Sermon Tone Analysis

*Christmas Put *

*the Devil Out of Business!*

1 John 3:7-9

 

Christmas put the Devil out of business!

Are you kidding?

Sometimes it seems like Christmas put the Devil in business.

·       Greater depression in this season than in any other.

·       Increase in the number of suicides.

·       Rampant greed.

·       Family disputes run high this season.

A couple of years ago, Christmas brought several instances of pieces on earth and bad will toward men.

·       In San Rafael, California, two men exchanged gifts and were offended by what the other gave.

In the resulting fight, each man hit the other over the head with a flowerpot.

Both were hospitalized.

·       Twenty-year-old Brandi Nicole Nason was also less than pleased with the gift she received.

When her former mother-in-law's house burned, Nason was accused of throwing the Molotov cocktail that started the $200,000 blaze.

·       Although most people don't know what to do with their tree once the celebration is over, a woman in Victoria, British Columbia, had an idea.

She was arrested for beating a man with her Christmas tree.

The incident was sparked when the man grumbled that the load of gifts in his arms was heavier than the tree she was carrying.

·       When her Jensen Beach, Florida, apartment complex held a Christmas-lights competition, Donna Simmons-Groover was a winner…briefly.

One of her neighbors, incensed at losing the contest, ripped down part of Donna's winning display.[1]

Seems like the Devil has as strong a foothold this time of year as at any.

Perhaps the reason the Devil tries to wreak so much havoc at Christmas time …

 

Perhaps the reason his minions are fighting everything from mangers scenes on public property to Christmas carols in schools to the current campaign to replace “Merry Christmas” to something more generic.

[Some stores may eventually even stop saying, “Happy Holidays.”

Their official greeting instead will be, “Isn’t it cold outside?”]

Maybe the reason the Devil fights so hard at Christmas is because Christmas sealed his defeat forever.

That’s what the Bible says.

[Read 1 John 3:7-9]

 

I want to focus on verse 8.

 

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil.”

Jesus Christ came to earth at Christmas to put the “out of business” sign on Satan’s sin shop.

Notice with me three things tonight:

 

The Dominion of the Devil

The Deeds of the Devil

The Defeat of the Devil

 

*1.

**The Dominion of the Devil*

* *

1 John 3:8 He who sins is of the devil …

 

Notice that phrase “of the devil.”

It means to belong to the devil.

The Bible speaks further about what it means to belong to the Devil in 1 John 3:10:

 

1 John 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Jesus said that to commit sin is to be enslaved by sin:

 

John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”

Jesus also said that commit sin is to bear a family relationship with the Devil:

 

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.

Here’s the Devil’s dominion: He is ruling and reigning in the heart of everyone who “does not practice righteousness.”

Notice the language of v. 8 again.

“He who sins is of the Devil”

 

Does that mean that if you sin one time you belong to Satan?

 

No.

The idea is continual sin.

A life of sin.

A heart contaminated by sin.

Practicing sin.

Compare with verse 7: “he who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He [Jesus] is righteous.”

Same word is used in v. 8 to describe sin:

 

“He who /practices /sin belongs to the Devil.”

A basketball player practices basketball.

A pianist practices the piano.

A lawyer practices law.

A doctor practices medicine.

A believer in Jesus Christ practices righteousness.

A non-believer practices sin.

Here’s a checkpoint for you: What are you practicing?

If you life is marked by sin, it matters not whether you’ve been baptized, whether your name is on a church roll, whether you call yourself a Christian – a life marked by continual sin the life dominated by the Devil, not by Christ.

* *

*2.    **The Deeds of the Devil*

* *

1 John 3:8 … for the devil has sinned from the beginning

 

From the beginning, the Devil has sinned – rebelled against God.

Do you believe in the Devil?

I heard about a young Christian lady who was dating a man.

A good man.

A kind man.

But he was not as strong as his Christian beliefs as she was.

Her mother, who was somewhat overbearing, was anxious for her daughter to marry the young man – after all, he was a good catch.

The daughter said, “Mother, I’m not sure if I can marry John.

He doesn’t believe there’s such a thing as the Devil.”

The mother said, “Oh, honey, don’t you worry about that.

You marry him, and we’ll show him there’s a Devil!”

The Bible teaches the reality of a personal devil.

This enemy has many different names in Scripture:

 

Satan (adversary, enemy),

 

The devil (accuser),

 

Abaddon or Apollyon (destroyer)

 

The prince of this world

 

The dragon

 

Whatever name you call him, keep in mind that his chief activity is to oppose Christ and God’s people.

* *

*A.

Deeds of Deception*

* *

That has been his strategy against mankind since the garden of Eden.

He wants to deceive you into thinking that God is against you and that sin is good for you.

Paul writes of his deception …

 

2 Corinthians 11:14 For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

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2 Corinthians 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Jesus said of the Devil deception:

 

John 8:44 When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

IL: A recent news article reported on a dangerous practical joke played by a nursery employee:

 

A British Columbia-based nursery discovered that a highly poisonous plant had been incorrectly labeled “tasty in soup."

The label should have read, "All parts of this plant are toxic," but an employee changed it to, "All parts of this plant are tasty in soup." 17 of the plants were sold to customers.

When they discovered the terrible deception on the labels, the nursery managed to track down 8 of the plants.