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Legal Rights and Open Doors to the Devil
By Pastor Joel – Open Heaven Christian Church – Fisher, Arkansas
Does your life as a follower of Jesus seem like you are defeated no matter what you do? You read the Bible and see scriptures that say “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13), yet you can’t seem to find the strength to accomplish much. Every time you take a step forward in your walk with the Lord, something hinders you. Life feels like you are standing still, trapped in a cycle of defeat.
Beloved, the Bible reveals that many times this happens because there are open doors in a believer’s life—places where the devil has legal access to attack, harass, and hinder progress. In this study, we will look at what God’s Word teaches about these legal rights, how they affect us, and how to overcome them through the victory that Christ has already purchased.
1. The Devil Seeks Legal Grounds
The Word of God is clear: the devil cannot simply do as he pleases in the life of a child of God. He must have a place of entry. Paul warns us in Ephesians 4:27:
“Neither give place to the devil.”
The phrase “give place” means to give room, opportunity, or legal ground. Satan is like a prosecuting attorney, always looking for open doors in our lives where sin, disobedience, or ignorance of God’s Word gives him the right to afflict or hinder us.
1 Peter 5:8 tells us:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
Notice it says “whom he may devour.” That means he cannot devour everyone—only those who allow it by opening the wrong doors.
Let’s begin this study by looking key ways that anyone could open doors to the devil and begin to experience havoc in their life.
These key points are common ways Christians unknowingly allow the enemy access in their life.
2. Common Open Doors in a Believer’s Life:
a. Unrepentant Sin
Unrepentant sin in ones life is the devil’s strongest legal right. When we walk in deliberate disobedience, we step outside of God’s covering and open the door for Satan and his demons to begin working and reaching havoc in a persons life. Sin must be confessed to the Lord and repented of.
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Isaiah 59:2: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you.”
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Romans 6:16: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?”
b. Unforgiveness
Jesus made it clear that unforgiveness opens a dangerous door to the devil.
Unforgiveness binds us to bitterness, and bitterness is a foothold for the enemy (Hebrews 12:15).
c. Generational Curses & Ancestral Sins
The Bible shows that sin can pass down through family lines if it is not broken by the blood of Jesus.
Through Christ we can be free, but if a believer does not renounce these inherited sins, the enemy may still try to use them as open doors.
d. Occult Practices & Idolatry
Involvement with witchcraft, fortune-telling, horoscopes, or any form of idolatry is a direct opening to demonic bondage.
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Deuteronomy 18:10-12: “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times… For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD.”
e. Careless Words and Thoughts
Our words carry spiritual weight.
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Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
When we constantly speak defeat, doubt, or curses over ourselves, we open the door for the enemy to establish those things.
3. Closing the Doors and Taking Back Ground
The good news is this: Jesus Christ has given us “authority” to shut every door and cancel every legal right of the enemy.
a. Repentance and Confession
The first step is to repent of any known sin.
b. Forgive Others
Release anyone who has wronged you. Forgiveness is not a feeling, but an act of obedience that shuts a major door to the enemy.
c. Renounce Satan’s Claims
Stand in prayer and declare that through the blood of Jesus, every curse, every sin, and every claim of the enemy is broken and begin to live your life as a follower of Jesus with a good testimony that exemplifies the life of Jesus!
d. Walk in Obedience
Obedience keeps the doors closed. To submit to God is to obey what the word of God teaches in any area of life. Resisting the devil and not submitting to God leaves an open door for Satan to attack a believer.
When we submit fully to God, the devil loses his legal ground.
4. Living in Victory Daily
The Christian life is not meant to be one of constant defeat. Christ has already won the victory. The key is learning to walk in it daily.
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John 10:10: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Living in victory requires:
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Daily prayer and Word meditation (Joshua 1:8).
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Guarding your heart and mind (Proverbs 4:23).
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Staying in fellowship with other believers (Hebrews 10:25).
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Putting on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11).
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Start speaking and declaring the promises in the word of God over your life (Romans 10:8).
Conclusion
Beloved, if your life feels like it is at a standstill, or every step forward is met with resistance, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if there are open doors that you may have given to the devil in your life. The devil only operates where he has legal rights, but through Jesus Christ you have the power to break those rights and close those doors.
Stand on God’s Word, apply the blood of Jesus, and walk in obedience. Victory is not just possible—it is your inheritance as a child of God.
✝️ Pastor Joel
Open Heaven Christian Church – Fisher, Arkansas
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