Helmut Thielicke and the Devil

Helmut Thielicke was a great preacher and theologian. Most of his sermons were preached during World War II. Thielicke had a lot of problems with the Gestapo because of his association with the Confessing Church.

While I was a professor at Northern Seminary, some of my students were required to read A Little Exercise for Young Theologians, a book that is freely available on the Internet.

Some of my favorite sermons by Thielicke were published in Between God and Satan, The Waiting Father: Sermons on the Parables of Jesus, and How the World Began: Sermons on the Creation Story. The latter book is a collection of sermons on the first eleven chapters of Genesis.

There is a quote in the book How the World Began that I have never forgotten. In his sermon on the serpent (Genesis 3), Thielicke wrote:

“The devil is more pious than a nun, and knows his Bible
better than a professor of Old Testament or a Jehovah’s Witness.”

That quote spoke to me because I am a professor of Old Testament.

If you have never read the sermons of Helmut Thielicke, I invite you to read an excellent excerpt of his sermon on the Sabbath. In his sermon on “The Great Sabbath,” a sermon based on Genesis 2:1–3, Thielicke speaks of the Great Sabbath of God: Judgment Day.

Read “The Great Judgment Day” by clicking here.

Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

NOTE: Did you like this post? Do you think other people would like to read this post? Be sure to share this post on Facebook and share a link on Twitter or Tumblr so that others may enjoy reading it too!

I would love to hear from you! Let me know what you thought of this post by leaving a comment below. Be sure to like my page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, follow me on Tumblr, Facebook, and subscribe to my blog to receive each post by email.

If you are looking for other series of studies on the Old Testament, visit the Archive section and you will find many studies that deal with a variety of topics.