Opposing Satan’s Whisperers

God is still in the soul-saving business, but that does not mean there is no opposition.

When Saul and Barnabas entered the court of Sergius Paulus in Paphos on that first missionary journey (Acts 13:4-12), there was no doubt that they were involved in spiritual warfare. I am not trying to sound dramatic, but fundamentalists today do not acknowledge the battle going on around them as much as they should. Just as Saul before Sergius Paulus, we are in a struggle for souls and there is opposition on two fronts.

The hearts of those we seek to win oppose the gospel.

It takes a supernatural drawing work of the Holy Spirit in the heart for a person to come to Christ. That seemed to be happening already in Sergius Paulus as the story unfolds. Luke notes that Sergius Paulus was a man of intelligence. This probably refers to an ability to discern spiritual truths not easily grasped among the Gentiles. Sergius Paulus sent for Saul and Barnabas in order to speak with them. Intellectual curiosity about the things of God eventually led to true faith. The Spirit was already at work.

There are enemies who would pervert the gospel.

We commonly think of enemies as the popular preachers of false doctrine, but in the work of personal evangelism, they are often the whisperers. These are those that drop words of doubt, cast aspersions on God’s people, and through various other means seek to subvert the message of the gospel in an effort to prevent people from believing it. In this case, the whisperer was a Jewish sorcerer named Bar-Jesus also known as Elymas. Self-seeking deceivers and unseen wicked spiritual forces most often find themselves in happy company. So while Saul and Barnabas explained the truth to Sergius Paulus, Elymas stood at his side subverting it, serving his own interests and Satan’s too.

Saul turned and stared at the deceiver and then spoke.

“O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” (Acts 16:10-11)

The Lord, not Saul, struck him blind. It was the turning point in the gospel presentation. In fact, the very conflict of truth vs. evil and the demonstration of the power of God is what convinced Sergius Paulus to believe (Acts 13:12)

There are two lessons for evangelists that I see in this passage. First, we must positively declare truth and not fear to point out false doctrine when we share the gospel. The tendency today is to be timid about the truth. Our post-modern society hates dogmatic truth claims, and yet appeasing that hatred does violence to the gospel itself. We cannot, we must not, back down. Paul called Elymas’ words lies and perversions and did so boldly and without hesitation. So must we, when the souls of people are at stake.

Second, we must remember that our words alone will not win the day. God, Himself must defeat the enemies of truth. When praying for unbelievers, pray against the influence of the whisperers. Ask God to reveal them for what they are—deceivers and false prophets who are bent on the destruction of the lost for their own selfish reasons.

There is nothing magical or mystical going on in this passage that is different than what goes on in Great Commission work today.  Simple truth, proclaimed boldly and unapologetically, prayer both for the lost and against the whisperers, and the work of the Holy Spirit that brings the soul to faith—these are the essential elements in the spiritual battle we do for souls.

Souls for Jesus is our battle cry.
Souls for Jesus, we’ll fight until we die.
We never will give in, while souls are lost in sin.
Souls for Jesus is our battle cry.