{"id":1116,"date":"2021-05-16T14:58:59","date_gmt":"2021-05-16T19:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=1116"},"modified":"2021-05-16T14:58:59","modified_gmt":"2021-05-16T19:58:59","slug":"our-adversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/16\/our-adversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Adversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
\u201cBe sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour<\/strong>\u201d
1 Peter 5:8 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Remember what every Christian should have already learned\nabout Satan: when he became proud, wanting to be greater than God, he became\nGod\u2019s enemy (see Isaiah 14:12-16). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Jesus came to earth, He came to defeat Satan (the\ndevil), once and for all. \u201cHe that\ncommitteth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For\nthis purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of\nthe devil<\/strong>\u201d (1 John 3:8). Not only do we learn that Jesus came to\ndestroy the works of the devil, but we recognize just who belongs to the devil.\n(One who commits sin in this verse is one who practices or lives in a\nprolonged form of sin<\/em>.) How can you tell the difference between those who\nbelong to the devil and those who belong to God? \u201cIn this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the\ndevil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth\nnot his brother<\/strong>\u201d (1 John 3:10).\nThere is a definite distinction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did Jesus say about the devil when He was speaking to\nthe religious leaders? \u201cYe are of your<\/em>\nfather the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer\nfrom the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in\nhim. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the\nfather of it<\/strong>\u201d (John 8:44).\nWe are to recognize that Satan is a murderer, there is no truth in him, he only\nspeaks of his own, and he is a liar. These religious leaders obviously were not\nin righteousness \u2013 which is the distinction between those who belong to God instead\nof belonging to the devil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did Jesus do for those who wanted\nfree from the devil? \u201c14. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers\nof flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that\nthrough death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the\ndevil; 15. And deliver them who through fear of death were all their\nlifetime subject to bondage<\/strong>\u201d (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus became a man\nto destroy Satan (through Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection). Each person is given\nthe choice to choose the life Jesus offered (because of His death and\nresurrection) instead of the life into which they were born (lost and apart\nfrom Christ). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The life Jesus offers is eternal. Read\nthe promise to those who choose the life offered by Jesus. \u201c29. And Jesus\nanswered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house,\nor brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,\nfor my sake, and the gospel’s, 30. But he shall receive an hundredfold now\nin this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and\nlands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life<\/strong>\u201d (Mark\n10:29-30).  Christians are then able to\nunderstand that the promises of the life Jesus offered and gave are far\nsuperior to the life they had previously. For those who chose the life Jesus\noffers, they recognize that the life they lived until that time was only\ntemporary, for it would have ended in the wrath of God and in eternal death. (\u201cHe that believeth on the Son hath\neverlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the\nwrath of God abideth on him<\/strong>\u201d John 3:36)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once a person chooses Christ, they have\na new life. (\u201cTherefore if any man\nbe<\/em> in Christ, he is<\/em> a new creature: old things are passed away;\nbehold, all things are become new<\/strong>\u201d 2 Corinthians 5:17.) Christians then have a new enemy \u2013 the\ndevil (Satan).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As God\u2019s enemy, the devil wants to destroy God\u2019s people. (Read what we must know: \u201cBe sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour<\/strong>\u201d 1 Peter 5:8.) Christians must be on guard, understanding our enemy wants to devour us. What is one thing Christians are to remember? \u201cGod is<\/em> faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord<\/strong>\u201d (1 Corinthians 1:9). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you live a vigilant life, on guard, understanding the devil wants to devour?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remember what every Christian should have already learned about Satan: when he became proud, wanting to be greater than God, he became God\u2019s enemy (see Isaiah 14:12-16). When Jesus came to earth, He came to defeat Satan (the devil), once and for all. \u201cHe that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[318],"tags":[682,383,345,681,686,683,684,680,685,80,203],"class_list":["post-1116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-picture-with-verse-and-blog","tag-adversary","tag-believe","tag-christians","tag-creature","tag-defeat","tag-devil","tag-devour","tag-eternal","tag-guard","tag-jesus","tag-sin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1118,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1116\/revisions\/1118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}