"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.” Luke 11:21-26
In this passage, the Lord gives a warning to those who have experienced common grace, reform in their attitudes and actions, but have not entered into the full embrace of Christ as Savior and Lord. This passage also underscores a warning to Christians to flee from smug self-satisfaction which overestimates individual abilities while ignoring the necessity of daily grace from the risen and reigning Christ.
CONSIDERATIONS:
1. The strong man has come and is conquered by the cross (v. 22).
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1
"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." 1 John 4:4
2. Do not confuse common grace initiatives/personal advancement and the kingly rule of the living Christ to those who repent and believe the good news.
3.Rejoicing in the grace of the cross and centering your life on the reality of the finished work of Jesus for our sins is a safeguard that keeps us from theological error and personal unsoundness (Philippians 3:1-3).
"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you." Philippians 3:1
4. Neutrality regarding the eternal Christ is impossible and destructive to your life/soul (v. 23).
5. ”Seven other spirits MORE EVIL…”
“According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: It is through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: It is the complete anti-God state of mind… Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good– above all, that we are better than someone else– I think we may be sure that we're being acted on, not by God, but by the devil… The devil is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled, provided, all the time, he is setting you up in the Dictatorship of Pride– just as he would be quite content to see your skin rash cured if he was allowed, in return, to give you cancer. Pride is spiritual cancer: It eats up the possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
It is a grave danger to our joy and usefulness when a believer forgets or unintentionally marginalizes the supremacy of Christ and consequently, the pursuit of knowing, loving, and worshiping Him becomes a secondary concern instead of the ultimate reality. Therefore, we must continually repent.
“I quite agree that the Christian religion is in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort; It begins in the dismay I've been describing, and it is no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
JOHN CALVIN'S FOUR RULES OF PRAYER:
1. A heartfelt sense of reverence and gratitude which leads to worship.
2. Ongoing repentance: “Genuine and earnest prayer proceeds first from the sense of our need” (Calvin regarding Psalm 1). Therefore, prayer is the genuine cry of the human heart for help in the midst of circumstances that cannot be met by merely human resources.
3. Humility: “To sum up: the beginning, and even the preparation, of proper prayer is a plea for pardon with a humble and sincere confession of guilt" (3.20.8).
4. Confident hope.