Hail to King Jesus!
October 31st, 2006Today is October 31. That means Halloween is here. There is much discussion about this day among Christians. How should we approach it? How are we to respond to it? While opinions are varied, one thing is certain – Satan is alive and well. I Peter 5:8-9 warns us to “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith…”
There is one king, one sovereign ruler over all of the demons of disease and darkness and despair and ruin and destruction. There are countless demons but there is one great prince and ruler of them all. Satan is his name. He is called Lucifer, the serpent and dragon. He is seeking someone to devour. That someone is you.
We must “resist him firm in our faith.” This demands a sober spirit and requires diligent alertness. Satan is found in many places. In the teaching of a liberal theologian that denies the veracity of the Bible, you will find the devil. In the classroom of a professor that challenges young college students and advocates that God does not exist, you will find the devil. He is always on the prowl looking for someone to cut up and swallow down.
So today I remind you to beware of his schemes. But also be reminded that Satan is a defeated foe. Since Jesus died and rose from the grave the devil sails a sinking ship and rules a decaying kingdom. Follow hard after King Jesus. Even on Halloween!
Pastor Ted Traylor
October 31st, 2006 at 6:12 pm
Dr. Traylor, surely Satan is alive and well. However, we understand that it is Jesus who is ruling, reigning and putting all of His enemy’s under foot (1 Cor. 15). However, I was wondering about the issue of participating in a pagan festival like Halloween, what are your thoughts? It would seem to me that Paul would allow for something of the sort in Rom. 14, where he discusses the weaker and stronger brother. Also, as we talk about the weaker brother do we have a responsibility to bring that weaker brother up to a stronger position and is always using the excuse “we can’t because of the weaker brother” a failure in that area? Furthermore, today is the 489th anniversary of Luther’s 95 thesis, probably the second greatest event in all of history (The life of Christ Jesus is the 1st) and quite possibly the impetus for all we know as western society, but sadly most Christians do not even know about this. What a great day Oct. 31st should be for the Protestant church, but instead it is a day that we spend in angst over whether or not we should let our children where costumes.