We are continuing to explore the wonderful benefits of our death with Christ in our study of Gal 2:19-20.

One of the things that you hear the most, especially after getting into the charismatic circles is “opening the door to the devil”. For instance, you can see many teachings that say fear opens the door to the devil, or sin opens the door to sickness.

What is this door?

It is metaphorical. Here, “the door” symbolizes the opening or vulnerability that particular sin caused, which made the devil access into your lives. Some people say that when we have things that the world has a claim on, that opens the door to the devil. For instance, one of my friends is from Egypt and he gifted us this small figurine of an Egyptian pharaoh. We loved it and kept it in our living room, but many got really worried saying we are opening the door to the devil. Some people get into expeditions within their home to figure out what is giving access to the devil in their lives.

So, when people think that a door to the devil has been opened, they think the devil has some sort of right to enter into our house, or we are to blame. But here’s the good news for you. The devil has no legal access to you no matter what a new creation does. If you sin, or not sin, the devil is a thief and a liar, and he will try to attack. If you have a decorative pharaoh figurine in your house, the devil still doesn’t have any “right” to attack you. In fact, EVEN IF the figurine is absolutely possessed, it should be worried about you, not the other way around.

No Jurisdiction over You

Rom 6:14 says:

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 

So if you have died with Christ, what then? The word master literally means jurisdiction. Hence, this means death has no jurisdiction over you. You have spiritual immunity folks!!

This means that any spiritual attack from the devil is an illegal attack, sin or no sin. You didn’t open any door. In Christ Jesus, the devil has no access to the door. We died with Christ.

Death has lost its sting

In the Old Testament, we see that many people through their actions caused spiritual attacks into their lives. Death was a tyrant that ruled over people. But where did death or the powers of darkness get its sting? It was the Law. As 1 Cor 15:55-57 says

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Death was mastering over us through sin, and the power of sin is the law. So, when we died to the law, the law is powerless over us, and that means there is no door that is opened to the Devil.

What about Rom 6 that talks about slaves of whom we obey?

Many people teach that we can be slaves of death, giving access to the devil, if you sin (because you are in essence obeying the devil). They quote Rom 6:16 which says:

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

However, that is not true. Because when you read the next verse, it clarifies it.

But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

You became obedient it says, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. We know that Rom 6 clearly says when we became freed of sin, it is at salvation, and the obedience here is the response to the call to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior! So praise God, we are NEVER to be slaves to sin, even if we fall into sin.

So no consequences to my actions?

First of all, a believer doesn’t sin because there is a consequence, or there is a law, or there is a door that we open to the devil. We choose not to sin, because that is what we are. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. This is why Paul says in Rom 6:12, do not let sin reign. It is us who is letting sin reign.

Note that when we sin wilfully, the devil still has no jurisdiction over us, and has no legal right to attack us. However, there might still be natural consequences. If you are smoking cigarettes then eventually it will affect your lungs. These are natural consequences to the sin that you committed. There will also be social consequences. There was a serial killer in India, who had claimed the lives of 7 of her family members over a span of 15 years. When someone asked her if she could ever forgive herself for doing that, she replied “Jesus will forgive me.”. She’s right, no matter what the sin is, Jesus will forgive her, but people may not. There will be consequences in the society.

Conclusion

If you are a believer who thinks that the devil’s attack on your life is because of what you did in the past, take control of your life today, and command the devil to leave now in the Name of Jesus. You are a child of God, placed firmly and securely in Christ. You are holy and blameless. You have a reputation spiritually, and that is not because of what you have done, but because of where you are. The devil is deceiving you to think, that he has a right to attack you. But he doesn’t. Let this be the day that you finally show the his place, which is outside!