|
DATE |
CHURCH |
SUBJECT |
PREACHER |
BIBLE
REF. |
|
09.02.08 |
All Saints' Church |
What's Wrong with
Human Beings? |
Rev. Tony Higton |
Gen 2:15-37 |
|
Did Jesus really have an encounter in the wilderness with a
personal Devil? That is how the story of Lent – Jesus’ 40 days
and 40 nights in the desert – puts it. I can’t go into that in
great depth here. But, like the Church of England, I do believe
in a personal Devil. Not a being with horns and hooves – that’s
a medieval picture. I don’t believe Jesus was taking to himself
in the desert!
In total there are 177 references, 118 in the Gospels to the
devil and demons. Jesus cast out many demons. Many
demon-possessed people were brought to him, “and he drove out
the spirits with a word.” “He would not let the demons speak
because they knew who he was.” (Matthew 8:16; Mark 1:34, 39).
In the Church of England Baptism Service candidates (or their
parents and godparents) are asked: Do you reject the devil and
all rebellion against God? After the signing the candidate with
the cross the Minister says: “….Fight valiantly as a disciple of
Christ against sin, the world and the devil …” Then he prays:
“May almighty God deliver you from the powers of darkness ….”
In the Post Communion prayer for the 3rd Sunday in
Lent we pray: “
Merciful Lord, grant your people grace to withstand the
temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and with pure
hearts and minds to follow you, the only God; through Jesus
Christ our Lord.”
Similarly in the Collect for 2nd Sunday in Advent: “O
God, whose blessed Son was manifested that he might destroy the
works of the devil and make us the children of God and heirs of
eternal life: …...”
In the Prayers for Protection and Peace in the latest Church of
England service book, “Common Worship,” there is a prayer “for a
person before sleep”:
May the cross of the Son of God,
which is mightier than all the hosts of Satan
and more glorious than all the hosts of heaven,
abide with you in your going out and in your coming in.
By day and by night, at morning and at evening,
at all times and in all places may it protect and defend you.
From the wrath of evildoers, from the assaults of evil spirits,
from foes visible and invisible, from the snares of the devil,
from all passions that beguile the soul and body:
may it guard, protect and deliver you. Amen.
And then there is a blessing: “May Christ Jesus guard and
deliver you from the snares of the devil, from the assaults of
evil spirits, from the wrath of the wicked, from all base
passions and from the fear of the known and unknown.
Amen.
In the Norwich Diocesan Handbook there is reference to the
“Ministry of Deliverance” (exorcism). This is described as “the
term most commonly used to describe the church’s ministry to
those who are affected by paranormal phenomena, whether real or
imagined.” It adds: “If … it is sensed that unknown or evil
forces may be at play, help should be sought [from the
deliverance team].
So the Devil is a real personal power of evil. How does he
operate? The Book of Genesis, sometimes using symbolism – like
the serpent, gives us some insights into this and how human
beings fall to temptation:
1.
The devil
questions God’s Law
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the
LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say….”
(Genesis 3:1)
A
favourite tactic of the Devil is to tempt us to doubt God’s
word. Did God really say ….? Like a propaganda officer in war
time, Satan tries to make us doubt God. We never condemn anyone
who suffers from doubt, but we do try to help them to work the
doubts out.
2.
The devil
misrepresents God’s Law
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the
LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say,
'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
The Devil loves to make out that God’s word is unreasonable,
that God is a celestial spoil sport. He tries to get us to
believe that God’s word (which is actually very liberating) is
inhibiting and frustrating. God had not said “You must not eat
from any tree of the garden. They could eat from all the trees
except one. God said this to test Eve (and Adam), and to see if
they would obey him.
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees
in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat
fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you
must not touch it, or you will die.' " 4 "You will
not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For
God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and
you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Verses 2-5)
In other words: God is a great spoil sport.
The Devil hasn’t changed his tactics. Today he whispers into
people’s minds: “Christianity will hold you back from realising
your potential, enjoying life, being autonomous. Actually, real
Christianity is the most liberating, fulfilling and joyful way
of life.
However, we can’t blame all the world’s evil on the Devil. We
do quite well on our own! So we see:
3.
Man co-operates by
enjoying temptation
The more she looked at the forbidden fruit, the more appealing
it became! “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was
good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for
gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.” (Verse 6). She saw
it as satisfying, pleasurable and beneficial. Of course there
is nothing wrong with eating fruit. But, as I said, this
prohibition was simply a test by God to see if she would obey
him. She didn’t. She fell to temptation and then we see:
4.
Man damages by
spreading rebellion
“She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate
it.” (Verse 6). And so the first fellowship of rebellion was
born. And still today we often give way to peer pressures. We
want to be one of the boys (or girls!), part of the club. We
don’t like being different. We hate being laughed at. So
sometimes we do the wrong thing, just to remain “in” with the
crowd.
We take our standards from one another rather than God’s word.
The sad thing we see is that:
5.
Man suffers by
losing innocence
The story tells us that “the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves
together and made coverings for themselves.” (Verse 7).
Hitherto they had been innocent, natural and relaxed in God’s
beautiful creation. Now this beautiful creation was defiled by
guilt. God’s wonderful world has been to some extent spoilt.
Instead of relaxed joy, there is furtive guilt. It’s still the
same today. Many people suffer from guilt. On the other hand, we
know that normally we’re never happier than when we’re doing the
right thing.
Conclusion
So how should we live? The best way to live is to:
-
Follow God’s word (the Bible)
-
Understand God’s word (with the help of written material
available through the church and of the church’s teaching
ministry).
-
Resist temptation (when we receive Christ into our lives, he
gives us a new power to overcome temptation).
-
Encourage others in doing good.
-
Rejoice in God’s love and acceptance.
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Do
We Believe in 3 Gods?
