The Devil is real and he is as close to pure evil as one can get. We saw last time that he is a spiritual being that operates in the spiritual realm. He desired to be like God and for his pride he was cast down. He now spends his time hindering God's plans for the redemption of a people thereby overturning the rebellion started by Satan in the Garden of Eden. How does he try to hinder the redemption of God's people?
The Devil accuses God's children before the throne of God.
Not only does the Devil oppose God's plan for redeeming men but he also opposes God's right to redeem those whom He has already saved. The Devil constantly brings before the throne of God the sins of His people and trying to undermine our relationship with our heavenly Father.
Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
How is it that the Devil is able to bring accusations concerning us before our Father? Let's face it none of us are without sin even after becoming a Christian. The Devil is actively involved in our lives to undermine God's plan of sanctification. Sanctification is the process by which God make us more like Jesus. God's plan in a Christian's life is to make him into the image of His Son. We are being transformed from what we are to a perfectly righteous us. This sanctification is not ultimately completed in this life but when we are brought into the presence of the Lord.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
The Devil is a Christian's adversary.
Throughout the Bible the Devil is seen as an agent of darkness ruling over a realm of darkness in a cruel manner waiting to destroy the lives and testimony of God's children.
1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
This should give us pause to consider the path we are currently going down as Christians. Is your path one of righteousness or one of sin? Have you allowed the Devil or your flesh to get the upper hand? Are you indulging in sins that allows the Devil to bring an accusation concerning you before the throne of God? We should be resisting the devil and not helping him in his cause. Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil and we can join in that cause.
1 John 3:8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
The choice is ours. The Devil is a powerful evil being, but he is powerless when he is resisted. The choice is ours.
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