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One of the truly great expositions of the meaning of Christ’s incarnation is to be found in John Milton’s Christmas poem, “Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.” With gentle and peaceable words and images the Puritan poet paints the sweetness of Christ’s birth amid a welcoming creation. The salvation of men is assured by the incarnation of Christ, even though much work remains before that salvation is accomplished.
All creation rejoices in the coming of Christ – except, of course, the false gods and pagan deities of unbelieving men. These – whether Egyptian, Greek, Roman, or pagan of any stripe, are not at all pleased at the coming of the Savior and flee for their lives at the announcement of His birth. And, in the deepest depths of hell, Satan, the arch-deceiver and architect of every false worldview and religion, paces helplessly in his lair, swinging his tail anxiously back and forth.
In fact, Jesus did come to torment the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places, but not merely to torment them. He came to destroy them.
The great work of the devil is to deceive the nations (Rev. 12:9). We must not think that the devil is active in his power only where we find examples of Satan worship, demon possession, or occult practices. These are mere demonstrations of his power, feints in a larger strategy to overwhelm the world by deception.
The devil is particularly active wherever well-meaning people make choices and settle into lifestyles that contradict the holy and righteous and good Law of God. When men believe that abortion is a good thing, sexual license is a personal matter, lying and cheating are just a way of getting what you want in life, others exist to make me happy, money and things are the measure of happiness and success, and that one person’s view of truth is just as valid as another’s, there the devil is in full-blown assault, all his guns blazing and all his forces in the field.
The fact that, in our day, presidents, judges, academics, scientists, financiers, leaders in business and the professions, and most people you and I know believe such things as these indicates that the devil, rather than fleeing for the high ground, has found an open field of battle to work his will.
But once let the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Truth of Jesus be proclaimed and lived in every area of life, and the devil cannot resist the Truth that sets men free. The battle for Truth has been engaged. It remains to be seen whether those who hold that Truth in the earthen vessels of frail flesh will go forth to trouble the devil and his henchmen.
Start your own ViewPoint discussion group. This week’s series is available in a free downloadable format, suitable for personal or group study. Download the series, "VP Truth That Troubles".
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
VP Truth That Troubles
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