The serpent at the door

Boa constrictors enter the habitats of large mammals and coil there for days, waiting alertly facing the entrance. Most serpents look for an opening, a hole, and wait there for the prey, sometimes for months.

The devil is called a serpent

Our enemy, the devil, and his demons are much like the serpents, only they are so much worse. Not only will they wait as long as it takes for you to open the door to your sinful desires, but they'll also actually try to lure you in. The devil and his fallen angels existed before the world was created. They've had thousands of years to study us humans and to learn what makes us tick. What our weaknesses are. What we like. They know how to push all of our buttons and they are masters of deception.

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.
James 1:14-15 (ESV)

This is an important verse to understand and take to heart if you want to avoid the serpent at the door. Let's break it apart and look at it piece by piece. Temptation is not sin but yielding to temptation is a sin. Satan and his demons know your and desires and they use them as bait to lure and trap you in you in your sin. But, what is fully grown sin? Here, James is describing sin as a process, using the metaphor of sin having a physical conception and birth. Some sins can result in physical death. I believe that some sins, especially those repeated over and over without repentance, can also lead to spiritual death.

Okay, so this was a lot of bad news. Now here's the good news.

We can overcome the enemy

The key to overcoming temptation is not just to resist

but to change one's thoughts.

Pastor David Jeremiah

We who are in Christ are a new creation. The old has passed away, The new has come (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). This doesn't mean that we have shed our sinful nature. It doesn't mean that we'll never mess up and give in to our sinful desires. But we are expected, as followers of Christ, to grow in Him and to be more like Him. To obey him. We need to learn how to guard our eyes, our thoughts, and our hearts from the fiery darts of the devil. But we can't do it under our own willpower. The good news is that we don't have to.

Your weapons against the serpent

As Christians, we're not left to deal with our sinful nature on our own. God can help us but it also takes some effort on our part.

Resist the enemy

When tempted, we can resist the devil and his fallen angels. But, for this to be effective, we first have to decide to live in submission to God's word.

Command the enemy in Jesus' name

Don't underestimate the power of this. I know from personal experience and from the testimonies of others that there is power in calling on the name of Jesus. His power is greater than the devil. Greater than any of the devil's minion. However, be warned that you must be a believer, for this to work.

And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Mark 16:17-18 (ESV)

Ask God to remove our sinful desires

We can ask God to remove the sinful desires that are tempting us. Are you struggling with repeating the same sin over and over? Pray earnestly and repeatedly for God to take your sinful desire away. Keep doing this until God removes those desires from you.

Keep away from bad situations

Do you find yourself tempted when you're in certain situations or environments? If so, why not avoid them in the first place? This includes avoiding a bad situation to start with. For example, if you are a recovering alcoholic, you should probably avoid bars and nightclubs. If you have problems with lustful thoughts, get rid of the triggers in your life that cause you to stumble.

If you find yourself in a bad situation where you are likely to be tempted, what should you do? The Bible warns us repeatedly to flee from temptation. (see 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, 1 Corinthians 10:14, 1 Timothy 6:11, and 2 Timothy 2:22).

Put on the whole armor of God

This message just wouldn't seem complete without mentioning the Apostle Paul's poetic metaphor in Ephesians 6:10-20 about putting on the whole armor of God. Paul makes it clear that our fight is against the spiritual world and then proceeds to describe how protecting ourselves from those evil spirits is like a Roman soldier dressed for battle.

The armor of God is our spiritual defense.

• Belt of truth - Everything that hinders a sincere commitment to fight and win without hypocrisy is tucked away.
• Breastplate of righteousness, which is the righteousness of Jesus to protect your heart.
• Shoes that make you ready for the gospel of peace so you can stand firm in battle.
• Shield of faith to extinguish the flaming darts and arrows of the evil one.
• Helmet of salvation to protect your mind from Satan's attacks.
• Sword of the spirit which is the Word of God and the only weapon you need.

Finally, the Apostle Paul tells us to pray in the Spirit at all times and to be alert.

This message is inspired by Sapphires magazine.