The Devil didn’t make you do it!

In spite of frequent offering of this excuse by sinners, it simply isn’t true of Christians. 1 John 5:18, indicates that he can’t even touch the believer.

What can he do?

He can tempt a Christian to sin—as he tempted Christ.

But, it is the believer who is responsible for yielding to it.

He doesn’t do it directly as with Jesus, but usually by the world (his crowd) and the things that are in the world. Christians never have a reason for saying “The devil made me do it.” They need to be told so and held responsible for sinful behavior on all occasions.

We must look out for the evil one who wants us to sin, and puts many temptations in our way. He is not God and, therefore, is not omnipresent. He can’t be in more than one place at a time. But he has his “angels” (fallen, sinful ones) by which he operates in all the world. The devil is an adversary of the first order, but the Lord Jesus is more powerful and will keep you from his influence.