“And crying out with a loud voice, he said, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ For [Jesus] was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’” (Mark 5:7-8). Similarly, Martin Luther teaches in his explanation of the Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come…” With some experience in spiritual warfare from my years as a parish pastor, I am sometimes invited to lecture on this topic, as was recently the case somewhere in Europe. I could tell from the attendees’ expressions that they had never heard about the ongoing attacks of the enemy against us Christians. They had no idea that we humans are like helpless infants before Satan, who is after us like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), yet that Jesus is like an atom bomb—able to blast the lion to smithereens, protecting us from the evil forces by our Holy Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and His Word. After I had finished, the host concluded: “You have opened up a brand-new world for us, and we’ll need some time to process…” Later, a lady came up to me and said somewhat sheepishly: “My whole life, I have only heard that Jesus is sweet and gentle and bids the little children to come to Him. I had no idea that He is immensely stronger than Satan.” It is the responsibility of a pastor to not only distribute the Lord’s gifts of Word and Sacrament, but also to teach his flock. Sadly, not all churches offer Bible class every Sunday, so that some Christians are poorly catechized. Is it any wonder then that some believers (even regular church goers) are confused about our faith and duped by all kinds of false teaching that ultimately emanates from Satan? If your church offers Bible class every Sunday, thank your pastor. Not every congregation is as lucky as yours.
The Tiews in Germany 