You won’t get far into the Bible without meeting a terrible adversary. Whether you start in the Old Testament, or the New, you’ll only make it a few chapters before the tempter appears on the scene.  

You find out quickly that he’s strategic and deceptive. His first appearance shows us much of what we need to know: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field.” A crafty serpent entered God’s world with an agenda. 

If you’ve ever compared the Old and New Testaments, you’ll discover something interesting. Even though Satan appears in both, we’re never exactly told what to do about him until the arrival of Jesus and the apostles. The New Testament gives us a field manual on how to engage the enemy. And that engagement can be summed up in one word: resist. Here are three helps from James, Peter, and Paul on resisting:  

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

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.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

In all three verses, the same Greek word is used. It means to oppose, to stand against. We’re never told to taunt the devil, chase him, or assault him. Those are his tactics, not ours. Our instructions are simple. Resist him. How does that work?  

Here’s an important tip. When you resist Satan, he flees. He runs away. He makes his escape. That’s James 4:7. Something in our resistance puts Satan to flight. What could it be? I believe Paul gives the answer when he says, “Take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day.”

Put on God’s armor and you won’t fall over when the battle rages most intensely—on the evil day. But our efforts of resistance precede that day. Our resistance is just as much preparation for battle as it is engagement with our enemy.  

In other words, resisting is what we do before we actually encounter the devil. It’s normal Christian living. It’s following Jesus. Basic discipleship. Mere Christianity. The beliefs and practices that have shaped Christians and opposed Satan for centuries.  

One of the devil’s tactics is to add complexity to simplicity, to throw order into chaos. Tour your local Christian bookstore for some evidence of that Satanic method. Or just ask the next cult member who knocks on your front door how one might go about being saved in the false version of Christianity he represents, or how to follow the teachings of that cult. Brace yourself for some serious complexity and confusion.    

True Christianity, on the other hand, is simple and clear. And the habits and practices of healthy Christians are the very things that put Satan to flight. Call them spiritual disciplines or means of grace—call them habits if you want. Paul likens them to putting on divine armor. So to neglect them is both foolish and dangerous.

Here are three simple acts of resistance you neglect to your own peril. They’re all represented in Paul’s Armor of God passage—and the rest of the Bible. 

Hear God’s Voice (BIBLE) 

Have God’s Ear (PRAYER)

Belong to God’s Body (FELLOWSHIP) 

I owe that outline to David Mathis’ book, Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines. When you engage in those practices, you grow. Your roots go deep. Your spiritual muscles strengthen. Your mind gets renewed. Your heart gets refreshed. Your soul gets restored. I say this on good apostolic authority: you're invincible. That doesn’t mean you won’t suffer attacks or escape intense battles. It means you won’t lose the war. Because in those habits, you are drawing near to the one who secured your victory in the first place. 

Take prayer for instance. There’s a place in Exodus 17 where the Children of Israel go to war with the Amalekites. Joshua—no war rookie—leads the charge down in the valley, while Moses heads to the top of a mountain with the Rod of God in his hands and two helpers by his side. Joshua does his thing with swords and shields. And Moses does his thing: he holds his staff up in the air. He prays.  

If you were watching, you might assume the old guy on top of the mountain was a few bricks shy of a load. But you’d be wrong. When Moses held up the rod, Israel prevailed. When his arms grew tired, the Amalekites prevailed. Spoiler alert: Israel won. Which was more instrumental in that victory? The sword blows or a staff held in the air? Here’s a hint: God commanded Moses to commemorate that victory with an altar. Moses names it, “A hand upon the Throne of the Lord” (Exodus 17:16).

Pretty cool name if you ask me. “I reached out and touched the throne of God. When I did, my enemies either ran away, or fell at my feet. They didn’t want any of that.” Christian, do you realize the weapon you have in prayer? By all means, sharpen your sword and train your hands for war. But don’t leave your staff at home. It might just be the deciding factor in your battle. It was for Israel. 

Every place you see Christians flourishing, you’ll discover these three healthy practices. And you’ll see resistance in action. If you want to resist Satan, go full throttle on him. Enjoy Jesus through the spiritual discipline of prayer. Hold high the staff of God. Reach out and lay “a hand upon the Throne of the Lord,” and enjoy the victory Christ has secured for you. 

More about the Word and Fellowship next week…