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“…Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist him, firm in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9a)
The Apostle Peter tells us that “the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” What are we to do? Peter says that we should “resist him.” This word for “resist” means, “to resist by actively opposing pressure or power.” There is nothing passive about resisting someone. The word “resist” is used many times in the Bible, but appropriate for our passage is Ephesians 6:13-14 and James 4:7. Ephesians 6:13-14 says, “For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest…” and on he goes to describe other parts of the armor. The context for Ephesians is war. A solider puts on his armor to go to war. Paul tells us that the reason you put on the “full armor of God” is “so that you may be able to resist in the evil day…” It’s difficult to resist in battle without armor and without a weapon. We have armor on because we are in battle, and battle is not passive. You have a sword, and the reason you have a sword is so that you can use it! Swords exist so that you can swing them and thrust them, if necessary! A sword is not a decorative item; it is meant to be used in battle. So, when we go back to Peter and he says, “Resist him [the devil],” think of a soldier in battle. There is nothing passive or weak when you are in battle! When we think of resisting the devil, we must think of vigilant, active, zealous, and determined resistance.
Now James 4:7 says something wonderful. He says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The devil can flee from you! The devil can run from you! The devil can leave you alone! Think about Jesus and His temptations in the wilderness (in Matthew 4). What did He say to Satan each time? He said, “It is written.” What did the devil eventually do? He fled from Jesus! Now, he tried three times to tempt Jesus (and he might try ten times or twenty times to tempt you and me!), but eventually, it seems, the devil wears down whenever we try to resist him.
So, don’t be scared to “resist” the devil. That word for “resist” can also mean to “oppose” or to “set one’s self against.” Oppose him! The devil can be defeated! There’s nothing in the Bible that says you must lose every encounter with temptation. Instead, the Bible gives us hope with the words: “Resist him!” How do we resist the devil? First, we simply speak the Bible back to the lies the devil is feeding us. If the devil says, “You have no hope!”, you say, “I have a living hope because Jesus Christ has risen from the grave!” (1 Peter 1). If the devil says, “Once you die you won’t exist anymore!” then you quote Jesus from John 11:25 when He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” If the devil whispers in your ear, “There is no God!” then quote to him Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth!” and then quote Psalm 14:1 (and Psalm 53:1) which says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God.’” The devil might tell you, “God doesn’t care for you! There are no miracles! God doesn’t act today!” then you say to God, “Let me remind you, Devil, that God has taken care of me for 40 years (or 60 years or 80 years!) and He has supplied my every need!” Contradict the lies of the devil and resist him, firm in the faith. A passive view of the spiritual life simply will not do.