I had a cool conversation on the drive over to PA with another Lutheran blogger, when the topic of spiritual warfare came up.
While we are on this side of the Parousia we still deal with our sinful nature. It would not surprise me if active forces were in play to stir up dreams or pull the stunts Satan pulled on Job.
These forces are employed for the same reason Satan sets up shop in the human organizations of the Christian church: to get people to stop believing on the name of the Lord.
We have one thing on this earth that we know is from God and of God: his Word. While following the prescriptions God has set in his Ten Commandments and other places would indeed result in a semblance of good order, Christianity does not promise prosperity, miraculous healing, or even that one will have a day free of difficulties. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived,” Paul writes in 2 Tim. 3:12-13.
On a related note, I have heard it said on more than one occasion, “There are people around this church who are in pain and need Christ.” Of that, I have no doubt. There are also people who are not in pain and yet need Christ. There are also people in pain that are already Christians.
EMS Star of Life
We do not evangelize to relieve people of pain. We feel compassion for each other and thus heal and bear each other’s burdens. Healing others may grant opportunities to discuss the existence of God, which we hope then eventually leads to the evangel. Pain is an indicator that we are still dealing with sin, but it is not a quantifier of sin.
We evangelize to rob Hell of as many residents as possible, through Word and Sacrament, through Law and Gospel, through justification and sanctification, through the forgiveness of sins.
No matter how we are troubled or how good we feel, all of us have THE problem, and all of us need Christ.
The Devil will let you feel wonderful, if it will lead you away from the Word. He will let you have U2 and clowns in worship; just stay away from that Jesus guy and what he’s done for us. He will offer you all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. They are not his to give, but that hasn’t stopped the liar before.
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