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Resist the Devil,
and He Will Flee
Does ‘Resist the
Devil, and He Will Flee’ Still Apply Today?
Aaron Berry
The
Christian life is a battle. Spiritual warfare is real; angels are real; Satan
is real.
As
the sworn enemy of our Savior, Satan’s greatest desire is to turn people away
from Christ through his lies and deceit.
For
a Christian to function as if this is not a reality is a recipe for spiritual
disaster.
Although
the Devil cannot snatch believers away from Christ (1 John 5:18), he
is still hard at work to cause division among believers, render them
ineffective in their testimony, and damage their relationship with God.
Because of this reality, Christians are called to “resist
the Devil.”
We
are to stand firm and oppose the adversary of God’s people.
What
Bible Verse Encourages Us to ‘Resist the Devil, and He Will Flee’?
The command to resist the Devil is found in James 4:7,
”Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you.”
To
fully understand this command, it needs to be considered within the larger
context of James 4.
In
this section (James 4:1-12), James appears to be confronting some problems his
readers are experiencing in the church.
He
references divisions and quarrels among them, stating that the true source of
those quarrels was the sinful desires and passions raging within them (James 4:1).
Then he gives them a startling rebuke: “You
adulterous people” (James 4:4).
These
lust-driven quarrels were a type of spiritual adultery as the people were
choosing friendship with the world over friendship with God (James 4:4).
They
were “cheating” on the One who had redeemed and rescued them from their
sin.
What
Is the Context of James 4:7?
This is the context in which James commands them to “resist
the devil.”
Although
it was ultimately their own sin that was the problem, Satan was capitalizing on
the people’s spiritual adultery to promote division -- between Christians and
between God and his people.
This
is how Satan works.
The
devil is not responsible for our own sinful choices, but if we “give place
to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27) by following our own passions, then we shouldn’t be
surprised when we see him wreak havoc in our churches.
Thankfully,
James provides a solution to this struggling church, and resisting the devil is
a step in the journey from sin back to our loving Father.
If
we are to know what resisting the devil looks like, we need to consider the
commands immediately before and after James 4:7.
After
James’s pointed rebuke, he lovingly reminds them that grace is available to
those who humble themselves (James 4:6).
Therefore, right before he tells them to “resist
the devil,” he tells them to “submit yourselves therefore to God.”
These
commands are two sides of the same coin.
Submitting
to God and Resisting the Devil Go Hand in Hand
As one commentator puts it, “Submission to God is
itself an act of resistance to the devil… As people align their lives with God,
the result becomes a growing resistance to the temptations of the devil and he
loses any foothold and must flee.”
To
think that we can resist Satan without humbly submitting our lives to God is
the height of arrogance.
Submitting to God means elevating his Word above our
own desires, yielding ourselves to God’s revealed will in the Scriptures, and
desperately calling to him in prayer to ask for “grace to help in time of
need” (Hebrews 4:16).
There
is no better illustration of what this looks like than the example of Jesus
himself.
At
the beginning of his earthly ministry, he had to resist the devil in the
wilderness (Matthew 4; Luke 4).
Even
though Jesus was God in flesh, he resisted Satan by submitting to the will of
the Father and quoting Scripture.
For
us to think that we can resist the devil any other way is foolish!
After his command to resist the devil, James commands
his readers to “draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”
This
command is also indivisibly connected to the command to resist the devil. It
shows that the ultimate goal is a restored relationship with God.
We
resist Satan, not to make our lives easier, but to restore our walk with Jesus.
Just
as submission to God is an act of resistance to the devil, so is a zealous
pursuit of God.
Satan
cannot dwell in the presence of God. So the one who desperately runs the throne
of grace can rest assured that the devil cannot follow him there.
How
Does ‘Resistance’ Cause the Devil to Flee?
James
includes a comforting assurance to this important command: If we resist the
devil, he will flee from us.
He
cannot overpower a child of God who is humbly submitting to and actively
pursuing Jesus.
Jesus
died on the cross so that he might destroy the one who has the power of death,
that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject
to lifelong slavery (Hebrews 2:14-15).
We
have the ability to resist the devil only because of Jesus’ finished work on
the cross of Calvary.
There
are a couple of other Scripture passages in which we learn of our ability to
resist the devil.
In 1 Peter 5:8, Satan is described as a “roaring
lion, seeking someone to devour.”
In 1 Peter 5:9, we are commanded to “resist him,
firm in your faith.”
It’s
interesting to note that, just like James, Peter states that humble submission
to God is a necessary prerequisite for resisting the devil (1 Peter 5:6).
Another
well-known passage is Ephesians 6:10-20, where we read of the Armor of God.
We are to put on this armor so that we “may be able
to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).
Just
as in every other passage that we have considered, the ability to resist the
devil is not found in ourselves, but is only found in Christ.
It
is his strength (Ephesians 6:10) and his armor (Ephesians
6:11) that guards us against the devil’s
fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16).
The
source of our strength should not cause us to stand up and arrogantly rebuke
the devil (not even Michael the archangel did that — see Jude 1:9),
but to bow our heads in humble gratitude in thanks to our gracious Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ.
What
Can Christians Do To Resist the Devil?
It’s
important for believers to remember that our ability to resist the devil should
not be viewed in isolation.
There
are things that must happen in our hearts before, during, and after we resist.
Here are some practical ways that we can resist the devil:
Take
stock of your own sinful desires. Do you have deeply-held desires and cravings
that produce relational tension and conflict when they aren’t fulfilled?
Realize
that the devil has you right where he wants you. Repent of those sinful desires
and ask God for the grace to love him more than yourself.
Compare
God’s Word to your own lifestyle. Satan is the Father of lies.
So often we fall prey to those lies without knowing it
(“God just wants me to be happy,” “I deserve better than this,” “Money will
solve all my problems,” “I can handle this on my own”).
We
need a regular dose of God’s Truth in our lives so that we can clearly discern
truth from error. Pick up your Bible and see if you’re living it or ignoring
it.
Don’t
be casual in your Christianity. If Satan is a master deceiver, then his tactics
won’t always be obvious and his attacks won’t always be overt.
Don’t
think that you can cruise through life, picking and choosing when to follow
God, and think that you can escape Satan’s attacks.
Put
on the Armor of God before Satan’s attacks; don’t wait until you’re in the
thick of battle.
A
Prayer of Encouragement to Resist the Devil So He Will Flee:
Lord Jesus, I thank you that you have already won the
victory. Because of your death on the Cross, Satan’s fate has been sealed.
Thank you for equipping and enabling me to resist the
devil’s attacks. Thank you for your Word that can expose my own sinful desires
and refute the lies of the Devil.
Help me to stand firm, rooted in the faith, shielded
by your armor, and dependent on your grace. Help me to resist the devil today.
In the name of the one who crushed the head of the
serpent, Amen.
Take
courage Christian! You can resist the devil because Christ already won the
victory.
Don’t
allow your own sin to give Satan a foothold in your life. Stay humbly submitted
to God and actively pursue him every day.
Aaron Berry is a co-author for the Pursuing the Pursuer Blog. You
can read more articles from Aaron and his colleagues by subscribing to their
blog or following them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Aaron currently resides
in Allen Park, MI with his wife and daughter, where he serves in his local
church and recently completed an MDiv degree at Detroit Baptist
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