In Part I of this lesson, we saw that from the moment we are saved, we are in a battle with Satan.  He is our adversary [1 Pet 5:8].  God gives us his whole armor to protect us in this battle [Eph 6:10-18].  However, according to 2 Cor 2:11, there are certain things that we can do that will give Satan an advantage over us.  In Part I, we learned that we give Satan an advantage over us through unforgiveness and pride.  In Part II, we give Satan an advantage over us through:

Anger – Eph 4:26-27 – it’s possible to be angry and not sin.  Jonathan “arose from the table in fierce anger,” and rightly so, when Saul cast a javelin at him [1 Sam 20:32-34].  Jesus looked on the Pharisees “with anger,” [Mk 3:5] when he healed the man with the withered hand.  But, truly, most of us sin when we’re angry.  And we harbor that anger way past sundown.  Like Solomon said, “anger resteth in the bosom of fools,” [Ecc 7:9].  

When you’re angry, you “give place to the devil.”  For one thing, you lose the rule over your spirit [Prov 25:28].  You become like “a city that is broken down, and without walls.”  You are defenseless.  Then the devil can bring little attacks your way to cause you to rage till you destroy every relationship you have.  You’ll eventually destroy your relationship with God which is the devil’s ultimate goal.  Your anger will result in bitterness, you’ll “fail of the grace of God,” and “many (will) be defiled,” [Heb 12:15].  So, put away bitterness and anger [Eph 4:31].  Don’t give Satan this advantage.

Negligence – Eph 6:10-18 – one of the easiest ways for the devil to get an advantage over you is for you to neglect to put on every piece of the armor of God.  When you go out without the armor, you have no way to protect yourself against an attack by the devil.  If you think back to the confrontation between David and Goliath, you’ll remember that Goliath gave David an advantage in their fight.  Goliath’s full armor included a helmet of brass [1 Sam 17:4-7].  Yet, when Goliath came out against David, Goliath wasn’t wearing his helmet.  Thus, David had an available target for his sling and stone: Goliath’s forehead [1 Sam 17:49].  You don’t want to give the devil a target.  You must be fully armed and you must be sober and vigilant [1 Pet 5:8].  Don’t give Satan the advantage by going out without the whole armor of God.

Disobedience – 1 Sam 15:22-23; 16:14 – When Saul disobeyed the words of God, an evil spirit troubled him.  Obeying the words of God is the key to your protection in the words of God.  Rebellion against the words of God is as the sin of witchcraft.  You’re then under the authority of the devil and out from under the authority of God.  Jesus said to the Pharisees who rejected the words of God [Mk 7:6-13], “Ye are of your faith the devil,” [Jn 8:44].  We recognize that 1 Jn 3:1-10 is a difficult passage of scripture.  Nevertheless, those who transgress the law and sin are “of the devil,” [v.8].  You play right into the devil’s hand when you choose to disobey the words of God.  Don’t give Satan the advantage by being disobedient.

Error – 1 Tim 4:1 – Satan gets an advantage when you give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.  When people do this they depart from the faith, they lie in hypocrisy, and their conscience gets seared.  The error in Bible doctrine and the departure to modern Bibles has given Satan a serious advantage over Christians.  Furthermore, following devilish wisdom [Jas 3:13-16] gives Satan a definite advantage.  Frankly, the church has been drifting away from godliness to profane and old wives’ fables.  There are brethren today who can tell you every detail about essential oils and whatever the new diet is and they can’t even find Haggai in the Bible.  There’s a problem here.  Don’t give Satan an advantage by getting into error.

Conclusion: as we have seen in these two sermons (Part I and Part II) is that Satan gets an advantage over us through unforgivenss, pride, anger, negligence, disobedience, and error.  If you are holding on to unforgiveness, forgive.  If you are proud, humble yourself.  If you are angry, put away anger from you.  If you have been neglecting to put on the whole armor of God, suit up and stand.  If you are disobedient, start obeying the words of God again.  If you are in error, cease from the instruction that causeth thee to err from the words of knowledge.  Don’t give Satan an advantage.