RESIST THE DEVIL

Passage: James 4:7-12

Key verse: 7

NIV

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil,(A) and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.(B) Wash your hands,(C) you sinners, and purify your hearts,(D) you double-minded.(E) 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.(F) 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.(G)

11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another.(H) Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[a] or judges them(I) speaks against the law(J) and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it,(K) but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge,(L) the one who is able to save and destroy.(M) But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?(N)

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Footnotes
  1. James 4:11 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. (A)Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 (B)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (C)Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and (D)purify your hearts, (E)you double-minded. 9 (F)Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 (G)Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11 (H)Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.[a] The one who speaks against a brother or (I)judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only (J)one lawgiver and (K)judge, he who is able to save and (L)to destroy. But (M)who are you to judge your neighbor?

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Footnotes
  1. James 4:11 Or brothers and sisters
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Submit yourselves to God (7-1

)

Our enemy is the devil. He does not like it when we decide to submit ourselves to God. He is very powerful, and he can defeat us if we fight him with our human strength. But when we resist the devil and come to God in repentance and faith, the devil will flee and God will give us victory.

2. Don't judge brothers or neighbors (11-12)

If we judge our brothers or our neighbors, we give the devil a handle on our own lives, and he can defeat us. The Bible teaches us not to judge others, but to repent ourselves; so, if we judge others, we are sitting in judgment on the law. We must not judge the law; we must keep it. We must listen to the Law and repent. God is the Law-giver and Judge. We must live humbly before him.

Prayer: Father, help me to resist the devil today. I want to draw near you; please draw near me. Help me to love others instead of judging them.

One Word: Resist the devil and he will flee