Resist and Stand Firm in the Faith: 1 Peter 5:8-14
In 1844, Ignaz Semmelweis, earned his medical degree and decided to specialize in obstetrics. Two years later Dr. Semmelweis became the assistant to Dr. Johann Klein at the first obstetrics clinic at Vienna General Hospital. Dr. Semmelweis examined patients before Dr. Klein made his rounds. He also taught students and assisted in difficult deliveries.
There were two maternity wards at Vienna General Hospital, one for midwives and one for doctors. Dr. Semmelweis began to notice that the mortality rates for physician assisted births were as high as 18% and never lower than 13% while the mortality rate for midwife assisted births were steady at 2%. Dr. Semmelweis began to look more closely as to why this was happening.
Dr. Semmelweis learned that the doctors regularly began their day by doing autopsies before heading to the maternity ward. They never washed their hands between the two. Midwives never did autopsies. Semmelweis concluded that doctors might have been the culprit in spreading the disease because they were carrying small particles, invisible to the naked eye, which he called “microbes,” from doing autopsies to the maternity ward. Dr. Semmelweis implemented a hand washing routine for all doctors and students before they entered the maternity ward. The doctors used a chloride lime solution to wash their hands before they entered the maternity ward. In no time the death rates dropped to about 2%, right in line with the mortality rate of the midwives maternity ward.
When Dr. Semmelweis shared his findings with Dr. Klein, his superior, Dr. Klein pushed back. He believed the high mortality rate had nothing to do with the lack of hand washing and the lower mortality rate had come about because of a new ventilation system in the hospital. Dr. Klein, like most doctors of his day, believed that most disease was caused from foul odors or bad air, the miasma theory of disease. Dr. Semmelweis had stumbled upon what Dr. Louis Pasteur would give a name to in 1860, “germ theory.” Dr. Joseph Lister took Louis Pasteur’s findings and developed an antiseptic protocol which included washing hands and the sterilization of surgical instruments. But that would come later.
Back to Dr. Semmelweis. On May 15, 1850, he gave a speech at the Vienna Medical Society in which he detailed his findings. The vast majority of the doctors rejected what he had to say. Some of the doctors didn’t appreciate the insinuation that midwives might be better at their job than the doctors. Other doctors felt that he was implying they were dirty. One American doctor, Dr. Charles Meigs, mocked Semmelweis when he said, “Doctors are gentlemen, and a gentleman’s hands are clean.” Many of the doctors continued to refuse to wash their hands. You can’t see germs with the naked eye so there had to be another explanation.
Sad to say, Dr. Semmelweis, having faced such opposition and ridicule became depressed, he started drinking heavily, and ended up in a mental institution where he would die. Within a decade of his death, Dr. Pasteur and Dr. Lister would prove germ theory to be true.
I’ve shared this story with all of you this morning because the mindset of the doctors in Semmelweis’ day is the mindset of many people today concerning the reality of the one the Bible calls “Your enemy, the devil.” You can’t see him so there must be another explanation. There’s a growing number of people who call themselves Christians, who believe that the one the Bible calls “satan, the devil, the accuser of the brethren, the ruler of this world, or the prince of the power of the air” is merely a symbol of evil and not a literal, physical reality. I want to challenge that belief this morning by taking a look at what the Bible teaches. Let’s turn to 1 Peter 5:8-14.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (1 Peter 5:8-14 NIV)
I’ve noticed that within the body of Christ there are two extremes concerning the devil. There are those who blame the devil for everything bad that happens to them and then there are those who deny the existence of the devil altogether. Both extremes are out of line with what God teaches us in His Word. C.S. Lewis, in the introduction to The Screwtape Letters, writes,
There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. (Lewis, C.S. The Screwtape Letters).
Those who obsess over the devil’s activity make him out to be God’s equal and nothing could be further from the truth. God alone is omnipotent, all powerful. God alone is omnipresent, everywhere and all at once. God alone is omniscient, knowing all things about everything. Because the devil is none of these things we can know that he is not eternal, he is not self-existent, or equal to God in any form or fashion. We also know that he was defeated by Jesus at the cross. With all of those things being said, and being true, you are kidding yourself if you think he is merely a symbol of evil and not the evil one, evil that is intent on devouring you and me. Look at what Peter wrote in verse 8.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)
Peter urged the persecuted believers living in his day to “Be alert and of sober mind.” The Greek word translated “Be alert” means to “stay awake, be watchful.” The word for “sober” literally means just that, be in control of yourself instead of being intoxicated. The word took on a wider usage and was used to teach people to be disciplined in mind and body so they could avoid the enticements of the world. Paul used this same word when he wrote to Timothy about false teachers and how they would entice their listeners in the last days. Paul then turned his attention to Timothy and said,
5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:5 NIV)
“Keep your head in all situations.” That’s it. It’s the same word as “sober” in Peter’s letter. That is how we are to live our lives each and every day. I have another way of understanding this command. When I was in college I played defense. The goal of the offensive players is to block the defensive players. They don’t allow some of the blocking tactics they did back when we wore leather helmets. Our coach would tell us, “You’ve got to keep your head on a swivel or you’re going to get it knocked off!” There was no better reminder to do that than to have had your head knocked off in the past. Why should we “Be alert and of sober mind?” Well, let’s go back to 1 Peter 5:8 and we will find the answer.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)
What is our motivation for keeping our head on a swivel, for staying alert and wide awake? It is this: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Peter calls him, “Your enemy the devil…”
Let’s stop here for a moment and try and understand what those two words mean. The Greek word, translated “enemy,” is the word “ἀντίδικος” (antidikos), and it literally means “accuser.” The word was used in a court of law to describe the antagonistic and accusing party in litigation; especially understood as a hostile enemy. The second thing we need to understand is the phrase “the devil.” The Greek word translated “devil” is “διάβολος” (diabolos), and it means “one who attacks the reputation of another by slander or libel.” This word is used 34 times in the New Testament. The word is used to describe the devil and his activities, but it is also used to describe people and their devilish slander of other people. William Barclay writes,
The devil is the patron saint of all slanderers and of all slanderers he is chief. There is a sense in which slander is the most cruel of all sins. If a man’s goods are stolen, he can build up his fortunes again; but if his good name is taken away, irreparable damage has been done. It is one thing to start an evil and untrue report on its malicious way; it is entirely another thing to stop it. Many men and women, who would never dream of stealing, think nothing—even find pleasure—in passing on a story which ruins someone else’s good name, without even trying to find out whether or not it is true. (Barclay, William. The letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The Daily study Bible series).
This is so important to recognize because the devil does his most decisive work through human beings. The devil worked through Haman to try and wipe the Jews from the map in Queen Esther’s day. The devil worked through the human instrument of Herod to try and rid the world of Jesus at His birth by having every male child in the area of Bethlehem, who was 2 and under killed. He worked through Judas, one of Jesus’ own disciples, when he handed Jesus over to those who wanted Him dead. And, the devil is working today, through human instruments in society.
We need not simply look for the ways the devil works through others in trying to distance us from God. We should be very careful to be alert and wide-eyed at his schemes in deceiving us into believing that we are better than we really are. William Gurnall was born about one hundred miles north of London in 1616. He was a pastor, but most remembered for his three volume work, The Christian in Complete Armour. He writes,
If men hear a noise at night they cry, ‘The Devil, the Devil,’ and they run for their life, but they carry the devil around in their very hearts all day. For if you have a proud spirit or if you have resentment or if you have anxiety, you are under his power. He is setting you in a precarious place. My friends, why don’t you run from your pride crying, ‘The Devil, the Devil?’ Why don’t you run from your resentments and your grudges yelling, ‘The Devil, the Devil…’ (William Gurnall)
Truth is true regardless of the time or place in which it is spoken or written. William Gurnall wrote in the 1600s, in England, but what he has written remains true to this day. This is why we must always be alert and sober minded when it comes to the enemy of God’s people. In the Bible he is described by his tactics. He is called “adversary, slanderer, tempter, deceiver, liar, murderer, accuser, the ruler of this world, prince of the power of the air, and evil one.” These titles are descriptive of his character. Jesus pointed a finger at the Pharisees and said,
44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44 NIV)
The devil and his demons are crafty, they are cunning, they are deceptive, and devilish in all of their ways as they work day and night to continue to try and blind the minds of unbelievers and to deceive God’s people. Sounds pretty alarming doesn’t it? If I didn’t know any better I might just try to exit society and find a place out in the desert where I could avoid any contact with people and the world. That would not be God’s will for me or for any of His followers.
There is one more vitally important thing about the devil that you and I need to be constantly aware of as we face each new day. The devil is on a short leash. He is not free to do anything he desires in this world in which we live or in your life and mine. Let me give you a couple of examples of what I am talking about. In the first two chapters of Job we learn about a dialogue between God and Satan concerning a righteous man named Job. In Job 2:1-2 we read,
1 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it." (Job 2:1-2 NIV)
Interesting isn’t it? Satan tells God he has been “roaming throughout the earth…” Peter says the devil is “prowling around…” Throughout the story of Job we find Satan going to God to ask permission to test Job. Each time, God says, “You can do ‘this,’ but you can’t do ‘that.’”
Let me share another example with you. After Jesus shared the last supper with His disciples, He turned to Simon Peter and said,
31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31-32 NIV)
Satan did sift Peter like wheat at the fire pit when he denied he even knew Jesus, but restored Peter was a great source of strength, encouragement, and a godly example to the believers living in the scattered churches who received the letter we have been studying for the past year.
Just one more example, but a very important one for you and me. Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, an ancient city that was not unlike modern day Las Vegas. Corinth was filled with all kinds of temptations that could easily distract and deceive the followers of Jesus. Paul wrote to them and said,
13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)
Did you hear that? It doesn’t matter if you live in Corinth or Chickasha, Beijing or Bixby, Delhi or Duncan, Kabul or Kingston, Mexico City or Moore, or any other city in any other part of the world–God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. Here’s even better news–“He will provide a way out so that you can endure it.” So, you see, the devil is on a short leash. He can only tempt you and me as far as the Father allows Him. These temptations and trials that we go through in life are meant to drive us into the arms of our Father like a startled and frightened child runs to his daddy.
There is one more thing that we need to talk about before we go this morning. We need not be afraid, we need to resist our enemy. Peter says,
9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:9 NIV)
Three things that are important for you and me not only to remember, but to actively think about and practice. First, we are to “resist him.” Second, we are to “stand firm in the faith.” Last of all, we are to remember that Jesus’ family around the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering that we are…we are not alone.
How are we to resist the devil? That’s great news and God has given us the tools needed to resist. I noticed something this week that is very interesting. We are called to “resist him,” but we are told to flee from “sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20), “idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14-15), “the love of money” (1 Timothy 6:11), and from “youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22). Part of resisting the enemy is to flee from those things that will lead us away from God, compromise our walk with Him in our lives.
Another important tool the Lord has given to all of those who are in Christ is the armor of God, given to us so that we can “take our stand against the devil’s schemes.” Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus about this important armor. Turn with me to Ephesians 6:10-18 and let’s read together.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And 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 Lord's people. (Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV)
No athlete or soldier would ever think of taking the field without first suiting up. You and I should possess that same mindset as we begin each new day. I want to point out something for us this morning. Each of these articles of our armor are rooted in the character of Jesus. “Belt of truth…breastplate of righteousness…gospel of peace…shield of faith…helmet of salvation…the word of God…praying in the Spirit.” Our resistance is found in our relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the mighty Warrior who will fight your battles. He is the victorious King who is ready and able to come to your defense. Cling to Him, walk in His steps, and you will find victory over the enemy who seeks to lead you away and cause you to doubt the goodness and faithfulness of God.
There is one more thing I want to point out about the armor of God. Every item that is listed is defensive except for one. You wear a breastplate and helmet to protect yourself from attack. The one article of the armor which is offensive is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Jesus used the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, when He was being tempted in the wilderness in Matthew 4. Right after Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness for the purpose of being tempted by the devil. Read it with me.
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:1-4 NIV)
Fasting for 40 days and nights will make anyone hungry. The devil thought he had found an opening. “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus didn’t talk it out and show the devil the error of his ways. Jesus didn’t reason with the devil. Jesus said, “It is written…” and then He quoted God’s Word. Two more temptations would come from the devil and Jesus answered each one with “It is written…” After the third temptation and Jesus’ third answer by quoting the Bible, we read,
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13 NIV)
You want to know why we have so many Bible studies here at Britton Christian Church? Why we have Bible studies most every day of the week, both in the morning and at night? It is for this very reason. The one thing the followers of Jesus need most to fight the battles we face is the Word of God. You cannot use what you do not know. As soon as someone accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior and becomes one of His followers, we do everything we can to get them into a Bible study so they can learn God’s Word.
It is time for us to stop, but I must ask you, “Are you a follower of Jesus? Have you confessed your sin and asked Him to forgive you and make you His disciple?” That is the first step my friend. Until you surrender your life to Jesus you are fighting a war against the enemy that you cannot win. Won’t you come forward and become a follower of Jesus this morning?
Mike Hays
Britton Christian Church
922 NW 91st
OKC, OK. 73114
December 8, 2024
