Romans 16 verse 20. The word of the Lord. One verse today. Romans 16 20. Our last sermon from the book of Romans for now. The word of the Lord says, together And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. The crushing of Satan. Now, brothers and sisters in the Lord, what does the crushing of Satan mean? Is it like a grinding of him to powder? There are some people who believe that they can get the meaning from the immediate context where the Apostle Paul was teaching that Christians in Rome, teaching them to avoid and even excommunicate some troublemakers in the church. And so that's a means of crushing wickedness. and then they would be able to be free to build a kingdom on earth. Others believe the crushing of Satan referred to a distant future final judgment. That's what we call the great white throne judgment, when Satan and his angels and all his followers will get their due and they will be sent to hell forever. This is a view that the crushing of Satan is It's viewing it in an eschatological way. That means the final destruction of Satan. Now, there's even a third view, which is not as common, but some hold to it, where they would say that victory over sin and death and hell. But when you die, that's a picture of the crushing of Satan, because the enemies we have, the devil, the world, and our flesh are all put to death when we die. And in that way is a kind of crushing of Satan. Well, which is it? Is it both that I mentioned in the text? Is it about the crushing of the wicked people at that time, excommunicating them from the church? Is it about the end of the world when the devil will be destroyed forever? Or maybe even the third point where they will die and by doing so they will crush sin and death and hell forever? Well, hear what God's word says. Our headings are three. God would crush Satan. Second, God would crush Satan using Christians. And then third, God would crush Satan by giving grace to Christians. And you'll find out which one of those things is correct in terms of the crushing of Satan. Our goals are that you will rejoice in and look forward to and work for the spread of Christ's kingdom and the destruction of Satan's kingdom. First, God would crush Satan. First notice, who will do the work of crushing Satan? God will do the work. This is clearly taught in the scriptures. This was pictured even in the conquering of Canaan under the first Joshua when he went in. God says, I've given the land into your hand. And then there were lots of symbolic or pictures of this. For example, in Joshua chapter 10, verse 24 in your sermon notes together, So it was, when they brought out those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, Come near, and put your feet on the necks of the kings. And they drew near, and put their feet on their necks." You see, there was a picture of the conquering of the wicked people. This was the same thing that God had said back in Genesis. In that first example of the gospel, God had promised that. Genesis chapter three, verse 15, together. And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall crush your head and you shall crush his heel. So again, you see this head being crushed and the foot being on top of it. This is what you see Jesus doing in Revelation. We'll read the passage later. But he's going out on this horse, this white horse, ready to fight, to conquer. There's a famous song, conquering now and still to conquer, rideth the king in his might. What is he going out to do? To conquer the world. And he's saying, submit to me or go to hell. Submit to me or go to hell. But there's another interesting word the Apostle Paul used. He says God will conquer, but he said the God of peace will crush Satan. And it seems kind of strange, right? Counterintuitive. Seems like the opposite. How could the God of peace be crushing? Well, that's how peace comes to the church, because the wicked one will never stop attacking the church of Jesus Christ. He and his people need to be conquered or crushed so that the church will be safe and can do its work. So the wicked need to be removed, and Jesus is our savior. defender. He is the head crusher, if you will, for his goal is to destroy the devil's work. First John chapter 3 verse 8 says, together, He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of Man was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." Interesting. You know, we have in our society that we're all just loving each other and we're all equal and all the same. Well, no, some people are subject to destruction, and that's what Jesus came to do. Now why would God crush Satan? The God of peace would crush Satan in order to protect his purchased possessions. That's you, Christians. This was not a benediction like a desire, you'll see one later, that desire for good to come upon God's people, that strong type of prayer. This was a strong declaration of fact. The God of peace. will do this work of crushing Satan. Now God's crushing of Satan was not really a direct act of putting Satan under their feet and crushing it. Satan is a spiritual being. How do you crush a spiritual being? I wasn't even speaking of a crushing of it like you grind something up to powder, not at all. The crushing of Satan was a crushing of Satan's children who posed an existential threat to God's children, hindering them from doing the work that God had called them to do. Remember, God says, all the parts of the church must come together and work. And then there's evil people who were causing division, who hated the cause of Christ, as we saw the last time, and they needed to be excommunicated, put out from the assembly of God's people, so the church could focus on building the kingdom of Jesus Christ. They were just deceiving, dividing God's children so they needed to be crushed. Look at 2 Corinthians 11, verses 13-15 now. We read together, For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. And what's their end? They will be destroyed. So who the Apostle Paul is targeting here are those who are doing the work of Satan. And you sort of wonder, why would they go into the church and cause all this trouble? Why do they feel the need? Why don't they just stay outside of the church and say, we're living our wicked lives? Because that's how the devil gets you. You know, the enemy outside, you can recognize him right away. They hate the church of Christ. They make judgments against the church of Christ. They pass laws against the church of Christ. But when they're in the church, that's when they pose greater danger because they have the look of Christianity. They have the look of Christ, but their hearts are very different. No wonder they have to be destroyed. Now while there was an immediate promise to crush the wicked who hurt God's people and hindered His kingdom, there was a type of God's ultimate crushing of Satan and his children and this will take place at the end of the world. This would be the final blow. See, Christ had already disarmed Satan and chained him, in other words, limited his ability to destroy. That's one of the reasons you see less people being possessed by evil spirits. The devil is quite limited at the cross. His power was broken And then there's that final future crushing. So there's a present crushing by the destroying of his people and what they stand for, but there's also a future crushing of Satan when he will be totally destroyed in the end. So what can we learn here? God would crush Satan. God will crush Satan and Satan's people. That means you don't need to panic. You don't need to worry. God said it will happen. And know that Satan and his children are always out to steal, to kill and to destroy. They love to destroy the truth. So Satan and his people need to be destroyed for God's people to have peace. That's why the God of peace, the one who gives peace to us, will destroy the enemy so we can live in peace. God will do this. But how would God do this? God conquers men with his word. You see, peace doesn't come by holding hands and singing Kumbaya or smoking peace pipes like they did with some of the natives. That's how the world thinks of having peace, eating together. And I think that that's where true peace comes. But true peace only comes from truth. And truth only comes from God's word. Every other religious book is full of lies against the God of heaven. There's only one that says it's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And that's how peace will come. Peace between God and man. So there's one type of conquering that is taking place here. One way of crushing people the workers of Satan, is to conquer them with the sword of the Spirit. And then the other type of crushing is what God will do to those who reject Him. It's not one or the other, it's both. Whoever rejects His word will be crushed and put in the fires of hell. By the way, there's one more important application here, and it's this. The state also has a role to exercise judgment on those who threaten God's people so they are free to advance Christ's kingdom. There's some people who like to draw that strong distinction, saying there's two kingdoms, and one doesn't touch the other one. God controls both. He's God of the state, He's God of the church, and He tells the state to protect God's people so that they are free to do the work that God has called them to do. So first, God would crush Satan. He will crush them now, he will crush them in the future, he will crush them by conquering them with the word of God, and he will crush them in hell if they reject the word of God. That's God. Now, God, second point, God would crush Satan using Christians. You. God would crush Satan, but would use his people. to do the crushing. This is why you see Satan's head under the believer's feet. That's the work of Christians. You see, Christians in Rome were co-heirs with Christ. So they were used to play a part in crushing Satan under their feet. This verse literally says that God will throw Satan's head under their feet. Look at 2 Samuel, relating to David. 2 Samuel 22, verse 41, together. You have also given me the necks of my enemies, so that I destroy those who hated me. See the picture of conquering the physical enemies of the people of God. That's what's seen in the New Testament as well. Look also, Psalm 91, verse 13, together. you shall tread upon the lions and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot." By the way, the devil goes around what? How? Like a roaring lion. The devil is also called the sneaky snake, the serpent. And they will be trampled underfoot, showing the conquering of the wicked by the people of God. So, the question is, how? How would God crush Satan's children using his children? Remember, in the first part, I said, the first point, that God would use his word. So, his people would speak the truth, so the wicked would hear God's word, they will fear God, and they will submit to him. That's a conquering. That's a conquering of the enemy with the word of God. That's what we're called to do. That's how you crush the devil. You know, there's nothing better to crush someone by bringing them on your side and then joining with you to do the work of the Lord. Then there's also one other thing. What happens if those people don't do the work of God or they oppose the work of God and seek to destroy the work of God? Well, God's people use then Christian discipline to excommunicate the wicked and separate from them. That is a crushing of the wicked. who are bent on harming the church of Jesus Christ. In doing so, in preaching the gospel and bringing more people to submission to God, and then excommunicating those who are doing wickedly, then the church will grow. You notice we didn't say anything about pulling out weapons and fighting and sticking a sword on the neck of people and say, you believe or we will kill you. No, not at all. Christians use the Word of God, speaking the truth, and then Christian discipline to separate, discipline and separate themselves from those who are wicked. And here's the other interesting fact here, and this is where it becomes a little bit tricky, and why there are various opinions on understanding this passage in terms of the timing. God would accomplish that work shortly. shortly. And when people see this, they think, of course, this has to mean God will soon destroy the wicked people there. And there's a way in which that is true, but it wasn't the physical destruction. It was conquering them. But then there's also this picture of Jerusalem, where the greatest enemy at this time was not Rome. The greatest enemy the church faced at this time were the Jews. And they would be conquered in a most dramatic way, even more dramatic than the time of the Assyrian and then the Babylonian captivity. This is when women would eat their own children. When blood flowed down the streets and the flowing would be easier, Jerusalem was on a mountain. When they would lay siege and they would starve. Many people committed suicide. It's one of the worst times in Israel's history. And they had to be destroyed because they were the greatest threat to the church of Jesus Christ. They weren't submitting to him. You look and read the Book of Acts, and you'll see where the trouble was coming from. In fact, the Roman government protected Christians at the beginning. They just figured, just another religion, and we can take as many as possible. But the Jews, remember, they killed Jesus. And they had to be destroyed. the worst persecutors of God's people, hindering the spread of the gospel. They were sending people. Remember Apostle Paul? He was going all the way to Damascus, Syria, looking for Christians to arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem to punish them, even execute them. And God brought judgment on them as well. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 6 through 8 say together, And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming." So, we're not going to spend time trying to figure out who the lawless one was. We know there are many situation individuals that might fit this category. What we focus on is that this wicked one was already at work at that time. And then someone is going to come in judgment. shortly and bring judgment upon this wicked one. And this is what happened as well. Someone who was existing at the time would be destroyed by the Lord. So this could not apply to 2000 years later. Someone who's already existing. I don't know the details. Lots of discussion. I don't want to go into speculation and distract from the focus here. But you see what an encouragement this was to God's people? The enemy be destroyed. They don't have to worry because the wicked one will be crushed. There is hope. for the believer. They could do the work that God called them to do. And by the way, God would continue to destroy his church's enemies throughout history. So whether it was the people in Rome, whether it was the people in Jerusalem, whether it was the Roman government, whether it'll be you go through the long list of people, they would all be destroyed. What do you think will happen to Islam? It'll be destroyed. What happened to communism? It didn't even last a hundred years properly before it was destroyed. The enemies of God's people will be destroyed. That's what Psalm 72 that we just sang said very clearly. So what can we learn? Christians have this role, right? to preach the gospel and to separate from the wicked as the means of conquering them. So don't be overwhelmed when you don't see the progress of Christ's kingdom in the world that you want. Don't panic when you see churches with snakes in them, and there are many churches with snakes. Read the book of Jude. Even back then, 2,000 years ago, there were snakes in the church. Don't be frustrated when you see opposition to Christ's cause from the civil government or from false religion. The answer is this, victory is coming. Pray for it, work for it. Satan and his enemies have been crushed. Satan and his enemies will be crushed. So don't be overwhelmed. What should you do then? Start crushing. Start crushing. How do you crush them? Destroy their arguments. I'm not saying be mean. I'm saying fight. Listen to the arguments. Destroy them. Wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. That's how we win. That's more powerful than anything else. You know, false religions have always used the power of the sword. Whether it's Islam in Africa or India, look at what they're doing to stop people from converting. And in fact, in many states in India, you are not allowed to convert. They think they can stop God from working, but they will use the power of the sword and usually sticks or guns to harass Christians. But God uses a strong language because he's saying, this is a war. Look at the hyperbolic language of Revelation 19. Let me read this for you. This is speaking of Jesus. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. That's how we know this is Jesus. And the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes forth, goes a sharp sword, that with it He would strike the nations, and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads himself, he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 17, Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of the heaven, Come and gather together for the supper of the great God." You know what he's saying there, come and eat the dead bodies. That's a picture of really conquering them. That you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses, and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great. What was he speaking of here? You see, you look at the whole context, he's saying he's going out, his name is called the Word of God, and he's going to fight with what comes from his mouth. So here, the goal is to conquer the heart, and this is the way of describing the crushing of Satan. You know, just like you would say, The Blue Jays were crushed, and there's a good chance that it happened, or the Maple Leafs were crushed. Crushed means they were defeated. And that's what they're saying here. How are they crushed? They're crushed with the sword of the Spirit. So, are you willing the word of truth to conquer Satan? Remember what the Bible teaches us. Greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. Also, excommunicate the wicked from the church. That's how you fight. Does the church really have excommunication as a tool today? It does, but it doesn't use it. It's very hard to find. You ask people going to 100 different churches, and most of them will have no excommunication in forever. It's a rarely used tool. Pray, the church will use it more. Avoid a church that does not use excommunication as a tool. And of course, the final excommunication will take place in heaven on the judgment day when they will be sent apart from God. Now there's one last thing to cover here. We have that God will do the crushing. And then the children of God will be used to do the crushing for God. We do it with the Word of God and with excommunication. Faithful preaching, consistent discipline. Now, the third point is God would crush Satan by Christians, by giving them grace. Now, it was hard for believers to crush Satan on their feet. So God pronounced grace upon them. The pronouncement of grace is called the benediction. Here you see the blessing. A benediction is a strong, confident, declaratory prayer for God's blessing on God's people. And what does he bless them with? Grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God on man in Jesus Christ. Christians were redeemed through Christ, adopted by Him, and given strength for the fight. Here we are able to make peace because we have grace. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6 says, together, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And he is the one who gives us grace." Luke 2.14, together, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. John 14, 27, together. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. So peace is notably talked about in relation to Christ's work because the Apostle Paul wanted to contrast the war with Satan with the peace that comes through Jesus Christ. So they had the blessing. Grace. peace, and they had the blesser, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how they were able to fight. They've experienced the peace and the blessing of God. They've experienced the nourishment from the Lord's Supper, and so they are strengthened to fight and crush the wicked one. Three quick lessons here. First of all, receive the blessing of God twice weekly. Don't rob your children of the benediction. Give them presents that really matter. The Santa Claus parade won't give them this grace and this peace. It's being in God's people in God's house. It's the preaching of the word. It's being nourished by the sacraments. This is what will strengthen you for the task. Give them what they need. There are other things that are nice to do, but it will not strengthen them for this existential war with the wicked one. Second, recognize God is the source of the grace. and the strength you need to fight. These gifts are not intrinsic to you. They're not natural. They're not from your regular nature. Your nature would be to sin against God and go the ways of the world. Your instinct would be, forget it, do something else today. Why worship God? Why live for God? Why spend all my time teaching others when I could be doing something else? It's the natural instinct. Look at the thousands of dollars people are paying to go watch a concert in Toronto right now. Some people paid over $10,000 for a ticket. The gift is some wicked woman who has no love for the Lord. How much more could they do? But there's a third lesson. This is the one I like because of my own weakness, and it's this. Fight with the certainty of victory. That's the best type of battle. You know you're going to win. That's what the Lord says. He said it in Genesis. We see it in Revelation, and we see it throughout. That's what we were singing about. Christ shall have dominion over land and sea, that the Lord will rule until his enemies become his what? His footstool. That's what we see again in Romans. So throughout the Bible is that conquering of Satan by the grace of God. Let's conclude. God crushed Satan at the cross. God used the Christians in Rome to crush Satan. God used the judgment on Jerusalem to crush Satan. And God equipped his children with what they needed in order to crush Satan. So beloved in the Lord Jesus, God continues to crush Satan through his children today. And God will finally and totally crush Satan on Judgment Day. What is your response? Hallelujah. Rejoice. Praise God. But also, immerse yourself in the Word of God. Know how to use it. Know what God's Word says. So you can fight against false doctrines. So you can encourage each other. You took a vow today to Imad. Remember that vow. Encourage our brother. Pray for him. So we all be strengthened for this. As I said last week, is there anyone here who can say he's been encouraged too much? Some people might say, what is encouragement? I've been encouraged a long time. Maybe. And that's where we need to work so we can get ready for the fight. And encourage your brothers to fight as well. And then promote the excommunication of wicked men from the church so that the church will be clean. And I don't mean simply from the congregation. I mean from other churches when you hear of wicked people. that would speak of separation from them. Or maybe there are philosophies that are outside. Teach your children to be separate, to excommunicate those things from their lives. That's how you will destroy Satan. You go after his people, and you go after them with truth. And know the more you crush Satan, the freer you will be to do the work of Christ. It will make the war easier. And finally, are you under Christ's foot about to be crushed? That's what happens to his enemies. If you think so, then you call on him for help. What do you need to do? Surrender. He will be delighted to pick you up, clean you out, and adopt you as his child, that freedom is a wonderful thing because you'll be part of the family of God. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you that we are part of the family of God. What a wonderful place to be. But as part of the family, we've got work because there are enemies at the gate. Those who are meant on attacking our children, attacking us, luring us into sin, but help us to be strong and to encourage each other to be strong so that we indeed will crush Satan shortly. Lord, this is a big task. It's beyond us. And looking at ourselves, we will say, how can we achieve this? But we don't go in our own strength. We go in the power of the Spirit with the Word of God Equip us for the fight and make us brave. We ask in Jesus' name, amen.