How To Shut The Door To Temptation

Jonathan Cahn outlines essential strategies for believers seeking to conquer temptation and close the access points the enemy uses for spiritual destruction. The key to victory lies in radical submission, immediate action, and actively filling one’s life with the Joy of the Lord.

1. Identify and Close the Enemy’s Openings

The enemy, likened to a hunter using desire to destroy prey, uses the same mechanism to target believers. To resist the serpent’s tactics, one must recognize and shut down all “openings” or “entrances” into their spiritual life.

The Danger of Unsubmitted Desire: The enemy exploits any desire that is not fully submitted to God, even if that desire, like success or marriage, is fundamentally good. If a desire becomes all-consuming and is placed above the will of God, the enemy can use it—potentially leading to marriage with the wrong person or destructive pursuits like greed or lust. A strong desire that remains unsurrendered to God must be lifted up in honesty: “Lord I submit to it”. Failure to submit creates an opening, as illustrated by King David, whose momentary glance at Bathsheba created an entrance that led to massive destruction in his life.

Guarding Your Home and Media: Entrances are often subtle. Cahn warns believers to guard their houses and watch what comes into their home, as anything ungodly can be an opening for the serpent. Parents would never entrust their child to an ungodly babysitter involved in violence or pornography, yet they often entrust their children to television and media, which can be a slow, persistent entrance toward immorality. Pornography, specifically, is cited as a destroyer of marriage.

Avoiding Idolatry (Even Spiritual Idolatry): Anything that becomes the primary focus outside of God can become an idol. This includes focusing on ministry itself, which can be made into an idol. Even seeking positions in ministry while having a wrong heart, motivated by a desire for the spotlight or flattering others while gossiping about ministry peers, creates an opportunity for the enemy to gain access.

2. Take Radical Action: Sever All Footholds

Cahn stresses that to defeat the enemy, believers must give him “no place”. If the enemy already has a foothold, it must be cut loose, requiring believers to do whatever necessary, regardless of the cost.

• Break All Bridges: Those attempting to escape previous involvement in things like organized crime must burn all bridges to prevent constant harassment. This principle applies spiritually: you must renounce the past and break off harmful ties.
• Destroy Occult Ties and Ungodly Materials: Following the example in Acts 19, believers must take all their occult objects and burn them, stating, “we don’t want any part of it anymore”. Cahn recalls personally destroying albums and magazines from his past that were not aligned with the Lord, prioritizing spiritual victory over cost.
• Avoid Known Weaknesses: If a person has had a problem with alcohol, they must totally avoid that thing because the enemy has already identified it. Similarly, a person suffering from nightmares was instructed to stop reading horror books, as this was the specific activity opening the door.