Vocation: Fighting against the Devil

By Rev. David Petersen

We are engaged in a great cosmic struggle. Hell seeks to steal again the souls of men redeemed by Christ. Lashing about like drowning men, the demons try to drag us into Hell’s fire with them. They hate everything that is good. They are blinded by their rebellion, by their agony and separation from God. They vainly think that chaos and darkness, violence and sorrow, can comfort them.

The battle is already won. Jesus died and rose again. It is finished. There is nothing left. Hell is doomed. Death is dead. Life lives.The evil spirits cannot hurt us. No one will snatch us away from the Good Shepherd. Hell is powerless in the face of His love. But the enemy fights on. They are beaten, but still they take pot shots at us.They refuse to acknowledge the victory of the resurrection.They are hungry for trouble.

God wants us to be safe. He wants us to endure in faith to the end. So He rules on the left and the right in the Church, in our families, and in our governments.

In the Church God rules by grace. He forgives sins. His Word calms the trembling hearts of men. He welcomes them back again for mercy’s sake. He feeds them on His Body and His Blood. He encourages and strengthens them. Luther calls this sphere of God’s rule or kingdom God’s right hand. It is a defense and a fortress against the devil.

By the temporal government God rules through the Law. Luther calls this God’s left hand. It is also arrayed against the devil. But the Law cannot save. It does not forgive sins. It is not merciful.The government exists to promote and safeguard order and decency. Earthly rulers are duty-bound to punish criminals even as the Church is bound to forgive them. Still, God’s left hand is for our good. Mixing up these two kingdoms, so that the Church imposes punishments or the government ignores crimes, perverts God’s gifts and plays into the devil’s hands. It creates chaos. But it also destroys God’s gifts if the Law is despised or the left hand of God is thought to be the devil’s realm. God establishes earthly governments to fight the devil.

Finally, in His mercy, God gives us families.The family is the highest order. The Church and the government are both derived from the family. They are both extensions of the family. And the family is the primary place of God’s providence. Thus, parents rule by both Law and Gospel. Law and Gospel are not mixed or blended, but they are applied according to the situation. Parents punish their children. They enforce rules. They make demands and give them tasks to complete. But they also love their children without cause and forgive much. They bring their children to Baptism and teach them to pray. They instruct them about God’s grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. In this way, too, the devil is beaten back.

All of our life can be defined according to these three spheres. You are a Christian. You live in a society and country. You belong to a family. Your specific place in those realms is your vocation. God has called you to these relationships. You are a Christian son or daughter, brother or sister, friend and citizen. Those relationships bring with them duties and responsibilities. You are a son by mowing the lawn. You are a citizen by studying hard at school and being a good driver. You are a member of the Church by hearing His Word. Faith is active in love. In words and deeds, you are what God has called you to be: a son obedient to his parents, a citizen bettering himself for the good of society, a Christian obeying the third commandment.

Within those relationships or vocations you have choices to make. Your Christian liberty is demonstrated in serving your neighbor as a citizen by picking up trash alongside of the street or by playing in the band or even by politely waiting for your turn in line at the post office. You might serve your family by setting the table or letting your sister choose which show to watch. You serve in the Church by ushering or attending Sunday School or by giving. Whatever you do or don’t do, whatever you choose, God uses you in these places to preserve His creation. Your service to neighbor is God’s service and defeats the devil. You are valuable in this war. You are an important part of God’s rule and plan. But most importantly, you are forgiven and redeemed. This war is already won. Soon the struggle will end.

The Rev. David Petersen is pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.