Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Resist the Devil


The other night I was randomly reading my Bible and came to 1 Peter 5:8-9: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith…”

The Devil indeed is our enemy and he is on the prowl against our soul. He is seeking to overcome us, to cause us to fall into sin. In this Scripture we are warned and commanded to resist him, but how? I realized that it’s not by striving and fighting, but simply by doing what the text says… by being steadfast in the faith. But not just any faith, THE faith. This is talking about the Gospel – what Christ has done for us. Not only did Christ take the penalty we deserved on the cross, but he took away the power of sin over our lives. Romans 6:6 says, “…knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”

James 4:7 says, “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” The Devil flees not from man, for he is much more powerful that we are; he flees only from God, and it is by submitting ourselves under the authority and power of God that the Devil flees from us, because we are in Him! There is only ONE way to resist the Devil and that is by remaining steadfast in the faith of Jesus Christ by submitting and depending on Him. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” It also says in Galatians, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). That is a promise! As we look to Christ (which is to depend on Him) and walk in the Spirit we will experience deliverance from the wiles of Satan. There is another promise for this found in 1 Corinthians. Paul writes, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor 10:31) The way of escape is not this verse, and it is not our willpower; the way of escape is Christ. He is the only one who was tempted and yet did not sin (Heb 4:15) and He is the only One who is able to keep us from falling (Jude 1:24). 
Praise the Lord for so great a salvation not just in the life to come, but in this life right now!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for reading - please feel free to comment! I appreciate your thoughts, encouragement and even differing opinions but please be considerate and respectful in how you express yourself.