Category: Lent 3

Soldiers in Christ's Kingdom

3/26/2025

Oculi Sermon (Lent 3)
Luke 11:14-28
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
March 23, 2025

“But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you,” says Jesus. The finger of God is the Holy Spirit. When a work is done by the finger of God it means that the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Holy Trinity has done it. And when the Holy Spirit casts out demons, that means that God’s Kingdom has arrived. Christ casts out demons in your life. When you were Baptized, you received the Holy Spirit, who washed you in the washing of regeneration and cast Satan out from you. And when you hear the preaching of the Gospel, through which the Holy Spirit works to create faith, there too Satan is cast out. The Holy Spirit works through Baptism and the proclamation of the Gospel to join you to Christ’s victory over Satan and sin when He died on the cross for all sins. St. Paul tells us that those who have been baptized into Christ have been baptized into His death and resurrection (Romans 6). And the proclamation of the Gospel is the message of how Christ, the stronger man overpowered Satan the strong man by taking away all our sins.
And so, since you have been baptized into Christ and you have believed the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, the Finger of God has cast out demons before you, and therefore, the Kingdom of God has come upon you. This is what St. Paul means when he says, “He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14) So, what does it mean for you that God has delivered you out of the darkness of Satan’s kingdom and transferred you to Christ’s kingdom of light? It means that you should walk in the light. St. Paul again writes in Ephesians 5, “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are the light of the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true).”
Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” He then explains that when an unclean spirit is cast out of a person, but returns to find the place empty, it returns with seven more spirits more evil than itself, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. And so, we learn that there is no neutral ground in this spiritual battle between Christ’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom. When Christ casts out demons before you by the finger of God, He places you into the safety of His Kingdom. If you have been placed in God’s kingdom, how then ought you to live? Should you live as a citizen of God’s kingdom or as a citizen of Satan’s kingdom? Obviously, you ought to walk according to Christ and follow the Holy Spirit.
St. Peter warns about those who have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and placed in the kingdom of light, yet go back to living in darkness. He writes, “For, if after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.” (2 Peter 2:20) Yes, instead of being tormented by one unclean spirit, they are tormented by seven more eviler spirits!
If God has cast Satan out from you and delivered you from his kingdom of darkness and placed you into Christ’s kingdom of light, then you must walk in the light. Scripture repeatedly warns that those who do works of darkness will not inherit the kingdom of God. By continuing in these works, they are leaving Christ’s kingdom of light and crossing the border into Satan’s kingdom of darkness. St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.” (vss. 9-11) Paul makes clear that we must no longer live as we did before we were washed clean by the Holy Spirit, or we will not inherit God’s kingdom.
Again, in Galatians 5, St. Paul writes, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (vss. 18-21) No, if Christ’s Spirit has taken you out of Satan’s kingdom, then you must no longer do these works! Again, we heard St. Paul write in Ephesians 5, “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (vss. 5-6)
Now there are many works of darkness, but St. Paul repeats three evil works in our Epistle lesson: sexual immorality, impurity, that is, uncleanness, and covetousness. Sexual immorality is fornication, that is, sex outside of marriage. The word in Greek is προρνεία (porneia), where we get the word pornography. Impurity or uncleanness refers to those works of the flesh which separate you from God. Jesus calls the demon an unclean spirit. In the Old Testament uncleanness referred to being ceremonially unclean, when you were not permitted to touch holy things or participate in the worship of the congregation. In the New Testament, unclean things refer to the sins of the flesh, often paired with sexual immorality and sensuality, that is, those fleshly desires, which war against the Spirit of God. Covetousness, St. Paul calls idolatry, because whatever you trust in most is your god. When people are greedy for money, property, prestige, and an easy life, they worship false gods.
These three works: sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness are the works of demons. That does not mean that if you engage in these works that it is not your fault and you can say, “The devil made me do it.” No, rather, what I am saying is that if you have sex outside of marriage, or view pornography, or engage in other unclean behavior like drunkenness and drug use, theft, and sexual perversion, or if you let greed consume you, you are engaging with demons. And you are opening yourself up for demonic oppression. Demons are real. This means that you are dealing with creatures, which are more powerful than you. To engage with demons is to play with fire, to work in Satan’s kingdom, and to become a slave of darkness. Those who continue to do these evil deeds will lead themselves out of the kingdom of Christ into Satan’s dominion of darkness, to become slaves of the evil one again.
Jesus warns those who have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and placed into His kingdom of light that if they do not walk in the light, they will fall away and become even more enslaved in the kingdom of darkness. And for this solemn teaching, a pious woman in the crowd shouted, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed.” To which Jesus replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” Certainly, the Virgin Mary is blessed, but Jesus says that His mother and brothers and sisters are those who hear the Word of God and do it (Luke 8:21). So, Mary is blessed because she treasured up God’s Word and pondered it in her heart, even more than she is blessed for being the mother of God! For it is only through faith that we receive blessing and honor from God.
It is by the Word of God that the Holy Spirit cast Satan out from you and transferred you from the dominion of darkness into Christ’s kingdom of light. And so, it is by the Word of God that you remain in the kingdom of light. But what does it mean to keep the Word of God? It means to use it! To read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it. To trust in it. To pray according to it. To live according to it, applying it to your life according to your station, as a Christian, husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, worker. As citizens of God’s Kingdom of Light, we are armed soldiers equipped by God to fight against the forces of Satan. St. Paul writes in Ephesians 6, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” (vss. 10-18)
The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, by which you fight back the demonic hordes, which seek to drag you back into the kingdom of darkness with the lies that sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness will satisfy you. By living according to the Word of God, you can keep yourself busy, so that you do not give yourself the opportunity to gratify the desires of the flesh, as St. Peter exhorts us, “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing (that is, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love), they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:7-8) Yet, while we sojourn in this life, we will not keep ourselves entirely without sin. Satan will catch you without your armor. So, you must remember that the Word of God which casts Satan out from you and secures you in Christ’s kingdom is not the Law, which depends on your works, but the Gospel, which is the Work of God. This is why St. John writes in Revelation 12 of the saints, who have conquered Satan, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (vs. 11)
The Word of God by which the Holy Spirit casts Satan from you and transfers you to Christ’s kingdom is the Word that declares Christ’s victory over sin, death, and hell. Satan binds us in his kingdom by our sins. Christ’s blood washes our sins away, melting away Satan’s bonds. And so, as we war against the kingdom of Satan, we must employ the weapon of the Stronger Man, which is the very Gospel of Christ by which the Holy Spirit works. Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. But Christ Jesus sets us free from our sins by forgiving us. Yet, He not only sets us free from the consequences of our sin, but from our sins themselves. So, we must continue to flee to Him for forgiveness and strength to resist sin, until we are finally set free from the clutches of our sins forever. Amen.

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The Finger of God Prevents Apostasy

3/6/2024

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Oculi (Lent 3)
Luke 11:14-28
Pastor James Preus
March 3, 2024

When you were baptized, you were asked the following questions.
Do you renounce the devil?
Do you renounce all his works?
Do you renounce all his ways?
And you or your sponsors answered, ‘yes.’ Then, as the pastor spoke the words of Christ and poured the water on you, the Holy Spirit, who is the very finger of God, came upon you and ripped you out of the kingdom of Satan and placed you firmly into the Kingdom of Christ in which you have redemption, the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38; Colossians 1:13-14). Yet, that was a long time ago. Do you still renounce the devil, and all his works, and all his ways? Our Lord warns, “When an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
Jesus warns here against apostasy. Children, I want you to know what apostasy means and to hate it with every fiber of your being and to pray fervently to God every day that He will keep you and your brothers and sisters in Christ from apostasy. Apostasy is falling away from the Christian faith. Apostasy is going back to Satan’s kingdom and being made Satan’s slave again after having been rescued from Satan by Christ. Apostasy is the worst thing that could ever happen to you. It means to lose your salvation, to lose Christ. Apostasy is evil. Apostasy destroys the soul. Apostasy is Satan’s greatest work.
St. Peter describes apostasy in his second epistle, “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.” (2 Peter 2:20-21) This is exactly what Jesus says. The last state of that person is worst than the first. So, we should always be on guard against apostasy! We should pray fervently with the hymnist, “O make me Thine forever! And should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never, Outlive my love for Thee!” (O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, LSB 449:2)
Children, pray that you never fall away from Christ. And recognize anything that would pull you away from Jesus and His Church as the greatest evil. Parents, recognize apostasy as the worst thing that can happen to your children. Apostasy is worse than your child being kidnapped, because there is no crueler kidnapper than Satan. Apostasy is worse than your child being murdered, because Satan commits the most permanent form of murder. I have been praying every morning that God would grant and increase a zeal for the Gospel in the hearts of the parents of this congregation, so that they would faithfully teach their children the Gospel at home and regularly take them to church to worship Christ. Parents, your children learn from you. When you skip church for stupid reasons, your children learn that worshiping Christ is less important than sports and catching up on sleep. When you fail to have devotions and pray with your children at home, your children learn that God’s Word and prayer aren’t important. When you use crass language and watch entertainment, which glorifies fornication and violence, your children learn that these things are okay. But when you hold up God’s Word as the most precious thing in your house, and faithfully bring your children to worship Christ, they too will hold Christ and His Word as precious. And none of us should become confident in ourselves that we will not fall away, as the Apostle Paul warns, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) Our confidence is never in ourselves, but in Christ.
Apostasy comes in several ways. It is Satan’s constant work, of which he is tremendously skilled. Christ has plundered Satan’s house, and Satan desperately wants to get you back. He works tirelessly night and day at this aim, as St. Peter elsewhere writes, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:80) So, I want to tell you about two ways that Satan works to get you to fall away from the saving faith and be captured again in his kingdom.
First, Satan twists the Gospel of Christ so that you think that you can indulge in the sinful works of the flesh and remain a Christian. Since Christ rescued you by grace without your works, Satan lies that you can go on sinning, so that grace may abound (Romans 6:1)! St. Paul warns against this in Ephesians chapter 5 (which we just heard), “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them, for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” (vss. 6-8) Many who were once baptized, and who believed the Gospel have fallen away, because they continued in the sins of the flesh without repenting. Eventually their faith died, and they became children of wrath again like the rest of mankind (Ephesians 2). Therefore, Christians must daily repent of their sins, drowning their old Adam, so that their new self may walk in newness of life.
A second way Satan brings you to apostasy is by teaching you to be neutral. This is a softer approach, but is often more effective. He won’t tell you to curse Christ. He won’t even tell you to indulge in the most reprehensible sins. He’ll simply tell you to chill out and not be so serious about Jesus. “You don’t need to go to church every week. That’s excessive. You can go months without going to church. That doesn’t mean you despise Christ and His Word. You don’t need to get in a habit of prayer. You don’t need to devote yourself to God’s Word or teach His Word to your children or confess His Word with your mouth. You can be silent and inactive in your faith. That’s just fine. In fact, Jesus is cool with it.” Satan convinces you to be neutral. But what does Jesus say? “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” So, no, you cannot be neutral. You cannot have an idle faith. You cannot refuse to confess Christ before men. You cannot neglect God’s preaching and Word and say you aren’t despising it. You are either working for Christ’s kingdom, or you are working against it. You are either in Christ’s kingdom, or you are in Satan’s. Jesus tells you this truth. Satan denies it.
So, we’ve established the worst thing that can happen to any of us is to fall away from the Christian faith. So, how can we prevent apostasy? Jesus says that if it is by the finger of God that He casts out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Satan’s kingdom is uprooted when God’s kingdom comes. How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes by itself without our prayer. It came when Christ became man, bound up the strongman Satan, and plundered His house through His innocent sufferings, death, and resurrection. By doing this he fulfilled what God spoke through the prophet Isaiah (49:24-26), “Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? For thus says the LORD: ‘Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh and they shall be drunk with their own blood, as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your redeemer, the Mighty one of Jacob.”
Yet, how does God’s kingdom come to us? Our Catechism tells us, “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.” Having won our salvation and release from Satan’s kingdom, the Holy Spirit must bring us that salvation. The Holy Spirit is the finger of God, which casts out demons and brings us into God’s kingdom. But how do we receive the Holy Spirit? St. Paul tells us in Galatians chapter 3, “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? … Does He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” And St. Paul writes in Ephesians 6 that the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.
The Holy Spirit works through God’s Word. God’s Word is His sword, His instrument by which He rescues people from Satan and creates faith in Christ in their hearts. Where people are baptized, there the Holy Spirit works, because God promises the Holy Spirit in Baptism (Acts 2:38). Where the Gospel is preached, there the Holy Spirit works, because God promises His Holy Spirit through His Word.
Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” Here, Jesus teaches us how apostasy is prevented. By keeping the Word of God. The word for keep He uses there is the same word He used to say that the strong man, Satan, guards his house. Satan guards his possessions with lies and by keeping them from hearing the Word of God. You guard your faith and are kept from apostasy by guarding the Word of God, which speaks the truth to you, brings you to repentance every day, comforts you with the forgiveness of sins won by Christ, so that your faith increases, and produces beautiful fruit pleasing to God.
To be blessed means to be free from Satan’s kingdom and to be safe in Christ’s kingdom, where there is forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life. “Blessed is the one who hears of the Word of God and keeps it,” Jesus says. You hear the Word of God when you come to church and hear that your sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. You guard the Word of God in your heart when you receive Christ’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper and trust Christ’s Words that it is given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. You guard the Word of God when you remember your Baptism, that you put on Christ, so that you shun Satan, all his works, and all his ways, and hold fast to Christ ever growing in His Word.
When you guard the Word of God in your heart, it is the Holy Spirit, the finger of God, who works for you and in you to keep Satan away. Then Satan will not return to find an empty house, but one filled with the Holy Spirit, so that he cannot take you back. Apostasy is the worst thing that could happen to anyone of us. That means that hearing and keeping the Word of Christ is the best thing we can ever do. Amen.

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Casting Out Satan

3/21/2022

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James Tissot, Blind and Mute Man Possessed by Devils, 1886-94. Public Domain.

Lent 3 Oculi
Luke 11:14-28
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
March 20, 2022

In Genesis chapter three, after Adam and Eve fell into sin, the LORD God said to the serpent, who deceived them, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heal.” This is known as the protoevangelium, that is, the first proclamation of the Gospel in the Bible. Jesus is the seed of the woman, who will crush Satan’s head even as his heal is bruised on the cross. Yet, this proclamation of the Lord predicts another truth that is often overlooked. “I will put enmity between you and the woman” predicts that Satan will establish his kingdom here on earth and wage war against the children of Eve. Satan is the strong man Jesus mentions in his little parable, fully armed, guarding his own palace, so that his goods are safe. Yet, Satan’s kingdom is not a geographical place with borders, so that you can leave his dominion by crossing a line in the ground. Satan is a spirit. He establishes his palace in the hearts of Eve’s children, so that they become his children. That is why when John the Baptist preached repentance to the scribes and Pharisees, he called them “brood of vipers,” (Luke 3:7) that is children of serpents. Satan is the great serpent, who tempted our first mother Eve.

Now Christ, the seed of the woman, has come to wage war against Satan. It’s interesting that Jesus points out that Satan would not divide his own kingdom, when he is accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Satan certainly wouldn’t divide his own kingdom to lay it waste, but that is exactly what Christ has come to do. We learned two weeks ago how Jesus strove with Satan in the wilderness and overcame each temptation. Then, as he begins his ministry of preaching the Gospel and healing the sick, demon possessed persons cry out in every city against him, until he casts the demons out. The devils know that they are at war. Jesus, the stronger man, has come to strip Satan of his armor and divide his spoils.

Of course, casting a mute demon out of a poor man only foreshadows the great exorcism Christ will perform on Good Friday, when he will strip off all of Satan’s armor by bearing our sins on the cross and redeeming us with his blood. Satan’s armor in which he trusts are his lies. He lies to lead us to sin and unbelief. Jesus is the way, the Truth, and the life. He overcomes Satan’s lies with the truth of his Gospel. He takes our sins away, undoing Satan’s work and removing our guilt, so that Satan may no longer accuse us before God (Revelation 12:10).

Yet, there are those who see Jesus cast out this demon and they accuse Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Jesus points out the absurdity of Satan dividing his own kingdom and laying waste to it. But then he points out, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” These are sobering words.

In Numbers chapter twelve, Moses’ older sister and brother, Miriam and Aaron, opposed him. God appeared in a cloud, as he would, and rebuked Miriam and Aaron, pointing out that unlike the other prophets, to whom he spoke in visions and dreams, he spoke to Moses face to face like a friend. Then he concludes, “Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” They should have been afraid to speak against Moses, because they weren’t speaking against their little brother, they were speaking against God, who spoke through Moses.

Well, how much more should these blasphemers be afraid to speak against the Christ, God himself in the flesh! Yet, they don’t see Jesus as the Christ, even though he fulfills every prophecy Scripture says of the Christ. All they see is the man. They think they’re speaking against plain flesh and blood. But no, they are speaking against God himself. And so, they have found themselves on the wrong side of a cosmic war between God’s Kingdom and Satan’s Kingdom. “The Kingdom of God has come upon you, and you opposed it! You should be afraid.” That is what Jesus says to these blasphemers, who accuse him of being in league with Satan.

Yet, people continue to find themselves on the wrong side of this war. Jesus said to his disciples in the previous chapter of Luke, “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (Luke 10:16). And so, people continue to speak against Jesus without realizing it, because they are speaking against one of his ministers whom he sent. All they see are two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. But if they would consider Jesus’ words, they would take the words from that mouth more seriously. Certainly, every Christian should speak against false teaching, especially if it is spoken by a pastor. Yet, we only know the difference between true teaching and false teaching from the Bible. Yet, most people look at the Bible as just an ordinary book. It’s just paper bound together with ink on it, like any other book. So, they dismiss anything in it that they don’t like.

Beware that you do not behave that way. God’s Word written on paper is still God’s Word as if Christ spoke to us from heaven. And when Christ’s minister speaks God’s Word as it is taught in Scripture, Christ himself is speaking to you. If you speak against God’s Word, no matter who speaks it, you are opposing God’s Kingdom.

God’s Kingdom comes to us today through the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. This is because Christ has accomplished everything to win our salvation. He has fulfilled the Law for us. He overcame Satan in our stead. He suffered and died for the sins of the world. He is risen and ascended to the Father’s right hand, from which he showers the Church on earth with his grace. So, until Christ returns to establish us in his Kingdom of Glory for eternity, we live in Christ’s Kingdom of Grace here on earth. That means, we receive God’s Kingdom through faith. As Satan established his kingdom on earth by stealing the hearts of Eve’s children, so Christ today evicts Satan from our hearts through the Gospel. The preached Gospel, which declares the forgiveness of sins for Christ’s sake, and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which also declares the forgiveness of sins for Christ’s sake, are received through faith alone. So, God’s kingdom comes to us through the preached Gospel and administration of the Sacraments, and his kingdom takes root in our hearts through faith alone.

And here it is important to point out that it is not only those who actively speak against God’s Word and Christ, who are on the wrong side of this spiritual war. Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” There is no neutral ground in this war. You are either a Christian or you are an unbeliever. You are either a citizen of God’s Kingdom and at war with Satan, or you are in league with Satan and at war with God.

Jesus tells a simple parable to explain this. If an unclean spirit is cast out of a man, but returns to find him swept clean and put in order, then he returns with seven more spirits eviler than himself and the last state of that person is worse than the first. This is to say, that if you repent of your sins and turn to Christ, but do not continue with Christ, but become apathetic, then Satan will return with a vengeance! You can’t stand on the sidelines. Jesus says that whoever confesses him before men, him also will he confess before his Father in heaven, but whoever denies him before men, he also will deny before his Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33) Silence is denial. Indifference is enmity. Neglecting God’s Word is despising God’s Word. Apathy is unbelief. This is why Jesus says to the church in Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3, “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

Last week, I exhorted you to win when wrestling with God by clinging to the promise he gives you. This is a good exercise when reading the Bible or listening to a sermon. Where is the promise? What is Christ promising me? What must I cling onto? Here is the promise in this lesson, which should give you great comfort and joy. After a woman blesses Jesus’ mother for his great teaching, Jesus says, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” Blessed means to be eternally blessed, to be saved, to be an eternal citizen in God’s kingdom. The word, which we know saves, is the Gospel. No one will be saved by works of the Law. We believe in Jesus; we trust in his forgiveness, and we are saved. Christ Jesus is the strong man, who plunders Satan and rescues us from his kingdom. The word keep, I think would be better translated as guard. It is not that Jesus is promising eternal blessedness to those who keep the Law. That is hardly a comforting promise, since we fail to keep the Law. Rather, Jesus is teaching us to guard the Gospel given to us. We do this by hearing it, learning it, and taking it to heart. And of course, those who trust in the Gospel bear good fruits and perform works of the Law pleasing to God.

This word for guard is the same word used to describe Satan, the strong man guarding his palace. Satan guards his palace with lies. He keeps us captive by tempting us to sin and causing us to doubt God’s grace for us in Christ Jesus. Yet, the Gospel of the free forgiveness of sins for Christ’ sake disarms Satan. We guard and hold fast to the Gospel by continuing to hear it and apply it to our guilty conscience, by receiving the Sacrament and trusting in its benefits. “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it” says very much the same thing as Jesus’ saying, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The Gospel is true. It sets us free from the lies of Satan. Those who hear the Gospel, believe it, and guard it against Satan’s lies by continuing to hear it and trust in it are blessed. They are citizens of God’s Kingdom. And they will dwell in God’s Kingdom of glory forever. Amen.

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The Great Exorcism of Baptism

3/8/2021

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Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794–1872), Der liebende Jesus jagt Dämonen in Schweine. 1860. Public Domain.

Oculi Sunday (Lent 3)
Luke 11:14-28
March 7, 2021

There has been a debate within the Lutheran Church concerning whether the Baptismal rite should include a rite of exorcism or not. An exorcism is when the minister casts a demon or Satan out of a possessed person, as Jesus did in our Gospel lesson, when he cast the mute demon out of the possessed man. Historically, the Roman Catholics had rites of exorcism in their Baptismal rites, so the Lutherans inherited this custom. It used to be that when a baby was baptized in the Lutheran Church, a rite of exorcism would be performed. We do not have a rite of exorcism in our current hymnal, but we do have an alternate rite of Baptism not in our hymnal, based on the one written by Martin Luther, in which the pastor says, “Therefore, depart, you unclean spirit, and make room for the Holy Spirit in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The reason many Lutherans objected to the rite of exorcism was because it is not certain whether the unbaptized is actually possessed by an evil spirit, and since the exorcism doesn’t make Baptism a Baptism, but rather the words of Jesus which command us to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit do, the exorcism is really unnecessary. Besides, unclean spirits are cast out by the word of God and prayer, so if a person were possessed by an evil spirit, then the actual Baptism would certainly cast it out.
Yet, the removal of the rite of exorcism from the Baptismal rite should not confuse you into thinking the unbaptized is in no danger from the devil! One possessed by a demon has an unclean spirit in control of his physical and even mental faculties. But everyone born of the flesh is born under the dominion of Satan. Now which is worse? A demon blocking your tongue from speaking or your eyes from seeing, or Satan himself grasping your very soul and keeping you from believing in Christ and his forgiveness for you! Scripture says that we are all born and conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5) and that by nature we are children of wrath following the course of Satan (Ephesians 2:1-3). No, the unbaptized have a much greater concern than being possessed by some unclean spirit, who will block the senses. All mankind is born in sin, under the tyranny of Satan himself.
Satan is the strong man, who guards his spoil. We are the spoil. Jesus is the stronger man, who comes to plunder the devil’s house. Yet, Jesus does not do this the way some ancient pagan myth would describe a battle of the gods. Rather, God’s own Son came disguised as a weak man to lure Satan to his doom. Have you heard of the alligator snapping turtle? It has a neat way of catching its prey. It has an appendage on its tongue that looks like a worm. The turtle opens its mouth wide and flicks its tongue to attract fish, who think it’s a worm to eat. But when the fish goes for the bite, snap! the turtle eats the fish! And so, Jesus, who in Psalm 22 is described as a worm and not a man, takes the form of one of Satan’s victims. He assumes our human flesh, so that he is truly and ever will be a man like us. Although Satan failed to get Jesus to sin in the wilderness, Jesus bears all our sins willingly, so that he looks like the most despised and miserable sinner to ever exist. On the cross, death goes to devour Jesus and Satan reaches to claim his prisoner, but it is death who is devoured and Satan whose head is smashed in and is locked up in prison.
Satan’s kingdom is divided, because our Lord Jesus conquered Satan and scattered his spoil. He did this by dying for our sins on the cross and rising from the dead for our justification. Yet, we remain under Satan’s power until we are freed by the Holy Spirit who gives us faith to receive this forgiveness and salvation. Jesus told the people that he casts out demons by the finger of God. The finger of God is a figure of speech meaning God’s almighty power. It by the power of God that Jesus casts out demons. In Baptism, it is the finger of God at work. Baptism is a greater sign from heaven than any we could dream up, because it works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe. In Baptism, God puts his name on you and clothes you in Christ, the same Christ who conquered Satan. That means that in Baptism, you become Satan’s conqueror. Scripture promises that Baptism washes away your sins, because it joins you to Jesus’ death and resurrection (Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21). Scripture promises that in Baptism we are reborn by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; Titus 3). This means that Baptism is the greatest exorcism, because it not only casts out Satan, but delivers the baptized out of Satan’s kingdom and into the kingdom of Christ.
Yet, our Lord Jesus solemnly warns the baptized in our Gospel lesson, saying, “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.” This is a warning that baptized Christians can fall away. Baptism does not save apart from faith in Christ.
You are not baptized in order to become a prince or princess. You are not baptized in order to become an American, or a Jones or Smith. You are not baptized to become rich or powerful on earth or to acquire some earthly status or human abilities. You are baptized in order to be delivered from Satan’s kingdom and to become Christ’s own possession, to live in his kingdom, to be his little lamb, who listens to his voice and follows him. In short, you are baptized in order to be a Christian in Christ’s Church!
Jesus says, you are either with him or against him; you either gather with him or you scatter. You are either delivered from Satan’s kingdom into Christ’s kingdom or you are bound in Satan’s kingdom outside of Christ’s kingdom. There is no neutral ground. The purpose of Baptism is to be delivered from Satan’s kingdom, so that you can live in Christ’s kingdom. But if you do not live in Christ’s kingdom, you will return to Satan’s kingdom.
Too often people think this way: “The Gospel is not complicated. Jesus died for my sins. I believe it. So, why do I need to keep hearing about? What am I going to gain from church?” But this way of thinking does not come from the Spirit of Christ, but from Satan. We cannot believe in Jesus Christ and remain in his kingdom by our own strength, merit or works, but only through the power of the Holy Spirit, who works through God’s Word. We know that Baptism without God’s Word is plain water and no baptism. So likewise, we cannot remove the baptized from God’s Word. It is through his Word that God rules and guides us in his kingdom, as Jesus says, “My sheep hear voice, I know them, and they follow me.” (John 11:27) and “If you abide in my word, you are my disciple indeed, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
This is why Jesus responded the way he did to that woman in the crowd. She cried out, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed.” She was calling Mary blessed! She was being a good catholic. Amen. Mary is blessed. But Jesus says, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” We must never underestimate the power and craftiness of Satan. He is much more powerful than we think. He convinces us to commit sins we know are wrong and harmful to others and to ourselves. And he is very good at convincing us to sweep our house clean of God’s word and put it in order, so that it is ready for seven more demons to move in. Yet much more, must we never underestimate the power of God’s Word to forgive, to strengthen our faith, and to save. The one who holds fast to God’s Word holds fast to Christ Jesus, to the Holy Spirit, yes indeed, to the Holy Trinity Himself. And where God dwells, there is no room for Satan.
This warning does not meant that Baptism is a once and done event that won’t do you any good anymore. No, your Baptism continues to work with you and for you your entire life, but never apart from God’s Word and promise. Through Baptism, God leads you to repent of your sins, to crucify your sinful lusts and drown your old Adam every day, and to rise to live before Christ in faith and love. To walk by the Spirit, so that you do not gratify the desires of your flesh is to walk according to your Baptism, because it is in your Baptism that you received the Holy Spirit and were clothed with Christ. You can rejoice every day in your Baptism, because saying, “I am baptized.”, is to say to Satan, “I am free from you and you cannot harm me.”; it is to say to death, “You’ve lost your sting.”; it is to say to God, “I am your dear child and heir. I wear as a permanent garment Christ himself. I love you, because you love me.”
Through Baptism we are placed into the kingdom of Christ. And we live in this kingdom through faith in God’s promises. Faith comes from hearing God’s promises. God promises to forgive us. He promises to strengthen us. He promises to rescue us from every evil and give us eternal life for the sake of Christ who bought us with his blood. Through God’s word we keep hold of the promises of our Baptism and we remain citizens of Christ’s kingdom until he will come to establish us in it permanently. Amen.

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Being on the Right Side

3/15/2020

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Exorcising the blind and mute man by James Tissot, late 19th century, wikipedia.org. No Known Copyright Restrictions

Oculi (Lent 3)
Luke 11:14-28
March 15, 2020

On June 16, 1858 Abraham Lincoln gave an acceptance speech for his party’s nomination for US Senate, where he emphasized his belief that America could not remain divided between free states and slave states. He opened his speech with the line, “A house divided against itself, cannot stand.” In his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office in January of 1989, President Ronald Reagan defined a phrase he had made popular during his political career, “a shining city upon a hill.” Reagan saw the United States of America as that “shining city upon a hill,” because America was an example to the whole world of a beacon of freedom. In November of 2001, less than two months after the infamous attacks on America in which terrorists used commercial airplanes to kill nearly three thousand people, then President George W. Bush famously said, “Overtime it’s going to be important for nations to know they will be held accountable for inactivity. You’re either with us or against us in the fight against terror.”
All three of these presidents of the United States quoted Jesus Christ with these statements. In all three of these statements, the respective presidents were speaking of the United States and its fight against evil. In all three of these statements, Jesus spoke about his heavenly kingdom and its fight against evil.
It’s not necessarily wrong to quote Jesus to make a point about an earthly matter. Jesus often used earthly examples to make heavenly points. Yet, it is remarkable how consistently Jesus’ words concerning spiritual matters are used to focus on earthly matters that are far less pressing.
Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? People speak of “the right side of history” and the “wrong side of history.” Everyone wants to be found on the right side of history. No one wants to be found on the wrong side of history. But what is the right side and what is the wrong side of history? Who are our enemies? China? Russia? Iran? Democrats? Republicans? The coronavirus? Is America the beacon of all that is good? How do you know whether you are on the right side?
Jesus makes clear who our true enemy is. It is Satan. He is the liar, who tempts all people into sin and unbelief. He led our race into death and damnation. He comes to murder and scatter Jesus’ sheep. The Jews called him, “Beelzebul” meaning, “Lord of the Flies,” a term of derision that didn’t take Satan seriously. And Satan isn’t taken seriously today. When people think of their top ten problems, Satan usually doesn’t make the list. If you were to suggest that Satan were our greatest enemy in public, you would likely be looked at as a lunatic. Yet, Satan is real. And he has real influence on this earth. He is the true enemy. And Jesus came to conquer him.
Jesus conquered Satan by rescuing us from his clutches. Satan’s goal is for us all to go to hell and be separated from God forever. This is why he lied to Eve those many years ago. That is why he lies to us today. All people are born under Satan’s power, as St. Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 2, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)
That is the situation we are all in from birth. This is why we needed to be rescued. Satan is the strongman, who guards his own palace. We are the goods he tries to keep in his control. Jesus is the stronger man, who comes and disarms the strong man and divides his spoil. Jesus did this by himself becoming a human being. Yet, when Satan attacked him to lead him to sin, Jesus did not fall. He remained obedient to God. Then Jesus took on the sins that plagued all mankind, and he died for them as if he himself committed them. Jesus silenced Satan’s accusations against us by taking our place under the Law and by being punished in our place. When Jesus was raised from the dead and exited the tomb, he left all our sins nailed to the cross. That means he left all of Satan’s lifework along with all his armor that he trusted in nailed to that cross. Jesus won. Satan lost.
And we share in Jesus’ victory through faith in him. It requires no works on our part. We don’t conquer Satan with our own holiness. Rather, we receive Jesus’ victory over Satan as a pure gift when we believe that God forgives all our sins for Christ’s sake. We are saved by grace! Jesus fights for us here and now.
We witnessed Jesus fight last Sunday when Bayla was baptized. We saw the very finger of God at work. Yes, they seemed like plain words spoken and ordinary water poured. But they were God’s words. And they carried with them the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Satan, who held Bayla captive was expelled. He was disarmed and sent away and his goods were taken from him. And that is what happened when each of you were baptized. The power of Baptism is the finger of God: God’s holy Word, specifically the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Yet, Jesus has a warning for us. When an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none, it returns to the place where it was cast out and when it finds it swept and put in order, it goes and finds seven more demons more wicked than itself and the last state of that person is worse than the first. This is why babies who are baptized need to continue to be filled with the Word of God. Baptism drives out unclean spirits. So, the Holy Spirit must take their place. Where the Holy Spirit is, there is Jesus. Jesus must abide with that child.
It is a perversion of the Gospel to say that because Jesus forgives our sins apart from our works, we can continue to sin without fear. Holy Scripture says, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:1-4)
By the finger of God, that is, by the power of God’s Word, specifically the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which comes to us through words, God drives out Satan and his minions from us. He does this by forgiving our sins and giving us his Holy Spirit. Yet, when we do not continue in his word and do not walk by the Spirit, then Satan and his minions come back to claim their former place. The state of a former Christian is worse than his state before he was a Christian. This is why we do not just get our babies baptized. We baptize them and then we teach them every day of their lives the words and promises of their Savior Jesus. This is why we who have had our sins forgiven continue to be filled with God’s grace, so that there is no room in us for Satan.
Christians should not partake in sinful behavior. St. Paul warns, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.” Use your mind to think on God and his word. Use your mouth to confess Christ and sing his praises. When you do that your mind will not have room for impure thoughts. And your mouth will not have an opportunity to speak crudely.
God’s house cannot be divided, so we must not use our bodies, which are the temple of the Holy Spirit, to do what is evil. And Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” We also must remember that we cannot be neutral between God and Satan. There is no neutral ground. Silence in the face of evil is condoning evil. The man had a mute demon. This was an especially evil thing. The man could not praise his God or confess his Savior. Satan kept him silent.
Jesus says, “Whoever confesses me before men, him also will I confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever is ashamed of me before men, of him also will I be ashamed before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32; Luke 9:26) And St. Paul says, “With the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:10) Our faith causes us to confess. We don’t just hold our faith privately in our hearts. We confess our faith. We acknowledge God with our lips.
Jesus warns against complacency and apathy. Jesus doesn’t drive Satan out of your heart, so that your heart will remain empty. He drives Satan from your heart, so that your heart will be filled with the Holy Spirit, faith in Christ, and love for your neighbor. Faith in Christ brings us to repentance every day. We seek to avoid sin. We seek to do good to our neighbor, to be patient with those who might annoy us, to forgive those who sin against us. We flee those sins that drag us away from Christ, lest Satan take hold of our hearts yet again.
Jesus wants us to be aware, that we are currently under assault from the devil. He doesn’t want to give up his palace without a fight. If he sees an opening, he will try to barge his way in. Yet, Jesus also tells us that we have a weapon that wards off Satan; a weapon that does not fail. This weapon is the finger of God, which is the very Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have the cross of Christ on which all our sins are nailed along with Satan’s armor. We have our Baptism through which God drove Satan out of us. We have the Lord’s Supper by which we commune with the very body and blood that conquered Satan here on this earth. We cling to the Gospel of Christ in order to drive Satan away from us and to keep us from sin.
A woman cried out “Blessed by the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed.” She was speaking of the Virgin Mary. Mary is certainly blessed beyond all women, having born our Savior. Yet, she is truly blessed, because she trusted in Jesus. Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
“Keep it” means to guard it. We guard our faith in Jesus Christ, because Jesus is our champion over Satan. We don’t get tired of Jesus. We don’t get bored with his words. We need his forgiveness every day. We need his wisdom every waking hour. He fends off Satan for us by strengthening our faith. And he undoes Satan’s work by forgiving our sins. When we guard the promises of Jesus in his word, we are on the right side. We are united with Christ. And no foe will ever divide us. Amen.

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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

Soldiers in Christ's Kingdom

The Finger of God Prevents Apostasy

Casting Out Satan

The Great Exorcism of Baptism

Being on the Right Side

Rev. James Preus

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