and do not give the devil a foothold.and don’t give place to the devil.Neither give place to the devil.neither give place to the devil.
6 sermons cite this verse
… natural physical and emotional response to perceived injustice. Is anger right or wrong? Well, it depends. It depends on how you express that anger. In Ephesians 4, verses 26 and 27, Paul says, be angry and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger and don't give the devil an opportunity. Did you know nowhere else in the Bible does it say, be greedy, but don't sin. Or be lustful, but don't sin. It doesn't say that. But here it says, you can go ahead and be angry. Why he says that is that's a natural response. You're not going to stop feeling angry. The question is, how do you express that anger? In Colossians 3 verse 8, the passage we read just a few moments ago, Paul gave us some negative ways to respond to anger. In Colossians 3 verse 8, look at it again. Paul says, but now you also put them all aside. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive speech from your mouth. Notice he didn't say quit feeling anger. He said instead, know how to put it aside. Now this word anger is a general term, but these next two phrases, look at verse eight of Colossians three, wrath and malice refer to two different responses to anger. Now jot this down on your note. What's the difference between wrath and malice? Both are expressions of anger. …
… because you're human, in your anger, do not sin. Then he said, do not let the sun go down while you're still angry. And he said, do not give the devil a foothold. In your anger, don't sin. Don't let the sun go down while you're still angry. Don't give the devil a foothold. He didn't just say, don't be angry because you will be angry. He said, don't sin when you're angry because anger isn't the problem, but what you do with it can become the problem. And some of you know exactly what I'm talking about because in your relationship, it could be with your spouse. It could be with a family member. It could be with a friend. There's something that you need to deal with and you haven't dealt with it. Maybe you've known for days there's an issue that's unresolved. For some of you, it's been for weeks. A lot of times in marriages, there's a problem, but there's so much going on, we know we need to address a problem, but the timing never feels right. …
… want the enemy to live rent free in our brains. And so often he does that through what we experienced. That's why in Ephesians chapter four, verse 27, it says, and do not give the devil a foothold because he gets a foothold, then a toehold, then all of a sudden he's choking us out. and we don't want that. So from forgiveness, Lisa, there's a third gear. I want you to talk about this one. I can't wait. Cooperation. Cooperation. Do the sound effect. It's good. Which one? Ferrari? You know. Okay, that's cooperation. Okay, stop right there because you can do four and five in a minute. And people ask me this. Do you practice your sound effects? Heck no. It just, I'm just a sound effect person. Part of his vocabulary. It's part of my, if I can't say it, all just, but cooperation. Now, if you're an adult child, you're not living under the discipline of your mom and dad in their home. If you are living there, this is something I'll tell students and young people. Your mom and dad, for the most part, are providing for you, and your job is to love them, to forgive them, to cooperate. And Lisa, let me say this for a second. I know I'm interrupting Think about this. …
… Do not let the sun go down on your anger. And do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. There seems to be a lot of confusion in the world today, and certainly in our culture, about what a true Christian is. We struggle with the reality of that fact because we wish it were clearer who the Christians were, so people claiming to be Christians didn't do so much damage to our reputation. …
… are members of one another. Be angry and yet do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice or evil. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Now our theme in chapter 4 has been spiritual transformation. That identifies the true Christian. …
… Be angry and sin not. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." This is a very pragmatic section starting in verse 25, and it will continue to be so as we march through chapter 5 in the future. …