Resist!

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Submit = hypotasso = subordinate, subject one's self, obey

Resist = anthistemi = withstand, oppose, set against

Devil = diabolos = false accuser, slanderer

Flee = pheugo = run away, escape, vanish

James 4:7 is an often quoted verse and one that is taught to young believers as a means of defending themselves against the devil's attacks.

When the accuser comes, where do you go? How do you respond?

In the broader context of the passage in the book of James, we are taught that our struggles come from desires that battle within us. We are taught that we desire, covet and ask for things with wrong motives. We are warned that when we are 'friends of the world' we become an enemy of God.

So how do we respond when the accuser comes? How do we respond when we know that the accuser comes because of the desires that battle within our own minds? How do we respond when we know that it is frequently our own actions that invite the accuser in?

We respond in silence before our accuser and let our Attorney speak on our behalf.

In our hearts, we acknowledge that all have sinned. We acknowledge that we are guilty and without excuse BUT Jesus died for our sin and His shed blood paid the price to remove our guilt.

Our vindication comes when we accept that the blood of Jesus is the only thing that makes us righteous when we stand before our Righteous Judge.

Jesus is our attorney and His blood is our defense.

The devil accuses. That's what he does. His very name is an indication of his character.

Our nature is to respond and try to defend ourselves, but Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:25 never to dispute an accusation:

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison."

Jesus gave this instruction as a part of His larger teaching on the natural progression of sin in our hearts - that anyone who hates has murder in their heart (verses 21,22) and anyone who looks with lust is guilty of adultery. (Verses 27 and 28.)

We see our guilt. Our accuser sees our guilt. Our accuser is the one who got Adam to sell his seed into slavery to sin. BUT where the accuser oversteps his authority is when he refuses to acknowledge the Blood of Jesus at work in our lives.

That is why we must resist.

We do not answer our accuser, but we immediately bring him before the Righteous Judge of the Court of Heaven and ask our Divine Advocate to speak on our behalf.

Our Attorney will then address the court and remind the accuser that HIS blood cleansed us. Our Attorney will remind the accuser that HE has clothed us in HIS robe of righteousness. Our attorney will remind the accuser that we are free from ALL guilt. Our attorney will silence the accuser and the accuser will FLEE.

Our Righteous Judge has already rendered His verdict. He has already passed judgement but that does not stop the accuser from looking for loopholes. It does not stop him from looking for openings that give him legal standing to bring his accusations against us.

This happens when our actions are not in agreement with our standing in Christ. James refers to this as "desires that battle within us."

Just as in our natural court system, if someone is accused of a crime and they fail to appear in court, they cannot be exonerated, even if they are not guilty. The same happens in the spiritual realm. Here is an example from the Word of God:

Satan appeared and brought an accusation against Joshua the high priest. In this instance, the accused made an appearance to answer the accusation and Zechariah appeared with him to witness the proceeding.

"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.”

Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”

Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the Angel of the Lord stood by.

The Angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: “If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here." (Zech 3:1-7)

Immediately after satan accused Joshua the Lord rebuked satan and rejected his accusations.

He removed Joshua's dirty clothes, representative of his sin, and placed fine garments on him. So even though Joshua was likely guilty of the accusation against him, once he appeared in heaven to face his accuser, the Lord was able to take away his guilt and silence his accuser.

Just as James told us to submit to God, Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:26, 27 to not give the enemy a foothold. Just as Jesus, in Matthew 5, acquainted hate with murder and lust with adultery, Paul reminds us that holding onto destructive emotions provides an opportunity for the enemy to accuse us before God. The unanswered accusation is then used to harass or oppress the believer.

We are being reminded that satan is a legalist. That is why he does some of his best work in church environments. He and his cohorts are continually looking for any fault that they can use to accuse us before God.

We must live in such a way that our enemy has nothing to accuse us of - "submit yourselves, then to God." But if he does bring an accusation we must "resist the devil and he will flee." We must remind him that he has no legal standing. We must 'oppose' and be 'set against him.'

We must ask for our Attorney. Just like the crime shows we see on TV, we answer the accusation with “I want my lawyer.”

Our Divine Advocate, Jesus, will plead our case, cleanse us, exonerate us and rebuke our accuser. We will watch as he is silenced and flees from the presence of the Lord and from our presence.

We must be willing to repent of any actions that gave the enemy legal standing. We must repent of any words we spoke that came into agreement with the accusations, any mindsets that keep us in bondage and change any behaviors connected to the accusation, BUT it is the Blood of Jesus that is our defense. The Cross and the Empty Tomb secured our victory.

When accusations come with their attending harassment and oppressions, run quickly to the Throne Room of God and find relief, justice and freedom. It is as simple as vocally calling on the Name of Jesus and applying the Blood of Jesus to your spirit, soul and body. Speak it out and see yourself transported to the Court of Heaven, standing before the Throne of Grace where you will find mercy and grace in time of need! (Hebrews 4:16)

Resist!

Copyright© Lisa M. Wesley, Women’s Prayer Army