The Authority Sock

When I was a worship leader back in the late '90s, our church was a big fan of the song "I Went to the Enemy's Camp ... and I Took Back What He Stole from Me." I couldn't stand the song, because I felt it dripped with "Holy Ghost bravado." Not to mention the fact that I could find no biblical substantiation for entering the enemy's camp and reclaiming my stuff. Not to mention the fact that I couldn't find any biblical support for the idea that the devil could steal my stuff in the first place.

The song--like the "authority socks" featured in this ad--proudly proclaimed "Satan is under my feet!" [You're supposed to stomp when you get to that part of the song. C'mon, your not stomping loud enough!] However, the verses printed on the sock (presumably in support of the socks' proclamation) are Psalm 110:1 and Matthew 22:44--both of which refer to Jesus having the enemy under His feet.

A more appropriate passage that could have been printed on the sock is Romans 16:20: "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." But even in this passage, it's God who seems to be doing the crushing--and at some time in the future. According to Scripture, we really don't have any authority over Satan at this time. Although Satan was decisively defeated at the cross and we have been empowered to resist his temptation, we await--with bated breath, no less--his final crushing.

The moral to this tale? If you're going to "stand strong on the Word of God" like the ad proclaims, at least pick the right words to stand on!