The servant’s paradox: Part II

Is the Devil defeated? Well, yes—but, no.

Do Christians stop sinning? No—but, yes.

Are their leaders to blame? Of course not, but, umm … yeah.

This month, let’s look at a few paradoxes to do with the ‘now and not yet’ nature of Christian life and service. We live in the resurrection age, but the resurrected and ascended Christ has not yet been revealed as the ruler of the world. As a result, the victory of good over evil—righteousness over sin—is still veiled. There’s a tension that we all know. It affects our understanding of the devil, our own sin, and the role of church leaders in calling people to repent.

Paradox: The devil is defeated, but he is powerful

There is nothing to fear from the devil for those who belong to Christ. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil”, teaches 1 John 3:8. James 4:7b says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Jesus’ death destroyed the power of the devil (Heb 2:14), so you would think he was out of action.

However, the Bible also teaches that the devil is still powerful. There is still a spiritual war going on, even though Jesus has secured victory through his death and resurrection. In evangelical churches, we sometimes err on the side of underestimating the influence of supernatural beings on our lives. In Ephesians 6:10-12, Paul takes it very seriously:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour 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.

The devil is still at work, opposing the gospel and God’s people. There are numerous New Testament warnings to make sure we avoid his traps. 1 Timothy 3:6-7 teaches that new converts are vulnerable; 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 talks about not being outwitted by the devil; 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that he prowls around preying on the unwatchful.

The devil is defeated, but he is a wounded loser, hoping to destroy the lives of the Lord’s people as he heads towards his own fate—judgement in the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). We ought not to be afraid of him, because we are in the victor’s camp; but we ought not to be complacent either.

Paradox: God’s people will change for the better, but they will sin

The devil must be resisted, and so must sin itself. The New Testament teaches us that we will be successful in our quest to resist sin, because our hearts have been changed by the gospel and the Spirit of God. Paul is certain of it: “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thess 1:4-5).

The gospel makes a real difference in the battle against sin. And God promises to change us to be more like Christ: he will complete the good work he began in us when he saved us (Phil 1:6).

However, the New Testament also assures us that God’s people will continue to sin. We will rebel against God; we will let each other down; we will even let ourselves down regularly. Thank the Lord that he knows this to be so, and that the gospel of Jesus is powerful enough to deal with the sin that still ruins our lives:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)

Tragically, we should also expect that people will walk away from Christ altogether. We have to take the parable of the sower seriously: not all are good soil. There will be people who hear the gospel and throw their hats in the air enthusiastically, only to fade away.

We have to expect the paradox of change: it happens in both directions. The gospel will transform people, but people will sin, and some will walk away. In your church life, you will see both happening.

Paradox: Leaders are not responsible for people’s battle with sin … but they are

How could a church leader be responsible for an individual’s behaviour towards God? After all, people sin against God, they make their own decisions, we believe that their spiritual status is not mediated by a priest or anyone else, and the Bible teaches that the soul who sins is the one who shall die (see Ezek 18:20). Aren’t they responsible for themselves?

Well, yes and no. The Bible also teaches that ministers of the word of God have strong duties of responsibility to those to whom they minister. They are to be ‘shepherds’ who are “keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Heb 13:17).

But this responsibility has a limit. In Acts 20:25-26, Paul declares that he is not responsible for the fate of those he has served: “And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you …”

Why is he so certain he is not responsible? “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God”. It seems to follow on from God’s warnings to Ezekiel (Ezek 3:16ff; 33:1-9), that the responsibility of God’s ‘watcher’ is to warn people to repent. In the New Testament, this is made clearer: repent and believe the gospel.

So is a church pastor, or Bible study group leader, responsible for the sin, repentance and righteousness of those under his care? Only as far as he is responsible to teach them the whole counsel of God. But what a responsibility that is!

Exercise

What practical steps can we take to live with these paradoxes? Here are three questions to discuss among your church leaders:

  • Do we give too much or too little credence to the devil’s threats in our church?
  • Do we have unrealistic expectations of our people? Do we expect them to be perfect? Or are we too slack in our expectations of their godliness?
  • Are our church leaders too responsible for the lives of those in their care? Or are they not responsible enough?

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