Finally, Be Strong

Scott McFarland
07/14/24 - Sun AM Worship

The Schemes of the Devil

In our class on Sunday mornings, we’ve been studying about angels and demons, the spiritual realm.  I have often thought throughout the class how little we acknowledge the spiritual realm.  Apart from worshipping a spiritual God on Sundays, praying to a spiritual Lord throughout the week, and pledging our allegiance to a spiritual Savior at our baptism, our acknowledgement of the spiritual realm, let alone the spiritual battle taking place around us, is minimal at best.

In Ephesians 6, Paul ends his letter with a discussion about spiritual warfare.  He begins it with an encouragement to be strong in the Lord (v. 10) and a command to put on the whole armor of God (v. 11).  The purpose for this, he says, is to “be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”  The idea Paul is trying to get across is that the devil has a scheme, a plan, to attack us and pull us away from God.  This plan, by the way, is not noticeable.  It is often subtle, slow, and unrecognizable until after the fact.  Most people don’t intend on wrecking their lives with sin.  It begins gradually, innocently even, and grows until whatever is happening is too big to stop or it’s too late to do anything.

This morning, we’ll discuss spiritual warfare and the need for us as people to be vigilant.  Don’t be naïve and think the devil doesn’t have a plan.  He does, and it is intentionally difficult to see and understand.  Our ability to detect it and fight against it, however, is of utmost importance.

Scott McFarland