“[God the Father] disarmed the rulers and authorities [that is, Satan and his demons] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in [Jesus Christ]” (Colossians 2:15). Yesterday my Finnish missionary colleague Rev. Pasi Palmu and I visited an Iranian couple here in Hamburg who are members of our church. Iranians are very hospitable, and so they immediately brought out tea, dates, and cookies. The lady had just finished attending an online class on spiritual warfare (taught by a Pentecostal Iranian pastor in Dallas, Texas). Thinking that it might be helpful to round out that video teaching, I reminded her that our best defenses against Satan are Holy Baptism and our frequent reception of the Lord’s Supper—plus daily Bible reading. She heartily agreed. Her husband offered an illustration, explaining that Satan is always threatening us Christians by accusing us before the Father. The devil tries to fan into flame any embers of guilt for old sins for which Jesus has long since forgiven us. Satan is always pointing a gun at us, as it were. But, the husband added, Satan’s revolver has no bullets. Jesus removed them by dying for our sins and defeating the devil’s greatest weapons over us: death—and his attempts to stoke a guilty conscience in us (which might cause us to stay away from church, so we would not receive Christ’s Absolution, and the forgiveness of our sins in the Lord’s Supper). Sadly, there are many Christians who are unaware that Satan no longer has power over us, and so they fall for his deception, the husband explained. I had to smile because that was an illustration that I had used in class just a few weeks ago. But no matter, it is still true: Satan’s gun is useless because his “bullets”—along with your sins and mine—lie at the foot of the cross. Praise God, Jesus disarmed the enemy!
The Tiews in Germany 