The Power of Satan

When reading Luther, it seems that one thing (of many) he held very strongly that Christians today, even many Lutherans, certainly seem to be lacking the view of Satan as a truly threatening opponent. Luther saw Satan as a very strong and very active adversary to God, man, and to the Gospel in particular. This is evident in many of his hymns, and particularly evident in his commentary on Galatians. A few quotes from Luther's commentary on Galatians 1:6:

“We have to watch out for the devil lest he sow tares among the wheat while we sleep. No sooner had Paul turned his back on the churches of Galatia, than the false apostles went to work. Therefore, let us watch over ourselves and over the whole church.”

“When the devil sees that he cannot hurt the cause of the Gospel by destructive methods, he does it under the guise of correcting and advancing the cause of the Gospel. He would like best of all to persecute us with fire and sword, but this method has availed him little because through the blood of martyrs the church has been watered. Unable to prevail by force, he engages wicked and ungodly teachers who at first make common cause with us, then claim that they are particularly called to teach the hidden mysteries of the Scriptures to superimpose upon the first principles of Christian doctrine that we teach. This sort of thing brings the Gospel into trouble. May we all cling to the Word of Christ against the wiles of the devil, "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."

“Note the resourcefulness of the devil. Heretics do not advertise their errors. Murderers, adulterers, thieves disguise themselves. So the devil masquerades all his devices and activities. He puts on white to make himself look like an angel of light. He is astoundingly clever to sell his patent poison for the Gospel of Christ. Knowing Satan's guile, Paul sardonically calls the doctrine of the false apostles "another gospel," as if he would say, "You Galatians have now another gospel, while my Gospel is no longer esteemed by you."

To the ears of most modern Christians, and yes even many modern Lutherans, these quotes sound rather archaic and almost superstitious. Does the devil really work this actively in the world today? In the church today? I would venture to guess that not many people truly believe he does. For instance, if every pastor honestly believed that Satan was actively attacking the church, they would certainly not be bothering to teach the typical “Christian Lifestyle” sermons many evangelicals are so accustomed to hearing. If every pastor took Satan seriously, they would be unable to preach anything but Christ Crucified every day of their lives. If every pastor took Satan seriously, Christ Crucified would not be reserved for unbelievers. Pastors would realize that Satan and his minions spend more time attacking us believers than they do trying to prevent unbelievers from being converted.

If the average Christian layman shared Luther's somewhat frightening view of Satan, they would not be satisfied with anything less than Christ Crucified, they would quite simply demand it. Yet, most evangelicals are more concerned with living a 'Christian Lifestyle” than they are with being attacked by Satan. Calvinists have little reason to worry about Satan as he does not threaten predestination or God's sovereignty. Us Lutherans typically don't spend much time thinking about Satan and his attacks on the church either, as we tend to focus most of our talk of evil and sin on our own sinful nature.

Regardless of how much or how little we think of him, Satan is out there, prowling like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Pe 5:8). Satan is in our churches, planting false doctrines (Matt 13:39, 1 Tim 4:1). Satan is in our churches, trying to cast doubt on the Gospel and take away from us the Word of Christ (Luk 8:12). If we ignore him, he has us right where he wants us. We don't have to ignore him, we can follow example of Luther, and be constantly aware of the danger all around us.

This could not ever be a popular teaching, not in the church today. The fact that Satan is out there and poses a real danger to us is not something that we want to here. It is not a “seeker sensitive” teaching, the law never is. There is no comfort in a powerful Satan who is capable of great spiritual destruction. When we realize the great power of Satan, we cannot help but realize how utterly weak we are. We have no choice but to look to Christ who is our Mighty Fortress. Christ is infinitely powerful and he has promised to be our refuge against Satan and the World and Our Sinful Nature. Through him, we have been freed from our sin, we have been freed from our residence in the world and been given a new Heavenly home, we have been freed from our bondage to Satan and we are now Slaves of Christ. He is our Provider and our Protector. He has give us His Word and the Sacraments through which we can put on the Full Armor of God which defends us from the attacks of Satan. Through Christ, we are truly blessed with all of these things. Through Christ, and through Christ alone, we are free from Satan and all his attacks. Through Christ alone, we are give Grace and Peace.

SOLI DEO GLORIA