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Editorial:
Life begins at forty Comment:
Leadership on the move From
the director: The discipleship factor Four
things for leaders to do at the end of the world Pastoring
people in prophetic living Being
a servant leader Interview
with Maria Garvey: Oil and water Nurturing
the next generation The
Word made flesh - East Belfast The
Word made flesh - North Belfast The
Word made flesh - Derry The
Word made flesh - Enniskillen The
Word made flesh - Poleglass Resisting
temptation Review:
And now let's move into a time of nonesense Review:
Christianity for Dummies |
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RESISTING
TEMPTATION Hopefully, we live in a ‘post conflict’ situation in Ireland. Perhaps the IRA’s statement last July and the act of decommissioning might mark, in Churchill’s words, ‘the end of the beginning.’ But this should not fool us; the Troubles were undoubtedly one, but only one, manifestation of the ancient spiritual conflict that lies behind human history. Much has been written in recent years about spiritual warfare or spiritual conflict. But what do we mean by spiritual conflict? The devil lurks somewhere in the background of every evil that afflicts our world and ‘crouches at the gate’ of every opportunity to do good. His aim is always to separate people from God. Often when we want to do something for God we must resist the devil’s temptations to do something else instead or to do God’s work in the devil’s way. Resisting the devil is spiritual conflict. Here’s a thought for starters: think of six things that you never pray about. Could any of these be things in which the devil doesn’t need to disturb us because the battle is already won? In Luke 4:1-15 we read about Jesus being tempted or tested by the devil. vv l-2 Notice that the Spirit led Jesus into the place where he would be tested by the devil. We know that we should not make life more difficult for ourselves by inviting temptation but, as here, being tempted may be evidence of our following the Spirit. However, this obviously does not mean that falling to temptation is what the Spirit wants. The big question is, ‘How can I tell the difference between the Spirit leading me into spiritual battle and me getting myself into trouble?’ Jesus’ temptations came after forty days of fasting and prayer in spiritual preparation for his ministry – in fact, we can even say that the temptations were part of Jesus’ preparation. In light of this, we need to go beyond the obvious statement that it is not unusual for Satan to attack directly after a period of intense spiritual activity. The climax of the spiritual battle may well be in the outwardly calm period after the organised spiritual activity. Could there be merit in suggesting that our ‘post-conflict’ situation in Northern Ireland might be a more intense period of spiritual conflict and temptation for the Church than we have seen up to now? vv 3-4 What was the harm in the devil’s suggestion that Jesus turn the stones into bread? Jesus was hungry; he had the power to turn stones into bread, problem solved. Calvin gives this interpretation of the devil’s temptation, ‘When you see yourself abandoned by God, necessity forces you to look out for yourself. So provide yourself with food, as God fails to provide it for you.’ What might have led to Jesus feeling abandoned by God? Something like this: if God is here then obviously he will provide me with this thing that I need. I do not have that which I need therefore God is not here. If Satan was hoping for this flow of thought he was much mistaken. Jesus knew that the fact that I don’t have what I need is no evidence of God’s lack of care or lack of ability. His answer was so accurate. At any particular time there may well be some needs that take divine precedence over the perfectly legitimate needs on which the devil is causing me to focus. If I focus on these ‘lesser’ needs I will inevitably feel a sense of abandonment. I wonder if, during the last generation (and more) we have been so fixated on the need for peace and political stability that we have lost sight of things that are actually greater needs, some of which we have always known but rarely admitted to ourselves and some that are coming to the surface now. What do you think? Can you think of six aspirations that may be, in themselves, harmless but that might be substitutes for things to which God has called me to aspire? vv 5-8 The second temptation was to lose the big picture of all things coming under the authority of God in favour of short-term success (which, to observers without real insight, would look like complete success). Christian enthusiasts are often tempted to look for quick solutions, especially in a culture that is characterised by ‘I want it and I want it now!’ Some types of evangelism have been marked by short-term success that has masked profound spiritual failure. Even Billy Graham reckoned that only ten percent of those who responded to his appeals were genuinely converted; how much lower is the success rate of evangelists who do not have Graham’s wisdom and integrity? In some societies great social changes are necessary and the temptation is to aim for social changes that may be good but gained at the cost of deeper realities that will ultimately be destructive. This has been at the heart of some of the more thoughtful criticism of the ‘Belfast Agreement’ and all that has flowed from it. What is the evidence that this is a fair criticism of the Belfast Agreement? And the counter evidence? vv 9-12 The third temptation is first an abuse of the love of God, which possibly has pride at its root. Had Jesus fallen to this temptation he would, at the very least, have betrayed a spiritual immaturity that would have made impossible the mission he was about to start. The temptation was also suggesting that Jesus attempt to win people’s hearts by a ‘spiritual firework display’ – all show and noise but no solid substance. We can immediately see the emptiness of the suggested miracle when we compare it with any of the miracles that Jesus did perform, which show compassion, insight, service, humility and much more. The IRA and others have always loved ‘spectaculars’ and they do seem to have had some ‘success’. Also, every political event that I can recall in recent years has had to be stage-managed or choreographed in order to succeed. Presentation regularly takes priority over substance. From a Christian perspective, we cannot say that it is always wrong to do spectacular things or even that events should never be choreographed in order to have their full impact but presentation must always be the servant of substance, never its master, it must always expose, never hide, always clarify but never attempt to dupe. What do you make of the suggestion that if an inordinate amount of effort needs to be made to sell an idea to a community then there is something wrong with either the community or the idea or both? vv 13-14 We should not think that these verses mean that Jesus enjoyed a time of rest and free enjoyment of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Satan was always hiding round the corner waiting to pounce. In his ‘post-conflict’ situation there was to be no letting his guard down. It was by continually being on guard that he was able to give the devil as few ‘opportune moments’ as possible. Christians have always understood that one of the secrets to success in spiritual conflict is to order our lives so that we give the devil as few ‘opportune moments’ as possible. Any suggestions about how we do this as a Christian community in Northern Ireland? DREW GIBSON is Associate Minister in Bloomfield Presbyterian Church in Belfast. This bible study is the last in a series of three. |
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