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Blessings to you, the readers of this page, in Jesus Christ our Lord. May He guide you and protect you always.
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and we Christians are called to assist in this destruction.
"He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil
sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of
God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the
devil." (1 John 3:8 KJV)
The devil is our adversary, intent on our destruction.
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour:" (1 Peter 5:8 KJV)
We are called to resist the devil.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you." (James 4:7 KJV)
We are not called to attack the devil personally, or to injure
him or to kill him.
Jesus never attacked the devil personally. Neither
did any of His disciples. Nowhere in Scripture are we called
to do so, either. Rebuke, yes; attack, no.
Similarly, we should avoid direct insults ("railing accusations")
of the devil, following the example of the Archangel Michael.
"Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil
he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring
against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord
rebuke thee." (Jude 1:9 KJV)
* * *
"Well," you might say. "If the devil (Satan) is our enemy, why
shouldn't we attack him and insult him whenever we get the chance?"
The immediate answer has already been given in the Scriptures quoted above: because we are not called to do so. But also, consider this: "We see through a glass, darkly" (1 Corinthians 13:12a), by which is meant, "there are many things we cannot now understand." Experience shows us that somehow Satan has "loopholes" through which he becomes entitled to attack us. Unforgiveness is one of those loopholes. No matter how "good" we are in all other respects, if we hold unforgiveness in our hearts, Satan can attack us. I am convinced that another loophole for Satan is this: he is entitled to retaliate if we attack him personally.
We should resist the devil, yes; destroy his works, yes; oppose him on all fronts, yes. This our job as Christians, and all the spiritual principalities understand this and respect it. But we should not engage in personal attacks against him or "railing accusations" (insults). To do so is to overstep our authority and to invite Satanic retaliation, from which the Lord in His wisdom might not always protect us.
http://patriot.net/users/bmcgin/chapel.html
May the Lord bless this presentation of His holy Word.
Rev. Bill McGinnis <><
bmcgin@patriot.net
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