I can still remember where I was. Standing in my parents’ living room, watching planes fly into buildings, only to see the Twin Tower collapse into the streets of lower Manhattan. The day was September 11, 2001. Of all that happened on that day, and all that came from it, my mind still remembers the effect it had on our nation—unity. On that clear September day, our nation would unite together across party lines, ethnic nationalities, and even religious beliefs, to fight a common enemy — Osama Bin Laden (i.e., global terrorism). We did not fight each other, but the enemy of the people, of American liberty and ideals. We were together in the fight.
I cannot help but think of how such a united fight of a common enemy applies to the people of God. Christians have a common enemy too, and it’s not one another. It’s the devil himself. He is the “accuser of our brothers,” (Rev. 12:10). It is he who has been a “murderer from the beginning,” and the “father of lies,” (John 8:44) and has come “only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). Though he was a defeated foe at Calvary’s cross, his “lake of fire” still awaits (Rev. 20:10). This age-old snake still bites, and he has a taste for every one of us.
To be sure, the Christian life is one of walking with Jesus and not fighting the devil. We are to “resist” him (James 4:7), not fight him. That’s Jesus’s job. But at the same time, we are not to be “outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Cor. 2:11) We are to put on the “armor of God” (Eph. 6:10-20). We are to have our spiritual heads on a swivel, not suffer from self-wounds, and certainly not hand over the battle to the adversary of the soul. In volume one of his book The Christian in Complete Armour, William Gurnall writes,
If you want to be protected from your enemy as a troubler, you must take heed of him as a seducer. You can be sure he takes heed of you! The handle of the hatchet with which he chops at the root of the Christian’s comfort is commonly made of the Christian’s own wood. Satan is only a creature and cannot work without tools. He can indeed make much from a little, but he cannot make anything out of nothing. (108)
The devil is a strategist, a schemer, a seducer and at times, even a “sifter.” Just ask Peter (Luke 22:31). Just as “no temptation has overtaken [us] that is not common to man” (1 Cor. 10:13), so do Christians have a common enemy—the devil. In his paper entitled “Our Profession” published in The Upper Room, J.C. Ryle sobers his readers with his description of the devil —
a constant enemy to the Christian’s soul. That great sleepless, and unwearied foe is always labouring [sic] to do us harm. It is his constant object to wound, hurt, vex, injure, or weaken, if he cannot kill and destroy. He is an unseen enemy who is always near us, ‘about our path, and about our bed,’ and spying out all our ways, prepared to suit his temptations to the special weak points of every man. He knows us far better than we know ourselves. He has been studying one book for 6,000 years, the book of fallen human nature, and he is and he is a spirit of almost boundless subtlety and cunning, and of boundless malice. The best of saints has little idea how many vile suggestions in his heart come from the devil, and what a restless adversary stands at his right hand. (187)
In light of the Scripture’s teaching on the nature of the devil and the subject of spiritual warfare, and the further testimony of mature saints now past, I’d like to ask a question: what practical heart postures can Christians take to both spiritually unite together while protecting the glory of Christ in the local church from the diabolical threats within and without? Let me suggest a few that seem most obvious.
1. Major on kingdom ventures.
Jesus tells us to “seek first the Kingdom” (Matt. 6:33). Ultimately, we are to be about the ministry of “making disciples” (Matt. 28:19). We are to teach, mentor, serve, coach, lead, and help—all with today and “that day” in mind (2 Tim. 4:8). We have a common enemy, but we also have a common mission. However, a distracted Christian is no threat to the devil (1 Cor. 3:13). We are not to overlook distraction as one of Satan’s key “schemes” (Eph. 6:11). If we’re not careful, we can spend a lot of energy on things that just won’t matter in the end, being mere busybodies, active in much yet accomplishing little. We therefore do not get caught in the weeds of lesser affairs (1 Tim. 1:4; Titus 3:9). We are not to roll in the mud. There are better things to do. We only have so much time (John 9:4).
2. Focus on the soul care of others.
There are some seventeen “one another” commands in the New Testament (e.g., “serve one another,” Galatians 5:13). Jesus himself said our love for “one another” would be a mark of a true disciple (Jn. 13:35). Yet, the ‘people business’ is messy. It takes a humble grit amidst the junk drawer of the devil’s devices. Ruining a fellowship is the devil’s forte. He has a trophy case of sick, declining, inept, and dysfunctional churches. So then we are to give our lives to raising healthy churches. We are to not lose heart (2 Cor. 4:1), and it starts this Sunday. The worship gathering(s) is as vertical as it is a horizontal event (Heb. 10:25) that counts more than we know. Prepare on all sides. Saturday nights matter. Show up Sunday with a smile, and do not underestimate presence. Seize the opportunity to “serve,” to “greet,” to “love” one another. Remember, every Sunday is someone’s first Sunday, and the devil arrives early.
3. Pursue a holiness that helps.
Robert Murray M’Cheyne said, “my holiness is my greatest gift to my people.” What is true for the pulpit is true in the pew. And as the New Testament seems to indicate, the fight for holiness is often between our lips (James 3:6). That means restraining the tongue and sometimes just shutting the mouth. Backbiting, fussing, gossip, bitterness, slander, are the byproducts of undisciplined, sloppy Christianity (1 Tim. 4:8), unrestrained flesh (Col. 2:23) or even diabolical strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4). The devil sows weeds of division among wheat fields of God’s people (Matt. 13:25). Let’s not help him.
The heart postures above will work themselves out in the actions of our lives. They will serve as spiritual defense against the devil’s schemes of division, distraction and destruction. By God’s grace, let’s keep our heads on straight and on a swivel, to do our part, to take personal responsibility. Peter said, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Let’s not be the church that hands over our unity to the devil. Let’s not forfeit mid-game. We have a common enemy. Let’s act like it.
But while we’re talking about the devil, we’ll let Martin Luther’s famous quip be the last word: “the devil may be the devil, but he’s God’s devil.”
Amen.