Recently, you may have seen statistics about how Churches in America are, according to the New York Times, “Major Contributors” to the spread of the ‘Rona. The NYT even says that churches, in their eagerness to open, are become major contributors to the spread…in the title of the article! Well, apparently that title was quickly demonstrated to be foolish and false. So they changed the title – however, Tim Challies has a screenshot of the title, which by the way, the New York Times never acknowledges as a previous title (as of 2:32 PM EST on their website, stating instead that, “A version of this article appears in print on July 9, 2020, Section A, Page 6 of the New York edition with the headline: Churches Open Doors, And the Virus Sweeps In”).
Tim does such a good job responding to the dearth of facts and logic in the NYT article, that I’ll simply direct you there if you’d like a good rebuke of the Times. But in this short blog post I want to ask a deeper question. Why? Why are people so eager to bash churches?
Because it’s obvious that there are people who have it in for the Church of Jesus Christ and they are looking for any possible way to try to hurt the Church – even if it means writing a completely overblown and misleading article for the NYT.
And, friends, do you want to know WHY people want to hurt the Church? Do you want to know WHY people are trying to give the Church of Jesus Christ a black eye? If you don’t know I’ll tell you.
The reason so many people go out of their way to try to hurt the church is because they are blinded by Satan and his demons and are being used as pawns in a cosmic war between God and Demons.
Now. Maybe that sounds a little medieval to you. Maybe that sounds a little bronze age – I’m sure some of you reading this are saying, “I mean, come on, Lukey! demons? really? is that your argument? that demons are possessing and influencing people so that they try to shut down churches?”
Yes.
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying; allow me to quote some scripture. Ephesians 2 says this:
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (NIV)
Did you catch it? Did you catch how Satan is now at work in those who are disobedient. How those who are not born again in Christ are spiritually dead and Satan is at work inside them? Did you catch that?
Well, maybe this is just a one-off passage; maybe this is just Paul being a silly-billy. Well Colossians 1 says this:
“…and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (NIV)
Being in the dominion of darkness certainly sounds a lot like unbelievers are being compelled to behave in ways that are against God! But, have I really made a very strong case yet? Let’s try another one. Acts 26, wherein we have Paul telling Agrippa about his conversion and gives the very words of Jesus Himself!
“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” (NIV)
Here we see Jesus speaking very plainly. Jesus says that those who do not yet believe in Him are under the power of Satan. But He says more than that. Jesus says that even those who WILL believe in Him, the very ELECT, until their conversion, are under the power of Satan! That seems to speak very powerfully and significantly to the power of Satan in this world.
But there’s more. Paul writes to the Corinthians in II Corinthians 4 that:
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (NIV)
Paul says here that Satan has literally blinded people so that they cannot understand and receive the gospel of salvation. And if all this is a little too Pauline, let’s look at what Jesus says in John 8:
“Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”” (NIV)
Here Jesus says that not only are unbelievers under the power of Satan and blinded by Satan, but that they are Children of Satan!
Friends, read the New Testament with your eyes open and you will see that Satan and Demons are not simply the backdrop; they aren’t straw-men for Jesus to knock down to demonstrate his Awesomeness. Nor are they some kind of literary spiritual barometer, only present in the narrative to let us know how unspiritual the culture was. No. Satan and his demons are real, and they are currently the princes of this world, and they blind and manipulate and control unbelievers. The Bible, from Genesis 3 until Revelation 20, is the story of the Cosmic War between God and Satan and the fallout therefrom. This war centers around human souls and it is only the very naïve, the very frightened, or the very foolish who think that Satan and Demons are not malevolent, active, destructive forces in the world today. The Bible makes it plain. JESUS makes it plain that Satan and Demons are real; they are destructive and they must be confronted!
James says “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you!”; Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God – SO WE CAN FIGHT SATAN! Peter tells us to be sober and vigilant because our adversary, THE DEVIL, like a roaring lion prowls about seeking someone to devour.
Jesus, and the Apostles, and the Disciples took Satan and demons very seriously. The treated them like…you know, what’s that word for a person who is your adversary in mortal combat where the stakes are eternal death and destruction?…oh, yeah, ENEMIES. Jesus and the Apostles and the Disciples, and the Early Church, and the Medieval Church, and the Reformation Church, and the Church in every other part of the world except the Modernist West, to this very day, ALL SAY THAT SATAN AND DEMONS ARE REAL AND THEY ARE OUR ENEMIES AND WE MUST FIGHT THEM!
You want to know why NYT columnists are trying to shut down churches? Because they are under the influence of Satan and his demons and they see God-Worshipping, Bible Teaching, Sacrament Celebrating, Discipling, Holy Spirit Empowering Churches are their greatest enemy and threat in this world.
You know what threatens Satan and his Demons in this world? It isn’t you living your best life now, or rebuking bad luck, or listening to a self-help guru, or learning how Jesus is your homeboy, or some celestial vending machine. Satan wants more of that. He wants a nation full of phony frauds and shallow ponds. The Devil isn’t threatened by you listening to K-Love; Satan doesn’t care if you do your devotions; Demons don’t cringe at the name of Steven Furtick; The Prince of this world is completely unconcerned with whether or not you wear a cross necklace; the Enemy of our souls is not harmed one bit if you like and share a Jesus meme.
You know what Satan hates? You know what Demons despise? They hate believers in Jesus Christ joining together to publicly worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They hate that when in public worship, Christians grow in their knowledge of God’s glory, God’s will, and how to obey it through the Holy Spirit empowered preaching of the word of God. Devils hate when the gospel of eternal salvation from sin and Hell through the shed blood, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is preached. Lucifer is driven to distraction by people being baptized by faith, celebrating communion by faith, sharing their wealth by faith, praying by faith, and living in brotherhood by faith. The demonic forces of this world hate that Christians are discipled and made like Jesus. The Devil hates that Christians are taught to treat this life like a war between God and Satan and to put on the full armor of God. The Adversary hates that when we worship together the Holy Spirit blesses us so that we are protected from the schemes of Satan. Unclean Spirits hate that the more time we spend worshipping together by faith the less effective their temptations and the stronger Christians become.
You say, “Luke, that sounds medieval.” Maybe, friends, but if we have eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts that understand what the Bible’s teaching is, we might be a little less eager to swallow Modernist antispiritual presuppositions so uncritically. Perhaps if we used the New Testament to form our worldview, we would find that the world looks a whole lot more like something from the mind of Hieronymus Bosch than out of a Precious Moments catalog. If we could see the world the way it is, we would find that all our glib Modernism is just a paltry self-deceptive sham that deludes us just enough to not have to think about the enormous consequences of living in a world we share with eternal beings. And if we saw the world the way it really is we wouldn’t be so flippant and nonchalant about attending church. If we saw the real blessings and consequences, we might just find that going to church isn’t a luxury for those relaxing after a battle; but the base camp for those engaged in total war.