Theocast
How Satan Uses the Law
March 5, 2025
Summary
It is safe to say that the Apostle Paul was one of the most vigorous defenders of the gospel, and he said many things to protect it from legalism. However, there is an aspect of Paul's discussions that often goes unnoticed—his argument that legalism is not only a human issue but also a tool used by the kingdom of darkness. Paul explains that when Jesus put the rulers of this age to open shame, it was because they were using the law to condemn us. Jon and Justin discuss how the law can be manipulated by demonic forces to draw us back into legalism, which is entirely opposed to the gospel.
Topics
- Episode focus: How Satan Uses the Law
- It is safe to say that the Apostle Paul was one of the most vigorous defenders of the gospel, and he said many things to protect it from legalism
- However, there is an aspect of Paul's discussions that often goes unnoticed—his argument that legalism is not only a human issue but also a tool used by the kingdom of darkness
- Paul explains that when Jesus put the rulers of this age to open shame, it was because they were using the law to condemn us
- Jon and Justin discuss how the law can be manipulated by demonic forces to draw us back into legalism, which is entirely opposed to the gospel
Links
- More Than Forgiven — Justin Perdue
- Theocast Community
- Rest — free ebook on faith vs. faithfulness
- Partner with Theocast
Transcript
Edited machine transcript. May contain errors. Select a timestamp to watch that moment.
It is safe to say the Apostle Paul was one of the most vigorous fighters for the gospel.
And he said a lot of things to try and defend it against legalism.
But there's an aspect of Paul's conversations that we don't pay attention to: that legalism is not just used by humans, he argues, it's being used by the kingdom of darkness.
That's right.
There's a reason why, when he says that Jesus put the rulers of this age to open shame because they were holding in their hand the law, trying to condemn us.
Justin and I have a conversation about how, well, the law can be used by demonic means to cause us to go back into the law, and it's very anti-gospel.
It's a great conversation.
We hope you enjoy it.
Hey guys, this is Justin.
Maybe you know that you are forgiven because of Jesus Christ, but you're wondering: what does Jesus have to do with my Christian life?
How is he involved in my sanctification, even?
Or is he concerned at all with the ways that I struggle and the way that my life goes up and down?
Is there any comfort for me in Jesus when it comes to all of that.
Well, I've written a book called More Than Forgiven: How Being in Christ Changes Everything, that deals with this topic from Romans chapter 6.
You can find this book at theocast.org.
Welcome to Theocast, encouraging weary pilgrims to rest in Christ.
Yes, we're still doing that.
And we encourage weary pilgrims to rest in Christ by having conversations about the Christian life from a reformed, confessional, and pastoral perspective, and really we encourage people to rest by taking the clutter off of the gospel.
We don't want Jesus to be hidden from our view, we want him to be held out for all to see.
And so, that's our goal here.
