We're always glad to hear from others what we already think, or want to hear. But the Bible warns about the "false kisses" of an enemy and the "faithful wounds" given to us by our friends.
Proverbs 27:5-6
5 Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
There will always be around you folks who are eager to stroke your head, and pat your back, and tell you encouraging lies while they do. These are not your friends, though they often believe they are. The one who has godly love for you will tell you what the truth is, what God's Truth is, even when it may not please you to hear it. Rather than the "false kisses" of agreement and support of ungodly thinking and conduct, the one who is truly a friend to you will give you "faithful wounds" of challenge, and constructive criticism, and hard truth, above all, directing you into God's Truth. If you are a wise person, you will embrace the "wounds" and be made wiser still, and reject the "false kisses" of tender words and lying encouragement.
Do you know what God's "battle plan" is for those times when you're attacked spiritually? Here are a few bits of Scripture that tell you how to deal with the attacks of the Enemy:
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
There is no help for you in the flesh, in your physical strength, or power of will, or cleverness when you're fighting spiritually. Paul the apostle wrote, "In me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing" (Romans 7:18) and that Christians ought to have "no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:1-3). Instead, Paul says here that the "battle plan" for spiritual combat is to submit every thought to Christ, forsaking any thought that does not obey him and that does not conform to the truth and will of God and in its place holding fast to what is true, to what God says in His word, the Bible (Philippians 4:8; Psalm 1). Of course, this requires that we know well what God's word says, what His Truth is.
So, what's your thought-life like? Are you taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, or do you allow all sorts of thoughts to enter your mind (and maybe your heart, too) that defy Christ and the knowledge of God? The World and the devil spew a torrent of wicked ideas, values and behaviors at us constantly. Just turn on the t.v. for five minutes and you'll be quickly covered in the filth of the sin, evil philosophies and false "truth" of the World and its "god," the devil. Secular music, too, is often overflowing with vile thinking that is in deep rebellion to God. And the internet can be a source of the darkest, most Satanic stuff you could possibly imagine but packaged as light and truth. If you've allowed the "voice" of the World and the devil to put sinful ideas, and values and practices in your mind unchallenged, you've already been giving ground to the Enemy in your life.
James 4:6-10
6 ..."God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Anyone who thinks to resist the devil whose life isn't fully submitted to God first will find the devil unmoved by their "resistance." In fact, the Christian who is not all day, every day, submitted to their God is not only opposed by the devil but by God Himself, too. Such an unsubmitted person is a rebel toward God, His child though they may be, and so are "easy meat" for the "roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." Be sure, then, to be in a place of submission to God before you start dealing with a spiritual attack.
1 Peter 5:6-10
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
Like the apostle Paul, Peter also understood and taught that before one resists the "roaring lion," the devil, one must first humble oneself under God's mighty hand, yielding oneself to Him as a "living sacrifice" (Romans 6:13-22; Romans 12:1), and then, settled well in one's faith, keep a sober eye out for the devil, resisting him when he approaches to devour. Is this you? Are you submitted to God, humbling yourself throughout each day under His mighty hand, settled firmly in your trust in Christ?
Ephesians 6:10
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Nowhere in the Bible are Christians ever instructed to take the fight to the devil. They are never told to walk city streets and "take back" the "territory" they travel by prayer. In the Bible, Christians are never told to command or rebuke the devil directly, charging the Enemy in aggressive action. Instead, they are to be strong in the Lord, not in themselves, and then, grounded and settled (Colossians 1:23; Colossians 2:6-10) in Him, they are to stand. Not advance, not charge, not engage in spiritual "guerrilla warfare," not shout the devil out of some place or other, but simply to stand. And by "stand" the Bible means "yield no ground," "remain in place, unmoved."
Ephesians 6:11-14
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
13 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.
14 Stand therefore...
1 Corinthians 16:13
13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Galatians 5:1
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Philippians 1:27
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
Philippians 4:1
1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand firm in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
1 Thessalonians 3:8
8 for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord.
And so on.
Are you standing firm in the Lord? Are you well-established in the doctrines, commands, and spiritual principles of the Christian faith, confident of their truth and immovable in your commitment to them? If not, you have little chance of resisting the devil effectively.
