HOW DO WE FIGHT THE DEVIL? by William Boekesteino for Core Christianity
In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter warns the church: “Your adversary the devil prows around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” What are his next words? “Resist him” (v. 9).
Is Peter serious? Can you even imagine resisting a 350-pound cat whose four-inch teeth have a bite force of 650 pounds per square inch? (For context, yours is closer to 150.) At first, resisting Satan sounds ludicrous. On our own we’re less able to resist Satan than Eve was in the garden. In our own strength we, like Judas, would submit to doing Satan’s work (John 13:27) as loyal children to a bad father.
But God appointed a Savior who would crush the head of the serpent. While on earth Jesus plundered Satan’s house (Matt. 12:29), indicating the coming of his kingdom (v. 28). The disciples Jesus sent out perceived that the demons were subject to them in his name. Jesus told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold I give you authority… over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:17–19). The Apostle John saw “an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan and bound him for a thousand years” (Rev. 20:1–2), restricting him from fully deceiving the nations (v. 3).
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How Can We Fight the Devil?
Satan does still prowl and devour. But he does so as one fighting a losing battle. Believers are right to expect the God of peace to soon crush Satan under our feet (Rom. 16:20). Believers plus Jesus are stronger than Satan. And yet, Peter still tells us to resist the devil. How can we do that?
Here are 8 ways:
1. Renounce the devil in your baptism. Christian baptism represents a transition from death to life, from darkness to light, from Satanic allegiance to union with Christ (Rom. 6:3-4). To renounce the devil is to refuse to recognize or abide by his authority any longer. It’s an emancipation proclamation, an act of revolution, a declaration of war, and the start of life-long resistance.
