Sermon Tone Analysis

Last Sunday evening, we looked at some of Paul’s words in the fourth chapter of I Thessalonians.

What it means to do the will of God is often misunderstood, but Paul could not have been clearer.

He said that doing the will of God means that we avoid fornication and stop cheating one another.

In other words, we must submit ourselves to God’s law.

But then the question is, How do we do that?

The desire to sin, even for believers, is often overwhelming.

So, how do we face temptation and emerge the victor?

That’s what today’s text is about.

Let’s see what the Word of God says.

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The Great War

Before all else, we have to come to grips with exactly what we’re facing.

Our tendency is to minimize the significance of temptation and sin.

After all, a little “white lie” or a quick glance at a pretty woman won’t hurt anyone.

It’s not like we’re planning a bank heist or the assassination of a President.

So, what’s the big deal?

But remember the ugliness of our sin is not always, or even primarily, determined by how it affects other people.

It hurts us by compromising our holiness before God.

And, even more importantly, it brings into question the holiness of the Holy Spirit, whose work is to sanctify us and make us more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Heidelberg Catechism, in fact, cites this as the reason for the severity of God’s punishment for sin.

It says that “His justice therefore requires that sin, which is committed against the most high majesty of God, be punished with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment both of body and soul” (Q~/A 11).

God’s most high majesty would certainly include his absolute holiness.

Instead of thinking of temptation and sin as minor annoyances, let’s use more Biblical terminology.

The Bible describes this as a war.

Sin and temptation are on that side.

We, by the grace of God, are on this side.

The world, the flesh and the devil are our mortal enemies.

It’s been this way since Adam first sinned in the Garden of Eden.

God said to the serpent, /And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel/ (Gen.

3:15).

In the New Testament, we have a list of the weapons that we are supposed to use in this war, viz., the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boots of the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (Eph.

6:10–18).

Most of these things, if not all of them, emphasize the objective truth of Jesus Christ.

That’s what we fight with.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing in this world that never changes.

James also sees us engaged in battle.

This isn’t particularly evident in our English translation, but several of the Greek words that James used relate specifically to warfare.

The word translated /resisteth/ (ἀντιτάσσεται) in verse 6 literally means to meet an enemy face to face in battle.

This is what God does when he resists or opposes the proud.

In verse 7 we have a related word, but this one describes one’s own troops.

When a military commander hands out assignments, it was the soldier’s duty to /submit/ (ὑποτάγητε) or to fall into line.

The Lord instructs us to fall into line.

We need to obey his commands.

And also in verse 7 we have the word /resist/ (ἀντίστητε), but here it’s not the same word that was used in the previous verse.

Here the word means to stand against or withstand someone.

That’s what we are to do with the devil.

When we face him in combat, we are to oppose him with every ounce of energy we can muster.

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Satan — Defeated but Still Fighting

Now, it is true that Satan is a defeated enemy.

Jesus said, /I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven/ (Luke 10:18), and, /The prince of this world is judged/ (John 16:11).

Both of these verses speak about a past act, although Jesus probably meant that Satan’s fall and judgment was so certain and so close at hand at that point in his ministry that it was as if he had already fallen and been judged.

In any case, the devil’s defeat was secured once and for all when Jesus Christ atoned for our sins on the cross and triumphantly rose again from the dead for our justification.

But this does not mean, however, that Satan is now powerless, that he can no longer touch men, or that he has no influence in men’s lives.

The Bible indicates that he still quite active, particularly among unbelievers.

I John 5:19 says that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ).

And II Timothy 2:26 adds that unbelievers are in /the snare of the devil/ and are /taken captive by him at his will/.

Only the grace of God can break such bondage.

Even believers are not immune to the devil’s wiles.

When Paul wrote that /the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly/ (Rom.

16:20), he meant that Satan had not yet been bruised under their feet.

The Lord Jesus Christ had his foot firmly on the devil’s neck, but the brethren in Rome did not.

Paul reassured them that this would soon be true of them, too.

They would experience more and more daily victories in their battles against sin and falsehood.

The fact that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in the people of God guarantees that it will be so.

Likewise, the Lord Jesus taught us to pray, /Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil/ (Matt.

6:13).

Here evil (τοῦ πονηροῦ) is not just some abstract malevolent force, but the devil himself.

The Greek could more accurately be translated, “Deliver us from the evil one.”

According to the Heidelberg Catechism, this means that we are asking God “to preserve and strengthen us by the power of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may make firm stand against [our deadly enemies] and not be overcome in this spiritual warfare, until finally complete victory is ours” (Q~/A 127).

Both of these passages teach us that we have an increasing victory over temptation and sin.

Although in this life we will not completely cease to sin, we will learn to overcome more and more sins so that sin ceases to be our way of life.

This is what John meant when he wrote, /We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not/ (I John 5:18).

With all of this in mind, what James wrote is both simple and profound.

He wrote, /Submit yourselves therefore to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you/ (Jas.

4:7).

It’s simple because the Word of God is summoning you to take sides in this great war.

It’s also simple because victory is assured to those who submit themselves to God and oppose the devil.

And yet it’s also profound because it affects your whole life.

Submitting to God and resisting the devil are not things you do today but ignore tomorrow.

Nor are they things you do in one area of your life (e.g., marriage) but not others (e.g., business).

No, these principles have to be applied across the board, i.e., to every decision you make.

And you will find that the more you practice them, the easier they will become.

That’s why simply resisting the devil demands that he flee from you.

He really doesn’t have much of a choice.

Joshua once challenged the people of his day to make a choice.

The gods of the peoples round about seemed to offer so much.

Supposedly, they blessed agriculture and livestock, seafarers and even caused it to rain.

But the Jews had to commit themselves to one side or the other.

Joshua said, /And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD/ (Josh.

24:15).

The Jews of Joshua’s day chose to follow the Lord, and they did so until Joshua died.

But what about you?

Are you willing to commit yourself wholly the Lord in your striving against sin?

Will you take a stand against all evil?

Hear how Joshua responded to the people.

/And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good/ (Josh.

24:19–20).

Did Joshua intend by this to discourage the people from following the Lord?

Was it his purpose to dissuade them of their quick choice?

Of course not.

But he did want them to search their hearts, to make sure that their commitment to Jehovah was sincere and wholehearted.

Why?

Because those who end up forsaking the Lord in favor of some other god will find themselves to be casualties of war.

Those who come to the Lord must weigh the cost of their commitment.

You all might think that a lot of this is fairly self-evident, and perhaps in some ways you are right.