I (Bill) became a Christian in my early twenties through the influence of a group of young adults at Hollywood Presbyterian Church in California. Quickly I began ministering in a number of ways and saw God blessing my efforts. Around the same time, though, I accepted a member of my church as a partner into my specialty-foods business, and this partner falsely accused me of dishonesty. I was distressed about the situation and talked it over with my pastor, Dr. Evans.
The problem came to a head when my name was put up for election as a deacon at Hollywood Presbyterian. A member of the family who had invested in my business stood up and said, “We know him, and he’s not worthy of such a responsible trust.” I was humiliated. I had not expected to be nominated in the first place—and I certainly had not expected to have my reputation challenged in public.
During a recess in the proceedings, I pleaded with Dr. Evans to withdraw my name from nomination. Although I was not guilty of the charge, I did not want to involve the church in any conflict; I preferred to let the whole matter fade away.
Dr. Evans turned to the committee for the election and said, “I know all the issues in this situation; I have studied them carefully, and the accusations against this man are not true. I insist that you leave this man’s name on this list.”
When the business meeting resumed, a spokesperson told the congregation that the committee had considered the accusations against me and that they believed my name should continue to stand for election. At that, the congregation rose to its feet in applause. As for me, I was set free from feeling that no one trusted me.
I believe that the doubt cast upon my character was in part a spiritual attack designed to cut short my effectiveness for Christ. Thankfully, it was resolved in a positive way. Others, though, struggle mightily against spiritual attacks of many kinds—and not always with such a good result.
The fact is, our enemy, Satan, does not like it when we repent of sin. He wants to pull us back into sin as soon as he can, and he will use every weapon in his arsenal to that end. That is why we can never relax our vigilance once we have repented. Life happens day by day, and we have to be prepared for what comes our way.
The great reformer Martin Luther famously categorized our spiritual enemies as “the world, the flesh, and the devil.”1 These words may sound old-fashioned in the twenty-first century, but they represent spiritual realities that are just as active and dangerous as they have ever been. The “world” represents values that contradict the values of God. The “flesh” represents our sinful desires that continue to trouble us as Christians. And the Devil is our personal spiritual enemy who employs schemes to entice us into doing wrong.
As we seek to break a sinful habit, we must use the resources of God to defend against spiritual attacks—the fourth of the five steps. We do this by overcoming the world, putting our flesh to death, and resisting the Devil’s schemes.
Overcoming the World
God made the world and declared it “excellent in every way” (Genesis 1:31). And even though our planetary home has been damaged by sin, we should not think of it as inherently evil. But the Bible uses the term “world” in another way, that is, to represent a system of values that is opposed to God.
We see this perspective, for example, in Jesus’s words to His disciples “I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you” (John 15:19). Similarly, the apostle John warned, “Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you. … For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world” (1 John 2:15-16). The “world,” in this sense, is the enemy of Christians.
We are constantly exposed to worldly messages about what is important, and these messages can make it hard to live in a way that is consistent with our repentance. Someone who is struggling to break the habit of greed, for example, will have to oppose the materialism that surrounds us. We are told in subtle and not so subtle ways every day that the point of life is to accumulate cash and belongings, that those who have the most matter the most. The person seeking to give up greed, then, must see this value for the lie that it is and strive to achieve a godly perspective on wealth.
Another message the world system gives us is that we have to look out for ourselves. So we do whatever we think it will take to get ahead. This can result in many kinds of sin, including backstabbing fellow employees, cheating on taxes, and lying on résumés. All this even though God has clearly told us in His Word that He will provide for us and give us what we need. “Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:32–33).
If we do not guard our affections, we will begin to place them on unworthy objects. The world is full of tangible things that can attract us. One person may place great importance on one thing, while another is interested in something else entirely. But if whatever appeals to us gets in the way of spiritual matters, as measured by our obedience (or disobedience) to biblical commands, it is a danger to us.
An exchange of value systems is possible. We are promised, “Every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory” (1 John 5:4). This means we go to Christ again and again for help to understand what He wants us to do and then to do it. We build our lives on the solid rock of His teaching, not the shifting sands of worldly wants. In prayer, we ask the help of His Holy Spirit to purify our value system so that over time we come to desire what God desires.
The apostle Paul told the Romans, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Romans 12:2). If we have bought into the values of the world system, God can override worldly influences and supplant our unworthy values with His values. And as He does so, we become holy nonconformists.
Considering the Flesh to Be Dead
When we speak of “flesh,” it is important to understand that we are not talking about the human body.2 Rather, the “flesh” is the part of us that is opposed to the Spirit of God—our ungodly desires and selfish motives. Thus, while the “world” is an outward spiritual enemy, the “flesh” is the spiritual enemy inside us. Our sinful nature, though dead, has a residual effect upon us in our Christian life.
Just as a smoker who gives up cigarettes has to struggle against the effects of a nicotine addiction which pushes him from the inside, so we have to struggle against our inner compulsion to sin. We can adopt a correct view of God, revise our false beliefs, and repent of our sinful habit, but a part of us may want to commit that sin again. We all have been disappointed in ourselves when we have thought we had left a sin behind, only to sense that deep inside we really want to go back to that sin. That’s our flesh calling us.
A person may repent of gluttony, but does that mean she will always automatically stop eating when she has had enough? Not likely. Her sinful desire for the pleasuring of her taste buds and the comforting sense of being overfull will tempt her to keep her fork to her mouth long after she has consumed all the calories she needs.
Someone else might have asked God to help him quit criticizing his wife and kids. Will every word out of his mouth from then on be full of kindness? Only if he overcomes the pattern he has developed to spit out comments with an edge to them.
So, does all this mean we are doomed to do what our flesh wants? By no means! The apostle Paul assured us, “you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do” (Romans 8:12). That’s good news indeed. But how do we avoid the effects of our flesh? Paul continued: “If through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live” (verse 13). The phrase “turn from it,” in the Greek, more literally means “put it to death.” Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can consider the flesh, or our sinful desires, to be dead.3
In another place, Paul described it this way: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there” (Galatians 5:24). We can crucify our flesh (sinful desires) spiritually because Christ’s flesh (His body) was crucified physically for our sake. We no longer need to obey our flesh as it seeks to govern our words, thoughts, and actions.
Of course, just because we have the power to refuse temptation, that does not mean we will necessarily use the power. We might choose to do what is comfortable and familiar. That is, we might follow the preferences of our old sin nature, even though it is dead.
It is like getting a new computer with an upgraded operating system. We might be inclined to continue using the old computer, just because the software on it is familiar to us. But if we take the time to learn the new operating system, we will see how superior it really is. We do not need the old computer; it is obsolete.
In the same way, we have to stop thinking of the “old man” (King James terminology for our sinful nature) as still being who we are. He is dead. We are “a new person” through faith in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are spiritually alive.
Remember, the Spirit is opposed to the flesh. As we pray and follow the Holy Spirit and refuse to sin, gradually the sinful desires lose their power over us. Their influence will diminish like a nicotine addiction that fades away.
Resisting the Devil’s Schemes
Along with the world and the flesh, another spiritual enemy is the Devil. This is the being known as Satan, or the Adversary. We do not know everything about him, but we know clearly from the Bible that he is God’s enemy and ours. Along with his fellow evil spirits, he seeks to orchestrate events so as to harm us, spiritually and otherwise. “Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy,” warned the apostle James. “He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). “He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God” (Ephesians 2:2).
While too much human wrongdoing has been attributed to the influence of Satan (the Devil does not always make us do it), certainly evil spirits will do what they can to put us in a place where it is easy to do wrong. They do not have ultimate control over our experiences—God does. But they may seek God’s permission to tempt us. In the early chapters of the book of Job, we are given a glimpse into how this worked for one Old Testament believer.
Is it a coincidence that a person who has a problem with stealing is presented with an opportunity to make off with someone’s wallet? Perhaps not. Is it chance that someone who is trying to quit gossiping hears a juicy tidbit about an enemy? Possibly not. In such situations, Satan may be setting out bait for us.
The Devil whispers temptations, suggests evil courses of action, and tries to implant doubt. And then we allow ourselves to become aware of temptation if we are susceptible in that area. Sometimes our susceptibilities may surprise us.
A number of years ago, I (Bill) began having obsessive thoughts about a female staff member at Campus Crusade. I became focused on her beauty and charm and even began to wonder, Is she the one for me? I knew such thoughts were wrong, and I never stopped loving my wife, but I could not stop thinking about this other woman and what a life with her might be like.
My thoughts of this woman never descended to the level of impurity, and I never told her what I was thinking about her. Nor did I do anything inappropriate with her. Looking back, I am glad I took the right approach: I just kept praying to God for help.
Finally, one day while I was in my car at an intersection, I was praying and suddenly I felt the obsession lifted from me. I do not know why God chose to remove the temptation at that particular moment, but it was a true deliverance. Never again would I struggle with such thoughts about this staff member or any other woman. Healing had finally come after I had long sought it.
I realized later that what I had been feeling was not a true romantic attraction. The staff worker was not really the woman God intended for me—He had already given me the right woman. What I had been experiencing was satanic oppression, and I was so glad that God had delivered me from the temptation before any real harm had been done.
Satan sets out the bait, but it is up to us to decide whether we will nibble at it. For His part, God always leaves us an escape route from temptation.
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. —1 Corinthians 10:13
God wants us to succeed in resisting temptation, and He gives us help to do what is right. “The Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). The Devil, while ferocious, is not a foe we are incapable of defeating in the Lord’s power. “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you,” we are assured (James 4:7).
Furthermore, God equips us for our contest with the Devil in specific ways. Paul wrote,
Put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. —Ephesians 6:13–18
With such armor, we “will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil” (verse 11).
Let’s look at how the pieces of the armor help us in our struggle against the Devil.
- The belt of truth: The Devil likes to interfere in our perceptions of reality. God’s truth shows us the way things really are.
- The body armor of God’s righteousness: Satan accuses us concerning our shortcomings. God’s righteousness, given to us through faith in Christ, protects our spiritual self-image.
- The shoes of peace: Satan tries to interrupt harmonious relationships with God and unity among believers. Peace protects the well-being and effectiveness of the body of Christ.
- The shield of faith: The tempter suggests that we will experience greater satisfaction, fulfillment, and happiness if we do something forbidden by God. Faith in God and His ways protects us against these flaming arrows of temptation.
- The helmet of salvation: Satan tries to darken our minds with godless thoughts and human-centered illusions. The helmet of salvation protects us against Satan’s efforts to fill our minds with poisonous thoughts.
- The sword of the Spirit: This is the only offensive weapon Paul listed as part of our spiritual armor. If we know and understand the Bible, the Holy Spirit can guide us to use specific passages against Satan in each tempting situation that arises.
- Prayer: As we humbly kneel before the Lord and pour out our concerns and struggles to Him, we submit our will to our glorious Savior.
The Devil will try to attack you through a chink in your armor. Make sure you are wearing all the protection God gives for spiritual safety—never fear. “The Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world” (1 John 4:4).
God on the Throne
It is important that we see the world, the flesh, and the Devil as acting together in opposition to us. Sometime ago I (Bill) tried to explain how it all works to a young woman who came to see me.
This young woman was unattractive and overweight and her face was covered with acne. Suffering from low self-esteem because of her appearance, she was miserable and wished she had never been born. As we talked together, I explained that God loved her as much as He loved the most beautiful woman in Hollywood. It did not seem to comfort her much.
Suddenly I had an inspiration. As we continued to talk, I drew a diagram that helped her understand why she was suffering from such low self-esteem. On a piece of paper, I drew a large circle representing the Christian life. Within the large circle, I drew two smaller circles, one representing the flesh, the other representing the Holy Spirit. “The flesh is influenced by Satan, and the Spirit is directed by God,” I told the young woman.
“Now, there is a control center or throne in every life,” I continued. “If self is on the throne, the flesh is in control, and Satan influences one’s life through the flesh. But if Christ is on the throne, God is directing our lives through His Spirit.”
Galatians 5:16-17 tells us that the flesh wars against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. As long as we live, there will be this warfare. Whenever you allow your mind to think upon anything that is contrary to the Word and will of God, you know that it is all being orchestrated by Satan through the flesh, because self is in control. On the other hand, good thoughts about yourself, the things that are godly, and the things that draw you to Christ come from God through His Spirit.
Then I asked her, “Who do you think is making you feel so negative about yourself and trying to destroy your self-esteem?”
Her face brightened as she exclaimed, “It would have to be Satan, wouldn’t it?”
I continued to explain this principle to her. “Now, let’s picture a tuner like that on a radio. If you don’t like a particular program, what do you do?”
She replied, “Well, I turn the dial.”
I explained that she was getting a message from Satan telling her that she was unattractive and that nobody cared for her. Then I asked, “What do you want to do about it?”
She replied, “I want to turn the dial and listen in to God.” Immediately, I sensed that she was relieved. Her attitude had changed and her face was aglow with this new discovery.
Even though Satan comes against us through the world, the flesh and his demons, we can stand against His schemes. By faith we can reject the world’s value system, put our flesh to death, and resist demonic influence. In order to do these things, however, we must be consistent in praying, walking in the fullness of the Spirit, practicing spiritual breathing, and tuning out the enemy’s lies.
Defending against spiritual attacks successfully, we place ourselves in a position to at last say goodbye to our sinful habits.
Life Reflection
1. What values of the world system have led you toward sin?
2. How have you been giving in to the desires of your sinful nature, even though it is dead?
3. How has the Devil been attacking you with temptation?
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