Do not think that I will accuse you

Internet Monk always has thought-provoking ways to examine Christianity and the practice thereof. This post has just such a thoughtprovoker. What kind of a sermon would Satan preach? Unfortunately, I disagree with the argument that's set up here.

Satan is more than an accuser of sin. Satan doesn't have to assist us in identifying what we do wrong. The Bible says in Rom1 that the evidence of God is clear, and that man knows right from wrong. Even infants feel shame when they've done wrong; it is inherent in us. What Satan actually accuses is God. That God is at fault for all this. That God made us this way. That God has planned our life in every little detail so He's responsible for our sin and our failure. That God must not love us. That God ultimately, is not worth following or loving or giving our lives over to. That's the damaging part of what Satan does, not just telling us what we aren't getting right. Satan's goal is not to make us feel guilty or forget our freedom from sin in Christ; his goal is to drive a wedge between man and God. That part shouldn't be forgotten.

Secondly, it is not Gospel-less for Pastors to be preaching and teaching about our failures. Doing so is not, in fact, repeating the message of Satan. The Bible says in 2Tim3:16, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness." Pointing out our failings and giving us instruction on what we should be doing is preaching the Word of God. It is neither legalism nor Satanic. In Rom6, doesn't Paul go over the whole "May it never be" spiel where he discusses the relationship of his sin to the Gospel? And while he ends by pointing out that we are free from the condemnation of sin, he begins Rom6 by making it clear that we shouldn't be sinning. And a good pastor will, in fact, teach on proper behavior.

Good question. Wrong argument. But a great future post would, in fact, be the sermon the devil would give. Although I don't know that I should be spending the energy on that, given that he doesn't need the help.