The Protection
Sunday, April 19
Teaching Series: The Blood of Jesus
Problem – An Enemy
You’ve probably thought once or twice, “There’s got to be more to life than this?’ We know the struggles of life all too well. There are so many burdens in life – worries, pressures, demands, battles (just to name a few). The Bible says, “Cast all your anxiety [and cares] on [God] because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, NIV). One reason we have cares and anxiety is because we have an enemy.
The enemy is against everything good, everything that God plans to do, and everything that God stands for. Satan will fight dirty. Satan is out to destroy you with any means possible. Just as God’s names describe His attributes, so Lucifer’s names reveal his character. Satan means adversary or enemy. Devil means false accuser or slanderer. The Bible calls him the evil one; he is intrinsically evil. He is destructive by nature. The murderer leads people to eternal death (John 8:44).
Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). That’s the enemy’s only purpose – to destroy life. Now that’s a problem. Satan’s intent and opposition to humanity is graphically portrayed in 1 Peter 5:8. “Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.” In his opposition he is as ferocious as a lion, continually walking about with the intent of devouring someone. Satan is deceptive, scheming to destroy humanity.
We should always be alert of his presence and work. It is likely that most people, including Christians, go for long stretches of time without making a connection between something that happens in their lives and Satan’s work and presence. We can count on the fact that he is always opposed to God’s will for our lives.
The enemy has many schemes and tricks that he throws our way. The main tactic that he uses is doubt. His scheme is to make us question God and His Word. In the Bible, Satan is called the father of lies. He perverts the truth. He is incapable of telling uncorrupted truth. Jesus said, “The devil … was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
The Bible says that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). He comes in all his eye-catching splendor, mimicking God as closely as he can. He closely imitates the truth, but he cannot be trusted, because by his very nature he is an impostor – a counterfeit, a teller of deliberate falsehoods.
Now the serpent was more shred than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” (Genesis 3:1)
It is interesting that Satan approached Eve with a question about God. He planted something in her mind that she never considered – the creature can question the Creator. The question came in a slightly condescending tone, “Did God really say? I mean, really – did God really say that?” Satan implied that man was rather simple-minded or naïve to accept God’s word at face value.
There was a hint that God wasn’t being completely honest. Satan passed himself off as being concerned for man, looking out for man’s best interests. The devil counterfeited God’s goodness. His twisted logic questioned God’s Word and in questioning, he planted doubt.
Not content with questioning God’s word, Satan outright denied it. He blatantly called God a liar.
The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).
He suggested that the reason the tree was forbidden was because God feared Adam and Eve would learn too much. Cleverly, Satan mixed truth with error. It was true that their eyes would be opened and they would know good and evil, but it was false to imply that they would be like God with all His attributes. It was also erroneous to state that they would not die. Satan was deliberately and knowingly lying. Although he knew by experience the consequences of going against God’s word, he cruelly enticed man to partake of his own destruction.
Satan had succeeded. As usual, Satan did not hang around to help pick up the pieces. He never does. The devil leaves the bones – picked clean. He may come across as a great provider – providing pleasure, fun, a good time – but it’s only temporary and often very empty. In reality, Satan never gives. If he imparts anything, it’s only gut-wrenching heartache. He is malicious and cruel.
Promise – Destroy the Works of the Devil
Little children, let not one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice righteousness – the one who does not love his fellow Christian – is not of God. (1 John 3:7-10)
What a promise! For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. The devil’s work is to steal and kill and destroy. He is on the prowl seeking someone to devour. Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil.
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)
In John 10, Jesus illustrates the protection of His followers by telling a story of the shepherds care for his flock.
I tell you the solemn truth, the one who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The doorkeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all his own sheep out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not recognize the stranger’s voice. (John 10:1-5)
The enclosure was constructed using stones, upon which thorny vines were encouraged to grow. The purpose of these brambles was to dissuade wild animals or thieves from crawling over the wall. Then pen had only one entrance. The shepherds in the village would drive their sheep into the fold at nightfall and leave the doorkeeper to stand guard. In the morning each shepherd would call his own sheep, which would recognize their shepherd’s voice and come out of the fold. The doorkeeper would sleep at the opening of the fold and actually become the door. No one could enter and the sheep could not leave without disturbing the guardian.
My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)
These verses illustrate the security and protection available in Jesus. We have eternal life, not just life for as long as we don’t sin. We are in Christ’s care and the Father’s hand, a double assurance of eternal preservation for His sheep. We are the Father’s gift to the Son, and the Father will not take back a gift.
Paradox – Whose Child are You?
Adam and Eve had all the reasons in the world to tell the devil that he was a liar, but they chose to believe Satan instead of God. They disobeyed God’s clear instructions, and joined the devil’s rebellious ranks. The Bible says, “So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy” (James 4:4). That’s the natural outcome of choosing sides. Adam and Eve abandoned their friendship with God and joined Satan. As children of Adam and Eve, we were born into this world as enemies of God.
Jesus replied, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and am now here. I have not come on my own initiative, but he sent me. Why don’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot accept my teaching. You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I am telling you the truth, you do not believe me. Who among you can prove me guilty of any sin? If I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? The one who belongs to God listens and responds to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond, because you don’t belong to God.” (John 8:42-47)
If they were not God’s children, they were the devil’s. If God is your Father, then you share God’s nature (2 Peter 1:1-4); but if Satan is your father, then you share in his evil nature. All wicked people are the devil’s children, the serpent’s seed (Genesis 3:15).
Whose child are you? Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus came to set you free, to take you out of the kingdom of darkness. Jesus’ death and resurrection defeated Satan. You no longer have to belong to the devil.
But to all who have received him [Jesus] – those who believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s children. (John 1:12)
The Blood of Jesus series