The devil is our only enemy. The Bible says “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 6:12
In James chapter 4 James’ advice for fighting the devil is this: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” In the English dictionary I find these words under resist: Refuse, disregard, disobey, Stand firm etc... So, James is saying that when you resist him, when you say no to his ideas, he will flee from you. That is what Jesus did in the wilderness. It is not just about saying “Beyesus sim”. But we have to do more than that. We don’t want the devil to say to us what he said to the sons of Sceva in Acts 19. When they said “beyesus sim” he said to them “I know Paul, I know Jesus. But, who are you?”
So, according to James If we can just ignore his temptations and come near to God, we have succeeded in resisting the devil. That is James. And here is what Paul has to say about fighting the devil:
In Ephesians 6 he gives us a list of things that we should have in order to win the fight against the devil and his army. He calls them the armor of God. They are: The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of Salvation, the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, and prayer. These things are born out of a good relationship with the Lord, not with the devil. If you have these things, you do not even have to worry about fighting the devil. Our job is not to fight the devil but to maintain a good relationship with the Lord. Defeating the devil is the inevitable result of maintaining a good relationship with the Lord.
Some Christians have an unhealthy interest in the devil. They blame everything on him. When they pray, they talk more to the devil than the Lord. Even though they are not possessed, they are obsessed. But we have to know that even though the devil is real, he is defeated. The way to fight him is to resist his tempting ideas and come near to God and focus on your relationship with the Lord.
Do not waste too much time on the devil. Ignoring his invitations will do the trick.
The Cyber Evangelist |