Title: BEWARE OF THE TEMPTER

Focus: A healthy knowledge and awareness of Satan and his cunningness will keep us strong in faith and Christian living.

Function: To move the people to be watchful and aware of Satan’s guile, as we seek to grow and stand firm in our Christian faith.

Text: I Thessalonians 2:17-3:13

Have you heard of Paul? No, not St. Paul, but Paul the octopus? Paul the octopus has gained quite a reputation world-wide for his so-called predictions of what World Cup soccer team will win its match against their opponents.

Paul’s German owners put two boxes filled with bait into Paul’s tank. The two boxes are marked by different national symbols (ex. Netherlands vs. Spain), and according to the experts, the nation with its flag on the box that Paul opens with his tentacles to grab the bait is predicted to win the game.

Millions of people, world-wide, are fascinated and moved by Paul’s correct predictions. They accord Paul with the psychic ability to predict correctly the winner of all the World Cup soccer games. Many have placed their money on Paul’s predictions. Many swear by them. Others are skeptical. And others are secretly intrigued by Paul’s “predictions,” wondering if there is anything to Paul’s so-called psychic powers. And then there are others, again, who think that Paul’s shenanigans in his tank are cute and fun. What do you think about such things?

I think that Christians must be very cautious about the world’s pre-occupation with psychic powers and fortune-tellers and all other agents (such as Paul, the octopus) which are so often in the service of the devil. I know that there are many people today who don’t believe in the existence of the devil and the powers of evil. But they are wrong.

I believe that it is Satan’s most hellish accomplishment when someone is convinced that Satan does not exist. It is also an accomplishment for Satan to lull Christians to sleep, making them vulnerable to his cunningness and guile. That’s why I maintain tonight that a healthy knowledge and awareness of Satan and his cunningness will keep us strong in faith and Christian living.

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As we continue to study Paul’s letter to the early Christian converts in Thessalonica, I want to focus on some references in the passage we read. Last week we focused on persecution, hardship and tribulation suffered by these Christian converts; today I want to highlight and examine somewhat three references related to our enemy, the devil.

The first reference is found in 2:18, where Paul says, “…we wanted to come to you…but Satan stopped us.” Here Paul conveys an awareness of Satan’s presence and power in the midst of Paul’s work of preaching the gospel. Paul also attributes to Satan certain powers—such as the ability to obstruct progress in the spread of the gospel.

The second reference is found in 3:5b, where Paul writes, “…I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.” Here Paul expresses a measure of fear of Satan. He says, “I was afraid….” And Paul shows awareness of the devil’s guile or sneakiness. For Paul speaks of fear that “in some way the tempter might have tempted you.” In other words, Paul implies that there are many different ways by which Satan seeks to trap and tempt us.

Paul also indicates in this verse our own vulnerability to Satan’s temptations or attacks. For example, Paul refers to the devil as “the tempter,” and Paul links the devil’s work of tempting with our vulnerability to be tempted; that is, our sinful human nature is easily drawn to the lures and lies of the devil.

In this verse Paul also expresses an awareness of the scope of the devil’s work. Satan’s destructive work of temptation affects the converts in Thessalonica directly, and it affects Paul’s work indirectly as well. Listen: “I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.” This is why I say tonight that a healthy knowledge and awareness of Satan and his temptations will keep us strong in faith and Christian living.

Take, for example, the third striking reference in this passage. In verses 11-13 Paul appeals to the presence of God the Father and Christ, the Son of God. We need God’s divine presence in our daily pilgrimage of faith. The grace and Spirit of God must strengthen our hearts if we are to remain strong in faith and Christian service. Listen: “May (the Lord) strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

So these three striking references to Satan’s cunningness and our need for divine protection and strength raise the questions of awareness and knowledge. Do we know our enemy—in this case, the devil? Do we have a healthy knowledge and awareness of Satan’s mission to destroy us and God’s influence in our lives?

Perhaps we gain such knowledge and awareness by taking seriously the Scriptures’ references to this tempter. Consider, for example, the following designations of this prowling lion, this father of all lies, this murderer of the human race. He is called,

1. Satan: the word in Hebrew and Greek means “opponent.” Like an insurrectionist or guerrilla fighter, this enemy is truly “anti” God—opposing God; he is anti-Christ, fighting Christ, the Son of God; Satan is anti-Christian, and anti everything that is noble and good and God-glorifying. Satan is one name of our opponent or enemy. Here is another reference:

2. Demon: that word comes from the root word “to know” and it points to the enemy’s insight or wit or cunningness. Satan has powers of knowledge and the ability to see things we don’t see. He has also some awareness of the secret knowledge of God and is able to use his wit to develop “schemes” against Christians and our loyalty to Christ. Do not underestimate the scheming of demons or the conniving of Satan himself. Here is another Biblical reference to the tempter:

3. Devil: this word has at its root the meaning of “false accuser,” of “slanderer.” The word “devil” points to Satan’s work of bringing charges against us with hostile intent. We see that, for example, in the book of Job (Job 1:9,11) where Satan appears before the throne of God, and where the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

The devil, however, slanders Job and said to God: “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” Clearly, being aware of the cunningness of our enemy (called Satan, demon, devil, for example) may help us overcome his temptations and remain strong in faith and Christian living.

There are at least two things that stand out from the Bible’s teaching about our arch enemy the devil. #1. Scriptures attribute to Satan knowledge, reasoning power, speaking power—powers that intersect with our human abilities; these are powers that also can corrupt our own abilities of thinking, speaking and acting. In fact, Satan is able to enter into our hearts or minds and use us as tools or instruments in his hands.

Think, for example, of Jesus’ response to his best friend, Peter. (Matthew 16:22) Jesus indicated to his disciples that he would die at the hand of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. But Peter responded, saying “This shall never happen to you!” Then we read in Matthew’s account: “Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” I find it a sobering thought that I can be used by Satan as a tool to undermine the things of God. It happened to Peter; it can happen to us. Beware of the tempter. Let’s be watchful of our own spiritual blind spots.

Here’s another thing that points to the cunningness of the devil: #2. The devil’s guile may easily affect our minds and our affections or commitment to Christ. In II Cor. 11:13-15 Paul points to teachers in the church of Corinth—teachers who are undermining the Word of God. Paul says: “…such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

This, too, is a sobering thought for us today. In the church of Christ there are some who are doing the devil’s work while thinking that they are “men and women of God, doing the Lord’s work.” In my mind I may think of myself being “as pure as snow” in my teaching and devotion to God’s Word. But I must still absorb the significance of Paul’s warning to the false teachers in II Cor. 11:3: “…I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

We are fallible, finite creatures. And so are our minds. That’s why we need a healthy dose of self-awareness and of humility. And we need each other (and especially God’s Word and Spirit) to remain truthful and faithful to God’s Word. And we need to be willing to stand corrected. That’s why I say that a healthy knowledge and awareness of Satan and his cunningness will keep us strong in faith and Christian living.

In his letter to the Thessalonian converts, Paul commends them for their faith. Listen (vs. 7,8) “…in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.”

The devil may be our enemy, bent on our destruction. And we may be very vulnerable to his prowling around and temptations. We need a healthy awareness and knowledge of our enemy. Yes! But never apart from a knowledge and awareness of the person and work of Christ.

Paul, for example, may write that “Satan stopped him” from visiting the Christians in Thessalonica. But Paul recognizes that Satan cannot do anything outside the sovereign power of God. Satan may appear to “rule the roost.” But God is the one who overrules, and who, at times, will make use of the devil’s schemes as a tool in God’s hand. We should be aware of the tempter and his conniving, but we should not be paralyzed by fear of him.

In fact, we stand firm in the victory that Jesus won over sin, Satan and death. The writer of Hebrews teaches us that Jesus shared in our humanity “…so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:12,15). We shall not lose sight of Jesus’ victory, for his victory over the powers of sin, Satan and death means that we may share in that victory. It means that we are rescued from slavery or bondage to sin.

The devil has lost its power over all who belong to Jesus. That’s why Paul can say in Romans 8 that nothing—“…neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

A healthy knowledge and awareness of our adversary, the devil, and a solid focus on Christ and all his work will keep us strong in faith and Christian living. A solid focus on Christ includes a wholehearted “Amen!” to the Scriptures’ teaching found in Col. 1:13, 14, where Paul writes that “(God) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Beware of the tempter! Yes! And always cherish Christ, the Conqueror of sin, Satan, and death. For in Jesus, we will stand strong in faith and Christian living.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.