The Importance of Reading your Bible-Fights the enemy!

May 24, 2023

The Importance of Reading your Bible-Fights the enemy!

Who is your enemy?

To understand the enemy that you are facing as a believer of Jesus Christ let’s take a look at what the Word of God has to say. Ephesians 6:12 is very clear when it states, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Breaking down this verse of Scripture we can conclude that our warfare is not with a family member, spouse, children, co-worker, or the clerk at the grocery store. Not even close! Although at times it may seem like you are battling the people closest to you, in actuality you are at war with the demonic influence that is causing them to act in the negative way that they are.

Our battle is against a very militant and highly organized demonic kingdom led by Satan himself. He is a very powerful adversary and in our own power we are no match for him. In the spiritual realm there are two kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. They are consistently at odds with each other but they both have the same goal in mind, to win your soul.

The Lord’s Kingdom promises us eternal life with Him in heaven and life on Earth in abundance, John 10:10. The kingdom of darkness promises us eternal damnation and in complete separation from God. The enemy will make you think that you don’t have to live your life fully surrendered to Christ. He wants you to think that it is okay to live for Jesus and live in sin. That is one of his ultimate schemes. His mission is to take as many people to hell with him as he can.

Our problem is that we don’t take the time to learn our adversary. Life is completely spiritual and the first step to understanding the spiritual realm is acknowledging that it exists in the first place. One of the greatest deceptions that the devil uses over and over again on Christians is making us think that he isn’t real. If you don’t know that you are fighting a real and potent enemy, you’ve already lost the battle.

Hosea 4:6 describes, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” The reason why a lot of Christians fall for the devil’s schemes is because they don’t read the Bible and apply it to their daily lives or they don’t take the Word of God at face value. The enemy prowls around looking for people to devour, 1 Peter 5:8. The Christians that don’t have on the full armor of God, are not in their Word, don’t pray, and don’t have a true relationship with the Lord are easy targets.

The more Scriptures that you have saturated in your heart and mind, the harder it is for the enemy to come into your life and wreak havoc. Why? The Bible has the ability to renew your entire frame of mind: you will no longer have the urge to sin like you used to, you will have Scripture to combat the devil with, and you will understand how to live a life consecrated to Christ.

At the moment that you said yes to Jesus and allowed the Holy Spirit to come into your heart and live, you became an enemy of the devil and his kingdom. He doesn’t let go without a fight so you will need the Word of God to combat against him when he comes after you. It isn’t if he will battle you, it’s when and you need to be ready.

I am going to go over some Scriptures that you can meditate on that disclose the importance of your Bible to combat your enemy.

Also check out my articles on Spiritual warfare Scriptures: Spiritual Warfare Scriptures: Facing Life’s Battles-Part 1, Spiritual Warfare Scriptures: Facing Life’s Battles-Part 2, Spiritual Warfare Scriptures: Facing Life’s Battles-Part 3,Spiritual Warfare Scriptures: Facing Life’s Battles-Part 4, and Spiritual Warfare Scriptures: Facing Life’s Battles-part 5.

Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

In this verse of Scripture, the writer of Hebrews is letting us know that the Word of God is living and powerful. When we dissect those two words used we can see that “living” is the Greek word zaō which means having vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul. The word “powerful” used in this passage is the Greek word energēs which means active.

Putting these two words into perspective we can conclude that the Bible has vital power and is still active today. It has the ability to change ones entire frame of mind. The thing is in order for it to become powerful and living in our lives we have to be intentional about putting time aside to read our Bible. That is one of the primary ways that God speaks to us.

Then we see how the writer of Hebrews states that the Lord’s Word is sharper than a double edged Sword. It has the ability to discern your thoughts and the intent of your heart. The reason why this is so important to understand when fighting our enemy is because we need to know what thoughts and desires are contrary to the Word of God.

This is extremely significant because a violation against the Lord’s guidelines and principles on how we are to live our lives will legally open the door to the enemy. Sin is one of the number one ways that the devil wreaks havoc in the lives of believers of Jesus Christ. We have to understand that the devil knows the Bible better than most Christians.

We can see him quoting Scripture when speaking to Jesus Matthew 4:6 details, “and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” The enemy knows the Lord’s requirements when it comes to how we should be living as Christians and he is just waiting for us to disobey those rules so that he can gain legal access to develop strongholds.

When the Lord tells us that His Word is the “…discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” He is reiterating why it is so vital that we read our Bible, study it, digest it, and apply it to our daily lives. When we do, it will naturally begin to establish a hedge of protection around our minds and hearts. Why?

The Holy Spirit convicting us through the Scriptures that we read will prevent us from wanting to live contrary to how God wants us to. What that does is help prevent you from committing sin which will in turn shut all open doors to the enemy. His access into your life will start to weaken and you will see the strongholds that he established begin to loosen.

The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in this process because He is the One that will bring Scriptures to your remembrance when you need them, John 14:26. He is the Author (2 Timothy 3:16 ) and Interpreter (2 Peter 1:20) of the entirety of the Word of God so if you need understanding, He is the One that will guide and lead you into all truth, John 16:13.

Ephesians 6:17

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

In the passage of Scripture written by the Apostle Paul we can see that he is letting us know that one piece of armor that we need to make sure that we have at all times is the Sword of the Spirit or the Word of God. The reason why the Bible is crucial to have to fight the enemy that you face daily is because it aids in overcoming spiritual attacks.

When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He used the Lord’s Word to combat his tactics, Matthew 4:4. If our Lord and Savior used the Word of God against the schemes of the enemy how much more do we have to? One thing that you never want to underestimate is the power of God’s Word. It has the ability diminish every method that the enemy will try to establish against you.

Every promise that God has made to us is written throughout the Bible. Every rule and regulation is outlined for us in His Word. Every plan of the devil is laid out for us in God’s Word. When you allow Scriptures to saturate your mind and heart, you will have weapons stored up to combat the devil with when he tries to shoot fiery arrows in your direction.

Without knowing the Holy Scriptures the enemy will take full advantage of you because he will know that you don’t know who you are in Christ. He will know if you truly know your Biblical rights as a believer of Jesus Christ. There are many privileges and promises that the Lord has given us because of the sacrifice that He made on the cross at Calvary.

Some of the Scriptures that disclose these privileges are:

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

1 John 4:4 “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”

John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

These are just some warfare Scriptures that you can put in your artillery that you can use when the devil comes against you. I also have many articles pertaining to this topic: Spiritual Oppression-The Dangers of Open Doors to the Enemy-Part 1, Spiritual Oppression-The Dangers of Open Doors to the Enemy-Part 2, Spiritual Oppression-The Dangers of Open Doors to the Enemy-Part 3, Spiritual Oppression-The Dangers of Open Doors to the Enemy-Part 4, and Spiritual Oppression-The Dangers of Open Doors to the Enemy-Part 5.

The fact is that the Lord’s Word is your spiritual weapon! One of the most powerful things that you can have is a renewed mind, Romans 12:2. It will create a barrier around you that will make it difficult for the enemy to penetrate. When the devil comes at you with thoughts that he wants you to think are yours, you will have the Sword of the Spirit (Word of God) to block those thoughts.

Conclusion

One thing that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt is that the devil wants to kill, steal, and destroy every single one of us, John 10:10. He cannot stand humanity because we are made in the image of God. Never forget that he is a defeated foe and is no match for the Lord Jesus Christ, Colossians 2:15. He destroys Christians consistently because of a lack of knowledge, Hosea 4:6.

Unfortunately a lot of believers go to church on Sundays and don’t think about the Lord the rest of the week. That will not work against the powerful adversary that all of us are up against. We cannot afford to be spiritual anemic: never reading our Word for ourselves, never praying, never spending intimate one on one time with the Lord, and we most definitely do not fast.

Time is way too short to live a lackadaisical life as a Christian in the army of Jesus Christ. We are to be bold like a lion, Proverbs 28:1. The enemy is not letting up but instead he is on a mission to take as many of us down with him as he can. His primary target is our children! We need to get into our Word and put on and keep on the full armor of God with no kinks in it. We need to let the devil know, “not today Satan!”

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

The Importance of Reading your Bible-has the ability to heal

The Importance of Reading your Bible-Builds Your Faith

The Importance of Reading your Bible-Reveals Jesus Christ

Your Real Enemy

Loving Your Enemies

How to share your Testimony

The Importance of Renewing Your Mind!

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 2

The Spiritual Laws of God-Restoration

The Spiritual Laws of God-The General Principles