Calvary Road Baptist Church
“THE WICKED”
Ephesians 6.16
My text is Ephesians 6.16. When you find that verse, please stand for the reading of God’s Word:
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
The Apostle Paul is likening the members of the Ephesian congregation to soldiers, so he can draw parallels between a soldier’s armor that is used in physical combat and the means whereby a Church member can engage his unseen enemy in spiritual conflict. It is easy to see that although we war not against flesh and blood, against spiritual opposition (according to verse 12), our primary enemy is an individual, a solitary person, the devil. He is referred to in Ephesians 6.16 as “the wicked,” toῦ ponhroῦ.
“The wicked” here does not refer to just any spiritual opponents who happen to attack us since the word is not plural, but singular. This lets us know that Paul had in mind a particular wicked one when he wrote these inspired words. His mind, of course, was fixed upon Satan.
In another message I once preached using Ephesians 6.16 as my text, I used this verse as the jumping-off point to address the subject of faith, which must be employed in any Church member’s dealings with Satanic assaults. One might also consider the specific use of faith as a shield to quench the fiery darts of the wicked. But this morning I’m going to focus on the personal enemy of not only every Church member, but also of every Christian, and every human being, this supernatural foe Scripture identifies as the devil.
We don’t have a great deal of time to devote to a study of the devil, but I once spent upwards of six months in concentrated study of him on Sunday evenings. For now, we will have to be content with an overview of his creation, his career, and his condemnation.
Make no mistake about it; Satan is a created being. He is likely the first of the created beings. He may be the most powerful of the created beings. He certainly was the most beautiful of the created beings before being hideously disfigured by sin. But he is still, after all is said and done, only a created being. Jot down Ezekiel 28.12b-19 to read later. In that passage you will observe that Satan is shown to be created, that Satan was beautiful, and that Satan became sinful. For now, I remind you of Colossians 1.16:
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”
Being created, Who created Satan? The point the Apostle Paul makes in Colossians 1.16 is that the Creator of every creature is Lord Jesus Christ.
As to Satan’s career. He was originally known as Lucifer, according to Isaiah 14.12, and was, as Ezekiel informs us, “the anointed cherub.” A cherub is a special kind of angel that is usually associated with the holiness of God. Anointed probably shows Lucifer to have been at one time the most high ranking and favored of the entire angelic host.
But this anointed cherub was overcome with pride and led a rebellion against God. Isaiah 14.12-14 describes Lucifer’s thoughts at that time in the passage famous for its five “I will” assertions. Revelation 12.4 suggests that one-third of the angelic host of heaven followed him in his treachery against God. And in Luke 10.18 the Lord Jesus Christ stated “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” at the time of Satan’s unsuccessful attempt to overthrow God.
Since his insane opposition to the government of God began, Satan has embarked upon a tireless career of evil and wickedness. His activities involve contending (remember, he contended with Michael for the body of Moses, Jude 9), controlling (he and his minions control people by possessing them, by blinding them to the truth of the Gospel, by erecting imaginations in people’s minds that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God), confusing (through deceptions of lies and innuendoes and half-truths), and accusing (Revelation 12.10 identifies him as the accuser of the brethren).
Though mature servants of God like Paul could testify that “we are not ignorant of his devices” because Satan always and in every case resorts to some permutation or combination of untruthfulness and pride, most Church members, the great majority of all Christians, and all unsaved people, are ignorant of his devices. This is evidenced by the fact that most of us have experience with some visitor or immature Church member who gets fussed and leaves the Church because the pastor preached a strong message related to the need for spiritual unity in the congregation to serve God effectively.
But those who do not leave are not necessarily mature. After all, if Satan can encourage a person to accuse someone rather than approach someone about an issue of dispute, he has still succeeded in tempting that individual to sin. It may be that the most frequent mistake made by well-intentioned Christian parents is to imagine that they help their child by listening to grievances expressed to them about others, as though being a sounding board doesn’t require skills and discernment. To facilitate someone accusing another of wrongdoing rather than insisting that they approach the one with whom they have an issue is playing the devil’s game, don’t you see? The accuser of the brethren wants you and me to do what he does, to accuse rather than approach the brethren.
So, though you may have a theoretical appreciation of what Satan does, how his career is pursued in the lives of Christians who are where God wants them to be and doing what God wants them to do, which is in harmonious communion with other believers engaged in service in the through the Church, it is unlikely that you can say that you are not ignorant of his devices unless and until you begin to anticipate what he will do to oppose the cause of Christ, even though you don’t know precisely when or precisely with whom.
Suffice it to say this: Satan is your only real enemy, according to God’s Word. Satan is the only personality you ever have real reason to be frustrated or angry with. Satan is the only being who poses any real threat to you. And he can’t harm you directly without God’s permission but can only provoke you to unspiritual thoughts and conduct by his ability to influence your thought life. So, every time you act like some person is the problem and accuse rather than approach; Satan has succeeded in diverting your attention from where it needs to be and has momentarily gained the upper hand in the battle for control of your thought life.
Satan’s creation, Satan’s career, and now Satan’s condemnation. Do I need to remind you that Satan has not been to Hell, is not now in Hell, and will never go to Hell? Satan is presently the god of this world,[1] the prince of the power of the air,[2] and he roams this planet to do what he can, where he can, with whom he can, to oppose in every way the plan, the purpose, and the people of God.[3]
Because of his role in the origin of sin in God’s creation and his instigation of sin in the human race, God has created for Satan and his angelic followers a place and program of eternal punishment described as “eternal fire” by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 25.41, and termed “the lake of fire” in the book of the Revelation.[4] The great tragedy of Satan, however, is not that he and his angelic traitors will suffer timeless and eternal torment in the lake of fire, but that he will have succeeded in luring so many fools born of Adam’s race into following him there, according to Revelation 20.10-15:
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Therefore, it’s quite easy to understand why Satan and his demonic host fight so vigorously to oppose the plan, the purpose, and the people of Almighty God. There is no redemption for him or the other sinful angels. Every angel created by God, who has turned traitor to Him and sided with Satan, will accompany the devil to the lake of eternal fire and punishment. What’s difficult to comprehend, and can only be explained by the blinding and stupefying effects of sin on the human mind and soul, is why so many men and women and boys and girls rush toward eternal perdition without any thought of the utter damnation of their souls.
It was a day they would remember the rest of their lives, the day the Israelites had been called together one last time. As they assembled, with the elders closest to the old man, the lone figure climbed and then stood astride the hilltop so all could see and so all could hear. How they loved that grizzled old warrior. How they admired him. And how they feared him.
He was a stern one, who had spent most of his life as a fighter, who had spent most of his life as a leader of young men, and who had spent most of his life serving the man who was the servant of God. Tolerating no disloyalty, tolerating no unfaithfulness to duty, tolerating no compromise, and always able to reduce every problem and situation to its essence, the old man whose body was bent by the weight of its 110 years, but whose voice was still amazingly strong and vibrant, spoke to the gathered masses of Israel.
Rehearsing the history of the Israelite people from the calling out of Abraham, the old man spoke for several minutes. Two statements, more than the other things he said, burned into the consciousnesses of the people:
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”[5]
A few minutes later, Joshua, the man who led Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land, departed. Then it came to pass that Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died.
Nothing has changed since Joshua’s day, not really. Technology has advanced to the point where people think they are smarter, even in the face of declining test scores. But the issues, the real issues of life, are exactly the same now as they were in Joshua’s day. In Joshua’s day it was the choice between worshipping and serving the God of Israel or the gods of the Amorites. But behind every false god is a demon.[6] And Satan is the author of every false religion. So, the choice was always God or Satan.
Wasn’t that Eve’s choice? The serpent successfully clouded the issue to deceive her, but that was the essence of Eve’s choice; God or Satan. That was the choice of the Israelites at Shechem on that fateful day when Joshua last gathered the people before dying. That was even the choice of the Jews in the Lord Jesus’ day. Again, Satan strove to cloud the issue. But our Lord summed up the situation Himself when He confronted His chief protagonists, the Pharisees, by declaring, “Ye are of your father, the devil.” Notice, it appears that things are different. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ versus the Pharisees, the most devout of all of the Jews’ sects. But the essence of the dilemma is still the same as it’s ever been; God, in the person of His Son Jesus, or the devil, in the person of very religious, very devout, very sincere, but lost, religionists.
Want to know something? Here we are, some 2000 years after the earthly ministry of the Savior, some 3600 years after the time of Joshua, and who knows precisely how many years after Adam and Eve’s fateful decision, and nothing has changed. The issues are still the same. Perhaps Satan’s capacity to mask and cloud and distract from real issues is a bit more sophisticated, but the essential quandary facing every person is still the same: Choose you this day whom ye will serve.
What you must contend with today is a spiritual court on which both teams are wearing the same uniforms, on which all the players have the same names and wear the same numbers, on which all the players speak the same language, on which all the players claim and in many cases really do believe they are all on the same team. Everyone claims to be a Christian. Everyone says that he is born again. Everyone says, “Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, God Bless You, Amen,” and stuff like that. And everyone seems to be convinced that he is on God’s side and is serving God.
It’s not true, people. It’s Satan’s latest ploy to confuse and distract people so they won’t see the issues that are the same issues that men have always had to choose between. The issue is this: What will you do with the Lord Jesus Christ? What you do with the Lord Jesus Christ answers whether you will serve the LORD or whether you will serve the gods of the Amorites.
To make it confusing for you, Satan has been working for centuries to raise up a pseudo-ministry, a false Gospel ministry, a fake Christian ministry. And although you can easily detect much of that which is false (you simply turn on your tv set and tune to channel 40, to Benny Hinn, to the Trinity Network, to Kenneth Copeland, to Benny Hinn, to Creflow Dollar, to Joel Osteen, or T. D. Jakes), there are some Satanic ministries which are more difficult to detect because they superficially appear to be so Christian.
Instead of naming these more subtly dangerous ministries (because I might miss some of them), I’m simply going to contrast them with the real, the genuine ministries. Remember, since there are only two choices, Satan’s way or God’s way, if a ministry isn’t right about the Gospel, it’s wrong. Notice, I didn’t say that if it’s not perfect it’s wrong. There’s no such thing as a perfect ministry.
There are ministries, some few and far between, that are fundamentally correct. Such ministries as these are true to God and true to God’s Word. Then there are those supposed ministries that are fundamentally flawed. They are not true to God and God’s Word, though they are the majority by number.
Here are the two styles of ministry that are at large in the world today:
First, THE SATANIC MINISTRY THAT’S IN DISGUISE AS A GOSPEL MINISTRY
I don’t want you to take my word for anything. I am very biased. I am extremely prejudiced. I am not one who is making up his mind about which side of this issue to be on. My mind is already made up. I know what ministries are of God and what so-called ministries are actually of Satan. My purpose this morning is not, however, to share with you my opinion, but to show you what God’s Word says so you can see God’s position in this matter. Several passages for me to quickly read to you that describe what counterfeit ministries are like:
First Timothy 4.1-3; 6.2b-5:
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
2b ... These things teach and exhort.
3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
Second Timothy 4.3-4:
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Titus 1.9-11, 16:
9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Second Peter 2.1-3:
1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
Jude 4, 10, 16:
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
Though these passages would be good for you to study thoroughly on your own, let me point out several obvious conclusions about the practices of the so-called ministries that Peter and Paul and Jude strongly condemned in their inspired letters:
First, the motives of this kind of ministry are condemned. What are their motives? We must be very cautious about judging the motives of others unless they are clearly given to us in Scripture. The motives of these false ministers are given to us. In First Timothy 4, we are told such as these are hypocrites. In First Timothy 6 we are told that they are proud and that they think that gain is godliness, that material prosperity is to be equated to godliness. Titus was told that they are after filthy lucre, they are greedy. Peter indicates that they are covetous. Jude says that they walk after their lusts. So, what are the motives of the Satanic ministers? They are selfish and unwilling to sacrifice. They pretend to be sacrificers, but they are hypocrites who are really in the ministry for the money they can get out of it. These would be preachers who go for the high salaried pastorates, who want to minister to the affluent, who manipulate money from well-intentioned but naive retired people, and who wear people’s offerings on their fingers and their wrists. To justify themselves, some will even preach a prosperity theology to those deceived enough to listen to them, trying to convince their audience that God’s will requires the godly to be materially prosperous. Guess what? The silly and the naive listen to those charlatans.
Second, the methods of this kind of ministry are condemned. The method that Paul most prominently criticizes is teaching instead of preaching. Remember, preaching is a different activity than is teaching. The method of the ungodly imitators of the true servants of God is to teach what they claim to be Scriptural truth rather than to preach truth. Paul also points out that such frauds as these are vain talkers and liars. Peter describes them as false teachers, by whom the way of truth is evil spoken of, who use feigned words. Jude says they speak evil of things which they know not and that they are murmurers who complain, who speak great swelling words, and who show favoritism to gain advantage for themselves, rather than showing no respect for persons. Do you know of men and women who have what they term a Bible-teaching ministry, rather than a Scriptural preaching ministry? Do they discover things in the Bible never before found by previous generations of godly students of the Scriptures? Watch out. Do they use great and swelling words, and do they play favorites with members of the congregation for no other reason than because they are wealthy and powerful? Think about it, folks. When you have a man who is selfish, whose actions show that he is in the ministry for personal gain, who has not demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice to advance the cause of Christ, and who cannot or will not strongly preach God’s Word, but instead likes to use words to deny long recognized truths of the Bible, likes to use words to flatter the powerful and influential who can do him some personal good, likes to use words in ways other than to batter against sin and ungodliness, then you have a man who is two-thirds of the way from being clearly identified as someone who is definitely not a man of God.
Third, the message of this kind of ministry is condemned. Paul says they do not preach doctrines, which are according to godliness. Peter says they bring in damnable heresies, denying the Lord that bought them and speak evil of the truth. Jude says they have turned the grace of God into lasciviousness. Does this sound familiar? Know any so-called preachers whose ministries seem to excuse sin? They are never willing to condemn that which is damnable. They will never openly and strongly stand against specific sins. If they had written the Bible they would have answered “Yes,” to the question Paul posed, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?”[7] These are the guys (or gals) who are not content to preach God’s Word. Instead, they improve on the old fashioned Gospel by limiting themselves to a so-called positive message that seeks to boost people's self-esteem. Not willing to displease their audiences, they risk the displeasure of God.
ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE IS THE REAL GOSPEL MINISTRY TO BE CONSIDERED
What is to be said about the motives of Gospel ministers? Look at John the Baptist. Look at the Apostle Paul. Look at Simon Peter. Look at the Apostle John. Look at John Bunyan. Look at Jonathan Edwards. Look at George Whitefield. Look at Adoniram Judson. Look at Charles Spurgeon. I’m convinced that the genuine minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a man who gives up some things so he might be useful to the Lord in the ministry. If you’re not willing to give up your career, if you’re not willing to give your wife less husband than other wives get, if you’re not willing to give your kids less dad than other kids get, then you’re not a Gospel preacher. Should Gospel preachers be lousy dads or lousy husbands?
Not at all. But if you think you can be a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ without your family sacrificing as much as you, then you’re kidding yourself. The true minister of the Gospel is that one who is willing to give up that which is precious that he might serve God. He is that man who is unselfish to the point of sacrifice. Why? He seeks to glorify God in his life and his ministry. Like Paul, the genuine servant of God is willing to count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, his Lord. I get so tired of those who want to serve God without cost, without sacrifice, without paying for it. You don’t understand. Our guys pay for it. It’s the other guys who try to serve God without paying for it. Their reward is down here. Ours is over there.
Second, what is to be said about the method of the genuine Gospel minister? Simple. The Gospel minister is direct. He is straightforward. Listen to what Paul was like when he went to Corinth, First Corinthians 2.1-5:
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Now consider what he tells Timothy to do, Second Timothy 4.2:
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
Does this sound like user-friendly Churches? Does this sound like the preachers who take public opinion polls to find out what kind of ministries lost people want? Does this sound like Paul gave folks what they wanted, or what they needed? The method of genuine Gospel ministry is to preach the Word, preach the Word, preach the Word!
Finally, the message of this ministry. Charlatans spend time teaching about inner healing, or positive affirmation, or heightened self-esteem, or reaching your potential. They will frequently wear special robes to show themselves spiritually superior to ordinary folks. But it’s the content of their message that’s missing that’s more telling than anything else. Remember, Paul, who set the example all Gospel preachers should follow wrote,
“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”[8]
The Gospel preacher preaches the Gospel.
Did you know that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became a man and died on the cross for your sins?
Did you know that He was buried and rose again and that He now sits at the right hand of the Father on high?[9]
Have you contemplated the consequences of His crucifixion? The crucifixion of Christ shows that there is a great penalty for sin. The crucifixion also shows that there is a great love for the sinner. The crucifixion also demands that you, the sinner who faces the great penalty of eternal Hellfire, choose you this day whom ye will serve.
The message of the Gospel ministry is that you are a sinner who can only be saved through faith in Jesus Christ.
If the man who stands before you is not motivated to use Biblical methods to convey the Scriptural message, he is a servant of Satan and not a servant of God.
But if the man who wants to glorify God will preach the Gospel, then his ministry is Biblical and is a Gospel ministry in the truest sense of the word.
There is a real Gospel ministry. The real Gospel ministry points sinners to Jesus Christ through the preaching of the cross. The plea? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
The other guys, though they may appear to wear the same uniform and say the same nice Christian words, are not on our team. They are on the other side. They are on Satan’s side.
Nothing has changed. From the Garden of Eden to the time of Joshua, to the time of Christ, to our day, nothing has changed. The issues are the same.
In conclusion: Choose you this day whom ye will serve. Come to Jesus Christ by faith.
__________
[1] 2 Corinthians 4.4
[2] Ephesians 2.2
[3] 1 Peter 5.8
[4] Revelation 19.20; 20.10, 14, 15
[5] Joshua 24.15
[6] 1 Corinthians 10.20
[7] Romans 6.1
[8] 1 Corinthians 2.2
[9] Psalm 16.11; 110.1; Matthew 26.64; Mark 12.36; 14.62; 16.19; Luke 20.42; 22.69; John 3.13; 13.1; 14.2-4; Acts 1.9-11; 2.33, 34-35; 7.56; Romans 8.34; Ephesians 1.20; 6.9; Colossians 3.1; Second Thessalonians 1.7; Hebrews 1.3, 13; 8.1; 9.24; 10.12-13; 12.2; 1 Peter 3.22; Revelation 19.11
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