It is a curious thing in our
time. When I was a child, it was considered socially graceless to use the name
of Christ (or God) as an expression of anger. People were not particularly
offended in a religious sense; it was simply impolite. (Do you remember the
old Superman series, and Perry White's "Great Caesar's Ghost?") Now,
it is considered "punctuation." Where did this sense of politeness,
now long since gone, come from?
·
Search the Old Testament. Every time you see the phrase,
"the name of the Lord, you
will notice that it is in small capitals. That means that it is a translation
of the Hebrew word we now use as Jehovah. It is a personal name - God's first
name, if you will.
·
In the New Testament, the same phrase translates the Greek word kurios
- which means "supreme authority." It is usually coupled as
"name of the Lord Jesus" - which again is a personal name. I have in
my possession a version of the Bible in Hawaiian and English. I am told that
the early missionaries introduced the "S" sound into Hawaiian simply
for the purpose of pronouncing the name. It is a personal name.
We don't like it when our own
personal names are misused. How much more, then, should God care for his own
Name? We shall see such care here today.
The Demon
(Acts 19:11-20 NIV) God did extraordinary miracles through
Paul, {12} so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were
taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left
them. {13} Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke
the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say,
"In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come
out." {14} Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
{15} One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know
about Paul, but who are you?" {16} Then the man who had the evil spirit
jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they
ran out of the house naked and bleeding. {17} When this became known to the
Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name
of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. {18} Many of those who believed now
came and openly confessed their evil deeds. {19} A number who had practiced
sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they
calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
{20} In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
(One should note that the kind of
miracles worked here are a specific fulfillment of John 14:12)
The Jewish Priests
The Jews who "went
around" (the word actually connotes a vagabond) were a familiar site at
this time. Over the years they developed the legend that their wisdom, by
which they exorcised demons, was handed down from Solomon (the tale is still
common in the occult world today.) This band must have been particularly
noteworthy, as there would be a "seventh son" in it - and the son of
a chief priest (which would be one of the 24 courses of priests). They did
this, generally, for money, but Jesus acknowledges that their work produced
real results.
Here, however, they try something new - imitation of one of their competitors,
it would seem. In that imitation we can see their problems:
·
Like most believers in magic, they are convinced that the
"right incantation" will do the job. They've seen Paul do it
"in the name of Jesus" - and assume that the words are all that is
required.
·
Their motive is money, not faith. Indeed, it seems they never
considered faith a necessity at all. If you want to know how this would sound
today, consider any fraudulent televangelist.
·
They get what they deserve - which has some interesting
implications, considering that God uses a demon to deliver it.
·
They get what they deserve - in God's style. They did this
indoors, but they are exposed for their fraud in public.
Why didn't Paul confront these
exorcists?
It's not that Paul is shy about
confrontation. Meekness in front of a crowd, an unwillingness to confront
Satan's emissaries - these are not noticeable in his character. So why then
does he not confront them? Why does God keep him from it?
·
First, so that no one will mistake his confrontation with envy.
To confront them directly might have given the impression that he and they were
actually in the same "business." To avoid confusing his hearers,
Paul leaves them to God.
·
Next, so that the Spirit might do His work. Sometimes we forget
that we are not alone.
·
Finally, so that all might be saved. Paul could have made them
enemies of the faith. By allowing this method, there is a chance that these
men might be saved.
The demon's attitude
Even a servant of the father of
lies may inadvertently teach us something of the truth - especially when good
comes from this. What can we learn from this demon's behavior?
·
The demon does not mock the name of the Lord - indeed, he would
not dare. Recall that whenever Christ encountered a demon, the first reaction
of the demon was to scream in terror. This demon begins by acknowledging
Christ - he can do no other - with a word that implies a deep knowledge.
·
He also knows Paul - the word would imply "acquainted
with" - which is a great honor to Paul. When the enemy knows you by name,
you are honored indeed. This explains no small amount of Paul's suffering, by
the way.
·
He also knows the difference between incantation and faith. He
sees no faith. Therefore these exorcists, being evil, are the lawful prey of
the Evil One - and the demon turns on them.
·
But God does not permit evil to arise unless he intends to bring
a greater good from it. From this evil we find that many are saved.
Witchcraft
The counterfeit of science
It is important to remember that
Satan creates nothing. He is a created being, and only man is the creating
creature. But he can twist and counterfeit that which God creates. Indeed,
this might be the very definition of evil - twisting and counterfeiting that
which is good, for all things which God created were created good. So magic
tells us that if we chant this incantation and propitiate that demon, we will
get what we want - an "if-then" indicative, just like science.
"Magic and science," said C. S. Lewis, "are twins."
The counterfeit of faith
Here we have seen the use of an
incantation which, in the mouths of the faithful, would have produced the
desired result (and often did). By imitating (counterfeiting) the reality of
faith, witchcraft promises the results of faith. In fact, in can only deliver
counterfeit results, as we shall see.
The back door: the occult
In our own time we have seen many
trapped into the occult by the assumption of, "what harm could there be in
it?" In our own neighborhood, two of the girls told my daughter that they
were going to cast a spell on a third girl. Neither - I talked to one myself -
thought anything of it. She had no idea what she was dealing with. How is it
that people who would never think of juggling jars of nitroglycerine would deal
with something far more dangerous - the occult?
·
There is the desire for knowledge. We want to be the ones in the
know, those who are sure of where they stand. Is this not particularly true in
our personal relationships? And doesn't the ouija board seem harmless?
·
There is the desire for power. The next promotion, the next
business deal, influence, fame - all these seem desirable. And who wouldn't
want the edge - after all, the other guy is talented too, but I have a secret
weapon.
·
There is the desire for freedom from guilt. To be vindicated, or
at least absolved, by someone powerful may soothe the conscience.
All these are counterfeits. By
these Satan tempts us to give ourselves to him in this life so that we may die
forever. It substitutes the partial for the whole, the counterfeit for the
real, the cheap fake for the real thing.
The necessity of burning the
books
It sometimes surprises readers of
this passage that the new Christians burnt their books on the occult and
magic. These, after all, could have been sold. Why did they have to be
burned?
This is an outward sign of
inward transformation
·
The new Christian often feels as if he'd like to testify - but
has nothing to say. It is not so; look at the powerful testimony without words
that was made here.
·
They are testifying to what they know. They don't yet know all
that they need to know of the faith, but what they do know, they testify to.
·
And they do it in a way that speaks loudly to the people they
know best - those who are also in the occult.
Like burnt bridges, burnt books
strengthen the resolve
·
There is the obvious point that once the books are burnt, it is
much more difficult to go back into the life of the occult - you'd have to buy
all those expensive things again! It's a sign of life long commitment.
·
These things are not cheap. The new Christian can, by doing
this, offer a devotional sacrifice to the Lord.
This is the destruction of
that which is used for evil
Satan can only twist - but man
can create, and he can create that which is evil. By its destruction, that
much more evil is removed from the world. A book burnt cannot be read by its
next victim.
Worse than a demon
You might ask, what does this
have to do with me? I'm not into the occult. But do you not see that demon
possession is not nearly as terrible as possession by sin?
Chrysostom - who was familiar
with the demon possessed on a daily basis, living in a time where Satan openly
displayed his power - tells us this. A man attacked by such a thing as demon
possession would often have moments of lucidity, when the power of the demon
was in abeyance. In those moments, the man would feel deeply ashamed. He
would be ashamed of the pain he had caused; ashamed of the humiliation of his
family and loved ones. Demon possession at least can be recognized for the
evil it is. There is no pride in being possessed by an evil spirit.
But sin - ah, that's different.
How often we take pride in our sins! Do you think not? Consider this: do you
know someone who is owned by his rage? A person who constantly goes into
extravagant fits of anger? Do they not justify themselves by their pride?
"At least I fixed his wagon!"
Perhaps you don't think that
applies. But which is worse: an anger on display, out of control, which may
produce consequences - and God will use those evil consequences to bring forth
a greater good; or a rage which burns inside the heart, eating it out, a
concealed fire that hollows out what once was a living tree?
Consider it well. The time of
repentance is always near. Today is always a good day to return to the Lord's
way. Burn the books, whatever they may be, and commit yourself to Him. You
call yourself a Christian, a follower of the Christ. Does your life honor His
Name?