Warfare has changed greatly from ancient times. What has stayed the same is that warfare relies on the high ground, having vantage points and pinpointing the enemy. During the Korean Civil War, there was the punch bowl battle where they fought intensely over three hills which were crucial strategic points on the battlefield. Whoever took those hills would have an advantage in the war. It is the same in the heart of a man where there is a battle going on between Jesus and Satan. Whoever has control of your heart will have control of your behavior and life. The Christian’s heart belongs to God because we believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9). We are told to guard our hearts and examine who sits on the throne of our heart if it is God or Satan (Proverbs 4:23). Who is in your heart? It is either Jesus or demons. There are no neutral hearts. By this parable, we know that our behavior reveals who is in our hearts. Jesus is showing us how our hearts lose to the demons.
Luke 11:24 “When the unclean spirit goes out of a man.” This man is reminiscent of the man who was healed in Luke 11:14, who had experienced the grace and power of God. The man in the parable has tasted the heavenly gift of God yet his heart remains unchanged. (Hebrews 6:4-5). Ten lepers were healed by Jesus but only one returned to thank Him while the other nine remained unchanged in heart. This sort of story is also common in our churches which are filled with those who experience God and change morally but have not surrendered to God and transformed inwardly. Eventually, they scatter because they are truly not with Jesus and serving Him as Lord (Luke 11:23). They might be physically present in the church community but they are not participating in their heart. They are nominal Christians who are only Christians in name and appearance but they lack true faith and repentance and a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus might be outside the door knocking but He has not entered yet (Revelation 3:15-17). The nominal Christian lacks the inner qualities of a true Christian.
Social Christians also fall under this category. They believe in justice and freedom and the ideals of God but only in the realms of society and government instead of their personal faith. They can understand and pursue these aspects of God because we are all under God’s common grace who works his judgment and righteousness in the world. However, there is no middle ground, you either belong to God or Satan (1 John 5:19). Being a social Christian does not mean your heart belongs to God.
Jesus continues, “the demon passes through waterless places.” The waterless place is a desert with no life. Satan is constantly wandering, seeking for those to consume and take over (Job 1:6-7). Satan targets the nominal, the moral, and the ones who desire truth in anything. Men will look for all sorts of salvation except in Jesus Christ. They are the lifeless desert Satan passes through.
After wandering the demon says he will return to his former home. He finds the heart empty because it has not been occupied by Jesus. What a foolish man! He has filled his heart with everything in the world but Jesus. The room looks very attractive to the demon, it is clean and put in order. What this really means is that the heart is full of wickedness (Mark 7:21-23). They might be very disciplined, more disciplined than anyone else, and they might be principled, more principled than anyone else. This is exactly the kind of heart that a demon loves most because it is a wicked heart wrapped in moralism, a mere change in behavior pretending to be righteous.
Satan loves morality without Christ. He loves hypocrisy. Moralism is more dangerous the immorality. Those who are moral deceive themselves with a false sense of security. Those who are religiously moral do not seek Christ because they think they don’t need Christ. This was the condemnation against the self-righteous Pharisees (Matthew 23:15). Satan loves the moral man because a moral man doesn’t realize they are sick and dying. Remember Jesus didn’t come to call the moral but the sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32; 1 Timothy 1:15). We must confess we are sinners. The greatest enemy of the true gospel is moralism. It is correct, that Christians should be moral and obey God but obedience comes after we repent and believe in Jesus. Do not be deceived, we cannot be saved by morality!
Morality will never work because a moral change is superficial (Matthew 23:25-28). The leaves might be green but the root is rotten. Like the Pharisees, the outside of the cup is clean but the inside is dirty, the outside looks nice but the inside is dead. Only the true Christian is transformed inside and out by the power of the gospel. By the gospel people’s hearts are made alive resulting in an outward change of life also. Behavior modification can appear to be true change but they falsely worship in their hearts. A person can even deceive themselves and others that their change is true and genuine because it appears that way. Their change is affirmed and recognized by other Christians. Satan loves the behavior modified.
We can discern the behavior modified by their preferences. They seek the artificial and are satisfied with actions that feed their emotions. They use the Word for their emotional benefit. Their change is short-lived and constantly changing again. True change is consistent and persevering because it is wrought by the Holy Spirit. True change starts with being dead to self (self-denial). Without denying yourself you cannot change. It is God who must change us and He changes us through repentance. God is sovereign and every situation He ordains is an opportunity for our repentance and change. True change is through the Holy Spirit who must dwell in your hearts. Jesus promised it is better for us that the Holy Spirit would come and dwell in us, teach us, strengthen us, and change us. Therefore we must seek the Holy Spirit if we are to change from the inside.
“Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself.” (Luke 11:26) There are now eight spirits. This is much worse than before. Why? Because that heart was empty. Without Jesus, the heart is utterly empty. Many will try to fill their heart with so many wicked and foolish things in order to satisfy their emptiness. All their attempts always end up in a worse situation. That’s why we see it getting worse and worse in our society today and no man, no president, no policy, and no ideology will improve it. Our country and all people are cursed (2 Kings 23:26-27). God has pronounced his judgment on our world today by leaving it to a reprobate mind. Morality will not save us. However, God will not abandon His chosen. God still has His people and He will save them through Jesus. So you must decide who you believe in and serve. If you wish to be transformed then be saved by repenting and believing in Jesus Christ.
BIBLE COMMUNITY CHURCH 
Leave a comment