Stott: the devil hates the Gospel
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Commemoration of Mary Slessor, Missionary in West Africa, 1915
Meditation:
Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.
—2 Timothy 2:11-14 (NIV)
Quotation:
The world’s opposition is strong and subtle. And behind these things stands the devil, bent on ‘taking men alive’ and keeping them prisoner. For the devil hates the gospel and uses all his strength and cunning to obstruct its progress, now by perverting it in the mouths of those who preach it, now by frightening them into silence through persecution or ridicule, now by persuading them to advance beyond it into some fancy novelty, now by making them so busy with defending the gospel that they have no time to proclaim it.
... John R. W. Stott (b. 1921), Guard the Gospel; the Message of 2 Timothy, Downers Grove, Ill., Inter Varsity Press, 1973, p. 126 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
Lord, may Your Gospel be proclaimed over the objections of those who hate it.CQOD Blog email RSS
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Commemoration of Mary Slessor, Missionary in West Africa, 1915
Meditation:
Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.
—2 Timothy 2:11-14 (NIV)
Quotation:
The world’s opposition is strong and subtle. And behind these things stands the devil, bent on ‘taking men alive’ and keeping them prisoner. For the devil hates the gospel and uses all his strength and cunning to obstruct its progress, now by perverting it in the mouths of those who preach it, now by frightening them into silence through persecution or ridicule, now by persuading them to advance beyond it into some fancy novelty, now by making them so busy with defending the gospel that they have no time to proclaim it.
... John R. W. Stott (b. 1921), Guard the Gospel; the Message of 2 Timothy, Downers Grove, Ill., Inter Varsity Press, 1973, p. 126 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
Lord, may Your Gospel be proclaimed over the objections of those who hate it.
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posted by Robert McAnally Adams at 1/11/2011 02:00:00 AM
2 Comments:
you could replace "gospel" in the quote with "Mary", as the biblical bookends of Genesis and Revelation speak of satan's hatred for our Lady.
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman"
"Then the dragon was angry with the Woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus"
Sadly, denial of the Mother of God by our protestant brethren seem to serve him quite well in this.
D'artagnan, you'd be hard-pressed to find a good Lutheran who does not revere Mary and hold her in special esteem. Our confessions even affirm that Mary--the blessed mother of our Lord and bearer of God--does indeed to this day still pray for the Church on earth (cf. Apology to the Augsburg Confession, Art. XXI, Par. 27). For her role in redemptive history and her continued intercession on our behalf, Satan would always lead the world to despise and disparage her--as if anything we say now could ever tarnish her beauty. It is tragic that Satan's hate would gain so much traction in the Church.
You also misquoted Genesis by omission. The enmity continues between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman (recall the language of Paul in Galatians about "seed" vs. "seeds"). This points clearly to Jesus, the seed of the woman, who would succumb to the bruise delivered by the serpent and yet destroy the power of that serpent by rising again and ascending to His Father's right hand!
Marian theology of the Roman Catholic Church gets weird, and the co-redemptrix language you seem to be insinuating (replacing "the gospel" with "Mary") is flat-out heretical. If that is not what you intended, please accept the sincerest apologies of this non-reformed protestant.
I join you in saying that Mary, full of grace, is worthy of our admiration and respect; the gracious Christ alone, however, is the object of our faith--and was the object of Mary's faith as well.
Pax Christi, my brother.
Eric R.
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