Our Enemies Care

 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 8
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The Christian has three enemies: the world, the flesh and the devil. It may seem strange to mention that if we falter, our enemies care. But the Apostle Paul, in speaking about Satan, says, “We are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Cor. 2:11). The Lord Jesus exhorted His disciples to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matt. 10:16).
The Devil
Satan is called “the accuser of our brethren” (Rev. 12:10). He deceives the whole world (vs. 9). “He was a murderer from the beginning.  .  .  .  There is no truth in him.  .  .  . He is a liar” (  John 8:44). While he can never touch the eternal security of anyone who believes in Jesus, he strives incessantly, through his many “devices” (such as accusations, deceit and lies) to destroy the present joy of the believer by luring him into sin in one form or another. In this sense, the devil cares greatly when we falter. It represents another victory for his evil purposes and ways.
The World
The world also cares. When David sinned grievously with Bath-sheba, the prophet Nathan told him, “By this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme” (2 Sam. 12:14). It assuages the conscience of an unbeliever when a believer indulges in the same habits and lusts that characterize the unsaved person’s life and renders relatively powerless any attempts to witness for Christ and eternal matters.
The Flesh
Our third enemy, our flesh — the old nature with which we were born as a child of Adam — cares as well. Peter says, “He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin” (1 Peter 4:1). In other words, when we walk in the power of the new life that we possess in Christ, we don’t sin and, consequently, the flesh suffers because it has no room to act in that life. On the other hand, if we walk in the flesh, we won’t be done with sin in our lives, because the activity of the flesh prompts us to sin.
This “care” shown by our enemies does not, of course, flow from pure motives. It is entirely a selfish interest, seeking its own good, not the blessing of its object. Yet Satan is crafty and can provide the appearance of genuine care that is nothing more than a deceptive lure into his trap. We who truly belong to the Lord Jesus possess a new life that knows what is true, discerns the care that flows from the heart of God through His people, and responds to the activity of that new life in another believer. Let us not be fooled by any of the many “devices” of our enemies.