DON'T GIVE THE DEVIL A CHANCE

For centuries, many people thought of the devil as a horned, cloven-hoofed creature clad in red and using a pitchfork to cast wicked humans into a fiery hell.
That is not the truth. Undoubtedly, however, such misconceptions have caused millions to question the existence of the devil or to think that the term applies only to a principle of evil.
Ephesians chapter four talks about how Christians should live or as Paul expresses it, how we should walk. A key verse is: “Do not give the devil a place” (Ephesians 4:27).
Paul means of course that we must not give the devil a place in our hearts, nor an opportunity in our lives.

Devil

If we think about it, three things must be true, otherwise it would be silly to say: “Do not give the devil a place”.
First of all, there must be a devil! If there were no devil, why warn us about him?
Secondly, it must be possible for the devil to have a place in our lives, and he must be seeking It.
If the devil cannot have a place in our lives, or isn’t interested, why say, “Do not give the devil a place”? Paul knew that Satan could take advantage of him, and that Satan had schemes to do so.
“The devil roams about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1Pet 5:8).
Satan troubled himself in seeking permission to tempt Job.
He did exactly the same with Simon Peter, who thought lightly of it, yet before the cock crowed he fell prey.
 Satan has his eye on each of us too, and we’d better beware of him. Thirdly, we must be able to resist the devil.
If we cannot resist the devil’s powers why tell us to deny him a place? We do have strength before him.

Succeed

 “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7-8).
The devil’s best weapon is deception, but he can succeed in deceiving only those who do not ‘receive the love of the truth’ (2Thess 2:7-12). In the presence of one who loves truth, Satan is impotent. Love truth, and you will not be deceived, and you will not give the devil a place.
Every Christian is engaged in a fierce, life-defining battle with Satan.
He is our adversary, and he has crafted elaborate wiles and devices to gain ground and win us to his side.
The apostle Paul warns us in his instruction on dealing with festering anger, Ephesians 4:27: “Do not give the devil a foothold”—don’t make it any easier on him!
This statement teaches us that we must give no ground.  The smallest ground, the tiniest foothold, the briefest opportunity is to be zealously guarded against falling into his hand.

 Poison

In this text, unresolved anger that continues to poison our minds and harden into bitterness and malice gives the devil an opening.
 We will struggle enough with the devil without willingly placing ourselves within his grasp.
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts” (Rom 13:14).
powerful
Toeing the line of sin or cosying up to temptation to see how close we can get gives ground to the devil, and dramatically increases the chances that we will fall into sin.  Don’t give the devil even a foothold!Further, we have power to resist the devil.
“Do not give a foothold” emphasises that this is something within our power to control.
The devil can only come as close as we allow him.
“Resist the devil and he will flee from you”(James 4:7).
 Though powerful and cunning, the devil can never control our will or force disobedience.  Yet active resistance is essential! Satan is not one to lay down his arms and take mercy on us out of pity or generosity.
He only flees from those who have the courage and faith to resist him and turn to God’s promise and power. This phrase emphasises that we need sobriety and vigilance.
 If we were at war, we would not think of turning our back on the enemy until the battle was won. Negligence in this battle is far more costly.
Every advance must be thwarted, each temptation resisted, each subtle lie countered. Not even a foothold can be spared.

Fearful

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour”(1 Pet 5:8). This fearful description is motivation for our increased alertness.
Practically, we need to watch for people who will turn our hearts to the devil.  We need care to ensure that we do not compromise what we know is right for some ‘gray area’ pleasure.
We need sobriety to think clearly when our senses are enticed to sin—to see consequences rather than pleasure or convenience.
‘Do not give the devil a foothold’ is a call to arms—to engage in the battle that will define our lives. Are you ceding ground? Are you watchful? Are you winning?

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