Strike Back

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” (Ro 16:20 AV)

 

Along with Paul’s words,  “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” (Eph 6:15 AV) this verse becomes a wonderful promise.  This appears to be a promise to the church that if we are faithful to preach the gospel, the devil will suffer for it.  Now, there’s a motive!  I especially like the word ‘shortly’.  This promise is not one for which the church must wait.  Some writers place this promise at the second coming of Christ and reference Genesis 3:15.  The problem with this view is that in Genesis 3:15, it is Satan that does the bruising of the feet of Christ and not the other way around.  No, this promise is to the church that the gospel will bruise Satan under our feet.  Not the feet of Satan.  They are our feet bruising Satan underneath.  What a deal!  After all, he has done so much damage to the human race it is good to know we can strike back.  It is good to know there are some blows we can land.  He may be stronger than us and we should approach battle with him in a very serious manner, it is good to know that He that is within me is greater than he that is in the world.

It's good to know one does not have to live as a punching bag for another.  Some things can be done.  We do not have to live like a martyr in every situation against an adversary who seeks to constantly harass us.  Some things can be done to make the playing field a bit more evenly matched.  Growing up in a house with seven brothers, conflict was as normal as the sun coming up.  We were not at one another all the time.  But, there were times when authority and dominance had to be asserted.  Or, proven.  These times were necessary.  The way our parents had the household structured, there needed to be a clear line of respect for one’s elders.  However, an elder sibling may, from time to time, use that respect as a means to torture his younger sibling.  An unwarranted tackle in the backyard, a shove out of the way, a claim to more space unentitled to all are ways an older sibling would mistreat their younger brother or sister.  Tattling never worked.  There were just too many of us.  We had to figure this out on our own.  Things like short-sheeting a bed, shaving cream in the shoes, or letting the air out of bicycle tires were all ways of telling our older sibling they crossed a line and there were more of us than there were of him.  A favorite one was flushing the toilet while he was taking a hot shower.  Really quick and it made the point.  Especially if more than one of us did it during the same shower.  Checkmate!

The devil walks about, roaring, and seeking whom he may devour.  He is to be taken seriously.  He is second in power only to God himself.  We should not trifle with the devil.  He can make our lives most miserable.  But that does not mean we are completely at his mercy.  We are not.  We have a Champion who will rescue us if we so desire.  One way we can strike back is to faithfully preach the gospel.  Every tract, every door we knock on, every person we speak the love of Christ to, is a slap in the face of Satan.  It is another time when we stomp our feet on his kingdom.  He may take more souls with him than Jesus does, but he is not happy unless he gets all.  So, every time we share the gospel, it irritates him.  Every time we proclaim the truth of the gospel, it bruises him.  Every time the church doors are open, it bothers him.  The fact we face opposition means he is not happy.  It means our preaching is working.  It means he is getting stomped on and he doesn’t care for it.  So, if you are sick and tired of getting beat up by the devil, then strike back.  Give someone a gospel tract.  Let someone know that God loves them and died for them.  Take a swing at the devil.  You just might land one!