I have returned from the grave. The flu struck on Ash Wednesday and I am just now beginning to resemble a human being again. I will be first in line for a flu shot next year. Anyway, I still preached on Sunday, although it was more painful than usual….

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

Luther knew well what it meant to suffer temptation. He was afflicted by them throughout his life and ministry.  He once reflected, “I have suffered very great temptations. They exhausted my whole body. I could hardly draw my breath. And no man could console me.” Luther’s experience with temptation and spiritual affliction provided the creative impetus for his great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress.” The military imagery in the hymn is purposeful. The Christian life is warfare. It is combat. Temptation attacks the Christian.  Thus, the Christian needs protection. For Luther, Jesus Christ, the valiant one, is both the fortress and the fighter. He is the fortress that protects from the siege of Satan, sin and death. Moreover, Jesus Christ fights them and wins the day. 

It would be a mistake for us to reduce “A Mighty Fortress” to a piece of Lutheran nostalgia like some mawkish pop song from our youth. The hymn testifies to the Christian claim that we are engaged in a significant battle in this life. Enemies assail us from every side. These enemies would destroy faith and defeat us. They would wrest the Kingdom of Christ from our hearts. Traditionally, the Church has identified our enemies as the sinful flesh, the world, and the devil. Luther, a good catholic, retained these biblical categories in his Catechism. These three enemies work against faith in Christ. And they do not remain idle in this life. They rage against us.

 

 

Our sinful flesh works on us each day to draw us into all kinds of evil lusts. The flesh tempts us to satisfy its desires at every turn. It prompts us to immorality, reducing sex to nothing more than fulfilling base animal passions on our own terms. It drags us into apathy and laziness, not wanting to exert too much for anyone else or risk sacrificing the self for the sake of another. The flesh loves to be fed. It leads us to gluttony and drunkenness. The flesh also seeks wealth and comfort, which tempts us into greed and deceit, and into acts of fraud and deception against our neighbor. The flesh demands satisfaction. The flesh worships itself. The flesh tempts the individual to become their own god and act at the expense of those around them, demanding worship from others.  

Then, the world assails us with its empty promises of power, comfort, and security. This drives us to anger and impatience because we never have enough and what we desire never comes fast enough. The world never satisfies. The world never fulfills. The world gives no real meaning. The world would reduce us to consumers, whispering that those jeans or that car will satisfy. The world tempts us with empty honor. It tells us to find comfort in the praise and accolades of others.  We like to be recognized and applauded and seek it at the expense of others. The world also speaks to our fondness for luxury, honor and pride. The world makes us pompous, arrogant, and brash, unfit for the Kingdom as we must deny the cross and replace it with false glory.  

Finally, there is our enemy, the devil. The enlightened modern consumer almost giggles when the name is mentioned. Flip Wilson’s whimsical excuse, “The devil made me do it!” becomes the extent of our discussion of Satan. Yet the reality of Satan and demonic evil is assumed true by Jesus and the Christian faith. The work of the devil is manifest in the temptation in paradise. There Satan casts doubt on God’s word, “Did God really say, You must not eat…” So we often doubt God’s Word about us. Are we really helpless sinners? Does God really have a problem with that? Does it matter? Or does God really love me that much? The devil contradicts God’s Word, “You will not die.” So we contradict God’s Word, choosing to reject and deny it in our faith and practice. The devil tempts with a better alternative, “You will be like God.” So we construct better alternatives, manipulating  God’s word for the sake of relevance, success, or some other narcissistic end. In all this, Satan works his lies to tempt us to deny God and His Word and destroy our faith. manipulating it for the sake of relevance or success.

In your Christian life, you face temptations from the flesh, the world, and Satan. When they come upon you and afflict you, it is difficult to discern their source. The temptation and affliction, however, is very real. You live with the anxiety, the doubt, the depression, the guilt, the anger, and the brokenness that result.  The strained relationships in your homes, your church, your office, and your world bear witness to failures. Division and hatred result from succumbing to the flesh, the world, and the devil. Sure, you may be a victim at times, but you would do well to not make excuses or assign blame. You are culpable for your sin. No one is exempt.  

 

Your only sure defense in this life is your Lord Jesus Christ. In the wilderness, Jesus overcame Satan. Jesus is the Son of God and withstood the doubts, lies, and contradictions of Satan. He was faithful and obedient to the Father. At the cross, Satan came with temptation through the voice of another, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Jesus would not come down. He knew He was the Son of God and need to prove nothing. Again, Jesus was obedient to the Father and submitted to death and the grave that our sin and death might be destroyed. Jesus was the victor over Satan in the wilderness and He was the victor over Satan on the cross and in the grave. Jesus is the victor for you in the midst of your trials and temptations.

Therefore, humble yourself before Jesus. Repent of your sin and cast yourself on the mercy of Christ your Victor.  In this act of repentance you are well-prepared for Him to work His grace in you in your time of difficulty. A repentant heart knows well the dangers of the flesh, the world, and the devil. A repentant heart is aware and honest in matters of sin and does not live as one who suffers from dementia about the truth. A repentant heart flees to Jesus. There, Jesus does battle for you through His gifts. 

In the gift of Holy Baptism, the Father declared that you are His beloved child. As sure as Jesus is the Son of God, you have been adopted as a child through faith in Him. There is no doubt about this. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. God’s Word is certain. When temptation and sin assail you with doubt, uncertainty, fear and all sorts of wickedness, remember the gift of your Baptism into Christ. This means that His Kingdom is yours forever. You are Christ’s child. You are joined to Christ. He is your fortress and your fighter. He conquered your sin and death by joining you to His death and resurrection in the gift of your Holy Baptism.  

When you receive Jesus’ gifts, He will never leave you in doubt about His great love for you. Your flesh, the world, and the devil cannot separate you from the love of Christ for you. No matter where you have been or what you have done, in Jesus there is forgiveness and strength.  No matter how grave the temptation or how disgusting the failure, Jesus is for you. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. This is certain. Receive the gift of His Word and hear the depths of His victory over your sin and death. Feed on the precious gifts of His Holy Body and Blood and know the certainty of your salvation. In Jesus and His gifts, you know you are His beloved Child and His victory over sin, death and the grave belongs to you. INJ