If Satan Knocks On Your Door, Will You Let Him In?

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Romans 12:2: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We're told to be set apart. Time and time again the Bible mentions not following the ways of this world. That means that we must be removing ourselves from the ways of this world. You can't continue in The Truth and remain in your old ways (2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalms 51:10-12, Romans 6:15). 

Part of removing yourself from the world is removing yourself from those around you who are not living in The Way, especially if you see that person posing a threat to your spiritual life. Often times this can be a difficult thing to do.

The people we surround ourselves with can sometimes become our downfall. That is, if we don't choose those people carefully. The people we surround ourselves with are usually mirrors of ourselves. We probably have the same interests as our friends, the same gender, the same age group, the same beliefs, so on and so forth. So, you probably will understand where I'm coming from when I tell you that if you surround yourself with the wrong people, you can become a reflection of them. You can become the one getting drunk. You can become the one taking drugs. You can become the angry one or the bitter one or the depressed one or the lustful one or the prideful one or the blasphemous one. You can become the thief, the gangster, the liar, the gambler, the cult member and many other things, just because you choose to hang out with those kind of people.

It's those people whom Satan loves to use to his advantage. When a drug addict gets delivered, he'll probably run into his dealer or one of his addict friends the next day. When an alcoholic makes the decision to become sober and goes through deliverance, he'll run into his alcoholic friends or a friend that tries to pressure him into having a drink. An adulterer will run into his mistress. You can come up with a list of the types of people who you can run into the day after getting delivered. It isn't too hard to do. Just figure out what it is that you're being delivered from and you can be sure that Satan will have someone waiting for you the next day. It's all strategically planned in the spirit world and is always for your destruction.

So the question is, will you let those people in? Will you give ear to the things you shouldn't give ear to and give sight to the things you shouldn't see?

Let's look at a situation that happened with Paul. In the Book of Galatians, Paul mentions going with Titus and Barnabus to speak to some "men of reputation" to receive confirmation of the Gospel that they believe and preach. During this time, they ran into some false believers who followed corrupted doctrines. Let's see how Paul handled the situation:

Galatians 2:4: And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
Galatians 2:5: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

These false believers came in speaking all kinds of false doctrines and what did Paul do? He didn't listen to them. He didn't give an ear to the things that he shouldn't be hearing. What was his reason? -  "That the truth of the gospel might continue with you". Paul was well aware that there was a risk involved in associating himself with these people. He knew that he could be convinced to go contrary to the ways of God. He didn't want to take the risk. Paul wrote about half of the New Testament and even spent time correcting some of the Apostles. To us, he would be considered a "man of reputation". 

What is the purpose of a "man of reputation?" How does it concern us? There's a very simple answer to that. Someone such as Paul is supposed to act as a point of reference for us. "Men of reputation" are supposed to be role models to us. People to look up to. People to strive to become more like. So if Paul didn't listen to those outside of the truth, why should we? If Paul didn't want to take the risk of falling out of truth, why should we? 

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This thread is inspired by what I've experienced in the past week. A certain person came back into my life and after attempting to make everything right and failing, I had to say goodbye. It wasn't something I enjoyed doing. I didn't celebrate afterwards. I didn't smile about it. In fact, I was really sad. I didn't want to say goodbye but I knew that in order for me to progress, I had to. I knew that in order to prevent backsliding, I had to. This person was my "drug dealer". My "alcoholic friend". My "mistress". This was the person that was sent to me in order to have my downfall. I couldn't let that happen. 

Turning away from friends should never be something that brings excitement. It's something that sometimes has to be done, though. It doesn't matter the tears that might be shed or the pain that might be felt or the happy times that might be ceased. If it needs to be done, it needs to be done. It's one of the hardest aspects of being a believer. The question is, if and when the time comes, can you do it? Or will you let Satan enter through your door? 

Thanks for reading and I hope that this helps someone. 


God bless, 

- Jake