the devil

Watch out for the Thief

“Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward” 2 John 8

John’s letter is a sober reminder that we are in spiritual warfare and if we drop our guard we will suffer loss both now and in eternity. Salvation is the gift of God so that is not what John is writing of here. In his first letter he mentions the spirit of antichrist and in this letter he revisits this subject.

The spirit of antichrist is a deceiver of believers (v 7) and through error deceives people into believing things that are untrue concerning Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. Henry Ward Beecher wrote, “Whatever is only almost true is quite false and among the most dangerous of errors. Because being so near Truth, it is more likely to lead astray.”

If we allow the spirit of antichrist to lead us to believe false teaching concerning Jesus Christ, it will rob us of our present intimacy and fellowship with Jesus Christ and the joy that accompanies it. It will also cause us to be eternally short of where we might have been in intimacy with Jesus.

The spirit of antichrist will also cause defections from truth and love (v 10). Once deceived by false teaching a person will have defected to Satan’s cause. The only protection we have is to continue abiding in the doctrine of Christ. As Paul writes to Timothy, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13).

The spirit of antichrist also necessitates divisions and separations in the church (v 10). Separations are neither desired nor pleasant but because the spirit of antichrist is at work within the church it is sometimes necessary. We should not compromise the Gospel or doctrine of Christ for the sake of staying together. We must be discerning and discriminating. It is a sad thing that some churches, in an attempt to maintain numbers or grow, have sacrificed truth concerning Jesus Christ. The outcome is that people are deceived into defecting from Christ to serving antichrist and they are robbed of present joy and eternal reward. It is this reward that glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ in and for eternity.

Teaching concerning Jesus Christ is so vital that it is the difference between heaven and hell; between being with Christ or antichrist. To diminish its importance will have eternal fatal consequences.

Daniel Webster wrote, “If truth is not diffused, error will be. If God and His word are not known and received, the devil and his will gain the ascendancy.” The church must hold fast to sound doctrine or its people will suffer great loss.

Love and truth always go together. To truly love others is to use truth to serve them in order that they might have full joy and receive a full reward.

Submit to God

“Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:7, 8)

It isn’t unusual to hear someone complain that the devil is giving them or someone they know a hard time. There are a number of reasons for the devil doing that but sometimes it may be our own doing, or lack of doing, that gives him an “open door” to our lives. When he “knocks” on our door with a temptation we are inclined to leave the door ajar rather than slam it in his face.

Regardless of the cause, James gives us the remedy.

“Submit to God.”

Quite likely we would all say we are in submission to God. However, unless our submission is absolute and total it is not submission at all. If there is but one point of reservation we are not in submission to God and we reveal that we do not totally trust Him.

“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

If the devil finds no “toe hold” in the door he will move on. If he continues to trouble you it may be because you are not resisting the temptation he has placed before you. If you don’t want the devil to hound you then ensure you are in submission to God (by obedience from the heart) and reject the temptations the devil offers. He will flee but only if you resist.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Drawing near to God is a desire and attitude of the heart. Do you really want God or just the benefits He brings? Many Christians only want the benefits He brings but not Him. He is not a super medical doctor or Father Christmas and He is not a genie in a bottle. If you want Him and you want to draw near to Him He will most definitely respond just as He promises but it must be Him that you want and not just the fringe benefits.

If you feel God is not drawing near to you it may be because you have not met the conditions stated by James in this verse. You can change all that at this moment. Without God’s grace in Jesus Christ this is not possible for only He can resist the devil. “He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).