If you're reading this the title did its job. It did for me while I was scrolling through sale items in Olivetree. The book's full title is called Getting to Grips with Satan's Plan for Your Life, by Erwin W Lutzer. There are only two problematic sentences within it, but they don't alter the theology in anyway. The title intrigued me. I realised that I have very rarely heard preaching about Satan and I've been in churches in 3 continents since the early 2000s. In the UK we've probably moved away from the fire and brimstone stuff. No-one wants to hear that. Yes, it's crucial to speak of the goodness of God. We must focus on Him. He is the author of our salvation. But we do need to hear who we have been saved from. Who is Satan? How does he operate? What's his modus operandi? His character? His end-game? His tactics? We need to hear it. We need to hear what the enemy is like so that we can fight it. When we put on the helmet of salvation what are we putting it on from? When we put on the sword of the Spirit, who are we attacking? When we equip ourselves with the sheild of faith, what are we defending against? Lutzer gives 12 ways in which the Satan attacks. They're good. He reminds us that "[t]o become Satan’s servant we need not invite him into our life; we need only to live in rebellion against God." But even better is his opening bit about who he is, how decieved satan is. I've realised just how stupid he is. And therefore, how cringingly stupid it is to trust Satan rather than God. How utterly foolish he is: "If [satan] were as wise as he evidently believes he is, he would cease his activity against God immediately! Don’t miss the irony. Satan, whose chief weapon is deception, is evidently himself deceived. Either that, or he, who boasts of his power, lacks even the strength to stop fighting God! He may have physical and spiritual power, but moral power cannot be found in him. Wisdom eludes him." mic drop! This has led me to a deeper understanding of this problem of pmo and crossdressing. I was decieved by the deciever. There is no hope in this or any other sin. I urge you to take some time to study Satan, how he operates, and how he wants to decieve you. And then remind yourself of the truth that Christ has won.
I agree this is the attitude in the UK and more specifically there seems to be a prevailing attitude that satan does not exist. I cringe every time that UK TV commercial comes on "wine from the devil's cellar". How shortsighted we are to believe satan's most effective ruse - he doesn't exist and there is no such thing as sin. It is a short leap from there to believe that God doesn't exist either. Conversely, how wonderful it is to feel the Father's love in our hearts and the freedom from sin and worry. How fortunate we are that we have heard Christ's call. Let us pray for all of those who refuse to listen to His kind and merciful message.
The Good News doesn't need the bad news to be good. It would still be good even without it. But it is the bad news that awakens within us an awareness of our desperate need for a Savior. So, to fully appreciate the Good News, we do need to understand the bad news first, it seems. A good reminder!
