A SERMON FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT: SPIRITUAL WARFARE AND OUR FREEDOM IN CHRIST

Ary Scheffer’s Painting “The Temptation of Christ” (1854)

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to St. Alopen’s Church, our Cathedral parish in East Asia, the headquarters of our Missionary Diocese of East and Southeast Asia. As we begin this Great and Holy Lent, challenging ourselves to fast and prayer, turning toward Christ in repentance and faith, and trying to learn how to love each other more, let us be patient and long-suffering in the midst of all the trials we face. This is not an easy road, and we will have many struggles with ourselves and others, and so we need to encourage one another, help one another, and show love to one another, so that we can do better. Let us turn our hearts towards the Holy Scriptures, and hear how all of the readings from our St. James Lectionary overlap into a dramatic mosaic of God’s direction for our lives, spiritual success in our warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil, and greater commitment to imitating Christ as the ultimate model of our lives! 

SCRIPTURE

OLD TESTAMENT READING – GENESIS 18:20-23, 19:15-17, 24-26 

And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 

NEW TESTAMENT READING – ACTS 8:5-8, 14-17

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: for as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 

EPISTLE – 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-10

We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 

GOSPEL – SAINT MATTHEW 4:1-11

At that time: then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 

SERMON

Beloved in Christ, as we embark upon the season of Lent, the Church calls us into the wilderness, into the battlefield of the soul. Our readings today reveal the struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, and the ultimate victory of Christ over the powers of sin and death. 

The Scriptures teach us that spiritual warfare is not a metaphor, but a reality. From the destruction of Sodom to the exorcisms in Samaria, from St. Paul’s call to endure hardship to our Lord’s own battle with the devil in the wilderness, we see that the forces of darkness seek to ensnare and destroy - but Christ, the Captain of our salvation, has already won the victory. 

Let us, therefore, consider today’s lessons under four themes: the reality of spiritual warfare, the nature of true spiritual freedom, the strategy of the enemy, and the means of our victory in Christ. 

THE REALITY OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE

In Genesis 19, we witness the judgment of God upon Sodom and Gomorrah. The wickedness of these cities had reached its fullness, and despite Abraham’s intercession, there were not even ten righteous men to spare them from destruction. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. (Genesis 19:24) 

This account reminds us that sin is not merely a personal failing - it is a power that corrupts, enslaves, and ultimately destroys. St. Augustine teaches: “Sin comes when we take a perfectly natural desire or longing or ambition and try desperately to fulfill it without God.”

The people of Sodom sought pleasure without righteousness, freedom without God’s law, and power without humility. The result was not liberty, but judgment. 

St. Paul, in our Epistle (2 Corinthians 6:1-10), urges us: We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (2 Corinthians 6:1) He reminds us that the Christian life is a struggle, calling us to endure afflictions, necessities, and distresses. 

Spiritual warfare is not just about resisting temptation—it is about suffering for righteousness’ sake, about enduring persecution, about standing firm when the world, the flesh, and the devil press against us. As St. John Chrysostom writes: “The life of the Christian is our military service, a perpetual wrestling, a never-ending war.”

THE NATURE OF TRUE SPIRITUAL FREEDOM 

The contrast between Sodom’s destruction and the deliverance of Philip’s converts in Samaria (Acts 8:5-17) is striking. Where Sodom was destroyed because of sin, Samaria was freed by the power of Christ. 

For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:7-8) 

Here we see the true nature of spiritual freedom. The world defines freedom as doing whatever one pleases, but the Gospel teaches that true freedom is being released from the power of sin. 

St. Irenaeus writes: “The glory of God is a man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.”

The men of Sodom thought they were free, but they were slaves to their passions. The people of Samaria were oppressed by demons, but when they turned to Christ, they found joy and liberty. 

St. Paul reinforces this in his letter to the Corinthians: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). 

Now - not tomorrow, not next year. Christ has already won the victory, but we must lay hold of it today. 

THE STRATEGY OF THE ENEMY

The Gospel reading (Matthew 4:1-11) reveals the tactics of our adversary. 

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. (Matthew 4:1) 

Satan’s temptations follow a pattern: 

1. The lust of the flesh – If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. (Matthew 4:3) 

2. The pride of life – If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. (Matthew 4:6) 

3. The lust of the eyes – All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (Matthew 4:9) 

These same temptations are at work today. C. S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, describes how the devil works subtly: “Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. Hell will appear to us the comfortable and easy pathway.”

Satan does not only attack through fear and persecution; he works through comfort, compromise, and distraction. The men of Sodom were destroyed not by sudden violence, but by years of gradual moral decay. 

St. Basil the Great warns us: “Sin, when habitual, becomes necessity.”

What begins as a single indulgence soon becomes a habit, and habit soon becomes slavery. 

THE MEANS OF VICTORY IN CHRIST

How then do we fight? Our Lord shows us the way. He does not argue with Satan, nor does He entertain his lies. Instead, He rebukes him with Scripture: 

It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4) 

It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. (Matthew 4:7) 

Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:10) 

Satan flees, for he cannot stand against the Word of God. St. Athanasius teaches: “The Word of God, by whom all things were made, is Himself the enemy of the devil; and therefore all the demons fly at His name.”

We, too, must arm ourselves with Scripture. We must fast, as Christ fasted. We must pray, as Christ prayed. We must receive the Holy Mysteries, for the Eucharist is the Bread of Life, the very Body and Blood of Christ, our spiritual sustenance in battle. 

St. Ephrem the Syrian exhorts us: “O warrior of Christ! Arm thyself with prayer and fasting, that the evil one may flee far from thee.”

A PILGRIM IN THE DESERT 

The night was dark, the winds were strong, 

And shadows stretched the road so long. 

This pilgrim walked with staff in hand, 

Through a cursed and consecrated land. 

From Sodom’s gates, he heard the cry, 

Of souls who chose to live - and die - 

In fleeting pleasures, burned with shame, 

Their lusts and pride their final claim. 

The fire fell, the heavens roared, 

The city’s sins could stand no more. 

Yet one escaped with backward glance, 

And turned to salt - a cursed trance. 

The flesh, the world, the tempter's snare, 

The call to rise, to stand, to dare!

Through deserts vast, where demons tread, 

Where hunger gnawed, where serpents fed, 

He saw the Christ, the battle met, 

The tempter’s whisper, vile and set: 

“Command these stones, take bread and eat, 

Why suffer here in pain and heat?” 

But Christ replied, with holy breath, 

“Man lives not by mere bread, but faith.” 

Then heights were shown, a kingdom vast, 

A fleeting power, wealth amassed. 

"Bow once to me," the tempter lied, 

"And all the earth shall be thy pride." 

Yet Christ rebuked, His voice rang clear, 

"Thou shalt serve God, and Him alone thou shalt revere!" 

The foe withdrew, his strength undone, 

For light had dawned, and night was gone. 

The flesh, the world, the liar’s chains, 

The sword of truth, the Victor reigns!

Then Samaria’s cry of woe, 

Where demons clung and ruled below, 

The name of Christ was there proclaimed, 

And darkness fled before His Name. 

Chains were shattered, fears were stilled, 

The maimed were healed, the lost were filled. 

From cursing tongues to joyful psalms, 

They stood in grace, in Spirit’s calm. 

So onward pressed the pilgrim’s soul, 

To strive, to fast, to reach the goal. 

Through trials deep, through night and day, 

He fought, he prayed, he found the way. 

The tempter spoke, as tempters do, 

Through comforts soft and pleasures new. 

Through whispers sweet, through endless ease, 

Through idle hands and hearts to please. 

But lifting high his staff of wood, 

The pilgrim stood where Christ had stood. 

"Get thee behind me!" loud he cried, 

"For Christ my Lord was crucified. 

His wounds are strength, His cross my guide, 

I kneel, I rise, I walk beside. 

The fire falls, the judgment nears, 

Yet mercy stands for him who hears." 

And so he walked, though road was long, 

Through cursed and consecrated song. 

For battles waged, for victories won, 

The war was fierce - but Christ had won. 

The flesh, the world, the devil’s chains, 

Yet Christ is King - He lives, He reigns!

No matter what temptations come

No power can overcome the Son

For Christ has conquered sin and death 

The Holy Ghost now gives you breath

Do not submit to Satan’s lies 

Submit to God Who sanctifies 

Resist the Devil, he will flee

And Christ will give the victory! 

This pilgrim now undertakes the fast;

And Christ will give him joy at last! 

CONCLUSION: CHOOSING BLESSING OVER CURSE 

We stand at a crossroads. Sodom chose sin and perished. Samaria received Christ and was set free. Our Lord shows us the way - obedience, faith, and the Word of God. 

The curses of this world - lust, greed, despair, false ideologies - all seek to enslave us. But in Christ, we renounce them. Every time we confess, every time we partake of the Holy Eucharist, every time we call on the Name of Jesus, we declare that Satan has no power over us. 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7) 

Let us pray…

COLLECT

ALMIGHTY GOD, who dost lead us through the perils of this world with the light of Thy truth, we beseech Thee, grant unto us the strength to resist the temptations of the flesh, the world, and the devil. Fill our hearts with Thy grace, that we may walk in the path of righteousness, ever trusting in Thy deliverance from evil. By Thy Holy Spirit, may we be made strong in the face of trials, steadfast in prayer, and ever mindful of Thy salvation wrought through our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant us the courage to renounce the curses of this world and to receive the blessings of Thy kingdom, that, in the warfare of the soul, we may emerge victorious, and at last, behold Thy glory, to whom be all honour and praise are due. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who livest and reignest with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.