Resist the Devil by Mario Digangi - Part 4 — Mariano Di Gangi

So that in the evil hour, we may draw on it and win. The last passages we're going to look at are found in the letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 4, 4th chapter of Ephesians, beginning at verse 25.

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Do not give the devil a foothold.

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, every form of mal-kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave.

Notice that statement, buried as it were in the middle of all these exhortations. Do not give the devil a foothold. How do we give the devil a foothold? Devil a foothold by speaking what is untrue concerning another member of the body of Christ.

Lies, slander, idle and malicious gossip, are very effective in destroying a sense of community. That gives the devil... We take the matter of... It turns out to be prolonged and sinful. The Bible does not say that anger is always wrong.

If there were an anger about child abuse, there would be no reform in that line. If there were no anger against the injustices of racism, there would be no reform along that line. If there had been no anger on the part of abolitionists concerning the slave trade, it would still continue.

There is a righteous indignation which we must experience in order that there might be reform. But most of our indignation is not righteous, it is self-centered. And too much of our indignation spills over beyond sunset into the sunrise of a new day, creating resentment, bitterness, and a spirit of vindictiveness.

Be angry about the things that really matter, and let it be constructive anger that issues not in the destruction of the opposition, but in the reform of a bad situation. Don't get... That's it. Be angry, but do it without sinning.

Which means you know when that anger should have limits, and it should always be for a constructive and reforming purpose. Not because our ego has been flattened. Also, we are warned about grieving the Holy Spirit through a pattern of conduct which is not in conformity with the will of God.

We either grieve the Spirit and gladden the enemy. Gladden the Spirit, cause the enemy to sulk. The passage we're going to look at in this hurried look at the devil and his works, which we must resist and, by God's grace, overcome, is found in the second half of Ephesians chapter 6.

And we're compressing here what some others have expounded at considerable length. One of my prize volumes is by a Puritan named William Gurnall. He led the parish in Labanum, in Suffolk, in one of the finest examples of English Gothic architecture.

He was minister there for 35 years. He lived from 1616 to 1679. Well, he wrote a book called The Christian in Complete Armor. And here's the full title. It takes a page. The Christian in Complete Armor, a treatise of the saints' war against the devil, wherein a discovery is made of that great enemy of God and his people in his policies, power, empire, and wickedness, and the Christian is furnished with spiritual arms for the battle, helped on with his armor, taught the use of his weapon, together with the happy issue of the whole war.

Period. That's the title. Now, the book is in two volumes. Volume one takes 589 pages of close type, and volume two takes an even 600 pages, making 1189. William Gurnall, G-U-R-N-A-L-L. He was a Puritan who stayed within the Church of England when they had the Great Disruption in 1662.

Obviously, we're not going to go at this in the same kind of detail that Gurnall did. But I do want to point out the highlights, and they are all found in Ephesians 6, beginning at verse 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes, that is, you can resist him successfully. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore, since you've got a fight on your hands, put on the full armor of God. Why? So that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to still stand.

Stand firm, then. With the belt of truth buckled about your waist, the breastplate of righteousness in place, your feet fitted with the gospel of peace as a firm footing, that's one pair of shoes that they won't have in the Vatican Museum.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and pray.

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert, and always keep on praying for all the saints. Now, what's he saying here? He's saying that we face a supernatural kingdom, which is determined to hinder us in our quest for holiness as Christ, in our service to others in need.

We're not fighting against flesh and blood. We're fighting against the powers of darkness and the forces of evil. He wants to keep us from being holy. From being. He wants to hinder our witness.