RESIST THE DEVIL
Who is the devil ?
To resist , to fight and to defeat the devil we must know more
about him. The Bible describes Satan or devil as ….
1. The tempter: Satan is the
chief source of temptation. He tempts men to sin, to doubt the goodness , love and grace of God, to hate, to kill, and to
covet. He tempted Lord Jesus in the wilderness ‘The tempter came to him, he said ,
“If you are the son of God , command that these stones become bread”(Matthew
4:3). Jesus stood strong in his hour of temptation but there were many who fell
into temptation and were destroyed. Satan’s job is to tempt, our job is to
stand firm in the hour of temptation.
2. The adversary: Satan is the arch
adversary in the life of a believer. He opposes everyone who desires to live a
holy and righteous life I Peter 5 :8 says ‘Be sober,
be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil walks about like a roaring lion
, seeking whom he may devour.’ Many times the devil appears to be a friend
rather than an adversary. He approaches men as a well- wisher and has great
plans of prosperity for men. Eve got deceived with the prosperity plans of her
well wisher- Satan.
3. The liar: ‘…for there is no
truth in him. When he lies he speaks in his native language ,
for he is a liar and a father of lies’(John
4. The murderer: ‘…He was a murderer from the
beginning.’(John 8:44). The devil kills the spiritual life of people and
ensures them eternal death. He throttles the faith of men and leads people
towards astrology, palmistry, numerology, feng-shui etc. He quenches the hunger
and thirst for righteousness and instigates people to live a life of pleasure
.He leads people to become murderers or to commit suicide.
5. The accuser: ‘….. the accuser of our brothers who accused them before our God
day and night has been cast out.’(
6. The angel of
light: ‘…And no wonder for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light’
( II Cor
7. The god of this
world: ‘….the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,..’ (II Cor 4:4). Satan is the
prince of this world and has the authority to rule the hearts of wicked ones,
to entice the innocent ones, to tempt the godly and to torment and persecute
the righteous.
8. The deceiver: ‘….the devil or
Satan who deceives the whole world.. .’ (Rev 12:9).It
was Satan who deceived Eve with plans
of prosperity. He cunningly convinces men into believing his lies and leads
them astray from the truth of the gospel. He displays all kinds of miracles,
signs and wonders and in every sort of evil deceives those who are perishing ( II Thes 2:9)
1. Blinds the minds
of unbelievers: Satan has put a veil on the minds of unbelievers that they might
not know the truth of the gospel and see the grace and glory of God. He blinds
the minds of men with doubt , despair, discouragement, insecurity and fear.(II Cor 4:4)
2. Snatches the word
of God: When men hear the message about the kingdom and does not understand
it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. Satan
waits for an opportunity to steal the word of God sown in callous
hearts.(Matthew
3. Tempts men: Satan tempts men
to rebel against the laws of God and disobey His commandments. He tempts men to
doubt the love, grace and mercy of God. Satan tempted Job to doubt the goodness
of God. He tempted Jesus to surrender before the riches of the world. He
tempted Judas to betray Jesus.
4. Sows the weeds: The world is the
field and the sower of the weeds is the devil. When believers sleep, Satan
quietly plants the sons of the evil one in the world. These men are
instrumental in disrupting the work of the
5. Afflicts the
righteous: Satan afflicts the godly people, physically, mentally and
spiritually. Satan snatched away the material possessions of Job, killed his
dear ones and afflicted his body with painful sores. The apostle Paul had a
thorn in his flesh which was a messenger of Satan. Peter encourages us in I
Peter 5:9 ‘Resist him standing firm in faith, because you know that your
brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering’. ‘ And the God of all grace…after you have suffered a little
while will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.’(I
Peter 5:10)
6. Preys upon men: The devil prowls
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The devil is constantly on the move and is
looking to trap people and carry them in the fire of hell. He preys upon the
innocent, the ignorant, the unbelievers and the saints. None can escape the watchful
eyes of the devil. Hence Paul exhorts us ‘Be vigilant’.(I
Peter 5:8)
How to resist the devil?
1. Wearing the armor
of God: ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’(Eph
a)
The belt of truth of the gospel buckled around the waist will keep us safe from the
subtle lies of Satan. It will also help us to remain truthful towards God and
towards men.
b)
The breastplate of righteousness will protect us from Satan’s trap of
wrongdoing and sin and will carry us into the presence of our righteous God.
c)
The shield of faith extinguishes all the flaming arrows of the evil one .It
saves us from doubting the goodness and grace of God and helps us to face the
most difficult situation trusting the Almighty.
d)
The helmet of salvation insures us from the fire of hell, assures us of eternal life
in the sweet fellowship of God and prepares us to combat the devil on earth.
e)
The sword of the Spirit is the word of God with which we can fight with the devil.
The word of God also judges the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. ‘ For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword..’(Hebrews 4:12).
2.Being watchful and
prayerful: Paul exhorts us “Be alert, be vigilant”. The devil is waiting for
us to slumber. Lord Jesus warned the sleepy disciples ‘Watch and pray so that
you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak”.
The deceiver is working overtime. If we are not watchful, we will become easy
prey for Satan. Spiritual warfare can be fought only with prayer. Prayer is a
mighty tool in the hands of a believer. Satan trembles when he sees the weakest
person on his knees.
3.Standing firm: Paul encourages us
‘Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong’(I Cor
4. Being self-controlled: Allowing
ourselves to be angry while the sun goes down gives the devil a foothold.
Greed, pride, jealously, fear, discouragement, selfish ambitions and sexual
immorality provides Satan an opportunity to push us in a world of passions and
desires. Paul encourages us ‘You however are controlled not by the sinful
nature but by the Spirit’. So as children of God, let us live by the Spirit, a
life of peace, patience and self-control.
5. Practising
God’s presence: God is light. In Him there is no darkness. Nothing unholy dwells in
the presence of the Almighty. Fellowship with God is a sure way to keep the
devil at bay. Eve spent enough time with Satan and Satan used this time to
convince her to disobey God. Godless chatter, gossips and fellowship with
unbelievers will lead us away from God’s presence and into the territory of the
evil one. On the other hand, the presence of God and fellowship with believers
provides us with the courage and the strength to fight the schemes of the evil
one.
Victory over Satan: ‘And the devil
who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur,.They
will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (
Promise for those who overcome:
"He who overcomes will like
them be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of
life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and His angels".(Rev 3:5)