1728. The Works Of The Devil Destroyed

No. 1728-29:361. A Sermon Delivered On Lord’s Day Morning, July 1, 1883, By C. H. Spurgeon, At The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.

For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, so that he might destroy the works of the devil. {1Jo 3:8}

1. In this chapter John makes a sharp and clear division of mankind into two classes. He gives not even the slightest hint that there is, or ever was, or ever can be a third class; but he describes men as being the children of God or else the children of the devil, and tells us how the two classes are revealed. {1Jo 3:10} Now, this distinction would not have been drawn by John so sharply if it had not existed; for he was a man of a most loving heart and gentle spirit, and if he could somewhere or other have found a place for neutrals, or what I call “betweenites,” or people who come in midway between saints and sinners, I am sure he would have done it. No one could suspect John of lack of love, and therefore as he was convinced that no middle position was possible, we may be quite clear upon that point, and at once dismiss every theory which is meant to flatter the undecided. At this day the world is still divided into children of God and children of the evil one. This distinction ought never to be forgotten; and yet thousands of sermons are preached in which it is quite ignored, and congregations are commonly addressed as if they were all the people of God. How shall we preach the truth if we begin by assuming a lie? Yet to assume that all our hearers are Christians is to begin with an error. Is it not highly probable that men will be built up in falsehood if the very truth which is addressed to them is put in a false way? No, my hearers, we cannot talk to you as all the people of God, for you are not; some of you are the children of the wicked one, and though it may not be pleasant to be told so, yet it is no business of ours to please you. Our duty is to preach in order to please God and benefit the souls of men, and that can only be accomplished by an honest enunciation of matters of fact. There is a definite and fixed line in the sight of God between the living and the dead, between those who are born again and those who remain in their fallen estate; between the spiritual and the carnal, between the believing and the unbelieving. There is a gulf fixed between the two orders of men, which, blessed be God, can be passed, but which nevertheless divides the whole race as though a vast chasm had opened up in their midst, and set them apart from each other, separating them into two camps.

2. This important distinction ought to be observed in public prayer; and this is a point in which we are dissatisfied with most liturgies, because they are necessarily composed with the view of suiting both saints and sinners, and, as a necessary result, they are not suitable for either. The joyful notes of confidence which are becoming in the children of God are left out because the ungodly could not use such expressions of exultant faith; while, on the other hand, the wailing notes which are most suitable for anxious souls are put into the mouths of men who by the grace of God have long ago found their Saviour. Men walking in full fellowship with the Lord are not correctly described as “miserable sinners,” neither is it theirs to pray as if they had never found pardon and life in Christ Jesus. It is impossible that public prayer should be suitable for a mixed congregation unless a portion of it is evidently for those who fear the Lord, and another portion for those who do not fear him. I suppose it would be difficult, if not impossible, to compose a liturgy for common use upon strictly truthful principles; and yet that order of public prayer which ignores the distinction between the regenerate and the unregenerate must inevitably be mischievous to the souls of men. In this matter the servant of the Lord must discern between the precious and the vile, or he cannot be as God’s mouth.

3. If this distinction is to be thought of in preaching and in public prayer, it should be especially considered in our personal religion. We ought to know whose we are and whom we serve. We ought to know the differences which the Lord has made by grace, and whether or not he has made us to differ from the unrenewed. Every man in business wishes to be sure of his position, whether he is prospering or not; and surely each one of us ought to know our position in that one great enterprise of life which if it finds us bankrupt at the last must leave us so for ever. It is of the utmost importance for a man to know whether he has been enlightened or remains in darkness, whether he is the slave of sin or the Lord’s free man. Each man should know that he is either saved or lost, pardoned or condemned: he may not sit down in peace in the deceitful hope that though he may not be a child of God, he is nevertheless no heir of wrath, for it cannot be; he is one thing or the other at this moment. Everyone is under the wrath of God unless he has believed in Jesus, and so has become accepted in the Beloved. There are two seeds, and only two — the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, and you, my friend, belong to one or the other of these. John sums up the vital distinction when he writes, “He who has the Son has life; and he who does not have the Son does not have life. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness.”

4. Let this stand as the preface of the sermon, for the spirit of it will run through my entire discourse.

5. And now I come to the words of the text itself: “For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, so that he might destroy the works of the devil.” We shall speak of four things: the works of the devil; the purpose of God; the revealing of the Son of God and the experience within ourselves of the meaning of this text. Oh, for the aid of the Holy Spirit, so that we may think properly and speak with power.

6. I. First, then, let us say a little upon THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.

7. This very strong expression is descriptive of sin; for the preceding sentence interprets it so. I will read the whole verse: — “He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, so that he might destroy the works of the devil,” — that is, that he might destroy sin.

8. This name for sin is first of all a word of detestation. Sin is so abominable in the sight of God and of good men that its various forms are said to be “the works of the devil.” Men do not like the idea of having any connection with the devil, and yet they have a most intimate connection with him until they are made anew by the Spirit of God. When it was supposed in a superstitious age that a man had dealings with the devil he was abhorred or feared, and most properly so: he who is in league with Beelzebub has forfeited all right to honour. Yet let every man know that if he lives in sin his actions are called by the Holy Spirit “the works of the devil.” Satan is “the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.” Think of that, you ungodly ones, the devil is at work in you, as a smith at his forge. Is it not a shocking thought that if I am living in sin I am the bondslave of Satan, and I am doing his work for him? If the devil is in the heart the whole life will be more or less tainted by the presence of that arch-enemy of God and man. Do not laugh at sin, then; do not dare to trifle with it, for it is dangerous and deadly, because it is of the devil, from whom no good thing can ever come. Oh, if men could only see the slime of the serpent upon their pleasurable sins, the venom of asps upon their dainty lusts, and the smoke of hell upon their proud and boastful thoughts, surely they would loathe what they now delight in! If sin connects us with the devil himself, let us flee from it as from a devouring lion. The expression is a word of detestation: may it enter into our hearts and make sin horrible to us.

9. Next, it is a word of distinction: it distinguishes the course of the ungodly man from the life of the man who believes in the Lord Jesus. For he who is of God does the works of God — his life is the work of God, it is a life which has much that is Godlike about it, and he is upheld by the power of God, the ever-blessed Spirit. But the ungodly man’s life is very different — he lives for himself, he seeks his own pleasure, he hates all that oppose him, he is up in arms against the Lord, and his truth, and all that is pure and good: his spirit is not the spirit of God, but of the evil one. There is a radical distinction between the gracious and the graceless, and this comes out in their works: the one works the works of God and the other the works of the devil. I know that this doctrine is not pleasant, but it is true, and therefore it must be plainly stated. I hear one say, “Look at me; am I a child of the devil? I may not be much of a saint; but I am no worse than many of your professing Christians.” I answer, that such may be the case; for professing Christians are sometimes horrible hypocrites, but what has that to do with you? Ah, my friend, their perishing will not help your salvation. If you are not trusting in Christ and living under the power of his love, you may be as good as a hypocrite, or even better, and yet you may be widely different from a real Christian. If you do not have the life of God in you, you cannot do the works of God. The mineral cannot rise into the vegetable life by itself, it would require another touch from the creative hand; the vegetable life cannot rise into the animal life unless the Creator shall work a miracle; and, even so, you as a carnal man cannot become a spiritual man by any spontaneous generation; the new life must be imparted to you by the quickening Spirit. The distinction of your works from those of the real believer in Christ is as great as that between the works of the devil and the works of God; and this may show you how great the distinction of the natures must be by which these different fruits are produced.

10. The language before us is, next, a word of descent. Sin is “of the devil,” it came from him; he is its parent and patron. Sin is not so of the devil that we can lay the blame of our sins upon him, for that is our own. You must not blame the tempter for tempting you to do, what without your will, he could not make you do. He may tempt you, but that would be no sin of yours if your will did not yield to it. The responsibility lies with your will. The devil has plenty of sin of his own to answer for, and yet he is often made a pack-horse to carry loads of evil which are none of his. Mother Eve taught us that art when she said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate”; and since then men have become wonderfully proficient in the science of excuse-making, frequently imputing their own guilt to the devil’s guile. Yet sin in a sadly true sense does come from the devil, he first introduced it into the world. How or when he himself first sinned and fell from being an angel of light to become the apostle of darkness we will not conjecture. Many have thought that the pride of his lofty position, or envy of the foreseen glories of the Son of man, may have overthrown him; but, at any rate, he did not keep his first estate, but became a rebel against his Lord, and the active promoter of all evil. Being expelled from heaven for his wickedness, he desired to wreak his revenge upon God by alienating the human race from its obedience. He saw what an interest the Creator had taken in man, and therefore thought that he could grieve him greatly by seducing man from obedience. He perceived that the Maker, when he formed the earth, did not rest; when he had made birds and fishes, did not rest; when he had made sun, moon, and stars, did not rest; but when he had fashioned man, he was so well satisfied that then he took a day of rest, and consecrated it for ever to be a Sabbath. So God’s unresting care for man was revealed. “Surely,” said the evil one, “if I can turn this favoured being into an enemy of God, then I shall bring dishonour upon the name of the Most High, and have my revenge.” Therefore he alighted in the garden, and tempted our first parents, thus opening the gate by which sin entered into the world with all its train of woe. In that sense sin is truthfully described as being the work of the devil. He brought the flame which has caused so great a burning. Since then he has been in some degree the author of sin by often tempting men. I do not doubt that he suggests to many a sinner the delights of the flesh, and the pleasures of self; and that he shuts the eye of conscience to the truth, and hardens the heart against the threatenings of God. Under these influences men doubtless rush into wild extravagances of evil, willingly yielding themselves to be led captive at his will. Doubtless, Satan not only suggests sin to men, but as one spirit influences another spirit, he influences men strongly towards what is evil, and blinds them against what is good. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” is a prayer which plainly connects the evil one with temptation, since we know that he is connected with it as a matter of fact. This is his constant employment, to be tempting in one way or another the sons of men. Hence sin is the work of the devil, but not so that it excuses us; it is our work because we willingly yield: let us be thoroughly ashamed of such work when we find that the devil has a hand in it. May Almighty God deliver us from the mighty spirit of Evil!

11. Consider, next, that we have here a word of description. The work of sin is the work of the devil because it is such work as he delights in. What are the works of the devil? They are such actions as are like himself, and exhibit his nature and spirit. Open your eyes, and you will surely see “the works of the devil”; they are everywhere in this poor world. The earth is defiled with his horrible productions. How delightful it is to take a survey of the works of God! The wise man says “The works of the Lord are great, sought out by all those who have pleasure in them.” I heard of a good man who went down the Rhine but took care to read a book all the way, for fear he should have his mind taken off from heavenly topics by the beauties of nature. I confess I do not understand such a spirit — I do not want to do so. If I go into an artist’s house I do that artist a displeasure if I take no notice of his works under the pretext that I am quite absorbed in himself. Why not enjoy the objects in which our heavenly Father has demonstrated his wisdom and power? There is nothing in any of the works of God to defile, debase, or carnalize the soul. Delight yourself in all your heavenly Father’s handiwork, and make it to be a ladder by which you climb to him. But what a very different contemplation is what lies before us in the works of the devil! Ah, me, what a picture for a painter here — the works of the devil! Yet surely, brush and colour would altogether fail. Oh, evil one, how cunning are your works; in malice you have made them all; the earth is full of your abominable things!

12. Look abroad in the world and see atheism: men made by God deny his existence. They could not stand upright and speak if he did not enable them to do so, and yet they cry, “There is no God!” Into what a condition must an intelligent mind be brought before it can vent such folly! Surely this must come from that arch-fiend who above all things desires that there should be no God! See, also, how much there is of ignorance abroad, a leaden night of ignorance of God and of his Son. Is this not the work of the prince of darkness? Notice also the unbounding unbelief of truth which would be believed at once if men’s minds were pure, of truth which is salvation for those who accept it, and yet is rejected by many as if it were injurious to them. Where does all this indifference to God and his grace come from, and what is the origin of all this plague of doubting which is now upon us? Is it not of the same character as what resided in the serpent’s heart when he whispered, “Has God said?” and, again, “You shall not surely die.” Here is the liar who is from the beginning still producing a host of lies against God himself. What is idolatry which we see everywhere abroad, not only among the heathen, but among those who call themselves Christians, — the worship of visible symbols instead of the spiritual adoration of the unseen Spirit? It must have come from Satan, who has made himself the god of this world, setting himself up to be God’s rival. Things offered to idols are offered to demons, for a mere idol is nothing in the world; its evil lies in its representing a principle which is opposed to the one true, invisible God. The superstitions which degrade humanity, which are an insult to our manhood, all these are most pleasing to Satan, and approved of by him, and so they are fitly described as “the works of the devil.” And what, my brethren, is blasphemy — that common profanity which pollutes our streets? Who could have taught men deliberately, and for no purpose whatever, to use the foul and filthy language that is so common nowadays? This must be the speech of pandemonium, the dialect of hell. And what is pride, my brethren, pride in a creature that will die? pride in a sinful worm? — the pride of dress, the pride of life, the pride of talent? What are those haughty looks? what are those presumptuous words? what are those contemptuous glances, — what are all these things but works of the devil? He whom Milton describes as thinking it “better to reign in hell than serve in heaven,” he surely is the great fomenter of all pride among mankind. As for deceit, so current everywhere, and, worst of all, religious deceit, formalism, and hypocrisy, from where do these come but from the bottomless pit — from him who transforms himself into an angel of light? Are not all liars his dear children? My list is long enough: but I see a numerous brood hatched beneath the wings of hate: envy, strife, wrath, bitterness, malice, revenge. These are as fiery flying serpents in this wilderness, inflaming men’s blood. I see these accursed evils rousing nations into war, dividing communities with discords, embittering families that otherwise might be full of love; yes, making men to be the worst enemies of men. These come from him who is a murderer from the beginning, and is the aider and abetter of all hatred and strife. What a busy being he has been! How he has toiled incessantly day and night to set up a kingdom of hate in opposition to the empire of eternal love! With what diligence he has smothered the world with a pall of darkness, so that men sit down to weep and rise up to torment each other. Ah me, what mischief this unclean spirit has done! His works are evil, only evil, and that continually. He has led the human race to become accomplices in his treason against the majesty of heaven, allies in his rebellion against the sovereignty of God Most High. The works of the devil make up a black picture: it is a thick darkness over all the land, even a darkness that may be felt.

13. II. But now, secondly, and much more joyfully, let us consider THE PURPOSE OF GOD — “For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, so that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

14. Ring out sweetly all the silver bells of earth, and all the golden harps of heaven; God has purposed that every atom of the terrible work of the devil upon the earth shall be destroyed. Yes, notice that word “destroyed,” not limited, nor alleviated, nor neutralized, but destroyed. Oh, men and brethren, what could you and I do against such a power as Satan; so malicious and so strong, and so cunning and subtle, and apt to deceive? Who among us can unravel his works, and cast his cords from us? But if God has purposed it, truly the purpose of Jehovah shall stand! If this is the divine decree, tremble, oh Tophet, and you, Beelzebub, for there shall come an end to all your works, if God has purposed to destroy them!

15. The work which lies in this purpose is assuredly a divine work. The Lord who can create can certainly destroy. Destruction lies in the hand of Omnipotence, and is a prerogative of the Eternal One. Destruction of forces so terrible must come from the Lord alone. What could you and I do in this business? Ourselves originally under Satan’s power, ourselves destroyed, could we destroy the destroyer? The image of God in us has been marred by the work of Satan; could we restore that image? Enmity to God has been created in our hearts by Satan; could we, while still enemies, tear out that enmity? No, another hand must make us friends, a hand outside of us. What has been done by the powers of darkness must be undone by the eternal light, or else it will remain for ever. It is a divine work, this destruction of the works of the devil, and herein lies our hope of its being accomplished.

16. And there is, to my mind, about it the idea of a conquering work. When are the palaces and the fortifications of great kings destroyed? Not until the kings themselves have been overthrown in a fair fight; but when their power is broken, it is then that the conquerors raze the castle and burn the stronghold. Glory be to Jehovah, it is his purpose to win such a victory over the Prince of Darkness that every work of his shall be destroyed. “Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he has made in the earth; he breaks the bow, and cuts the spear asunder; he burns the chariot in the fire.” Your right hand, oh Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces. Our Almighty Champion has come out with a shout of victory to divide the spoil with the strong. The arch-enemy is vanquished, and therefore his works are to be destroyed!

17. This means also a complete work. The product of evil is not to be cut down for a time and left to grow again. The tree of the forest is felled by the axe, but the root remains, and at the scent of water it will bud and send out branches; but the purpose of God is utterly to destroy the works of the devil, and destroyed they shall be. In the heart of man, when God begins his work, he does not cease until he has utterly destroyed all sin, yes, the very tendency and possibility of sin; and then he conducts the purified spirit up to his right hand, having neither spot or wrinkle, nor any such thing. In the world, also, do not doubt it, oh you soldiers of Christ, who are ready to turn your backs in the day of battle, he will still drive sin out of its entrenchments; the habitations of cruelty shall become the temples of adoration: all people shall bow before the Lord, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth in which dwells righteousness. Up from this poor planet there shall ascend, like smoke from a great golden altar of incense, the perpetual hallelujahs of a ransomed race, redeemed by blood and power from all the rule of the enemy. Glory be to God, he has purposed it, and he will accomplish it.

18. It is a complete work and a conclusive work; for the Lord Jesus will so break the head of the old dragon, that he shall never wear the crown again. Christ has come, not to fight a battle with Satan which shall continue throughout all ages, but to win a victory which shall so crush the power of evil that it shall not molest the world again. The powers of darkness upon this earth hang out their flags and ring out the clarions of victory, but they are too fast. Wait a little while, and he who will come shall come, and will not delay; and when he comes he shall lead captives captive and the reign of goodness and truth, and love shall be established for ever and ever. Rebellion shall not rise up a second time. Oh, how glorious is the text: — “For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, so that he might destroy the works of the devil.” The Lord shall destroy sin in every shape and form from off the face of the earth for ever.

19. III. Thirdly, our text plainly tells us how this is to be done: by THE REVEALING OF THE SON OF GOD. “For this purpose the Son of God was revealed.”

20. The work of the devil was so clever, the foundations of it were so deeply laid, and the whole thing had such a semblance of omnipotence about it, and was, indeed, in itself so strong, that no champion was found in heaven or on earth that could hope to destroy it. It never entered Satan’s thoughts that God himself could condescend to suffer and to die. He said within himself, — “If I can make man so to offend God that he must justly be incensed against him, then I shall have done the work effectively. If I can make man a rebel, God’s infinite holiness cannot overlook his rebellion, and he must punish him, and so I shall have made for God a perpetual race of enemies, and he will have lost the love of myriads of his creatures.” He did not know the boundless love and wisdom of Jehovah. Even his angelic intellect could never have conceived the matchless plan of atonement by a sacrifice, propitiation by substitution. The blessed fact of the Son of God being revealed in human flesh, and dying in human form, to destroy the works of the devil, did not enter into a creature’s mind. Yet this was always in God’s purpose, for the better display of his divine attributes. Behind, and under, and over the works of the devil the Lord always had the intention that this evil should be permitted that he might baffle it with love, and that the glory of his grace might be revealed.

21. My text has in it to my mind a majestic idea, first, of the difficulties of the case, — that the Son of God needs to be revealed to destroy the works of the devil; and then, secondly, of the ease of his victory. Have you been out at midnight when darkness has been all around you, dense and palpable? Not a star was visible, the moon had forgotten to shine; you could scarcely see your hand when you held it before your eyes. The blackness seemed to be not only above, beneath, and around, but also within you. You were embedded in a thick, heavy, living ebony mass. How could all this be scattered? What power could uplift the pall and scatter the mass? Lo, in the east old Sol has lifted up its head, and the black walls have vanished: not a wreck remains, the works of darkness are destroyed by the presence of the light. That is the thought of the text — “For this purpose the Son of God was revealed.” Rising up from his divine retreat in the silences of eternity, he appeared in human form, and by this act scattered and utterly destroyed the works of darkness. Let us see how this was done.

22. First, Christ’s being revealed, even in his incarnation, was a fatal blow to the works of Satan. Did God come down to men? Was he incarnate in the infant form that slept in Bethlehem’s manger? Then the Almighty has not given up our nature to be the prey of sin. Despair may not be! If one is born on earth who is divine as well as human, then joy to you, oh race of Adam! Do you not hear the song, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men?” It cannot be that the race is given up to perpetual night if the Son of God is revealed in such a manner as this.

23. Next, look to the life of Christ on earth, and see how he destroyed the works of the devil there. It was a glorious duel in the wilderness when they stood foot to foot — the champions of good and evil! How dexterously the evil one played his weapons! how cunningly he tempted the Christ of God! But the Lord Jesus used the sword of the Spirit, and “It is written,” “It is written,” “It is written,” struck home until the evil one spread his dragon wings and fled away, for he had found his victor. Evil spirits had taken possession of human forms: legions of demons were established in men; but the Lord Jesus Christ had only to speak the word, and away they fled, glad to leap into swine, and rush into the sea, to escape from his presence. They knew that he had come who was ordained “to destroy the works of the devil.”

24. All our Lord’s preaching, all his teaching, all his labour here below was in order to pull away the corner-stone from the great house of darkness which Satan had built up.

25. But oh, dear friends, it was in his death that Jesus chiefly overthrew Satan and destroyed his works. Satan built upon this — that man had become offensive to God and God must punish him; that punishment was his hope for the continuance of alienation. Behold, the august Son of God takes the offender’s place! Marvel of marvels, the Judge stands where the criminal should have stood and is “numbered with the transgressors!” Behold, the wrath of God falls upon his Well-Beloved, and Jesus suffers, so that he may reconcile man to his God, and heal the breach which sin had caused. The deed was done. Man is no more offensive to heaven, for one glorious man’s boundless merit has put away the demerit of the race. Jesus has, by his unutterable beauties, removed the deformities of all who are in him. By his obedience to death the law is vindicated, justice is honoured, grace is glorified. Man, accepting this great sacrifice loves, and adores the Father who ordained it, and so the works of the devil in his heart are destroyed.

26. Our Lord’s rising again, his ascension into glory, his sitting at the right hand of the Father, his coming again in the latter days — all these are parts of the revealing of the Son of God by which the works of the devil shall be destroyed. So also is the preaching of the gospel. If we want to destroy the works of the devil our best method is to reveal more and more of the Son of God. Preach up Christ and you preach down the devil. All kinds of reforms are good, and we are on the side of everything that is pure, and honest, and temperate, and righteous; still, the best Reformer is the Christ of God. The one medicine for man’s moral sickness is the cross, and nothing but the cross. Preach the crucified Saviour; preach the incarnate God; preach Christ full of forgiveness and love, reconciling the world to himself and you have applied the best remedy for the disease. Only may it be never forgotten that Jesus destroys the works of darkness by his Spirit. It is the Spirit of God who puts divine energy into the sacred word. When the Spirit reveals Christ in a man then the works of darkness are destroyed in that man. When Christ is revealed in a nation then the works of Satan begin to fall in that nation; and in proportion as the Holy Spirit shall more and more reveal Christ to hearts and consciences, bringing them into obedience to the faith, in that degree the works of Satan shall be destroyed.

27. Lastly, on this point, our blessed Lord is revealed in his eternal power and kingdom as enthroned, in order to destroy the works of the devil; for “the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, the mighty God, the Father of the ages.” He is such a father, and the age is made to feel his forming hand. Kings, presidents, parliaments, poets, leaders, and such-like — these are visible powers; but there is over them all an invisible power. A late philosopher asserted that amid all the confusion of affairs he could see a power over all which works towards righteousness. There is such a power: there is a King of kings and a Lord of lords; and who is he? It is he of whom we read, “The Father has committed all things into his hands.” He is ruling, he is reigning even now, and, despite our unbelief, things are moving on. God is being glorified, his kingdom is coming; the ultimate destruction of evil on the earth is certain, and the eternal reign of the right and of good is certain. “The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad of it.” Enthroned at the right hand of the Eternal, Jesus sits, the man of love, the crucified: he has reassumed his eternal glory and sovereignty, and without his bidding a dog shall not move his tongue. The dominion is with the Son of God, and he shall end the reign of evil. Glory be to his name for ever and ever!

28. IV. Lastly, I would come close to home to each dear friend as we utter a few words of enquiry concerning THE EXPERIENCE OF ALL THIS IN OURSELVES. Has the Son of God been revealed to you to destroy the works of the devil in you? Come to the point, and look at home!

29. At first there was in your heart an enmity towards God; for “the carnal mind is enmity against God.” Is that enmity destroyed? Has the love of God in Christ Jesus appeared to you in such a way that you can truly say you no longer hate God, but love him? Though you do not love him as you wish to do, yet your heart is towards him and you desire to be like him, and to be with him for ever. This is a good beginning; the Son of God has destroyed your enmity; you have seen the love of God in Christ, and your rebellion against God has ceased.

30. The next work of the devil which usually appears in the human mind is self-righteous pride. The man says, “I am no enemy to God, I am righteous; if I am not perfect, yet I am tolerably good. God! I thank you that I am not as other men are. I do this and I do that, and I do not do the other.” This is our natural boasting, but the Son of God destroys it. Has the Son of God destroyed all your self-righteousness? It is a precious lot of rags; but we so constantly practice the art of patching and mending that we dream that we are clothed in royal apparel. Have all those rags gone from you? Has a strong wind blown them completely away? Have you seen your own natural nakedness? Why, if I were to talk about my own righteousness, I should be a fool and a liar in one. I have no righteousness of my own; I dare not dream of such a thing. Is that your case? Then the Lord Jesus Christ has been revealed to destroy in you the works of the devil. That is a pretty good name for your righteousness, is it not? It deserves that name, for the best righteousness of man, when it is set up in opposition to the righteousness of Christ, deserves little compliments; it is one of the works of the devil.

31. When the Lord has destroyed self-righteousness in us, the devil generally works in us another form of his power, and that is despair. “Ah,” he says, “you see what a sinner you are — God will never be reconciled to you! There is no forgiveness for you!” Oh that he should ever have the impudence to make a man believe so gross a slander of such a God as ours, whose very name is love, and who gave his Son to die for sinners! But, if the Lord Jesus Christ has been revealed to you, despair has gone, that work of the devil has been all destroyed, and now you have a humble hope in God, and a joy in his mercy. Though you speak sometimes with bated breath, yet your doubt is about yourself, not about your Lord. You know whom you have believed, and you know that he is a God who passes by transgression, iniquity, and sin. Thus three types of the works of the devil are gone already — enmity is gone, self-righteousness is gone, and despair is gone.

32. What next? Do you have any unbelief in your heart regarding the promises of God? That is a favourite work of the devil: unbelief is one of his darling children. Now, I beseech you, do not say, “I must always feel this unbelief.” No. Down with it! Christ was revealed to destroy the works of the devil. Sharpen your swords, and cut down these doubts! All doubts must die. Not one of them must be spared. Hang them up before the face of the sun!

33. Jesus has not come so that he may lock up our sins, and keep them quiet, hidden away in a dark corner; he has come to destroy them. Israel was not to make a league with the Canaanites, as they unwisely did with the Gibeonites; but they were to sweep out the entire nation, root and branch. So sin must be exterminated and extirpated. Cry to the Lord Jesus Christ that you may never tolerate the sin of unbelief, and look upon it as a pitiable infirmity. No: it is a grievous sin; war to the death with it; the Son of God is revealed so that it may be utterly destroyed. Happy is that man who no longer doubts his God, but exercises the Abrahamic faith which does not stagger at the promise through unbelief!

34. Do fleshly lusts arise in your heart, my brother? In whose heart do they not arise? The brightest saint is sometimes tempted to the foulest vice. Yes, but he does not yield to it. By the grace of God he says, “Christ is revealed to destroy the works of the devil.” He will not play with these things and dally with them, and let them be his Delilah, for he knows that they will cost him his eyes, even if they do not ruin his soul. He cries, “Away with them!” It is not fitting even to mention these vile things; they are works of the devil, and to be destroyed.

35. My brother, do you quickly become angry? I pray God you may be angry and not sin; but if you are of a quick temper, I entreat you to overcome it. Do not say, “I cannot help it.” You must help it, or rather Christ must destroy it. It must not be tolerated. Does your anger ever intensify into hate? Do you ever feel envious of those who are better off than yourself, or better than yourself? Does that envy ever lead you to think harshly of them, to indulge yourself in suspicions that are groundless concerning them? Oh, for the sword of the Lord and of Gideon! Kill all these Midianites, for Christ is revealed on purpose to clear the heart of the whole brood of them. God is love, and he who dwells in love dwells in God; and hate and ill will must not live! Every form of evil must fall; destruction is meted out to them all. Every idol must be broken.

36. Oh, brethren, there is to be in every true believer the ultimate abolition of sin. What a prospect this is! The cutting up of the very roots of evil! The sooner the better. The day shall come when every child of God shall be transformed and transfigured into the likeness of Christ, and shall be without fault before the throne of God. This is already foreshadowed upon us, for the outlines are drawn in the fact that we hate all sin, and long for perfect holiness. The great Father has put his mark upon the lump of clay, and we can see from the rough draft that he will fashion it and form it into the perfect image of his dear Son. We are struggling to become that image. It is begun in us by the power of the Spirit of God, and he will not fail nor be discouraged until the purpose of God shall be accomplished, and all the works of Satan in us shall be destroyed. This robs death of all dread: the prospect of being totally free from sin makes us welcome even the grave, if by that road we are to come to the home of the perfect. Meanwhile, let us seek after sanctification; let us labour after holiness, and let us abound in it to the glory of God. Despite our failures and mistakes let us pursue holiness! Taking it by the heel, let us keep close to it. So may the Lord enable us for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

[Portion Of Scripture Read Before Sermon — 1Jo 3]
{See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Jesus Christ, Names and Titles — Christ Of God” 373}
{See Spurgeon_Hymnal “The Christian, Courage and Confidence — More Than Conqueror” 680}
{See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Jesus Christ, His Praise — Praise To The Redeemer” 428}

Jesus Christ, Names and Titles
373 — Christ Of God
1 Jesus, the Lamb of God,
      Who us from hell to raise
   Hast shed thy reconciling blood,
      We give thee endless praise.
2 God, and yet man, thou art,
      True God, true man, art thou:
   Of man, and of man’s earth a part,
      One with us thou art now.
3 Great sacrifice for sin,
      Giver of life for life,
   Restorer of the peace within,
      True ender of the strife:
4 To thee, the Christ of God,
      Thy saints exulting sing;
   The bearer of our heavy load,
      Our own anointed King.
5 True lover of the lost,
      From heaven thou camest down,
   To pay for souls the righteous cost,
      And claim them for thine own.
6 Rest of the weary, thou!
      To thee, our rest, we come;
   In thee to find our dwelling now,
      Our everlasting home.
                     Horatius Bonar, 1861.

The Christian, Courage and Confidence
680 — More Than Conqueror
1 His be the “victor’s name,”
      Who fought our fight alone;
   Triumphant saints no honour claim;
      His conquest was his own.
2 He hell in hell laid low;
      Made sin, he sin o’erthrew:
   Bow’d to the grave, destroy’d it so,
      And death, by dying, slew.
3 What though the accuser roar
      Of ills that we have done;
   We know them well, and thousands more,
      Jehovah findeth none.
4 Sin, Satan, Death appear
      To harass and appal;
   Yet since the gracious Lord is near,
      Backward they go, and fall.
5 We meet them face to face,
      Through Jesus’ conquest blest;
   March in the triumph of his grace,
      Right onward to our rest.
6 Bless, bless the Conqueror slain;
      Slain in his victory!
   Who lived, who died, who lives again,
      For thee, his church, for thee!
                     Samuel W. Gandy, 1837.

Jesus Christ, His Praise
428 — Praise To The Redeemer
1 Plunged in a gulf of dark despair
      We wretched sinners lay,
   Without one cheerful beam of hope,
      Or spark of glimmering day.
2 With pitying eyes, the Prince of Grace
      Beheld our helpless grief;
   He saw, and (oh amazing love!)
      He ran to our relief.
3 Down from the shining seats above
      With joyful haste he fled,
   Enter’d the grave in mortal flesh,
      And dwelt among the dead.
4 He spoil’d the powers of darkness thus,
      And brake our iron chains;
   Jesus hath freed our captive souls
      From everlasting pains.
5 Oh, for this love let rocks and hills
      Their lasting silence break,
   And all harmonious human tongues
      The Saviour’s praises speak.
6 Yes, we will praise thee, dearest Lord,
      Our souls are all on flame,
   Hosanna round the spacious earth
      To thine adored name.
7 Angels, assist our mighty joys,
      Strike all your harps of gold,
   But when you raise your highest notes,
      His love can ne’er be told.
                              Isaac Watts, 1709.