It’s Time to Renounce the Devil
Luke 11:14-28
March 3, 2024 anno Domini
In the ancient church this Sunday was a Sunday of decision. It was a Sunday to pick sides. In the infant church most people came to the faith as adults through preaching. Christianity was new on the scene. People were hearing of this Jesus guy who died and rose from the dead – a real god who actually did something for His people. They believed. Once they believed they entered into the catechumenate – they became students of the faith under their pastors. The season of Lent served as the last days of their catechesis. At the Easter Vigil, at midnight they confessed the Apostles’ Creed, prayed the Lord’s Prayer, were baptized and received the Lord’s Supper for the first time – in the first minutes of Easter.
This Third Sunday in Lent was for them the Sunday of renouncing the Devil. You’ve heard the questions at baptisms and on confirmation. Do you renounce the Devil? Do you renounce all his works? Do you renounce all his ways?
For those earliest believers those were serious questions. They had been pagans. They had enjoyed the Devil. They did his works and loved his ways. On this Sunday they were asked to turn their back on their former way of life, which meant turning their back on family and friends who still loved the Devil. It made them criminals in the Roman Empire. It also meant that the Devil who had left them alone would now target them.
Today’s Epistle was chosen to preach their new reality. At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. The Gospel was chosen to show that there is no in-between with Satan and Jesus. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” You cannot enjoy evil or sin and belong to Jesus.
So, what does this ancient practice mean for us? First the ancients would probably mock us for not taking the Devil seriously. How many of us answered those questions when our children were baptized or when we were confirmed without a thought of the Devil’s very real presence and how careful we should be as to his dark tricks. If you ever want to read a great book about the Devil’s tactics read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. It’s a book of letters from a journeyman demon to his demon apprentice on how to get Christians away from Jesus.
You could also learn his tactics just from looking at your own life. How has Satan kept you away from church on any given Sunday? He taught you that your children’s sports, your work, your leisure, your sleep are more important than your Lord and Savior. How has Satan kept you away from God’s Word? By giving you a screen to waste hours a day. By making the Bible so common and so abundant you take it for granted. By giving you all sorts of romance, thriller, science-fiction books that are way more exciting. By entertaining you so that you have forgotten how to read and are bored with it. How has Satan kept you from walking in the light? By making you afraid of the darkness so that you are quiet about the lies that are being preached and practiced in our government, in our schools, and in our hospitals. Abortion is not healthcare. It is murder. Pornography is not literature for grade school libraries. It is deadly poison to women, men, and marriages. Going against God leaves a mess. In Vitro Fertilization has left us with babies outside the womb. They are not embryos. They are human. Now what do we do? Did anyone not consider this?
Did no Christian with a Bible stand up and say, “Wait a minute. We can do this, but should we? What does God’s Word say?” Where you have been silent, whether in your own house or in the public square, repent. Now, I’ve got it easy. I get paid the big bucks to speak God’s Word from the pulpit. You don’t. You are expected to declare your loyalty out there – wherever that is. Do you renounce the Devil and all his works and all his ways?
You don’t have it easy, but you do have Jesus and He has you and Jesus beat the Devil at every turn. On these first three Sundays in Lent we see the Devil and His demons taking it on the chin. On Lent 1 Jesus turned back the Devil’s temptations with the Word of God (which should encourage you to read and memorize God’s Word). You don’t need a permit or a license to openly carry the Sword of Spirit and to wield it against evil. I’ve never seen a sign that read, “God’s Word is not allowed in this building.” It might be an unwritten rule but plead ignorance when you gun down the world’s lies with the truth of God.
Last Sunday, Jesus set a girl free from demon oppression without even being with her. Her mother’s faith held Jesus to His promises with her prayer. That ought to teach you to pray boldly. Hold God to His promises. Pray against evil, pray for the conversion or destruction of God’s enemies. That’s another weapon in your arsenal against the Devil. Pray with your children and grandchildren. How else will they know how to pray if you don’t teach them?
Today Jesus cast out a demon who made a man mute. We should pray that Jesus does the same for us. Has the Devil got your tongue? Are you afraid to speak the truth to the lie? Are you worried that if you shine light into the darkness, you might reveal Whose you are? Repent.
Near the end of today’s Gospel reading Jesus encourages us and warns us by reminding us of what the Holy Spirit did in our baptisms. In Holy Baptism the Holy Spirit exorcised you. He evicted the evil spirits in you to make room for Himself. The waters of baptism sent that spirit into a waterless place. The Devil doesn’t like baptism because it gives you Jesus. It forgives your sins. It makes you God’s child. It gives you eternal life and hope for the resurrection. The Devil can’t stand life and hope and forgiveness. He cannot stand people who belong to the family of God and who are pro-family. Loners are much easier for him to pick off.
Once your house is cleaned in baptism there is warning. If you leave the house empty, if Jesus isn’t there, if you are not filled up with Christ and His Word, you’re ripe for some new and unwanted tenants. The demon comes back and brings his friends.
I hesitate to baptize children whose parents don’t come to church, and this verse is one reason. Baptism saves, just like conception gives life, but if a child is separated from the womb through abortion or if a mother abandons her child behind a dumpster, life ceases. Baptism saves because Christ dwells in you by faith, but if you don’t stay wet by living in your baptism, by confessing your sins and receiving forgiveness you’re an easy target. If you don’t eat Christ’s body and blood your faith can not grow and live. Your house is empty and it will soon be occupied by seven friendly but deadly demons. In the words of Jesus, when this happens, the last state of that person is worse than the first.
If my sermon has made you uncomfortable I’ve accomplished my goal. I don’t think those ancient Christians found it comforting to renounce the Devil, his works and his ways. They were probably terrified of what Monday would bring as they walked in the light of Christ through this dark world. Yet, they renounced the Devil, because while he is a likeable fellow, all he does is steal, kill, and destroy. You have Christ and He has you. He took your sins and in the waters of baptism His Spirit gave you His death and resurrection. In His supper He gives you the rich food of His body and the elixir of life in His blood. The devil lies and steals. Christ promises and delivers. Renounce the Devil and stay wet with the water of your baptism. In the name of Jesus. Amen.