RESIST THE DEVIL

Proclamation:

“Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by James, the half-brother of Jesus, The Christ.  His point was that we must choose virtues instead of vices.  We frequently obey the suggestions of the devil and sin instead of following The Word of God.  James states that we must make a conscious effort to resist the devil and choose to submit ourselves to God and follow His Word.  Only then will the devil flee from us.

Application:

The devil is busy.  He attacks us and tempts us all of the time.  If he is not bothering you, then maybe you are already doing what he wants you to do.  As Christians, we do not have to give in to the devil.  We have a choice in what we do.  However, we cannot resist the devil by ourselves.  The beginning of this Bible verse says, "Submit yourselves to God ..." and the verse which follows it says, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you ..."  Only with God's help can we resist the devil.  We need to get closer to God and do His will or we do not stand a chance against the devil and his powers.  God has already defeated the devil.  We just need to get on The Lord's side and make a conscious effort to obey The Word of God and then the devil will leave us alone for a while.  Remember, the devil temped Jesus three times before he let Him alone. (Matthew 4:1-11)  Even after Jesus rebuffed him twice the devil continued to tempt Him.  So, don’t be surprised when you resist one temptation to sin and the devil presents you with another different temptation.  We have to continually be on guard for attacks by the devil.  That is why we must put on the whole armor of God in order to stand up against the devil and his attacks. (Ephesians 6:11-18)