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The first human sin was blamed on Satan. "The Serpent deceived me and so I ate," said Eve (Genesis 3:13). Since then "the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan"  has continued on the rampage against humankind, 'blinding the minds of people and misleading the entire inhabited earth". And as we all know, no human can escape his pressure. But this raises two important questions ;

* Does this mean that we cannot resist the influence of the devil? 

* And when we sin, is it always his fault?

Yes indeed, Satan the devil deceived Eve and the Bible can attest to that (1 Timothy 2:14). She was deceived into thinking that by violating God's command, she could attain godlike insight and independence. 

Now she was clearly deceived, but God still held her responsible and sentenced her to die. **WHY??**. 

Because although Satan deceived her, she was fully aware of God's command. She was never forced to disobey, rather she remained in control of her actions and sinned, when she was fully capable of resisting Satan's influence. 

Now, is it possible for us humans to resist the Devil? At the Bible book of Ephesians 6:12, we are told that we have a wrestling against wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places. Evidently then, God expects us to fight Satan's influences. How can this be done? I'll be sharing two key points on how to resist the devil's influences. 

* Subject yourself to God by obeying his commands. Our being constantly aware of God's existence, his goodness, his awesome power and others, will give us strength to oppose Satan. Persistent prayers is very vital. 

* We need to oppose the devil. This involves assertive actions, fleeing from his harmful influences. We must avoid exposure to his deceitful power and we should be ready to reject materialism and other acts. 

Ecclesiastics 7:20; rightly tells us, 
> "There is no man righteous in the earth that keeps doing good and does not sin". 

We all are drawn out and enticed by our own desires. Then these desires when it has become futile, gives birth to sin (James 1:14,15) .

Now, does this mean that all sins are totally beyond our control? By our own choices, we bring temptations upon ourselves. So although a wrong desire may be due to our imperfection or Satan's influences, whether we nurture or reject this influences is totally up to us. 

We all must understand that while God acknowledges that the Devil can sway our actions, this does not relieve us of our own personal accountability. Roman 14:12;
> Each of us will render an account of himself /herself to God. 

But, if we abhor what is wicked and cling to what is good, we will surely achieve victory over evil.