How can I resist evil?

This material is used with permission on www.mygospelweb.net

‘As far as God goes, I am a non-believer…but when it comes to the devil –well that’s something else …the devil keeps advertising….the devil does lots of advertising’

William Peter Blatty

  Isaiah 14:12-23

"How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, 'I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.' But instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. Everyone there will stare at you and ask, 'Can this be the one who shook the earth and the kingdoms of the world? Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wilderness? Is this the king who demolished the world's greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?' "The kings of the nations lie in stately glory in their tombs,  but you will be thrown out of your grave like a worthless branch. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will be dumped into a mass grave with those killed in battle. You will descend to the pit. You will not be given a proper burial, for you have destroyed your nation and slaughtered your people. Your son will not succeed you as king. Kill the children of this sinner! Do not let them rise and conquer the land or rebuild the cities of the world." This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I, myself, have risen against him! I will destroy his children and his children's children, so they will never sit on his throne. I will make Babylon into a desolate land, a place of porcupines, filled with swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction. I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken!"

Job 1

“One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan the Accuser came with them. "Where have you come from?" the LORD asked Satan. And Satan answered the LORD, "I have been going back and forth across the earth, watching everything that's going on."

“Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the Israelites.”

1 Chronicles 21:1

“Stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities…against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”

Ephesians 6:11-12

Why should we believe in the existence of the Devil?

1. It is biblical

1 Peter 5:8-11 

‘Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to his eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power is his forever and ever. Amen.’

‘The Devil only tempts those souls that wish to abandon sin…the other belong to him: he has no need to tempt them.’

Jean-Baptise Vianney

2. The early church fathers did

3. Common sense confirms the existence of the devil

Some say the devils’s been Some say the devil’s gone But simple people Like you and me Would like to know who carries the business on?

‘There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils’. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight’

C.S. Lewis

‘And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.’

Act 19:19

‘…But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars – their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.’

Revelation 21:8

What are the devil’s tactics?

‘The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.’

John 10:10

‘The god of this age [the devil] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’

2 Corinthians 4:4

Genesis 3Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. "Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?" "Of course we may eat it," the woman told him. "It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die." "You won't die!" the serpent hissed.  "God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil." The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too. At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves. Toward evening they heard the LORD God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees. The LORD God called to Adam, "Where are you?" He replied, "I heard you, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked."

• raising doubts

• deceiving

• destroying

• tempting

• accusing

‘Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, "It has happened at last – the salvation and power and kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ! For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth – the one who accused our brothers and sisters before our God day and night..’

Revelation 12:10

‘..tempted in every way, just as we are –yet was without sin..’

Hebrews 4:12

What is our position?

‘For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.’

Colossians 1:13

‘In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.’

Colossians 2:15

How do we defend ourselves?

‘put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes’

Ephesians 6:11

‘Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’

Ephesians 6:14-17

How do we attack?

1. prayer

‘We use God's mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil's strongholds.’

2 Corinthians 10:4

2. Action

“…Rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea. For the Devil has come down to you in great anger, and he knows that he has little time."

Revelation 12:12