El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-01-09
BAPTIST CHURCH.


''Resist the Devil and He Will Flee
From You.'
At the First Baptist church yester-
day morning the pastor, Rev. w. o.
Millican, had for his text James IV:7,
RESIST the devil and he will flee from
you'. He said in part: The devil has
a wondrous hold on US all. There was
a time when he attacked solely from
without; but our first father opened
the gates to the citadel OF the heart
and now the enemy attacks from with
out and from within. doth the spirit
that he made to dwell in us long after
envying?" asks James. This was
clearly true of the Jews. And many OF
US have learned from sad experience
that the heart is wofully depraved.
But the question implies that the
Jews, as many people of to day, had q
tendency to charge the whole matter
of sin to God since he made this
spirit to dwell in u.s."
But if God made the human spirit to
dwell in us he did not make it deprav-
ed. The devil did this. Let no man
say when he Is tempted, [ am tempted
of God: for God cannot be tempted
with evil neither tempteth he any man.
But neither God nor the devil Is final
ly responsible for our sin. Because,
first, temptation is not sin. Jesus was
tempted, but, he sinned not. Says
James, "Every man is tempted when he
enticed. Then when lust hath con-
ceived it bringeth forth SIM" There
must be not only temptation but a
yielding to temptation, before there
can be sin. Temptation is
the positive germ that the devil plants
in our hearts, but which lies without
power to propagate until we by q
voluntary act, or yielding. plant the
negative germ that unites with the
positive, conceives and brings forth
sin. It is easy to see then that we
must yield a voluntary response to the
devil or be overcome by him before
there Is sin.
But the devil cannot overpower US If
we resist him, for "he-thst
is Cod. says our author. givet b.. US
that which says i've have to sin"
True the human spirit yearns to Sin;
but if we submit ourselves to God and
resist the devil we can overcome.
How are we to do this? Fret, get
out of the DEVILS service. Think
and pray over his ways I'M
til deep down in your. soul
you believe they are wrong, make up
Second, get into Gods service. Some
think to get out of the DEVILS service
and yet stay out of the service of God.
but such belief is fatal. The only way
you can get out of the DEVILS service is
to get into Gods service. And he who
stops short of full entry into Gods
service only takes on lighter form OF
the DEVILS.
Subtraction is but theloradle of false
security in which the devil rocks the
soul into an eternal sleep. Let me
sound the alarm today. Wake up!
call upon God for strength with which
to drive the devil from the very gates
of your heart. But think not that you
will escape without conflict. The
Paul felt the force Of
this truth when he wrote 1--WE Wrestle
not with flesh and blood, but with
principalities and powers; against the
rulers of the darkness of this world
against spiritual wickedness in high
places" Martin Luther was beset,
with Satan that the demon seemed
at which Luther threw this
lux bottle. But there is victory
to the one who submits to God and
fights.
When Satan tempted our Lord thrice
Jesus defeated him with 1.-The sword of
the spirit, winch lS the WOr0 OF IOo.
Thrice he thrust him through with the
words, cit ia written 1t is said of
Luther that on one occasion thei devil
appeared with long scroll on which
was written many of the evil deeds of
the reformer's life. But turning on
the devil he replied zone thing you
have left off; that is the passage of
scripture which says, ''The blood of
his son Jesus Christ cleanseth us from
all sin - And at this saying the devil
threw down his scroll and fled. Would
you resist the devil? Take Jesus into
your heart; keep the word of God, like
the close by your side: study it, think
about it, go by it: and you will find it a
weapon too sharp for the devil to stand
against long at q time.
Be true to the Holy Spirit. When
he: by pressing on your heart the
spirit of the scriptures causes you to
feel that this is wrong thing to do or
not. to do, take this sword, thrust
Satan through with it: and while you
cannot kill him, nevertheless he will
fl ee from you. But don't forget to pray.
The devil will try to cheat you out OF.
this; especially if you have been a great
sinner, or have backslidden.
He will tell you that you are too un-