On his way to the Celestial City in John Bunyan’s classic Pilgrim’s Progress, a man named Christian saw two lions on the path ahead. Frightened, he decided to turn back, but a man called to him, “Fear not the lions, for they are chained.” Christian hadn’t seen the chains, only the fierce faces and sharp teeth of the lions.

In Scripture, Satan is described as a prowling lion who wants to “devour” us (1 Peter 5:8), but despite the fierceness of his roar, he too is chained. Satan has already been defeated by Christ. In Him we have victory! Even so, we must be on guard against Satan’s wily and deceptive temptations. We live in a scientific age, so we tend to forget about the supernatural realm, but the truth is that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12).

There are two main strategies for staying on guard against Satan and his forces. The first is a close relationship with God. To submit to Him in obedience and to draw near to Him is equivalent to resisting the devil (vv. 7–8). In fact, it defeats the devil, since the victory already belongs to God. When we submit and draw near, Satan flees.

The second strategy is repentance. If we sin—and we will—we should repent and turn away from it (v. 8; 1 John 1:8–10). We should grieve over what we’ve done (v. 9). God will forgive us and restore the relationship (v. 10). When we cling to sin and keep our distance from God, Satan tempts us further toward the ways of the world (vv. 4–6). For that reason, we cannot be “double-minded” (v. 8)—we must set our hearts on God alone and be in obedience only to Him.

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