We Don't Have to "Prove" the Devil Wrong

Christ is our Advocate against "the Accuser" - 1 John 2:1

In Revelation 12, Satan (the devil) is called "the accuser of the brethren". What he does, is he searches for sin in our lives and goes and tattle tales on us to God. Kind of like in a courtroom, the devil brings charges against us before the throne of God. He presents evidence of our guilt before God. If we're honest, he doesn't have to look very hard to find evidence that we are guilty of breaking God's laws.

I once heard a sermon where this topic of Scripture was used and this man ended his sermon by telling this group of teenagers to "go out into the world and prove the devil wrong this week". Most of the sermon was focused on the devil and who he is and what he does and how bad everyone is because of the devil. I'll give the guy some credit because he did mention that Jesus is our Advocate - 1 John 2:1 - (like our Defense Attorney) before God when the devil brings his accusations to the courtroom. But then, the guy missed the application of this truth completely.

We don't have to "prove the devil wrong". Jesus proves him wrong for us. When we become Christians, then Christ's life becomes our life. His perfection becomes our perfection. His holiness becomes our holiness. So that when we stand before God, we are seen as spotless and blameless children. God doesn't just see us as forgiven sinners. He sees us as if we had never done anything wrong at all. He sees us as if we had done everything perfectly our entire lives. Because He sees us the way He sees Jesus. Jesus never did anything wrong. Jesus did everything perfectly. This is the doctrine of justification.

Not only did Jesus do everything perfectly and live a sinless life for us, He also took the penalty for our sinful lives. This is called propitiation - 1 John 2:2. Jesus absorbed the wrath of God that was directed towards us because of our sin. The devil isn't just looking to accuse us before God. The devil also wants us to be punished for our sins. Jesus took the punishment for our sins though.

So when we stumble, when we mess up, when we sin, and the devil brings the evidence before God hoping that God will pour out His wrath upon us, Jesus stands there as our Advocate saying "That one is mine. He belongs to me. I got him covered. He is not guilty. I paid for His sin."

Here is why we don't need to "prove the devil wrong". If we go out and try to perform perfectly and be good, then we are falling into the devil's trap. This is one of his schemes to get us to be trapped in sin. By getting us occupied in trying to prove ourselves, we are distracted from relying on the perfection Christ has provided. By getting us to work hard and perform the good Christian routine, we get lost in figuring out how we are doing, and miss out on walking by faith and trusting God.

Romans 14:23 - For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
By getting us to rely on ourselves for performance and walking by faith in Jesus, the devil tricks us into sinning.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
By getting us to try to do it ourselves, the devil gets us to not trust in the grace and goodness of God, leading us to say "look at what I have done" and as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil (James 4:16).

So how do we not "prove the devil wrong"???

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

The whole armor of God in Ephesians 6 describes the person that has complete trust and faith in Christ for their salvation, their righteousness, their salvation, their standing before God and that person reminds themselves through prayer, Scripture study, and quality time with other Christians that Christ is our Advocate.

How do I know when I am repenting?

I was asked the question once, "How do we know when we are repenting?", and that got me thinking pretty hard. First, I had to define repentance. If I want to know if I am doing something, then I need to know what that something is. Throughout Scripture, we see repentance as a change in the affections that leads to a change in behavior.

We can repent when we recognize that we have sinned against God. We realize it in our minds that what we have done is evil and against God's law, we realize it in our hearts as we have lost affections for God, and we realize it in our actions as we are performing evil deeds. Upon realizing we are in sin, we repent by turning away from sin and turning towards God with our mind's attention, our heart's affections, and a change in our actions.

When Jesus began His public ministry, He busted on the scene preaching "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

Repent from immorality, repent from heresy and blasphemy, repent from believing in false gods, repent from believing in ourselves, repent and BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL!!!

What does it mean to believe in the Gospel??

John Piper puts it this way -

"If I believe that Jesus is the Son of God the same way that I believe that Vladimir Putin is the leader of Russia, have I fulfilled the conditions needed to be saved? Or is there more to belief than that?

We know that it doesn't fulfill the conditions, because the devil believes it. And we know that the devil believes it because when Jesus came into the world and began to confront the demonic powers of the Devil, they said out loud, "We know who you are. You are the holy one of God. You are the Son of God." So the Devil is absolutely orthodox in his belief in the incarnation of the Son of God in Jesus Christ. To believe in orthodox Christology is not to be saved. The Devil is very orthodox when it comes to his understanding of Christ.

So what is missing is not believing in the fact that Jesus is the Son of God but delighting in that fact, embracing that fact, and making Christ the treasure and the Lord of your life by surrendering to him.

In other words, "belief" is seeing him for who he really is, seeing him as infinitely valuable as the Son of God. It's not just acknowledging the fact that he is the Son but also seeing him as infinitely precious and valuable. Satan, on the other hand, does not view God as precious and valuable. He hates Christ and Christ is a threat to his own value.

But when the Holy Spirit begins to work in our lives we're not deceived like that anymore. We recognize that our value is nothing compared to Jesus' value. Instead, we just want to know him, be with him, enjoy him, follow him, and celebrate him. That transition—that change of heart, so that we are now looking away from ourselves to Christ and embracing all that God is for us in him—that is what faith is. That is what belief is. That is what saves."

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

There is a change in the desires of our heart, a change in the realities of our mind, and a change in how we live. We surrender ourselves, all of us, all of our being to the Lordship of Christ. Apart from this absolute surrender, then repentance is not real. Apart from believing in the Gospel, repentance is not real.

Here are a few practical ways from the Scriptures that we can check to see if we are repenting.

1. 2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.

The first thing we want to do is a heart check. We need to ask ourselves this question. Are we banking on the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as our only hope for eternal life? or are we banking on our own righteousness? Many times, we will get so caught up in trying to repent, that we will focus on our progress in repentance and not on the finished work of Christ.

2. Joh 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Jesus, the night before He faces the cross, sits down with His disciples and tells them numerous things concerning what it means to truly be a Christian. He speaks of prayer, abiding in God's word, serving one another, having the Holy Spirit with us, suffering, obedience, and much more. We can look at these things Jesus said and examine our lives by them. The question here is, do I have joy in knowing Christ? Maybe I'm not always chipper. Maybe I have bouts with depression. Maybe life is hitting me too hard right now. But do I have joy in Christ? Do I have a deep and abiding satisfaction in knowing and being known by Jesus?

3. 1Jn 1:6-7 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

John writes to a group of suffering believers. Within their church, there is hypocrisy, heresy, blasphemy, and the government is trying to kill them. John reminds them of the Gospel and he says that through prayer, fellowship with other believers, confession, Bible study, honesty, loving relationships, and other practical implications of the Gospel, they can endure. Am I walking in the light? Am I allowing God to expose me for who I really am? or am I hiding from God and from people and pretending to be someone I'm not?

These are just a few practical ways to know if we are repenting, but there are many more. The main thing is - Are we satisfied in Christ alone? Our life will reveal if we are or not.

Training is Crucial

How often have you witnessed a young person being thrust into a crucial leadership position before he or she is ready for the task? I typically witness this happening with the role of Youth Pastor. Perhaps the church is desperately seeking to fill the position and out of desperation they place someone in this role in hopes that the program would remain on life support just a little longer before it finally dies. Most of the time, I see this happen with members within the church. They show up on a weekly basis, therefore, they are automatically qualified to be a pastor (and then we wonder why the sermons suck and kids stop coming?) On the job is not always the best place to learn how to preach. Am I saying you should not preach unless you can communicate like Andy Stanley? No. Am I saying your first sermon will not suck if undergo training beforehand? No, it will still suck. But, you will have a better understanding of the Biblical roles of a pastor by undergoing training underneath another qualified leader. I wholeheartedly belief in some type of internship & mentoring program. We repeatedly see this throughout the Bible: such as Jesus and the 12, Paul and Titus/Timothy. And I believe this should be a lengthy process before you actually serve as a pastor. It should take longer than it takes for you to learn how to bag groceries at Kroeger. Jesus and Paul each spent years with their young mentorees. Becoming a pastor should be a lengthy process. You need the proper training. You need to understand what you are getting yourself into (the dropout rate for pastors is astounding). You need to know how to prepare sermons, counsel, deal with various issues, and learn to work with people. You need to have deep rooted doctrine which only comes with time.

I understand this post does not make much sense coming from a 23 year old. I began serving as a youth pastor at just 22 years of age. Do I believe I was ready for this? Yes. Here's why.... I served as an intern at 3 churches. I began training in sermon preparation at 17 years of age and preached my first sermon shortly after turning 18. I had four years of preaching experience before I took my first job/position as a pastor. I had the opportunity to run the services, counsel students, and teach at the churches I interned for. Most importantly, I was able to sit under the leadership of many godly men who cared for me. Their commitment to my training and my personal growth as a leader was amazing. My ability to lead is a direct result of their commitment to the Kingdom.

Is seminary necessary? No. I do believe you can be a great pastor without ever taking any seminary courses. With that being said, I highly recommend you go to seminary. I fancy myself an educated man, but I still have the desire and need to continue my education so that I can lead my people well. I'm preparing to begin my first semester as we speak. I believe you should be actively involved in ministry as you take classes. Nobody needs an idealist that doesn't know how to actually practice their theories in the church. My advice: If you are not currently seeking to grow your knowledge concerning theology and doctrine, there is not point in going to seminary. You must have the personal desire to grow in your knowledge. You must be disciplined with your studies outside of demands of an institution of higher learning.

But what if they're passionate about leading? All the passion in the world doesn't make it O.k. They're a lot of passionate people who just got it wrong due to ignorance. We need young men who are willing to serve as pastors. We need young men who are willing to put in the time it takes to learn how to serve.

And please don't message me asking if I am talking about you personally. Chances are, I'm probably not. If you're reading this, you're probably not the type of people I'm referring to. But if you are, go find a pastor and train under him for a long time. Shut up and do it. Don't send me a long email telling me how much you know about Max Lucado books or how you just learned what TULIP stands for. If you've never had a job before, pastoring probably shouldn't be your first. If you can't shave yet, pastoring probably shouldn't be your first job. If you can't hold a job, failed out of college because you were lazy, or play XBOX all day while eating Cheetos, pastoring probably shouldn't be your first job. If you are a coward and afraid of people, pastoring is not the job for you. If you constantly seek to please people, if you refuse to tell the truth even if it means you may hurt someones feelings and they never come back, pastoring probably isn't the job for you. As Paul Washer would say, "Gospel ministry isn't for cowards. Preaching may be a job for wild men and crazy people, but it's not for cowards."

Serve well and die slowly. We need a few good men.

-Daniel