The devil wants you to believe that today you will be completely victorious in all things, so that when you do fail and sin in some way you will feel completely defeated.
Jesus has defeated once and for all the devil and sin and death through His death and resurrection and ascension (John 19:30; Colossians 2:13-15; Hebrews 10:10-15). The victory is His! And we are beneficiaries of His victory and every blessing He has secured for us in salvation. But this truth and reality doesn’t mean that we will now stop sinning or experiencing trials or messing up in big and small ways (Romans 7:18-25). It doesn’t mean you won’t endure everyday the weight of needing to change, of being transformed.
It is a lie that says that the victory of Christ means the absence of battle for me today.
I will sin today. You will sin today. We will both fall short of what God deserves. The temptation you fought and overcame yesterday, you may surrender to today. So, what do you do? You look to the cross! You look to Jesus who paid for all your sins past, present and future. You look to His forgiveness of all your sins. You look to His righteousness upon which your acceptance before God rests alone. You look to the day in which He will FINALLY vanquish sin and ungodliness and everything that is contrary to His character, His glory and His love. You focus intently on the joy set before your heart in Him. You hold tightly to the hope set as an anchor in your soul. You get up, you fight the fight, you run the race! You don’t give up, you don’t grow weary, you don’t turn around.
The "failure" of the cross resulted in victory. Our day, our moment of sinful failure, can result in victory.
The Christian life is lived by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Galatians 2:20). It is lived as an empty hand, always receiving from Jesus His grace and mercy – grace for our victories, mercy for our defeats. When a Christian does sin (or suffer or grow discouraged, etc.), and they look to Jesus, they are living victoriously, because they are not ultimately defeated in their sin (suffering, discouragement, etc.), but come to the One who has ultimately defeated their sin (2 Corinthians 4:7-12). The power of God is as much at work in the heart of a believer who has resisted the devil or fled sin as it is in the heart of a believer confessing their sins and repenting. The power of the indwelling Spirit of God is one that converts the heart and its desires, so that the heart can and does long for God – to know, to serve and to love Him.
The Christian life is one of endurance and perseverance which implies struggle, trial, weakness, and, yes, failure (Romans 5:3-4; 12:21; Galatians 6:9; Colossians 1:11; Hebrews 10:36). But, “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4) Jesus has a greater power than the devil and sin, and although our days are not spent fully free of temptation or sin, our days are filled with the new life and power of Jesus Christ at work in us. Whether evidenced in victory over sin or victory in asking forgiveness for sin, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:57-58)
Recent Comments