On Guard
Acts 5:1–16
Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? Acts 5:3
In the early days of the church, Satan was outraged by what was happening in this Christian fellowship. Satan, the one who wants everything for himself—who makes people as selfish as he possibly can make them—must have hated the spirit of generosity and unity among the early Christians. So with devilish wisdom he must have said, “I’ll turn this around. I’ll use the spirit of sharing to break down the very generosity it is supposed to be expressing. I’ll get them to lie and introduce chaos to the church.”
Years later Peter would write, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8–9). This is an important warning. If we go through periods of special blessing, as these early Christians had, personally or in our church, we can expect Satan or one of his demons to attack us. It is because Satan does not want the church of Jesus Christ to thrive. If you are only going through the motions of serving Jesus, Satan will not worry about you very much. If you are not attempting anything important for God, if you are not breaking new ground, not witnessing, not serving in any particularly effective way, Satan will probably leave you alone. On the other hand, if you really are trying to do something for God—if your church is effective, if you have a strong missions program, if you have people out witnessing, if you are trying to embody the gospel in social programs that minister to the needs of real people and demonstrate the real love of Jesus Christ—Satan will attack you. You will have to be on your guard against him.
How can you do it? Satan is stronger than we are. He was stronger than Ananias, a man who even sat under the apostolic preaching. James tells us: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). But how do we first submit to God? We do it through prayer and a devotional life of which prayer is a part. Our example here is Jesus, who resisted and overcame the devil in his temptation. Jesus had just spent forty days in close fellowship with God, so he was utterly submissive to God’s will, as of course he always was anyway. Then, when Satan came, he responded by quotations from Scripture. It is in Scripture that God has expressed his will.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.