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Martin Luther's Encounter With Satan

                  Martin Luther's Encounter with Satan
   
   
   In the conversations of Luther, which are in some measure a posthumous
   publication, we read, that . . . Satan, either in reality or 
   in a dream, appeared in the depth of the night, and addressed him in
   the following terms: "Luther, how dare you to pretend to be a reformer
   of the Church? Luther, let your memory do its duty - let your
   conscience do its duty: you have committed this sin - you have been
   guilty of that sin; you have omitted this duty, and you have neglected
   that duty: let your reform begin in your own bosom. How dare you
   attempt to be a reformer of the Church?
   
   Luther, with the self-possession and magnanimity by which he was
   characterized, (whether it was a dream or reality, he himself
   professes not to decide,) said to Satan - "Take up the slate that lies
   on the table, and write down all the sins with which you have now
   charged me; and if there be any additional, append them, too." Satan,
   rejoiced to have the opportunity of accusing, just as our blessed Lord
   is rejoiced to have the opportunity of advocating, took up a pencil,
   and wrote a long and painful roll of the real or imputed sins of
   Luther.
   
   Luther said, "Have you written the whole?" Satan answered, "Yes, and a
   black and dark catalogue it is, and sufficient to deter you from
   making any attempt to reform others, till you have first purified and
   reformed yourself." Luther said, "Take up the slate and write as I
   shall dictate to you. My sins are many; my transgressions in the sight
   of an infinitely holy God, are countless as the hairs of my head: in
   me there dwelleth no good thing; but, Satan, after the last sin you
   have recorded, write the announcement which I shall repeat from 1 John
   1:7,"The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." Luther in
   that text had peace; and Satan, knowing the source of his peace, had
   no more advantage against him.


                                      by Rev. John Cumming, 1854
                                          
           "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
            fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
            his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7 KJV)

                                          
           "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
            will flee from you." (James 4:7 KJV)

NOTE: Satan frequently tries to discourage us and make us feel unworthy, by correctly accusing us of our many sins. This is what he tried to do in the encounter with Martin Luther, as described above. But the fact that "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin," means that even if we are guilty and unworthy as charged, it doesn't really matter, because we are cleansed by the blood of Christ. Our guilt is removed, through no effort of our own -- just faith. This is the reason why Satan hates the song, "O, The Blood of Jesus" and wants to run away whenever he hears it.

May the Lord bless this presentation.

     Rev. Bill McGinnis  <><
     bmcgin@patriot.net
     

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