Our text places before us our arch foe and our greatest friend. Our lives
are lived in the context of these two personalities. James, ever the wise
pastor, remind these saints about what is. The devil is. Likewise, God is.
He reminds them because the reality of what is, is often hidden and works
behind the scenes. What is real is not always obvious. As we come to this
text we too are reminded of what really is. And it’s a good thing. We need
to be reminded.
Let’s start with the devil. When was the last time that you talked with a
co-worker or a neighbor about the devil? I’m going to guess that it hasn’t
been too recent. The devil comes into and goes out of vogue. During the
Middle Ages he was quite well known. The people of that time were very aware
of his existence. You can see this in the artwork of that time. The modern
era, however, has been different. The devil is much less noted these days.
Keith Green, a name some of you will remember, wrote a song about the devil
titled, ‘No One Believes in Me Anymore’. The devil has fallen on hard times
and is neglected and forgotten by most people today. And I can’t help but
think that this is exactly how he likes it.
But then we are confronted with our text, ‘Resist the devil’. If we are
going to be able to obey this, the first step is to be reminded that the
devil is real, as real as you or I. His hatred of you is also quite real.
There is nothing that would please him more than to get a hold of you and to
drag you down with him. So, remember. You have an enemy. He has not
forgotten about you. Don’t you forget about him.
Next, you need to consider the methods of attack. It does no good to be
ready to resist some attack on your left flank if the attack then comes from
the right. If your resistance is going to be successful, it will need to be
informed. It will need to be wise. Scripture doesn’t tell us all that we may
want to know about the devil. There are some who try to rectify that by
filling in the gaps. As a result, they get caught up with some rather
bizarre and dangerous notions about the devil and his demons. Scripture
doesn’t tell us all that we might like to know, but it tells us enough. It
tells us that the devil tempts. That means that he is unable to force us to
act. He can only tempt us to act. That’s good. But his temptations can be
quite subtle and crafty. You need to keep this in mind as you prepare to
resist him.
Consider Job. How does the devil tempt Job? What does he say to Job? In what
way is Job enticed? What’s the bait? If you stop just for a moment you will
realize that the devil says nothing to Job. There are no whispered words to
allure. We don’t see the devil dangling some tempting morsel for Job to
grab. That worked in the Garden, but here he uses another, very different
method. Here, the devil simply sets up the situation. Job’s children are
killed. Poverty engulfs him. His health is destroyed. These are all things
that the devil did. He was just setting up the situation. Do you see why?
Once the situation is set, the devil expects human nature to take its
course. Remember the goal. The devil wants Job to curse God to His face. And
he truly expects Job to do just that. Who could blame him? After all that he
’s suffered, who wouldn’t curse God? That’s what most people think. That’s
what the devil thought. There doesn’t have to be some forbidden fruit and
enticing words. Sometimes the devil tempts just by setting up the situation.
Are you ready for that kind of attack? So, when our text commands you to
resist you need to be wise in how you proceed. You need to be aware of the
deceptiveness of your opponent. Failure here can be fatal. Remember Judas.
James doesn’t just write a command. He also offers a promise. He wants to
encourage. So, along with writing, ‘Resist the devil’ James also writes,
‘and he will flee from you.’ Our arch foe is not invincible. He does flee
the battlefield in defeat at times. All we need do is resist him. But, of
course, at this point you’re probably thinking, ‘How do I do that?’ And that
is a good question. How does someone resist such a subtle and devious foe?
How can you put up a strong defense if you don’t know where the attack will
come from? And even if you did know, how do you defend against the devil?
Obviously it’s not a matter of thicker armor or bigger bombs. If you try to
match wits with this foe you are doomed to failure. So, how are you to
resist? What are you supposed to do so that he will flee?
This brings us to the next part of our text. ‘Draw near to God and He will
draw near to you.’ This part of chapter four is not just some random list of
things that were rumbling around in James’ head. These are all related to
one another. So, James has an answer to our question, ‘How do you resist the
devil?’ You resist not by trying harder, getting smarter, or trying to get
more subtle and devious yourself. You resist the devil by drawing near to
God. Just a moment’s thought will show you that this is obviously true.
There is no hope if you try to fight the devil on your own. Our first
parents, sinless and perfect, failed and were conquered by the devil’s
tricks. Do you think someone as sinful as you will do better? Your only hope
lies outside of yourself. Your only hope is Jesus. And so, James hits the
nail on the head when he tells us to resist the devil by drawing near to our
God.
Let’s unpack this. What is James’ counsel here? What is it that the Spirit
is teaching from this text? Does He want you go on some retreat with a
special speaker? Do you need to separate from everyone and do this alone?
What does it mean to draw near to God? This is the language of worship.
Different places, especially in the Old Testament, use this language of
drawing near to God to describe worship. What are you doing right now, this
very minute? You are drawing near to God by worshipping Him. Your hope of
being able to resist the devil is bound up with your worship with the other
saints as the church.
Consider the different aspects of how we here at Faith Reformed Church draw
near to our God. We draw near to God aware that we have not resisted the
devil as well as we needed to the previous week. We have sinned. We don’t
need the devil whispering tempting words in our ears. We found ourselves in
certain situations and the evil that remains in our hearts did the rest. As
we draw near to God together we do so aware of our failure, aware of our
sin. That’s why we confess our sin together at the beginning of our worship
service. In this confession we freely admit our sinfulness to our God. We
did not resist, at least not enough. But we come in the confidence of the
Gospel. We come because we know that there is a Savior for sinners. We draw
near to God in hope – in the hope of receiving God’s grace. And because of
Jesus, we do in fact receive that grace. Our sins are forgiven. And so,
there is the declaration of pardon. Then by the Word and sacraments we
receive more grace. God speaks to us by the Word read and especially
preached. By the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper we receive grace from Jesus’
hand. And this grace will be used by the Spirit to change us, to enable us
to resist better when next we face our ancient foe. Our hymns and prayers
are our response to the kindness of our God who draws near to us. The whole
matter is completed by the Lord’s benediction as we are sent back to the
world with His blessing, ready to do battle for another week.
We have drawn near to our God and He has not rejected us. He has responded
in kindness, drawing near to us to bless us with His powerful grace. But
understand what this grace does. Will it make us more subtle so that we can
beat the devil at his own game? Will it make us less tempt-able so that his
attacks just roll of our backs? What will this grace do? How will it help in
our battle with this evil one? This grace will teach us to believe the
Gospel. It will convince us of our weakness. It will make clear to our
hearts that only Jesus can save us, whether that is saving us from our sin
or saving us from the onslaught of the devil. You’ll know that this grace
has been at work when, instead of hoping in your own ability to resist, you
find yourself crying out to Jesus.
The devil is real, so very real. And his hatred is also real. Life is a
battlefield and you are called upon to fight, to resist the devil. But bear
in mind that your only hope in this battle is that you have a Savior, our
Lord Jesus. You can never resist without His grace. Depend on Jesus. Call
out to the Savior. As you call out to Him you will find the devil fleeing.
