A Threat to Satan’s Kingdom

John MacArthur once wrote:

“…if you’ve slipped into spiritual complacency and your life isn’t much of a threat to Satan’s kingdom, you need to repent and become more zealous for the Lord!” (From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993)

Zeal for the Lord can come in many ways: never missing a day of church, heading out to every mission and signing up for every church event is something most new Christians will find themselves doing. This type of zeal for the Lord is definitely commendable for a new Christian, and we should be thankful our passion is not directed for things of the world.

However if we are not careful we may make the mistake of confusing zeal with narcissism – always wanting attention and doing things that can be seen by others. In fact, I once knew of a person who used to sit in the center of the congregation just so people could see he’s at attendance. Some jump at every chance to speak up in church, while others make sure to take part of anything that can be seen by other parishioners.

No matter what type of zeal we may display, one things for certain if our zeal is not much of a threat to Satan’s kingdom then it is more likely we may have slipped into…as MacArthur puts it, “spiritual complacency.”

But what is it to be a threat to Satan’s Kingdom? Some believe that displaying “love” will alone conquer Satan and his demons. However as Paul reminds us our “love” needs to be WITHOUT HYPOCRISY, HATING what is evil and CLINGING to what is good (cf. Romans 12:9) .

“Hating evil (or sin)” does not mean we ought to hate the actual person who live a sinful lifestyle, Jesus did not show hate when encountering the prostitute at the well, or the many other sinners who through His mercy healed. Rather it is to hate their sin and in mercy do whatever it takes to snatch them from their sins, saving them from the fiery flames of eternal torment – as Jude reminds us:

“…save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.” (Jude 1:23)

Having said that, we need to keep in mind that hating sin means who should not take part; encourage; and support any type of sinful act. For example, we cannot say we have the Love of the Lord yet support false teachings; we cannot proclaim He is Greater than I, yet live in sin;  and we cannot call ourselves Christians yet encourage immoral behavior. That’s not loving holiness and hating sin, that’s superficial, delusional, and even worst – hypocritical.

Do you love the Lord? Do you TRULY see Him as Greater than you? Is Jesus Christ your One and Only Rock? Then as the Psalmist and the writer of Proverbs reminds us: “Hate evil, you who love the Lord” (Psalm 97:10) and “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (Prov. 8:13).

This my friends is the beginning of being A Threat to Satan’s Kingdom.

Think About It.