The Authority of Darkness

 May 22, 2024

Wednesday

I do not believe that people who do not know Christ realize that they are under the authority of darkness. They believe they are in full control of their lives and their futures. They are being influenced by the world around them without any effective means of refusing to act as the world demands. They participate in the contemporary wisdom of the day even when they see themselves as rebels to the society they are in. You see, they are under the authority of darkness. They cannot see the need to trust in Christ. They see Him as a religious icon which foolish people pledge an allegiance to. They are not in need of education. They cannot be educated to see the bondage they are under. They must be rescued. They must be taken from their prison cells and set free. They are like people who have been brain washed for they do not know they are under this influence. 

Of course, they would say the same thing of us. They believe we are under bondage to our religion. They will use the word "religion or religious" to designate themselves as different. Many times they refuse to say that they don't believe for they often have some belief in Jesus but they have very little commitment. They see commitment as a prison. They see being whatever you want to be as freedom. And in that lies their prison.

We on the other hand, often treat them as if they are obstinate when we tell them of Christ. We fail to see that they are under the authority of darkness and cannot see what we see. We are scolding these blind people for being blind rather than rescuing them from the darkness. We will never see them come to Christ by our actions alone. No cleaver presentation of the gospel saves anyone. It is the Spirit that gives them faith  that saves them. It is their willingness to accept this faith that causes them to believe.

Of course, we share Christ and live lives that reflect Christ to lead them to the gospel. It is a stumbling block to them until they are made ready. The Lord seeks after them to make them ready. How long this takes depends on how stiff their necks are. They are certainly able to resist the Holy Spirit if they bow their necks. Some will never be rescued.

We should reflect back on our own Christian lives and realize that wherever they are we have been there at one time. There was a time when we were under the authority of darkness from which we were rescued and transferred to the kingdom of God's Son. There was a time when we were headed for eternal destruction. But we have been redeemed. We have been forgiven. And this is from no merit of our own actions. We were rescued.

Are we grateful? I hope so. But I also want to pray that we are faithful in continuing to share the gospel to those who are ready to hear it and to those who aren't. I pray that we do not see ourselves as those who have arrived at our final destination but those who are on a journey of freedom from the authority of darkness.

Colossians 1:13–14 (NASB 2020)¹³ For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.