Resisting the Devil
by Joe R. Price
February 21, 2010

Through James, “a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,” the Holy Spirit said “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas. 4:6-7). While God resists the proud, it is only the humble that successfully resist the devil. We must accept it is by the power of God and not our own that Satan is defeated. Only then will we have the humility to successfully resist him “steadfast in the faith” (1 Pet. 5:9).

Humility before God is required to resist the temptations of the devil. We must yield our hearts to the word and will of God rather than the enticements of sin. The world’s allurement to satisfy the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life draws many Christians into sin and death (Jas. 1:14-16).

Pride prevents us from seriously considering that we too can be tempted with and be guilty of sin. The pride and self-righteousness of Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7:36-50 prevented him from acknowledging his need for mercy and forgiveness. His pride kept him from seeing himself as a sinner. It will prevent us from seeing our sin, too. “Pride goes before destruction”; the humble spirit heeds the warning (Prov. 16:18).

Pride clouds a person’s judgment of himself and his ability to resist temptation. The fact that evil companions corrupt good morals is minimized by the arrogant attitude that says, “It cannot happen to me!” (1 Cor. 15:33). The truth of the matter is the one who “thinks he stands” is boastful in heart and on the precipice of spiritual disaster (1 Cor. 10:12). This is the person the devil has little trouble drawing into sin.

The humble person resists the devil by resisting the sins of the world. Humility sets its affections on heavenly things rather than this earth (Col. 3:2). The humble heart is submissive to the Lord, not to the allurements of the flesh. The humble arm themselves with the whole armor of God and withstand sin while the proud arrogantly befriend the world (Eph. 6:10-13; Jas. 4:4). The humble are strong in the Lord; the arrogant are weak and remain powerless as long as their pride prevents them from yielding to the Lord (Jas. 4:7-10).

The Progression of Sin
by Joe R. Price

In Romans 1:18-32 the Holy Spirit inspired apostle described the progression of sin in the Gentile world that placed them under the wrath of God. Sin always places the sinner under God's wrath and it will always “proceed further in ungodli­ness” unless the sinner repents (Rom. 2:1-5; 2 Tim. 2:16). Since “all have sinned” there is a universal need for all to repent and obey the gospel to be saved (Rom. 3:23; 1:16; 6:1-4). The degradation of the Gentile world as reviewed in Romans 1 is a sobering reminder of the raging, soul-destroying effects of sin.

Sinners who ignore God and sin against Him are without excuse because the evidence of God’s eternal power and deity is “clearly seen” (Rom. 1:20). Not only has God revealed His presence in His creation He has revealed His mind through His word of truth (Rom. 1:16-19). Yet, many people refuse the evidence and reject God. This is when the destructive power of sin takes over in the sinner's life. Things have not changed to this present moment. The progression of sin still occurs and also stands as a warning to Christians: “And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Rom. 2:3).

Notice the progression of sin (Rom. 1:18-32):

1) One chooses to disregard God and live in unrigh­teousness. Sin begins to occupy a place in his life (Rom. 1:18-20).

2) The sinner stops worshiping and thanking God. His heart becomes darkened, producing only futile thoughts (Rom. 1:21).

3) The sinner turns to human wisdom which invariably changes the glory of God into profane things. Man becomes an idolater, worshiping his own creations rather than the true and living God (Rom. 1:22-23).

4) Exchanging the truth of God for a lie, the sinner is led by the lusts of his heart, producing unclean and dishonorable conduct (Rom. 1:24-25).

5) Sin continues to consume the sinner, often leading him into shameful, vile and unnatural passions (Rom. 1:26-28).

6) As the sinner refuses to have God in his knowledge and refuses to be guided by the truth of God, his life is increasingly filled with all sorts of unrighteous activities (Rom. 1:28-31).

7) The person who lives in sin is worthy of death yet continues to practice it while approving of it in others (Rom. 1:32).

Left unattended, sin overwhelms one in the depths of wickedness. Sin does not turn a person toward God; it produces eternal death. It is God’s “goodness, forbearance and longsuffering” that leads sinners to repent (Rom. 2:4). We cannot provide a remedy for our sins, but God has through Jesus (Jer. 10:23; Acts 4:12). Christ alone saves us from “the wrath to come” as we believe, repent and obey His gospel (1 Thess. 1:10; Rom. 3:21-26; 1:16-17; Matt. 7:21-23; Heb. 5:9).

If you see yourself in this picture of sin’s progression then repent. Do it now. Start obeying God instead of living a life that leads to your eternal death. Do not allow sin to destroy your soul.

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