not let him wonder that he cannot see the beauties of Christ, or the glories of salvation; and let him not think that we would do anything to win his approbation while he remains in love with that sin.

Many are blinded as to the things of God by following a party. “Well,” you say, “I could not begin to study these matters of religion, because I am linked in with such a set. I know how they would treat me; they would laugh at me first, and they would give me the cold shoulder next. No, really, my dear sir, if you know how I am connected, you would not expect me ever to give any consideration to these doctrines that are preached, whether they be true or not.” It is a pity, it is a solemn pity, that a man should ruin his soul to keep in with his party. I rejoiced to read of the praise that was passed, in the House of Commons, the other night, upon John Bright, who deserved much more than was said, especially upon this one point, that, whenever his conscience came in conflict with his party, he followed his conscience, and let his party go where it might. Public approbation and applause were nothing to him so long as he could keep clear in the sight of God by doing what he believed to be right. Now, when he dies, every party has a word of honor for him. There is nothing lost, after all, by sticking to what you believe to be right; and if it be so in politics, how much more should it be so in the matter of religion! Cut your sinful connections, quit your evil companions. It would be better to do that than to go with them, applauded and approved, and find yourself wrong at last.

Oh, that men had but a grain of grit in them, so that they would never make the things of God, and heaven, and eternal realities, to hang, upon the breath of men’s nostrils, or the smiles or frowns of their fellowmen! But I am afraid that a great many will never come to know Christ, because they will continue to follow their party, or the prejudice of their early education still clings to them.

A fourth way in which Satan blinds a great many, and he does it very commonly, is by raising objections to the truth. There is nothing in this world to which you cannot object. I venture to say that there is no fact, however palpable to all the senses, but what you can, if you like, find reasons for not believing it to be a fact. To answer objections, is an endless task; it is like trying to empty a flowing fountain with bottomless buckets. Men do not object to the religion of Jesus Christ really and truly. It is not this to which they object; but they invent objections, they go abroad searching after objections that they may then have an excuse for rejecting Christ. In this way, many prove that they are blind; they have a difficulty they cannot get over, and do not mean to get over either; and so they see not Christ.

With others, blindness is wrought by wrong inferences. It is astonishing how many eyes are blinded by wrong inferences drawn from truth. We have known one to say, “Well, the mercy of God is very great; it is universal: therefore, I am sure that God will not cast us into hell.” This is a wicked lie derived from a great truth. Another says, “I read that God has an elect people.” That is most surely true; but not the inference that is drawn from it; “Therefore, if I am to be saved, I shall be saved; and if I am to be lost, I shall be lost; so that I need not trouble my head about the subject.” That is another false inference deduced from a great truth. When a man means to commit suicide, any rope will do; and when a sinner is resolved to perish, he can always find an argument, fetched even from the truth of God itself, as the means of his own destruction. I am not going to answer any of these lies; but only to say that, by these false inferences, many a man has been blinded to his own eternal ruin.

Then there is another way of being blinded, and a very common one, too; that is, by general conceit of knowledge. I know a man stone blind of it. When I met him last, he looked at me, condescended to ask how I was, and he as much as intimated that he was prepared for a little conversation with an inferior person occasionally, and therefore he did not mind speaking about religion with me, he himself being a very superior person indeed, knowing everything, and, if possible, a few things besides. This man called himself an agnostic; and when a man says that he is an agnostic, he is an ignoramus, that is, a person who knows nothing; yet such a man usually talks as if he knew everything, and the appendix at the end of that.

You have not talked long with him before you discover that the Lord Jesus Christ and he could never get on together, because the Savior has said, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven;” and this man will never become a little child, not he! If you want the antipodes of a little child, there you have the gentleman; and he wishes you “Good afternoon,” when you begin to quote Scripture. He is not at all the person to receive any instruction of that sort. The “superior” person will always be lost, take my word for it. The more superior he is, the more sure he is to be lost; I mean not that he is superior, but that he thinks himself so, superior to all teaching. He is not prepared to be a learner, he is ready to set up as a teacher, and a master of anything you like. He is a man of broad thought; and, of course, he goes the broad way. Narrow-minded people go in the narrow way; but then it leadeth unto life eternal, and therefore I commend it unto you.

“Broad is the road that leads to death,

And thousands walk together there;

But wisdom shows a narrower path,

With here and there a traveler.”

We have another set of people who are blinded by some special conceit of false grace. Here is a man who has attended to many duties. Some, of course, he does not care about; but he compounds for duties he does not like by attending to others that are to his taste. He does not pray; but then he sings in the choir! Communion with God — he does not know anything about that; but he takes the sacrament! He is always doing some good thing or other, of a sort; but not of the sort that Scripture proscribes. As to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, by a living faith trusting him, that is beyond his range. As to seeking a new heart and a right spirit, and being converted, and turned from darkness to light, he does not know anything about that: but there has been, after all, a very great improvement in him. He has given up some very questionable practices; and, on the whole, he has done a good deal which ought to be spoken of with considerable commendation. This is the kind of gentleman who is blinded by the god of this world.

But it is idle for me to talk about people being blinded except to those who can see; for the blindest man is the man who says that he is not blind, who will not have it that he does not see everything aright, even though he has never had his eyes opened by the Lord. He says that he always could see; it is an insult to suppose that he is blind. He is like the Pharisees, who said to Jesus, “Are we blind also? To whom Jesus answered, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”

III. Now I come to the most practical point, that is, THE KIND OF TREATMENT THAT THIS BLINDNESS REQUIRES.

I should say, first, dear friends, beware lest this blindness be sent as a punishment. Although our blind friends have our loving sympathy, and God blesses them, yet it must be a great calamity to be without their eyesight.

Now, blindness of heart is not only a sin, but it is the punishment of sin; and it comes to many as the result of violating conscience, resisting the Holy Spirit, trifling with solemn things, and being desperately set on mischief. Oh, you who have a tender conscience, mind that you do not lose it! You who have the power to sit and hear a sermon, and to feel it, do not trifle with that holy sensitiveness. Once lost, so that you can read the Book of books, and hear the most earnest talk, and yet feel nothing, you have lost one of the greatest privileges that you ever had. May God help the man who is going on towards this fatal blindness, and stop him before he gets any further!

I would say, also, to you who are in any way blind, beware lest that blindness becomes the herald of your doom. Before Haman was hanged, the first thing that the servants did was to cover his face; and when a man is about to be lost for ever, the first thing that the devil does is to blind his eyes so that he cannot see. Beware of a blinded conscience; it is the prelude of eternal destruction. God save you from it!

Next, if you have even a little light, value it greatly. If any one of us should be gradual losing his eyesight, I know that he would greatly prize the little sight that he had. How often have I spoken to a friend who has said, “This eye is quite gone, Sir; there is just a little light left in this one, and the doctor says that I must wear a shade, and be very careful, or I may lose that.” Oh, take care of the little light you have! If you can feel a little, be very tender of that feeling. If you can see a little of the beauty of Christ, be very jealous over that sight.

[Next], if you are at all conscious of your blindness, but do not see the full evil of sin, do not see the glory of Christ, and do not perceive the way of salvation, confess your blindness. Go home to-night; and, in your chamber, alone, acknowledge that you do not see what you ought to see, and do not feel what you ought to feel. Show your sightless eyeballs to the Savior, who gives sight to the blind. Do not cloak your sin; confess it. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whose confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Say with David, “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord;” so shall you also be able to say with him, “and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”

When you have confessed your blindness, do one thing more, trust to the Lord Jesus to open your blind eyes. Put yourself consciously into the presence of the divine Savior, and say to him, “I believe that thou art able to work this miracle of mercy. I believe that thou canst make me see the truth, … and trust thyself. Here are my eyes. Lord, I would receive my sight! I believe that thou canst give it; give it to me now!” Salvation does not take hours; it is in one single instant that we pass from death unto life. The moment that we believe in Jesus, we are saved. The moment I at we look to him hanging on the cross, our iniquity is pardoned.

God grant us that blessed look of faith tonight, each one, for Jesus’ sake! Amen.

Posted in C. H. Spurgeon |

Resist the Devil by A. W. Pink

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

“Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you” James 4:7

This brings before us an aspect of the truth concerning which many Christians are largely ignorant. Oftentimes they are unaware that it is “the Devil” who is attacking them and needs to be resisted. Many suppose that Satan’s assaults are confined unto tempting us to sin. Not so; in many cases his object is to oppose and hinder us in the doing of that which is good. Frequently he makes use of human beings to annoy and harass us. For example, he will send a caller to the door, or someone to ring on the telephone, when we are engaged in prayer. He will move worldly relatives to visit us on the Sabbath-day and thus prevent our spending the time quietly with the Lord. Or, he will shape our “circumstances” to hinder our spiritual good, multiplying our duties and tasks so that we have not leisure or are too weary for study. Few of God’s children appear to know that it is their privilege and right to be victorious over Satan’s attacks. The Lord has not left His people here at the mercy of their great Enemy, helpless to overcome him. No, He has told us in His Word how we may defeat him.

To begin at the beginning: “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” This is a Divine command, it is a duty which the Lord has laid upon us. Our first responsibility concerning it is to give it our best attention, to fix it in our minds, to ponder its terms, to desire and determine to obey. Probably some will say, I wish that I could, but I know not how. Then our second responsibility concerning it is to acknowledge this, asking God to enlighten, begging Him to teach us how to obey it. Tell Him you want to do as He has bidden, and for Him to grant instruction and enablement thereunto.

Yet necessary and important as this is, it is not enough. Prayer was never designed by God to relieve us of our responsibilities and encourage laziness. It is not sufficient for me to pray that God will grant us a fruitful garden this summer—though I should pray about this, as about “everything:” Philippians 4:6. No, I must dig and plant, water and weed it. So it is here: the answer to my prayer for enlightenment for heeding the exhortation of James 4:7 must come to me through the Scriptures. Hence, my third responsibility is to search the Scriptures, asking the Holy Spirit to graciously guide me into the Truth. This means that I must come to the Bible with a definite object, aiming to discover just what it teaches about the Christian’s “resisting the Devil” so that he “flees” from him.

Let us begin our “search” of God’s Word on this important practical subject by looking closely at the immediate context of the command found in our text. First, we note that it is found in the second half of the verse: “Submit yourselves therefore to God; resist the Devil.” Ah, how can I expect to do the second until I have done the first? To “submit” myself unto God means that my own wisdom, will and wishes must be entirely set aside, and His Word and will rule me in all things. To submit to God means that I recognize His claims upon me, that I am His creature, His child, to be controlled by Him as One having absolute right to my complete subjection.

But let us look more closely at and ponder the first half of this verse: “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” This at once tells me that I need to look back to the previous verse, for the word “therefore” always points to a conclusion based upon and drawn from something going before. Turning back, then, to verse 6, I read, “But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” Ah, that is encouraging, that stimulates faith and hope. The One unto whom I am to “submit” myself is no harsh Tyrant, no merciless Despot, but the “God of all grace.” He has already given me saving grace, and “He giveth more grace” to the humble, and “more grace” is exactly what I need, if I am to successfully “resist the Devil.”

“Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” God resisteth the proud, because the proud resist Him. The essence of pride is self-sufficiency: it is that spirit which disdains help from another, confident that I am fully able to manage for myself. Spiritually, pride is that awful conceit that I can get along without God. It is a fearful delusion begotten and fostered by the Devil. Contrariwise, “humility” is a being emptied of self-sufficiency: it is the heart realization that I am completely dependent upon God for everything. Humility, grace, and victory over the Devil are inseparably connected! But nothing is more offensive to Satan than humility, for he is a proud spirit, and his desire is to puff us up and get us to walk and act independently of God.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God.” The word “submit” signifies to place myself under another. There must be a subjection of the whole man to the whole law of God; a giving up of ourselves to be governed by Him; our thoughts, desires, actions regulated strictly by the rules laid down in His Word. Submission to God also denotes an unrepining acquiescence to the dispositions of His providence, an unmurmuring disposal of ourselves to His sovereign pleasure. Thus, there must be a complete surrender of myself and my life to God, to be ordered and disposed of by Him.

Now there is a double relation or connection between the two halves of James 4:7. First and most obviously, I must “submit” to God if ever I am to successfully “resist” the Devil. How can it be otherwise? I cannot prevail over the great Enemy in my own strength, and God will not give me of His “grace” while I am resisting Him! Thus, I must cease resisting God before I can hope to resist the Devil-chiefly to make me proud, self-sufficient, independent. The prayerless soul is a proud one, for his refusal to receive strength from God is tantamount to saying that he can get along through the day without Him. It was by pride Satan fell, and he would feign have more company, and draw us into his snare. His bait is easily swallowed, for it is natural to us. Our first parents caught readily at the suggestion “Ye shall be as gods.”

But what is meant by “resist the Devil?” First, that I am not to be terrified at him. Satan has no enforcing power: he cannot prevail over me without my consent. Second, that I am not to even listen to his suggestion: “resist” actively, saying “I will not”: take that attitude, and firmly stand your ground. Third, quote Scripture to him, a pertinent and suitable one which meets his particular suggestion. Count upon the power of God’s Word, expect it to drive him away. Fourth, plead God’s promise in the text: “resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” Yes, he will “flee,” for he is not only a conquered foe, but an arrant coward as well. “Flee from you,” yet only, “for a season”; he will return and renew the fight; and so must you.

But let us now resume our searching of God’s Word to find out what it has to teach us on this subject of resisting the Devil. We have already discovered enough to encourage us, so let us continue our quest for further light and help. This means that I must turn to a concordance and look up, slowly and carefully, every verse having in it the word “Devil” or “Satan.” This calls for patience, but if it be prayerfully exercised, God will reward it. I come now to 1 Peter 5:8 and read, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist, steadfast in the faith.” Surely this is very graphic and impressive. If you knew that a lion had escaped from a local circus, that it was a fierce and hungry one, that it was loose and roaming the streets, and your daily duties obliged you to go abroad, how cautiously and carefully would you proceed! Ah, dear friends, my supposition is neither imaginary nor overdrawn. There is one, more powerful and cruel than any animal lion, which is abroad, seeking to devour your soul and mine. How little we really believe this! How halfhearted is the heed we give to this Divine warning!

Let us glance for a moment at the context of this verse: “Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Here the tried and troubled children of God are invited to roll upon the Lord the whole burden of their anxiety, being assured of His compassion for them. Yes, but that privilege and assurance of His tender care must not tempt us to be careless and reckless. Here, as everywhere in Scripture, the promise and the command are joined together. Note what immediately follows.

First, “Be sober.” In common speech “soberness” is the opposite of drunkenness. But let us bear in mind that there are many other things besides wine and whiskey which intoxicate. “Be sober” means, Be temperate in all things, put a curb on your every desire and appetite, particularly be “sober” in your use of and expectations from the world.

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). If the eye of faith measures earthly things in the light of God’s Word it will be seen that they are temporary, unsatisfying, worthless. The pleasures of sin are only “for a season” (Hebrews 11:25), and a brief one at that! Remember too there must be “soberness” of mind, before there will be soberness of body. O the importance of forming right estimates of earthly and heavenly things. If I truly receive into my heart the declaration of God’s Word that “all under the sun” is but “vanity and vexation of spirit,” soberness will indeed be promoted.

Second, “be vigilant,” not careless, nor rash and presumptuous. I must be watchful, alert, wide-awake. Here again I must start with the inner man: I shall never be “vigilant” about external temptations till I have learned to “gird up the loins” of my mind (1 Peter 1:13), and to “rule my own spirit” (Proverbs 16:32). Let us then seek grace to be “vigilant” over our minds and bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Let us seek to be “vigilant” over our moods, watchful lest Satan should gain an advantage. If depressed, he will seek and tempt me to despondency and despair. But I must “resist” that inclination. If light and giddy, he will tempt to fleshly mirth and hilarity, which ill-becomes a follower of Christ. But remember that I must first be “sober,” if I am to be “vigilant”!

Third, “whom resist steadfast. “ Resist his efforts to prejudice your heart against God, and instill into your mind evil thoughts about Him. He will try to make you doubt His love, murmur against the severity of His providences and the strictness of His commandments. Resist his enticements to draw you unto the place of temptation, remembering that God has said “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11). Resist his efforts to lead you into active sinning: saying with Joseph, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God!” (Genesis 39:9).

Our resistance must be earnest and zealous. If a madman attacked and you were fighting for your very life, you would put forth every effort. So it must be here: it is your own soul he is seeking to destroy. Eve’s resistance was faint and half-hearted: she dallied with his evil solicitations. Be warned from her fall. By “earnest” I mean, be indignant at his first suggestions—for example, to laze in bed on the Sabbath morning.

Our resistance must be thorough. The approaches of Satan to the soul are gradual: he asks us to yield but a little at first. Many promise themselves they will stop after they have conceded a trifle, but when a stone at the top of the hill starts rolling down, it is hard to stop. We see this principle forcibly illustrated in the case of gamblers and drunkards. Take heed unto thyself.

Our resistance must be constant and continuous: not only against his first attack, but his whole siege. The Devil is very persevering, and we must be so too.

Let these three considerations bestir unto this imperative duty of resistance:

First, the Devil cannot overcome without your consent: but where there is not a powerful dissent, there is a virtual consent. Take a positive attitude against the great Enemy of souls.

Second, think much of the blessedness of victory: this will more than compensate you for all the diligence and strenuous efforts you make. The pleasures of sin are only for a season, but the pleasures and gains of self-denial are eternal: read Mark 10:29, 30.

Third, remember that God’s grace is promised unto the one who resists. God delivers, but we “keep ourselves” (1 John 5:18). It is via our watchfulness and prayer that God makes such resistance effectual. There is no promise that God will keep a careless and lax soul.

Whom resist steadfast in the faith. Probably there is a double reference here in the expression “the faith.” First, the analogy of faith, or Word of God—compare Jude 3; second, the exercise of the grace of faith. Satan is “the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53), and only the light of God can expose and expel him. Satan uses error to deceive souls, and the truth of God is needed to deliver us. We are to resist him in the faith, by believing, receiving, and acting out the Holy Scriptures. We are also to resist the Devil by the exercise of the grace of faith. Our hearts must lay hold of the precepts and promises of God. A blessed example of this has been left us by Christ: “He resisted the Devil steadfastly in the faith,” using against him naught but the Sword of the Spirit.

Whom resist steadfast in the faith. When we stagger through unbelief, we are powerless to stand before our great Enemy. It was through doubting God’s threat that Eve fell. But we can only successfully resist the Devil “steadfast in the faith” as there is a personal appropriation of Christ’s victory. It is written, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). Plead that blood before God for deliverance from Satan’s temptations. Count upon its efficacy to deliver you. Shelter beneath it when you realize that Satan is shooting his fiery darts at you.

Finally, let it be pointed out that, either we must overcome the Devil, or be overcome by him. There is no third alternative! If we are completely overcome by him, the result will be fatal. He is not merely seeking to wound us, but to “devour” (1 Peter 5:8)! And how is this to be harmonized with the eternal security of God’s people? Easily: if we be real Christians, we shall, by Divine grace, resist and overcome the Devil. But if we continue heeding his suggestions and yielding to his temptations and are thoroughly overcome by him, then no matter how much Scripture we know in our heads, or what our profession, we belong to the Devil, and are his lawful captives.

Posted in A. W. Pink |

The Danger & Remedy of Temptation by Charles Bridge

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, Behold, Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.” Luke 12:31-22

After our greatest enjoyments of God, usually follow the greatest temptations of Satan. And therefore our Savior speaks these words unto his disciples. In the 19th verse of this chapter, we find them at the Lord’s Supper with Christ himself; “This is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me.” Having received the supper with Christ himself, and having had sweet communion with him there, our Savior gives them out a most gracious and blessed promise, at the 28th, 29th, and 30th verses, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations, and I appoint to you a kingdom, as my Father has appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Having said thus unto them, he comes in the very next words to acquaint them with a great temptation that was coming down upon them all: and therefore these words are knit together with the former by the word and; “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired.” Though you have had this communion with me; and though I have made you this gracious and blessed promise, know, that there is a great storm of temptation coming down upon you.

Here are two things: the danger of the temptation; and the remedy against it. The danger in the 31st, and the remedy in the 32nd verse. In the 31st verse, we have for consideration, the tempter, called Satan, which signifies an adversary. The tempted [include] not Simon only, but all the disciples. Satan has desired you: it is in the plural number: he directs his speech unto Simon, but the temptation spreads larger upon all the disciples; “That he may sift you.” The Lord Jesus Christ does give leave sometimes unto Satan, to tempt and winnow his own and best disciples. Christ’s own, and best disciples are exposed to Satan’s tempting and winnowings. Not Peter only, but James and John and all the beloved disciples of Jesus Christ were exposed here unto Satan’s winnowings. He has desired you, in the plural number, not thee Peter only, but you all my disciples, that he may sift you as wheat.

For the clearing and making out of this truth, I shall labor to discover:

1) What great power Satan has to tempt, molest, and annoy the children of men.

2) That he puts forth this power especially upon the saints, Christ’s own and best disciples.

3) How he comes by this power, and why God the Father gives him this leave.

What power Satan has to infest, molest, and thus to tempt the children of men?

First, that Satan is an angel still; and being an angel, he is a superior creature to man, and therefore, according to the rank of creation, he has a great deal of power over man. Man has a great power over the beasts, for man is a superior. The angels by creation are superior to man. Satan, though fallen, is an angel still: according to the rank of creation, therefore he must needs have a mighty power over the children of men.

Secondly, He is not only a superior creature, but also a more spiritual creature than man. He is a spirit, and he is more able to come close with a man’s soul and spirit: being spirit himself, he is more able to converse with, to close and get within our souls and spirits.

Thirdly, He is able to suggest unto man whatsoever he pleases, and to cast in a thousand sinful objects into a man’s mind one after another.

Fourthly, and being so well experienced, having studied man for many thousand years: having gotten in all these years so much tempting skill and policy, he is able to discern what that bait is that will take soonest with the children of men, according to their natures, constitutions, complexions, ages, sexes, & etc.

Fifthly, He is not only able to present and suggest, but [to provoke.] It is said, “That he stood up, and provoked David to number the people: “He did not only present that evil unto David, but he did solicit: he provoked David to number the people, says the text.

Lastly, Satan has so great a power that the same words that are given unto God, and unto the Holy Ghost, for good, in Scripture, are given, also, unto Satan for evil. The Holy Ghost is said to enable a man: Satan is said for to blind him: “The God of this world has blinded their eyes,” says the apostle. The Spirit is said “to rule in us;” Satan is said to “rule in the children of disobedience.” The Holy Ghost is said “to work in us mightily;” the same word is used for [Satan] also. The Holy Ghost is said to fill the hearts of believers;” They were filled with the Holy Ghost: “so are men’s hearts said to be filled with Satan; says Peter to Ananias, “Why has Satan filled thy heart?”

Indeed, there are three things especially wherein he does fall short. [First,] for though Satan is able to discern what temptations would take best with a man, yet he does not know man’s thoughts, for God only is the knower of one’s thoughts; that is God’s prerogative. And though Satan may work very effectually in the children of disobedience, yet, notwithstanding, he does not work with an almighty power. When the Lord converts a man, he puts forth an almighty power in man’s conversion.

[Second, he is not omnipotent.] The same power,” says the apostle, “that raised up Christ from the dead, makes ye to believe.” The devil is magnipotent, says Luther, but not omnipotent: the devil may be very powerful, but he is not almighty: neither does he put forth an almighty power in his temptations, as God does in the conversion of a sinner.

[Finally,] though he may suggest, and provoke unto what is evil, he cannot force or determine any man to evil. And therefore says the apostle Peter, “Why has Satan filled thine heart?” He asked Ananias that question, because Satan, though he did fill his heart, he could not have forced, or determined him without his own will there-unto.

But Satan is very powerful. In Ephesians 6, you shall see the apostle says: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” He [also] speaks concerning Satan in the former verse: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood. Oh, what a mighty power then has Satan to infest, molest, and to tempt the children of men.

[But] does Satan put forth this power and exercise this tempting power upon the saints and children of God?

Yes, for they are the saints that the apostle speaks of here, in that to the Ephesians: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” Yea, the saints are not only tempted by Satan; but the best, and the most beloved disciples of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament; who more beloved than David and Job? Yet they were tempted. In the New Testament; who more beloved than Peter and Paul? One of the circumcision, and the other of the uncircumcism and apostleship, and yet both had special temptations.

But you will say, Why should Satan lie so heavy upon God’s own children and people? For he may know, that they shall be saved do he what he can. Satan had heard our Savior Christ say to Peter, The gates of hell shall not prevail against thee; and yet now Satan tempts: if Satan knows this, why should he follow God’s children, yea, the best of his children so sorely with sad temptations

First, Satan is the envious man we read of in Scripture; and when he hears the Lord owning and honoring of his children, then does his envy work, and rise. And when he hears any of God’s children triumphing by faith, and making boast of the love of God, then does his malice kindle into a flame—Shall such a one go to heaven, and shall I be damned, says he, shall such a one be received, and shall I be cast away for ever? These are the boilings of this envious man’s heart against the children of the Most High.

But, secondly, there is this great reason for it. Satan knows, that if he can but make God’s people and the best of his children fall; though they should not be damned, but pardoned, that their fall may be stumbling blocks unto others that may be damned. And therefore, I pray, mark how it is carried concerning David: it is said in the 1 Chronicles 21:1, “That Satan stood up against Israel to provoke David to number Israel.” It is not said thus; And Satan stood up against David, and provoked David to number the people: no, but thus, And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number the people: he stood up against Israel. Why? Because he knew, that if he did make David thus to number the people, it would be a stumbling for all Israel, and all Israel should fare the worse by it. When Satan stands up and tempts the master of a family unto sin, he does not barely stand up against him; but in tempting him, he stands up against all the family. When Satan tempts a religious holy man, a beloved disciple of Christ in a town, Satan stands up against all in tempting that one man. He stood up against Israel, and tempted David to number the people: and so when he tempts those that are the most beloved disciples of Christ, he stands up against others; and therefore, though Satan knows that [though] their sins shall be pardoned, yet he does follow them with sad and sore temptations.

Thirdly, Satan loves to divide between friends. He may know, that there is so much goodness between man and wife, that he shall never part them; and yet he will labor to sow discord among them, that they may live uncomfortably. And so, though he knows he shall never part Christ and a poor believer; yet he will labor to throw jealousies into the heart of a believer concerning the love of Christ. So I say, although Satan should know that the Lord will pardon such or such a man, yet he loves to make a division between God and the soul, and to cast in jealousies between Christ and a believer. As for others, says he, they are my own already, I shall not need to break into that house, there is nothing but chaff lies there; but here is a godly man, and here is treasure; and therefore he does especially lay his battery against the saints, and those that are the most beloved disciples of Jesus Christ.

But you will say unto me, How does Satan come by this tempting power, this infesting and molesting power?

Great is the power, as we have read already, that he has, as he is a superior creature: but Satan has yet another power, and that is the power of conquest; for in Adam’s fall, Satan conquered the whole world, all mankind, they were the devil’s conquest upon the fall. When a man is converted and turned to God, then he comes out of the kingdom of Satan. But I say, upon the fall the devil made a conquest upon all mankind, and so by conquest he has a great power. Satan has [permission] from God the Father to tempt. I do not say that he has a special [permission] for every temptation, or [permission] for every temptation; but there is no great or extraordinary temptation that does fall upon the children of God, but Satan has [permission] from God the Father for it. There was a special temptation upon Job, and [Satan needed permission] for that. Here was a special temptation upon the disciples, and he [Satan needed permission] for that. “Simon, Simon, Satan has desired.…” There is no extraordinary or great temptation [that] befalls any of the children of God, but Satan is [required] to ask [permission] for it.

But you will say to me, Why does God the Father give Satan leave thus to tempt his own children and Christ’s own disciples?

First, look at the end and the issue of any evil which befalls the children of God, and the design of God the Father in suffering that evil to come upon them. Now the end of the saints’ temptation is always good unto them; and therefore God suffers the temptations of his people, because he has a design of mercy and love upon them in these temptations.

But, secondly, God has yet greater and higher designs—the manifestation of his own power, of his own wisdom, of his own faithfulness, of his own love and free grace:

The manifestation of his power. When Paul was tempted and buffeted by Satan, the Lord said unto him, that his strength should be perfected in weakness:” in Paul’s weakness, God’s strength should be perfected.

The manifestation of his wisdom. “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation,” says the apostle.

The manifestation of his faithfulness. In the 1 Corinthians 10:13, “The Lord is faithful, and will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able to bear.”

The manifestation of his free love and grace. And therefore, when Paul was tempted and buffeted by Satan, and prayed against his temptation, the Lord answered thus: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

But in regard of the saints themselves: How should they give a probate or testimony of their uprightness and sincerity, their firm and fast cleaving to God, if they were never tempted? Before Job was tempted, Satan thought that Job had served God for a boon, for something: “Have thou not seen my servant Job?” says God; Yes, says Satan, but “Does Job serve God for nought?” But now touch him, and let me tempt him a little, and see if he does not blaspheme God then: thus Satan said. And just thus is the language of the devil now: Does such a man or woman serve God for nought? He is but an hypocrite, all things go well with him, he was never yet tempted: but, O Lord, let this man or woman come under my hand, and let me tempt him a little, and see if he does not blaspheme. Well, Satan, says God, Job is in thy hand, only spare his life. And Satan did tempt him and touch him; and instead of blaspheming, behold, blessing; “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; blessed be his Name.” Here now Job gave a testimony that he did not serve God for something, that his heart was sincere and upright. And so, when men can hold out, notwithstanding all their temptations, they give a testimony of their uprightness and sincerity, and that their souls do cleave unto God in truth. For these and many other reasons, the Lord does suffer his own best and dearest children to be tempted by Satan.

I come to the application.

If God does suffer his own people and dearest children to be exposed to Satan’s temptings and winnowings; Why should any man then doubt of his childship, doubt of his own everlasting condition, and say, that he is none of the child of God because he is tempted? But, my beloved in the Lord, if this be true, that the Lord doth suffer his own, and best children, to be exposed to Satan’s winnowings and temptings, then why shouldest thou conclude that thou art not the child of God because thou art tempted? Oh, but I do not conclude, will some say, that I am not the child of God; I do not conclude that the Lord does not love me because I am tempted, but because I meet with such and such temptations. Tell me, did not David, Job, Paul and Peter meet with such and such, and so great temptations? Yea, did not Christ himself meet with it [temptation from Satan]?

But you will say unto me, This evil that is upon my heart, is not the temptation of Satan, but indeed it is the corruption of mine own heart, and therefore I fear my condition.

I answer, first, this is no new thing for God’s own people and children, to charge all Satan’s temptations upon their own hearts, to lay all at their own door. Wicked men, they charge all their own corruptions upon Satan’s temptations, as if they were not their own, but altogether Satan’s. Godly men charge all Satan’s temptations upon their own hearts, and upon their own account, as if they were all their own and nothing of Satan’s; this is no new thing. Adam and Eve, when they were fallen, and had eaten the forbidden fruit, then they were ungodly, in the state of nature presently upon the fall before they believed in Christ: and, says Eve, “This serpent gave me to eat;” as if she should say, He hath done it, it is all his work, it is Satan’s work, and it is none of mine; being in her unregenerate state, she lays all upon the devil, and frees herself, as if she had nothing to do with it.

On the other side, David was provoked by Satan to number the people; yet notwithstanding, see what he says in the 2. Samuel 21:10. “And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people; and David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done; and now I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly.” He lays it all upon himself: he does not go now and say, Satan has provoked me to number the people, and it is Satan’s work and none of mine; but he does charge it here upon himself, as if Satan had no hand at all in it. I have done foolishly, says he, and I have sinned. This is usual; wicked men excuse their own corruptions by Satan’s temptations; godly men [attribute them to] their own corruptions.

[Additionally], it is the property and disposition of God’s people to be humbled and grieved under their temptations, as if they were all their own and nothing of Satan’s. Peter goes out and weeps bitterly when he had fallen; he might have said thus: The Lord told me that there was a temptation coming, Satan had desired to winnow me; and now the word of the Lord is fulfilled, Satan has tempted me, and I am thus fallen. But not a word of Satan, but he goes out and weeps bitterly, as if it were all his own work. And let me tell you, for your comfort, when as you can mourn over your temptations, as if they were all your own, and nothing of Satan’s, the Lord will pardon them to you, as if they were all Satan’s, and nothing of your own.

Oh! But you will say, what comfort can I have in this condition?

What comfort! Is it not much comfort to know that there is nothing does befall you but what may befall a true child of God? Sometimes ye say thus: No man’s condition is like to mine; did I but know that it is so with other of God’s children, then I should be satisfied. This doctrine tells thee, that Christ’s own best disciples, sometimes, are exposed to Satan’s temptings, to Satan’s winnowings.

Is it not a great comfort, for a man to know, that while he is tempted, Christ is at prayer for him? “But I have prayed for thee.” In time of temptation, you cannot pray, but Christ can pray, and he is then at prayer for you. As he said to Peter, so he says to every disciple of his now, “But I have prayed for thee:” poor soul, though thou canst not pray for thyself, yet I have prayed for thee.

Is it not a sweet comfort, for a man to know, that the enemy is overcome before he strikes? Satan’s temptation is overcome by Christ’s intercession; and Christ prays before Satan tempts; “But I have prayed for thee:” before the temptation came.

Is it not a choice comfort, for a man to know, that Satan, the great tempter, has no more power than my Father gives him leave?

Is it not wonderful comfort, for a man to know, that there is something that he can never be robbed of? When a man is travelling on his journey, if he meet with thieves, they take away the money that he has about him. But when they have taken all his money, he says, though they have taken away my spending money, and that which I did wear about me, yet I have land at home that they can not rob me of.

And so says the child of God, or at least he may say so. When Satan comes and tempts him, and robs him of some comfort; yet, blessed be the Lord, I have union with Christ that I can never be robbed of; and I have an inheritance in heaven that thieves cannot break through and steal away. Satan may take away my spending money, my spending comforts that I have here in this world; but Oh blessed be God, I have such comforts, and such an estate, such durable riches that I can never be robbed of.

Well, but you will say, what shall I say, or what shall I do, that I may not yield unto his temptations?

What shalt thou say: if it be possible, do not stand to treat with Satan, do not stand to parley with him; he will dispute you out of all your comfort if you stand and parley with him. You have half lost the field when ye honor Satan, and you honor him when you follow him into his disputes.

If it be possible therefore do not stand and parley, or dispute with Satan, but if you must say something to him, tell Satan then, that therefore you believe it, because he denies it: therefore you do not believe it, because he affirms it; that you believe the contrary because he speaks thus. When ye are to deal with a great liar, one that is your enemy, and he comes and tells you very ill news, you will say, He is a liar and he is my enemy, and he does it to scare me, and therefore I believe the contrary. Satan is a great liar, and he is your enemy, and therefore when he says unto thee, there is no hope for thee, thou hast been a great sinner, [that] there is no hope for thee: say to Satan, therefore I believe the contrary, there is hope for me, because thou sayest there is none, for thou art a liar, yea, the father of lies.

Again, if ye must speak with Satan; then speak of Christ of grace, of the infinite love of God in Christ. He cannot stand before words of grace, and before words of love: not a word of grace, or of free love in all his temptations. I have better. [If you must] therefore needs speak with Satan, speak to him words of faith; not of sense; not of reason, but speak words of faith.

But you will say, I know it is a good thing and happy, so to answer Satan’s temptations as I may not yield: but oh that I might not be led into any temptation: What shall I do that I may prevent it?

First, take heed that you do not stand playing upon the borders or confines of any sin. If you stand upon the brink of a sin, Satan comes behind and thrusts you into it

Again, secondly, If ye would prevent temptation; then labor to get your hearts mortified unto the objects of love and fear. Satan tempts two ways; as a serpent, and as a lion. When Satan tempts as a serpent; then he does make a tender, and an offer of some comfortable, profitable, sweet thing. You shall be like God, “You shall he as God,” says he unto Adam and Eve, when he tempted as a serpent. And so dealing as a serpent with our Savior Christ, “All this will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Shows him the glory of the world, and all this will I give thee. So says he unto a poor soul when he tempts as a serpent, Come and yield unto this temptation, and all this comfort will I give thee, and all this profit will I give thee, and all this repute and honor will I give thee.

Sometimes he tempts as a lion; for he goes up and down as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And when Satan tempts as a lion, then he does roar upon a poor soul, and labors to scare him out of his conscience, and out of the good ways of God. And therefore in the book of the Revelation, “Satan shall cast some of you into prison.” Satan shall do it. And sometimes he shall stand and rattle the chains of a prison; look, do you hear these? If you will go on in such and such a way, you will lose all your friends; and if you will go on in such a way, I will make it too hot for you, and thus and thus shall you suffer, and it shall cost ye a prison ere I have done with you.

Therefore now, my beloved, do you desire to prevent the mischief of a temptation? Oh! Labor more and more to die unto all the objects of your outward love, and the objects of fear; die to the objects of love, get your heart mortified to these two objects of love and fear. And be sure of this, if thou would prevent temptation, that ye labor more and more to walk in the light: Satan is the prince of darkness, and he walks in darkness, and he tempts in darkness. And when Satan sees a poor ignorant soul, that walks in the dark, says he, Here is a fit prey for me.

And if that you do overcome your temptation at any time; be thankful to God. If ye have more than flesh and blood against you, ye shall have more than flesh and blood with you. And therefore, have you overcome temptation? Go away and be very thankful, and say, oh, though flesh and blood be against me, yet I have more than flesh and blood with me—praise the Lord much!

Posted in Charles Bridge |

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