Satan's Works Destroyed: Rest Enjoined!

Christmas Eve and 40 degrees Celsius in the shade!  Converted to Fahrenheit, that is a toasty 104 degrees.  As I sit in my sweltering non-air conditioned house baking birthday cakes to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, I can hear thunder rumbling in the distance.  Maybe we will have a downpour or some hail before the day is over.  But I didn't drag myself up the stairs to post on this blog just for a weather report, as interesting or unimportant it may be.

Yesterday we had the pleasure to accept a friend's invitation to a Christmas carol presentation at his church.  It was a grand affair with thousands in attendance, bright lights, skilled musicians, talented vocals, and booming volume.  As I was singing along with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," I noticed one of the opening three lines was curiously omitted.  It has come back to mind several times today, and therefore I feel compelled to expound upon the deleted line.

The familiar carol begins, "God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay, remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day; to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray."  Many Christians today set apart Christmas as a time to commemorate and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour sent by the Father to be the Saviour of the world.  From what I heard at church last night, the purpose of Christ's coming was to bring salvation, peace, joy, and goodwill toward all men.  This is true.  What I did not hear is that Jesus Christ came "to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray."  When Jesus came to earth, this was a primary reason why He came!  1 John 3:8 reads, "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."  There was likely nothing sinister at work in the omission of that single line in the carol.  But the devil is sinister, and Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.

Right after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden through their disobedience, God alluded to this future destruction of Satan's power.  Genesis 3:14-15 states, "So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. ¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." Slithering snakes are a reminder of man's fall and subsequent curse of sin.  That "old serpent," that deceiver and destoyer Satan who is the devil, he has continually been at war with mankind.  There would always be enmity between Satan and men created in the image of the Almighty God.  Jesus Christ, the Messiah, also called Immanuel (God with us), is the Seed of whom is referred to here.  Satan would inflict a painful blow to Christ upon the cross of Calvary, but Jesus in dying and rising again would crush Satan's head.  Jesus proved Himself victorious over sin, death, Satan, and hell.  The Law that condemned us was nailed to the cross, along with the power of Satan.  Jesus has overcome, and all who repent and trust in Christ as Saviour are triumphant also through Him.

Christmas is a wonderful reminder of what Christ has done by saving all from Satan's power when we were gone astray.  Because of His incarnation, obedience, and sacrifice, all may repent and be born again.  Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  For those who are born again by God's grace, we are to put off the works of darkness and walk in newness of life.  Praise God for sending us a Saviour, for breaking our chains, and freeing us from the bondage of fear, sin, death, and Satan!