The Plan

<

By David R. Ferguson
    In Ephesians 4:15 we are told to “speak the truth in love.” So how do we overcome Satan? We must understand that we are in a battle. We must put on “the whole armor of God.” And we must utilize our spiritual victory plan.    That plan is laid out for the child of God in Revelation 12:11 where John wrote, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Look at those things. “The blood of the Lamb” is Jesus’ sacrifice. “The word of their testimony” is what we today recognize as the Scriptures. “And they did not love their lives to the death” is self-sacrifice. So today we can overcome Satan “by the blood of the Lamb.” The lamb that was slain in the Old Testament era was a symbol of something pure and perfect that took the place of sinners. John the Baptist once saw Jesus approaching and said, “Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” Hebrews 10:4 tells us that “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” Hebrews 10:12 says that Jesus, “after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” His sacrifice, being perfect (Hebrews 4:15), was able to remove completely the guilt and stain of sin for those who obey Him.    There also is “the word of their testimony,” which to us are the Scriptures. Those Scriptures are our spiritual lifeline. They, as it were, turn on a flashlight for us in a world of spiritual darkness (Psalm 119:105). The Scriptures are what make us spiritually clean. “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word” (Psalm 119:9). The Scriptures help us prevent sin in our lives. We hide God’s word in our hearts so that we will not sin against Him (Psalm. 119:11).    The third aspect in our spiritual victory plan has to do with the fact that we must be willing “not to love our lives to the death.” This means that we must be willing to sacrifice ourselves for the cause of Christ. We are not talking, of course, about a person going out and doing something foolish that would intentionally harm his body in the name of Jesus. What we are talking about is being willing every single day to give our lives to Christ, and being willing to submit our will to God’s will. The Scriptures teach in Romans 12:1 that we are “living sacrifices.” We are to consider ourselves “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). We are to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily, according to Jesus in Luke. 9:23. The Scriptures teach us that the love of God ought to cause us to die to self daily to live for Jesus. Are you in the battle today to win? Are you aware that Satan is trying to cause you to lose your soul? If so, have you put on the whole armor of God? Are you prepared spiritually to go to battle against the Devil? Are you taking advantage of the spiritual victory plan? Always remain true to God, and fight the good fight of faith.

- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Mentor Church of Christ in Mentor, OH.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://mentorchurchofchrist.com/ or davidferguson61@yahoo.com

>