• "The Main Weapon Against the Devil is Prayer"
• Sermon for The Third Sunday in Lent
• February 27, 2005
• The Reverend Stephen C. Scarlett

The gospels for the first three Sundays in Lent have all talked about the devil or demons. On the first Sunday in Lent, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil. Last Sunday, Jesus set the daughter of a Gentile woman free from demonic harassment. In today's gospel (Luke 11:14ff, BCP p. 129) Jesus cast out a demon that made a man unable to speak.

Few people today are familiar with the phenomenon of demonic possession, though it does indeed still occur. It is usually associated with occult activity. Demonic possession mimics redemption in Christ. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us when we put our faith or trust in Jesus Christ. Demonic possession occurs when an individual puts his faith or trust in the powers of darkness.

Our faith in Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit within us does not allow demons to possess us; but we do experience demonic harassment and temptation. The powers of darkness prey upon us in weak or complacent moments. They weigh us down. They cloud our thinking. They fill us with doubt. They move us to respond quickly to worldly temptation and fleshly desire. The impulse of the demonic is ultimately suicidal. The Holy Spirit gives us the impulse to live. The demons tell us it is better to die.

The main weapon against the devil is prayer. The sixth chapter Ephesians, the most extended New Testament passage about spiritual warfare, tells us to pray "always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful...with all perseverance" (6:18). It is through the life of prayer-the frequenting of God's altar, the daily habits of adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication; the ongoing conversation with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit-that we live in the grace and strength of God and keep demonic temptation at bay.

Knowledge of biblical truth is also essential to spiritual warfare. Jesus said that the devil is "a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). The power of demonic temptation is based on our believing things that are not true. The devil gave the first humans a false picture of the consequences of disobedience. Their belief in his lie brought sin into the world.

The devil is the author of lies such as "There is no hope for me" or, "My sins are too great to be forgiven" or, "God doesn't really care if we make moral compromises." Despair and disobedience are two fruits of the devil's lies. The more we know the truth of the revelation, the more we are aware of the lies that are contrary to it. As Jesus said, "If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (8:31).

In the gospel today, Jesus addresses a more subtle demonic danger. According to Jesus, it is not enough merely to be once freed from demonic influence. Nature abhors a vacuum. The void created by the demon's departure may be filled by a greater evil-"seven spirits more wicked than himself... and the last state of that man is worse than the first."

Some of the church fathers taught that Jesus was referring to Israel. Israel was redeemed from slavery in Egypt. God purified the nation of its idolatry and gave the people the moral law. But, some fifteen hundred years later, the nation's leaders rejected Jesus, the Son of God-the savior the Exodus pointed towards. The last spiritual condition-rejection of God's messiah-was worse than the first spiritual condition of slavery in Egypt.

Such a pattern can be observed in modern churches. Many churches that once stood for the faith and brought souls to Christ now allow bishops, priests and ministers to deny the divinity of Jesus, the Resurrection and other central points of faith. This last state-rejection of Jesus-is worse than the first of unbelief because it is easier to convert a non-believer than it is to reconvert someone who once believed but now has rejected the Gospel (cf. Heb. 6:4-6).

The replacing of lesser evils with greater evils is a danger in the spiritual life. An evil vanquished by confession, forgiveness and amendment of life may come to be replaced by another, more insidious evil. For example, when a person first comes to faith, the focus of the spiritual life is often on what are called sins of the flesh-sins like gluttony and lust. Over time, however, other temptations that are more spiritual in nature arise-temptations to sins like pride, covetousness and envy.

The Christian tradition teaches that the sins of pride, covetousness and envy are more serious than the sins of lust and gluttony. The sins of the flesh are more obvious but spiritual sins can be deceptively inconspicuous. We have all learned to "Just say no" to drugs. But do you remember any popular campaigns teaching us to "Just say no to envy and covetousness?"

Jesus found friends among the tax collectors and sinners and enemies among the elite. Those guilty of obvious sins of the flesh were often well aware of their sad spiritual state and open to the prospect of being saved from it. But the religious leaders, who had fallen into subtle spiritual sins of pride and greed, were not aware of their need to be saved. As Jesus said to the chief priests and elders, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you" (Matthew 21:31).

What we see in this is that the devil works all angles. He tempts the person who is trapped in sin to despair of being saved. But he tempts the religious person to the sin of pride, to feelings of self-righteousness. For the devil, the end game is not sin per se; the end game is the separation from God that sin causes. To combat demonic temptation we must be on the lookout for it. As 1 Peter says, "Be sober, be vigilant; your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:8).

Lent teaches that Jesus has triumphed over the devil. Lent begins with Jesus resisting demonic temptation in the wilderness. Lent shows us that Jesus has the power to free people from demonic harassment and temptation. Lent ends with the triumph of Jesus over the devil on the cross.

As we become aware of demonic temptation, it should serve to strengthen our faith by causing us to depend more and more upon Christ, who saves us. As Romans says, "Be wise in what is good and innocent concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet" (16:20).