CWA- Lent 1 - Free Text - Epistle - Kieth Bernard Kuschel
2 Corinthians 11:14 -15
Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.
IA1 If you were to ask the man on the street, “What is life about?”, what would he say? “Life is about what I can see and touch and enjoy and experience right now. Life is about the people I have relationships with.” Notice anything missing? Nothing about the supernatural. Nothing about God.
2 If you were to ask the man on the street, “What do you think about the devil?”, what would he say? “You mean the little guy in the red suit with a pitchfork? I don’t think about him at all. I don’t believe there is such a being. I think he is a leftover from people who lived many years ago who were ignorant about a lot of things.” What’s the point of this survey of the man on the street’s opinion? We are influenced by what people around us believe.
B1 Jesus conquered every temptation which Satan threw at Him. We had three examples of that in the Gospel lesson for today. He did that as our Substitute. He takes the holiness that He lived by conquering Satan’s temptations and covers us with it. That is what makes us acceptable to God. “Through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”(Rom 5:19)
2 Jesus died as punishment for our sins. But then He rose. What does that mean? It means that the devil can’t end our existence with death as a consequence of our sins as he wants to. “Jesus shared in our humanity so that by His death He might destoy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil (Hebr 2:14).
3 The risen Jesus lives in us. He empowers us to live our lives His way. We can say “No,” to Satan. Because of that “God will crush Satan under our feet.”(Rom 16:20) Why review that Jesus “appeared to destroy the devil’s work”? (I John 3:8) Because that shapes how we think.
C1 The devil doesn’t exist. The devil has been conquered. Both of those conclusions could lead to something bad. What? An attitude which says, “The devil is not a problem. I don’t need to worry about him.” I get how the first one could be bad. But you mean you are telling me Satan could use the truths of the Scripture about Jesus to produce something bad in my life? Exactly. Isn’t that what he tried to use with Jesus in the Gospel lesson?
2 If you ever catch yourself concluding that the devil is not a problem, please read 1 Pet 5:8. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” God through Peter wouldn’t have given us that warning if the devil is not a problem. Paul’s warning to us in the verse before us today is: Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
IIA1 A few years ago the bishop of Green Bay, WI, formally invited the pope to visit Green Bay when he comes to the United States. The Green Bay diocese must have wanted the message of Jesus the Savior to get a big boost in Wisconsin so they invited the pope to come.
2 Maybe. The presenting reason for inviting him to the Green Bay diocese was to have his presence validate a miraculous appearance of the Virgin Mary which occurred in a small town in the diocese of Green Bay some years ago.
B1 Sometimes it is very difficult in our lives to know what we ought to do next. I really miss the advice of my parents who have died. And you know, when I think about them really hard, I get visions of them talking to me. Like they miraculously appear to me from the dead and give me advice.
2 Sometimes the burdens of this life get pretty heavy. Especially terminal disease. Even with all our medical advances, technology, drugs and people, no cure seems to be possible. My friend told me that they get a group together and touch the sick person and call on God to heal people. And sometimes miracles happen.
3 Sometimes I get really down on myself about my relationship with God. My trust in Him isn’t very strong. My godliness isn’t very good. I doubt that I am a Christian. I need something out of the ordinary to convince me that I am a Christian. Maybe if I could speak in languages that I hadn’t ever learned as the apostles did on Pentecost that would be a miraculous sign from God that I am really a Christian.
C1 What is the common thread in all of these scenarios? Something miraculous. A miraculous appearance of Mary. A miraculous appearance of dead parents. A miraculous healing of people’s physical bodies. A miraculous activity to cure doubt. There is another common thread in these scenarios. No emphasis that Christianity is about Jesus. No mention that Jesus promises to be with us always and take care of us in the future. No mention that the physical healing of our bodies is not as important as the spiritual healing for our souls which Jesus accomplished. No mention that Jesus successful work of living and dying and rising to give forgiveness, holiness and eternal life is the only objective basis of our confidence about our relationship with God.
2 What is the point of running through these four scenarios? The point is just because miracles happen doesn’t mean that they come from Jesus. In fact, if they point people away from Jesus, they can’t be coming from Jesus. Listen to Jesus, “False prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect - if that were possible.”(Matt 24:24). Listen to Paul. 2 Thess 2:9 “the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing.” Paul’s warning to us in the verse before us today is: Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
IIIA1 In the Old Testament lesson for today we heard Satan talking. 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.” That was a direct contradiction of God who had said, “17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Satan was lying about the consequences of sin.
2 What was this whole contradiction about? It was about how to have a right relationship with God. Human creatures had a dependent relationship on the God who created them and everything around them. Satan who hadn’t been satisfied with his position of lesser authority indicated to the human creatures that they should strive for a peer relationship with God rather than a dependent one. His words were. 5 “ when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan was lying about how to have a relationship with God.
B1 What is our situation when it comes to having a relationship with God? Our consciences tell us that we do things that make the Giver of the standard of right and wrong upset. Our actions disrupt our relationship with God. That conclusion is reinforced when we hear God’s Law as it is given to us in the Bible. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Rom 3:23
2 Our logical brains easily come up with a solution to this. We have to fix this problem. We have to refuse to sin. We have to always do what is right. We have to hang out with the right people who will influence to do what is right. We have to avoid the situations which will lead us to do what is wrong. We have to train our minds to think God’s thoughts.
C1 We are reinforced in that fix it yourself view by the secular moralists of our world who say that humans must make the world a better place in which to live by working hard at doing what is right. We are also reinforced in the fix it yourself view by all the spiritual and nonChristian religious people in our world who say that humans have to cultivate the good that is in each of us. Satan loves it. He was the originator of the idea that humans had to do something to get to have an appropriate relationship with God. The problem is: He was and is a liar. Listen to Paul: "The devil has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."(2 Cor 4:4)
2 Jesus is the only one who can make us right with God. He does that by washing away our sins in His blood, by covering us with His righteousness and by making that relationship with God permanent by giving us eternal life because of His resurrection. Paul’s warning to us today is: It is not surprising, then, if the devil’s servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.
Prayer: LORD Jesus, thanks for reminding me that Satan is a problem,/ that not all miracles come from You,/ and that Satan lies about how I get to be right with You