How can a family avoid spiritual bondage? We might conclude from our previous lesson that we should:
1. Refuse to listen to the lies of the devil (and refuse to yield to his temptations).
2. Do no sin.
3. Give no entrance to sinful influence.
A family that takes those three steps will be spared a great deal of trauma and trouble!
James 4:7 gives us two further keys: “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Submit to God
Submission to God occurs when we face up to our own sinful nature and say to God, “I am a sinner in need of
Your forgiveness. Please forgive me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can truly change my life and live
in a way that is pleasing to You.” Submission is a total yielding of ourselves to God.
God desires for our submission to Him to be total—nothing held back. We are to give Him our talents, our timetables,
our desires, our hopes, our possessions, our lives, our relationships, our resources, our work, our all.
Once we are in right relationship with God, we face a daily submission of our will. No person is capable of
completely submitting all to Christ and then never having to submit again. Submission is ongoing. It requires a
continual yielding of our will to His will for us. We must come to God every day and say, “Guide me, Holy Spirit.
Lead me in the ways in which I should go. Cause me to say what I am to say, to make the decisions that are right
before God, and to do the things I am to do.”
What the Word Says
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom.
12:1–2)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being
alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Rom. 6:13)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought. (Is. 58:11)
What the Word Says to Me
• Have you truly submitted your life to Christ Jesus—all that you are and all that you have?
Submission to God's Commandments
One thing we can be certain about is this: the Holy Spirit will always lead us to live in full accordance with
God's commandments. Nothing the Holy Spirit ever directs you to say or do will be contrary to the Bible.
God has a path for you to walk within. His commandments are His “limitations”—like hedges along that path. The
commandments give us a clear direction about how we are to live as individuals and as families.
You are wise to remind yourselves frequently as a family of God's commandments, and as parents, to use
them as the basis for setting limitations on your children. As you establish rules for your child, here are some
principles to follow:
Make your instructions and rules clear. Be precise. Speak in a language your child understands. You may
need to add when you tell your young child to “clean out the flower bed” that you mean for him to leave the soil!
God has made His commandments very clear and direct in the Bible. They are readily understood. Make sure your family
rules and instructions are equally clear.
Whenever possible, explain to your children why you are giving certain limitations. Have a reason
for your family rules. God certainly has an ultimate plan and reason behind the commandments He has given us. They
clearly are for our good. The rules you establish for your family should also be for good, not out of habit or
from self-centered desire.
Establish consequences for disobeying family rules. God has told us very clearly that when we break His
commandments, we will suffer consequences. Match your disciplinary measures to the disobedience.
Establish rewards for obeying family rules. Just as God has said in His Word that we are subject to chastisement
when we disobey Him, so He has said that He is a “rewarder” to those who are faithful in obeying Him. Your children,
too, need to be rewarded and praised for their good behavior. Rewards are far more motivating than are threats
of punishment.
What the Word Says
There are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
(1 John 5:7)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. (Rom. 12:9)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Refuse the evil and choose the good. (Is. 7:16a)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded
you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the
Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according
to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
(Josh. 1:7–8)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. (Heb.
11:6)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.
(Jer. 38:20)
What the Word Says to Me
• In what ways are you feeling challenged to lead your family into greater submission to God and His commandments?
Resist the Devil
Resisting the devil is sometimes as simple as just saying no to his temptations. At other times, the assault
of the devil is stronger against our lives, and we must put up an even greater defense against evil. How do we
do that?
First, we must pray and ask God for help. None of us is a match for the devil in our own strength. But
… the devil is never a match for us and God. The Lord with us is far greater than any force for evil.
Make daily prayer a habit in your family. Gather together in the morning as a family to “give your day to God.”
Ask for God's help, provision, and protection for the things that you are facing during the course of the day.
Gather again as a family at night to thank God for being with you and ask Him to watch over you as you sleep.
Let your children hear you pray, and especially let them hear (or overhear) you pray for them very personally,
by name. Build into your children an understanding that you believe in God and that you trust God
to help you every day of your life.
Second, we must learn how to use the Word of God against the devil. Read again the way in which Jesus
confronted and resisted Satan when he came to Jesus in the wilderness:
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from
the mouth of God.’ ” [Deut. 8:3]
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 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.’ ”
Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD you God.’ ” [Deut. 6:16]
Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and
their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.'”
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and
Him only you shall serve.’ ” [Deut. 6:13] (Matt. 3–10)
• What new insights do you have from this passage of Scripture?
Three times Satan came to Jesus to tempt Him, and three times Jesus resisted the devil's temptation by using
the Word of God. We are wise to do the same!
Of course, to use the Scriptures in resisting the devil we must know the Scriptures. Make reading God's
Word a daily habit in your family. You might choose to read the Bible together as a family, or you might choose
to establish a “quiet time” in which each family member reads the Word for himself. It is very helpful to some
families for each person to be reading the same chapters of the Bible during “individual” daily devotions; mealtime
conversations can then be focused in part on the insights into God's Word that each person gleaned.
John tells us that the temptations of Satan are focused on three areas: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). You can count on the devil to come to you and your family and tempt
you repeatedly to fulfill the lusts of your physical flesh, to fulfill your desire for more and more things, and
to desire more and more status. Warn your children in advance that these temptations will come, and give
your children the scriptural tools to counteract these temptations.
Help your child to memorize verses that speak of God's purity, the adequacy of God's provision (including satisfaction
with and thanksgiving for God's material supply), and the humility of heart that God desires for us.
What the Word Says
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Resist him, steadfast in the faith. (1 Peter 5:8–9a)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
(Eph. 6:17–18)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
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. (Heb.
4:12)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
He guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path. (Prov. 2:1–9)
What the Word Says to Me
• Have you had an experience in which you resisted the devil through prayer and a quoting of God's Word?
What happened?
• In what ways are you feeling challenged today to arm yourself and your family members with God's Word?
From Protecting Your Family by Charles
Stanley. Copyright 1998 by Charles Stanley.
