Resist the Devil, Firm in Your Faith
I Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11
We all know that when we are young, our minds are taking in all kinds of information. Everything is new and sometimes we learn about things that make us happy and sometimes we learn lessons that stay with us to help us avoid trouble later on in our lives. For example, you all have grown up with some kind of picture in your mind about the devil. Some time or another you heard about the devil and you knew right away that he was not a nice guy. He was evil. His name even has the word evil in it. He is the evil one. He is worse than the Grintch. He wants to destroy everything that is good. How you imagine the devil to be depends on the kinds of things you learned about the devil. For some he is pictured in all red with horns and a pitchfork and a scary look on his face. For me, the passage that I read before was the image that I had in my mind when I was growing up. You have to understand that I went to a one room Lutheran School
It is a great word picture and it has stuck with me my whole life. As I put together a sermon like this that is going to address the nature of the devil, I still remember my teacher describing the craftiness of the evil one. I’m sure that it has come out in my preaching over the years. The fact is that the description of the devil is still valid. He is prowling around, looking for someone to devour. He will use all kinds of trickery to achieve His evil purposes. He will get his evil angels to do his dirty work and he will use the world to try and convince you that trying to do God’s will isn’t worth all the effort. In the past weeks, I have been mentioning that Peter’s letters were intended to encourage persecuted Christians. Last week I mentioned some of the words that Peter used to describe what was happening. Here, later in the letter he lists more things that the devil will try and use to destroy your faith. He speaks of a fiery trial, insults, and suffering. The temptation is to give up. He wants you to come to the conclusion that it just isn’t worth all the hassle to be a follower of Jesus. If you give in to the temptations, your life will be free of all the fiery trials and insults and suffering. The problem with that kind of thinking is that it only concerns the here and now. It becomes easy to forget about the eternal aspect of your existence. Live for now! There’s nothing after this life. Live it up while you have the chance. You hear that kind of nonsense everyday. The world promotes that kind of thinking all the time. If you aren’t careful, if you are not alert, you can begin to believe the devil’s lies. There is a heaven and there is a hell. The devil wants to fill up hell and does not want to see anyone in heaven.
We shouldn’t be surprised by difficulties that we face. Peter reminds his readers that Jesus warned His disciples that these things would happen. In the first verse of the reading, he says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.” The fiery trials and suffering for the faith should be expected in this world. But it is only temporary. You can rejoice in your sufferings because you know that when Jesus comes again, you will have joy beyond what you can imagine. Then you can be surprised at how wonderful it is be to be in the Lord’s presence.
In the mean time, Peter gives you some good advice about how to deal with the problems and troubles of this life. In verse six, he begins by saying, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of
God so that at the proper time He may exalt you.” That is a very crucial statement. When you humble yourself before God, you are submitting to His will. The natural thing to do when facing difficulties is to question God. You have all heard the statements people have made. “Why is God doing this to me.” “I don’t deserve to have this happen.” “If God is supposed to be loving, why do I have to suffer so.” That is not humbling yourself before God. That is actually exalting yourself above God. You see yourself in a position to second guess God’s wisdom. You need to see the bigger picture. In His grace, He showed His love to you by sending His Son into the world to take your place. He lived that perfect life that you couldn’t live and then took your place on the cross and died for your sins. That is real love. Once again, the love is not just for now but it is for all eternity. When you realize that, you can cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you. What a wonderful expression of God’s love and care. All those worries and cares about the things that you might have to face in this life can be a terrible burden. But Peter tells us to throw those burdens on the Lord. Give them to Him because He cares for you. Because God cares, you can be sure that nothing can separate you from His love. He will be there for you and will see to it that you will be with Him forever.
You still will have to deal with the devil and all his tricks while you are in this life. But you are not alone. Peter tells us to be sober-minded and watchful. Be alert for the signs of the devil’s schemes to get you to fall away. Recognize the subtle ways in which the devil uses the world and your sinful nature to doubt God’s love. Because Jesus died for you and rose again, He defeated the power of the devil and He gives you the power to resist the temptations. Through the Holy Spirit, He helps you to remain firm in your faith. That’s some powerful help in the fight against the devil. You are given the power to resist the devil, who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, and you are given the spiritual strength to remain firm in your faith. Peter continues by saying, “the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself, restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” He will restore that image of God that was lost when Adam and Eve sinned. He will confirm the plan He has for you to be with Him in heaven. He will strengthen you to be able to resist any attack from the evil one. Lastly, He will establish you as a part of His Kingdom of glory in heaven. Who then can make the claim that God is not a God of love? Who can say that God doesn’t care about you? Those are the lies of the devil.
As you live your life, waiting for the glorious appearing of Jesus, you are strengthened to resist the devil, firm in your faith. As you do, you will be a witness to the power of God at work in your life. You will be a living affirmation of God’s plan of salvation for the world through His Son, Jesus. You will also be declaring along with Peter in the last verse of our reading, “To Him be the dominion forever and ever.” As you recognize that God has dominion over all things, you truly can humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and live with the assurance that He will give you the strength to resist the devil, firm in your faith. To the God of all grace in Christ be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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