Pastor, I Have a Question January-February 2013

QUESTION: If Christ overcame Satan, sin, and death by dying on the cross, why is he still roaming the earth seeking whom he can devour?
ANSWER: The strife is o’er, the battle done; Now is the Victor’s triumph won; Now be the song of praise begun. Alleluia! (TLH 210:1).
During His life, Jesus resisted Satan’s temptation. Upon the cross and with His empty tomb, Jesus finished the job. He defeated evil. He freed us from Satan’s accusations, power, and kingdom. For all, and for us specifically, Jesus lived the perfect life for us. He endured the punishment we, by sin, deserve. He defeated Satan (see Ephesians 1:21–23, Colossians 1:13 and 2:13–15, Hebrews 2:14–15, and 1 John 3:8). John describes this defeat: “I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished” (Revelation 20:1–3).
This world’s nations were under Satan’s dominion until Jesus finished. Before He ascended, Jesus commanded His people, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19–20). The last sign of which Jesus spoke before the end of the age is this: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
For a time, God allows Satan limited power and activity while the church rescues souls from Satan. God’s word liberates: “You He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1–2).
The cross and empty tomb defeat Satan. God’s people spoil his kingdom by preaching the Gospel throughout the world. This is God’s grace in action. God does not want to lose one soul to Satan. Patiently, He delays the Judgment until every soul is invited to His wedding feast.
One pastor described the post-Ascension era as a mopping up operation. When U.S. Marines defeated the Japanese on Iwo Jima and raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi, many Japanese soldiers still huddled in caves and tunnels. They continued to fight to the death. Weeks of battle followed the victory.
While we mop up by liberating souls from Satan, God warns us to beware of the roaring lion that prowls the world looking for souls. God protects us with the power of His Word as we sing in Luther’s hymn, “Tho’ devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us, We tremble not, we fear no ill, They shall not overpow’r us, This world’s prince may still scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none, He’s judged; the deed is done; One little word can fell him” (TLH 262:1).
God promises, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).
Rev. Charles Keeler
Resurrection Lutheran Church
Winter Haven, FL
cjohnk@aol.com