Scattered: Cleanse the TempleSample

RESIST

One of the ways that the Bible teaches us to combat the devil is to “resist” him. The word "resist" is from the Greek word anthistemi, which is a compound of the words anti and istimi. The word anti means against, as to oppose something. The word istimi means to stand. When placed into one word, it’s translated, “to stand against” or to defy the operation of a thing. The instruction to resist suggests that the devil desires to move us in a particular direction, to sway us towards a certain action, and to convince us to walk a certain path. As the enemy of God, we should not be ignorant of the fact that the devil wants to urge us to live in opposition to God’s perfect will. We see his successful attempt at this in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. But with Jesus, we see the devil’s failed attempt and Jesus’ perfect display of resistance.

Like Jesus when He was tempted by the devil, we must be immovable concerning the truth of who God is, what He has said, and what His heart is towards us. When faced with temptation, the difference between Jesus and Eve was that Jesus remained assured of these truths and refused to bend with the devil’s deception. Jesus believed God to be a good Father. He believed God’s Word as evidenced by His use of those words to overcome the devil’s lies. He also believed in the pure intentions of His Father to glorify Him. Thus, Jesus did not turn stone to bread, He did not jump from a cliff, and He most certainly did not bow to the devil. He “stood against” him.

What does resistance look like practically in our lives? It looks like the refusal to “just peek”. It looks like the removal of sexually explicit songs from our music list. It looks like setting physical boundaries in your relationship to ensure that your sexual attraction does not lead to sexual sin. In essence, resistance is about identifying the ways the devil tries to move you towards sin and radically taking a stance against his pressure. Pray for the boldness and the wisdom to use the authority given to you to resist the devil.