Merrill F. Unger on Spiritual Warfare: Withstanding the Assaults of the Enemy

        It is perilous to ignore the adversary.[1] The apostle Paul recognized that. “We are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:11; NASB),[2] he declared. It is equally hazardous not to stand against the enemy. The apostle realized that fact, too. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore” (Ephesians 6:13-14; NASB).
        No one can stand firm against the powers of darkness who does not know his position and resources in Christ and the deceptive schemes of the foe he faces. Christ’s glorious salvation and our triumph in Him form the splendid scenery that is always brightly silhouetted against the somber background of Satan and demonic activity.
        Those who imagine that they can triumph in Christ and not encounter satanic conflict deceive themselves. If they do not experience warfare, either their “triumph” is phony or their position in Christ is purely imaginary.[3] They are parading in the sphere of darkness, but somehow they are mistaking it for the realm of light.
        To be delivered from the foe you must know and face the foe. You must claim the efficacy of the blood of Christ and the power of His name. You must face the foe in the light of what you are in Christ and what He has done for you. […] (p. 188)[4]

        [R]ecognition of demonic activity with bold confrontation of the powers of darkness is necessary to be set free. Ignorance of Satan’s devices and theoretical armchair interpretations of Scripture that simply do not jibe with authenticated human experience hinder rather than help the ministry of deliverance.
        Today a new and subtle device of Satan is springing up to distract saints from facing the foe. Because of the flood of anti-occult literature from the evangelical camp that perhaps discloses in some quarters an unhealthy preoccupation with Satan and demonic powers, some believers are falling into another satanic trap. They are loathe to [sic][5] hear anything at all about the powers of darkness. At best, they shy away from facing the full implications of the scriptural teachings on the subject.
        This is just as truly the snare of the devil as fanatical occupation with the powers of darkness. If we are going to be delivered, we must face the enemy squarely. We dare not ignore him even if he appears under the masquerade of supposed biblical orthodoxy that sets arbitrary limits to his sway over a sinning saint where such limitations do not really exist.[6] (pp. 189–90)

Merrill F. Unger, What Demons Can Do to Saints (1977; repr., Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1991)

Copyright © The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, 1991. All rights reserved.

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Notes

        1. Namely Satan (Gk: Σατανᾶς, Satanas).
        2. Scriptural quotations labelled ‘NASB’ are taken from the New American Standard Bible (1977 text edition).
        3. That is to say, such persons are deluded or self-deceived; they are not, in actuality, united to Christ by faith.
        4. Believers must ground their identity completely in the person of Jesus Christ, placing their confidence fully in Christ’s redemptive work, specifically his sin-cancelling death on the cross. Satan is not intimidated by human beings – least of all sinful human beings – nor is he disposed to respond to any authority other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

        5. Rather, they are loath to (i.e. reluctant; unwilling) hear of anything concerning the powers of darkness.

        6. It is not uncommon for conservative Christians to radically underestimate the level of damage that Satan can inflict in the lives of believers who do not walk circumspectly before the Lord and persist in wilful sin.  —J. D. Gallé

Notes copyright © J. D. Gallé, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022. All rights reserved.

Addendum.  Merrill Frederick Unger (1909–1980).

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Latest revisions: 17 May 2016 (made correction of typographical error in par. 7); 15 April 2017 (altered punctuation in a few places in the notes); 17 and 27 February 2018 (minor textual modifications; altered title); added a note and shifted fifth note to sixth (16 May 2021); removed a comma in note (6 Oct. 2021); added a link concerning the author (Unger) (18 Nov. 2021); expanded nn. 1 and 5 (19 Aug. 2022).

The Boasting of a Vapour: Temporal Preoccupation and the ‘Sin of Omission’ in James 4.13–17

J. D. Gallé | Wednesday, 4 May 2016

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. 

(James 4.13–17, ESV*)

        The creator–creature distinction is implicit throughout James 4.13–17. As is common in wisdom literature, James rebukes human pride and presumptuousness. The remedy to this improper attitude is proper humility before God (see vv. 6, 10) and sober recognition of God’s sovereignty (v. 15). The imperative is that humans live in humble acknowledgement of their mortality and the tenuous nature of existence. Verse 14 is crucial: ‘you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.’ By contrast, God is immortal and ultimately sovereign over all human and creaturely affairs. Nothing whatever can occur apart from the decree or permission of God.

        What James is condemning is preoccupation with the temporal or transient (i.e. living primarily for the here and now), not planning or making provision for the future per se (see also Matt. 6.19–34). If I may employ a Johannine expression, ‘the pride of life‘ (1 Jn 2.16) that James speaks of leads humans to exclude consideration of God in their day-to-day affairs. Far from being a morally neutral area, humans living their lives for their own pleasures and pursuits without any thought of God is arrogant and evil (v. 16). Failure to humble oneself and acknowledge God and his sovereignty (not merely in abstraction, but in one’s personal life) is specifically the ‘sin of omission’ that James has in mind in verse 17.

Note

        * English Standard Version (2001–2016).

Copyright © J. D. Gallé, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023. All rights reserved.

        

Addendum.  The above piece was originally written on Saturday, 2 January 2016. It has only been very slightly revised as you see it now in its present form.


Latest revisions: 16 November 2016 (converted ‘cf.’s to ‘see’s in brackets); 17 February 2018 (converted five colons to full stops); altered one scriptural abbreviation (20 Nov. 2021); added note (16 Aug. 2023).