Scripture: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” – 1 Peter 5:9
Examination of Chapter: Peter begins by instructing the church leaders to be examples to their flock. He goes to tell the believers that they should be submitted to the leaders that God has put into place. He states that all should be humble before God and vigilant against the devil as he is working to destroy them.
Application: I love my cat. She is a sweet orange tabby, and I love to cuddle with her. Every now and then, when I am petting her, she just decides to bite my hand. She doesn’t do it hard enough to break skin. She just opens up, grabs hold, and gives my hand a couple of “chews”. Why? Who knows? Her initial allowance of my affections is a deception as she suddenly pounces and “catches” my hand. I have become her prey, her jaws holding tightly to me flesh!
Satan acts in very much the same way. He makes sin look very harmless. It can be so deceptively benign that I let it get too close, oblivious to the danger. Then before I know it, it has its tentacles wrapped around me, and I have become trapped! “But you’re a Christian!” you say. True, but I am, but I am no match for the devil. The Bible describes Satan as a “roaring lion”; he seeks to devour. He’s not playing a game; he is fighting a war with God, and he wants to destroy every Christina on this planet. EVERY SINGLE ONE! Satan is an enemy that no one can fight on their own. He is crafty; he is relentless; he is powerful. His soul intent is to destroy everyone and anything that is related to the cause of Christ.
While he has an army of evil angels to do his bidding, he also knows that we have a carnal nature that is easily tempted and a free will that is easily blinded. Satan makes sin look pleasurable and innocuous. A few of his deceptive mantras that echo in this world are “Just once won’t hurt”, “Everyone is doing it”, “Tolerance is right”, and “If it feels good…”
When my cat bites my hand, she is playing. There is no damage done, no pain inflicted, but that is not true of sin. When Satan pulls us away from God, there is damage, pain, shame, guilt, and destruction of lives. The only way we can combat this enemy is by being prepared to fight. Ephesians 6 describes the armor of God that is available to every believer. While the majority of this armor is defensive in nature, there is one offensive weapon. That is the “sword of the Spirit”. Ephesians 6:17 states, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:” To fight our spiritual enemy, we must employ the Scriptures. It is what our Commander in Chief used when He was tempted of Satan in the wilderness. Every temptation was met with verses from the Word of God, and with those verses Jesus defeated the attacks of Satan.
Remember that God has provided a way of escape from EVERY temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” What did Jesus do when tempted? He fought back with the Bible. We must do the same. Never forget that when Christ is on your side, as He is for all Christians, you CAN do ALL things through His. That includes having victory over sin’s temptation or hold upon you.
Ephesians 6:12 describes our enemy, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” However, in 2 Chronicles 20:15, Jahaziel reminds the people of Judah, “And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
As Christians, we must equip ourselves for battle by hiding the Word of God in our hearts that we might not sin against Him! With God on our side, we will never stand strong, victorious through Christ!
Memory verse: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” – 1 John 5:4