The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. – 1 John 3:8

Is the devil real? He doesn’t really exist, right? WRONG! The devil is a fallen angel. He is called Satan, which means “adversary.” He has one goal. He wants to literally “give you hell.” Picture him as a prosecutor standing before the judgment seat of God. He talks about your character flaws like pride, anger, and your evil desires of greed and lust. He’s very convincing. And that “father of lies” is not lying. You can’t deny what he says about you. It appears his case work will bring about an eternal sentence of hell for you.

But wait, Satan doesn’t have the last word. Jesus Christ has come to our defense. He set out to defeat the devil and put an end to his evil work. Jesus came to earth not to just hinder, slow down or frustrate the devil and his dealings with you. He came to destroy him. That is exactly what Jesus did by his death on the cross. Jesus’ death on the cross in your place is the devil’s destruction. All of the devil’s accusation about you before God are stopped because on the cross Jesus won the forgiveness for all of your sins. The devil can no longer successfully accuse you before God.

So what does the devil do now if he can’t speak to God about your sins? He seeks to influence you! The devil reminds you of your sins and tries to convince you that God won’t forgive you. This is his last resort. He tries day and night to tempt you to sin and then push you to despair over your condition.

But the victory is already won! The victory belongs to Jesus and by faith it belongs to you. Resist the devil’s temptations and he will flee from you. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who died for you, and your enemy the devil can’t have his wicked way with you. The truth is that the devil’s evil work has been destroyed by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He is your Savior from Satan.