The Victory of Christ at the Cross

Transcript

GR 980
8/10/1997
The Victory of Christ at the Cross
Colossians 2:1315
Gil Rugh

Many people think God is just going to put it on the scale and your good will outweigh the bad. And most people with that kind of philosophy of life or theology of life think the good will outweigh the bad and they'll make it. You have to understand you only have to put one sin on one side and it's over. Because the penalty for sin is death.

We are in the book of Colossians in the second chapter. Colossians chapter 2. We are in a very foundational section of the Word. Paul is walking the Colossians through the basics of the basics and it's a reminder as the Colossians are confronted with theological error, it's of utmost importance that they be firmly rooted and grounded in the basics. And the danger is we all . . . if we are truly believers, have at least a general grasp of the basics of the Christian faith. But sometimes our grasp and understanding of these truths is not as firm and full as it needs to be when we face really deceptive error. All theological error and heresy comes in one form or another to be an attack either on the person of Christ or the work of Christ because all God's work in the world today centers in His Son Jesus Christ. So the work of Satan in opposing God is to undermine that work and so you bring in error or distortion either in what you add to or take away from the Person and work of Christ or both areas together.

As chapter 2 of Colossians began Paul referred to the intensity of the struggle that he had on behalf of the Colossians and others. Why he was struggling was so that verse 2, "Their hearts may be encouraged having been knit together in love, and," and now note this, "attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself." Paul struggled and toiled so that they might enter the fullness of the wealth that God has provided for them in Christ and they need to have a knowledge and understanding of Christ and who He is and what He has done so they might experience in its fullness the richness of God's work in them and be prepared to stand firm in the face of those things which would be an assault on Jesus Christ.


From chapter 1 verse 1 through chapter 2 verse 15 there is a relentless emphasis on the fact that, number one, Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. In chapter 1 verse 15 we are told that He is the image of the invisible God. Verse 16, "In Him all things were created." He is the creating God. He is the One in whom, verse 19, all the fullness dwells. Down in chapter 2 verse 9 you have the statement, "All the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form." As to His Person He is fully God as well as fully man. And His work is a work of salvation, redemption, reconciliation accomplished through His death and resurrection. So in chapter 1 verse 20, "It was the Father's good pleasure through Him to reconcile all things to Himself." That saving work of reconciliation centers in and through Jesus Christ. Paul's concern was that through his ministry and labor, verse 28 and 29 of chapter 1, they might present every man complete in Christ. This is why I labor and strive according to His power to present every man complete in Christ. We don't want to lose sight of what the goal is and yet in verse 10 we are told, "In Him you have been made complete." So it's a work of developing and building people in the new life they have in Christ. "In Him you have been made complete." So the initial salvation takes place in Him and the continuing growth is in Him as well. We never step out of Him. We have been made full, made complete in Him. Following that statement in verse 10 that you have been made complete in Him Paul noted two areas of identification we have with Christ the spiritual realm that helps us understand His work on our behalf. We have been identified with Him in spiritual circumcision, verse 11, and we have been identified with Him in spiritual baptism in verse 12. The circumcision made without hands is a circumcision of the heart as we've seen. It's the spiritual removal of what the Scripture would call the flesh, the old man, the old nature, what I am as a fallen being apart from the gracious work of God in Christ in my life. That is removed in Christ.

There is a spirit baptism that occurs, verse 12, where we are identified with Christ in His death, in His burial and in His resurrection to newness of life. Those are two figures: circumcision and baptism that picture what takes place in the Spirit realm and God identifying us with Christ and dealing with the issue of sin. Now Paul continues this same subject, our identification with Christ, in verses 13 to 15, but he's going to focus specifically now on the victory that Christ accomplished at the crossa victory over sin in verses 13 and 14 and a victory over Satan in verse 15. And with that he will be ready to turn to the specifics in verse 16 and following of the error that is confronting the Colossians. So he concludes, if you will, on this note of the victory of Christ over sin and Satan. Now let's deal with the specifics of the heresy that is being presented to you.

This victory as we'll see the section belongs to all of those who are in Christ by virtue of believing in Him as their Savior. This is God's answer to mankind's problems, the problem we have with sin and the problem we have with Satan. They are dealt with in the victory of Christ at the cross.

First, His victory over sin. Verse 13 of Colossians 2, "And when you were dead in your transgression and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him." And you could underline or circle "when you were dead," "He made you alive." Those are the two things we want to have clear in our mind. Now obviously we are still talking about spiritual truth because these Colossians hadn't been dead physically. So just as He was talking about spiritual circumcision, spiritual baptism, so in verse 13 He's talking about spiritual death. You were dead. Spiritual death. Spiritual death in Scripture is the separation of a person from God. Every single person is born into the human race spiritually dead, separated from God. There are three kinds of death: physical, spiritual and eternal. Physical death is separation of a person from their body. James 2:26, "The body without the spirit is dead." When you as a person move out of your physical body, there will be physical death. You as a person will have separated from your body. A person is spiritually dead because they are separated from God spiritually. And eternal death and the second death is separation from God for eternity as part of the payment for sin.

Now Paul says when you were dead and he explains their death. "In your transgression and the uncircumcision of your flesh." It has to do with sins and sin. Remember back in the garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 2 verse 16 and 17 God said to Adam you can eat of all the trees of the Garden except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And in the day you eat of that tree you will die. Eve ate of the fruit of that tree, gave to Adam. He ate. They died immediately spiritually. The next chapter God comes to speak with them in the Garden and they run and hide. They said they were afraid. You see the relationship with God has been totally changed because of sin and every single descendant of Adam, Jesus Christ excluded, has been born in sin. As the psalmist said, "In sin did my mother conceive me." Not that conception is sin but I was a sinner from the moment of conception because at that moment was passed on to me the characteristics of my parents which included sin all the way to Adam.

You were dead in your transgressions. There are a number of words for sin in the Bible. This particular word we have translated "transgression" is used to denote deliberate acts of disobedience. That's the emphasis of the word. Those actions which are deliberate acts of disobedience and the consequences that come with that. Plural here. And your many acts of rebellion and disobedience and the uncircumcision of your flesh.

Now we saw in verse 11 he was talking in the context here of the circumcision made without hands, the removal of the body of the flesh. And we said flesh in that kind of context stands for what you are as a person apart from God's salvation. The old man or what we sometimes call the old nature. While you were dead in the uncircumcision of your flesh, that old nature, that old man, that fallen being that you are in Adam hadn't been removed. You were dead. So what he says here is you were dead, spiritually dead, because of your own rebellion and because of your sin nature. Both your actions and you very being, sinful, caused your spiritual death. You are sinners by action and by nature.

Now when you were dead in your transgressions and in your sin nature, or the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him. That picture was talked about in verse 12 with the spirit baptism. Having been buried with Him in baptism in which you were raised up with Him through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead. And we went back to Romans chapter 6. And in Romans chapter 6 we are told that we, when the Spirit identifies us at the time we believe in Christ, we are crucified with Christ, we are buried with Christ, we are raised up with Christ to newness of life." So God looks at us as having died when Christ died on the cross, been buried when Christ was buried, and then raised up to new life with Him. That's the picture. You have been made alive together with Him. Those who were dead have been made alive. It's a supernatural awesome work of the sovereign God. Made you alive together with Him. It's that identification with Christ that causes a person to be born again, to be made a new creature. It's a supernatural work. There is no other way, no other plan, that's it. You must be made alive in Him.

So you note there are two kinds of people. There are people who were dead and are dead. Nothing's changed. There are people who were dead and now are alive spiritually. What is the differenceidentification with Jesus Christ. That's what He is unfolding here.

He made you alive together with Him. What happened? Having forgiven all our transgressions. That connects. He made you alive. Having forgiven all our transgressions. Remember the wages of sin is death the Bible says. So if we are to be made alive sin has to be dealt with. It has to be dealt with by the paying of the penalty. So we were crucified with Christ, we were buried with Christ so that we could be raised up to newness of life. He forgave all our transgressions in Christ. And this begins an unfolding here that I want you to note. I want to tell you before we do it. Then I'll tell you after we do it. Note what he says about our sin. It has been forgiven. Then we start verse 14. It has been canceled. Then he'll tell us it has been removed. Then he'll tell us it has been crucified. And he emphasizes our sin it's been forgiven, it's been canceled, it's been removed, it's been crucified. You ought to understand that in Christ the issue of sin is done. It's dealt with fully, completely, finally, forever. He forgave all our trespasses in the end of verse 13. All our transgressions.

Look at verse 14, "Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us." He canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us." Now the prime and obvious reference of this would be to the Mosaic Law. Parallel passages in Ephesians 2:15 gives us these decrees to refer to the Mosaic Law. And the Judaizers which were trying to bring their heresy into the church of Colossae were promoting a return to the Law. Don't give up Christ but you must have the fullness of what God has for you. Not only have Christ but you must obey the Law. He'll deal with that beginning in verse 16. He's laying the foundation for dealing with it now. What the law did was provide for our condemnation. And not only the written law of Moses which would be at the forefront here but in Romans chapter 2 verses 14 and 15 we are told that the Gentiles who did not have the written Mosaic Law, the law of God, inscribed on their hearts. Remember we are created in the image of God. As fallen beings that image is marred but it is still there. And in our hearts in our very being is written the character of God. Distorted and corrupted by sin but there nonetheless. And we see it come out.

It's a universal taboo from what I have been able to read. Everywhere that they find people that, incest is wrong. Well some people have never read the Bible. How did they know that incest was wrong? The God who created us inscribed it on our very being. And there is a revulsion toward that among people who in so many areas of their life are pagan and opposed to the Scripture. There still is within them . . . I'm selecting the more vile things so we don't get into things . . . Well let's debate that. What we call pedophiliaincest with children. Well, you know there's a universal revulsion of that. You read the newspaper and people get up in arms about that who have never darkened the door of a church or have never obeyed a Bible. Why? Certain things are inscribed on our hearts. And much more than that we try to overrule and we reject it but it is there nonetheless. That's why people are pledged with guilt and fear because there is an awareness in their very inner being that I am guilty. Why do people go through such religious contortions of all kind around the world to deal with sin? Some of them have never even heard of a Bible, never read the Scripture, but they are involved in a religious system to try to get forgiveness of their sins. It's inscribed on them, the law of God on their heart.

So here what's God's law does, in the written form that He gave to Moses or what is inscribed on the heart, it speaks against. It condemns us. It declares us guilty. Most fully and clearly, obviously, the written law that had been given through Moses. It demonstrated the overwhelming sinfulness of mankind. Romans 5:20 said that the Mosaic law came in that the transgressions might abound. It was like a mirror to reveal how sinful humanity really is. Now that certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which shows us to be in violation of God's character. And you understand up until the establishing of the church the oracles of God had been given to the nation Israel Romans 3 says. And salvation came even to Gentiles on those rare occasions when they recognized the truth had been given to Israel submitted to it and converted to Judaism. So God's Word, the law, spoke to the sinfulness of mankind.

It was hostile to us, verse 14, goes on to say. I mean, the law never saved anyone. "By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight." What a pity that you can go out and ask religious people today, are you going to heaven? Yes. Why? I try to keep the ten commandments. Don't you understand the One who will sit as your judge for time and eternity has said, "By the works of the law no flesh will be justified." The ten commandments are part of that law by which no flesh will be justified. How tragic that people would be staking their eternal destiny on that which cannot save them. God the judge has already declared it. By the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight. It was hostile to us. It showed us to be sinners, guilty with an unpaid debt. It showed us to be the enemies of God. That's what the Law did.

Now it says He canceled out the certificate of debt. The word "to cancel" means to erase, to wipe out, to obliterate from the sight. It would of been used of something written in wax. All they had to do was heat the wax and rub over it and it was obliterated. Like what we do on our erasure boards in our classrooms. You write on it and then you take an eraser and wipe it out. It's obliterated from sight. So that which God's law declared me to be, a guilty sinner, in violation and rebellion against His holy character, He wiped it out. So here's the certificate of debt. Showed me to be guilty. It's erased. So He forgave me my sins. He erased the debt that I had as a fallen being who had rebelled against a holy God.

Furthermore, He has taken it out of the way. This verb here "taken it out of the way," the ‘taken’ is in the perfect tense. Remember, the perfect tense deals with something that happened in the past and the results continue on in the present. So it denotes something that is permanent. He has taken it out of the way. So He forgave my sins, He wiped them clean. The charges against me, the debt I had, it's erased. Not only is it forgiven and erased, He took it away. He removed it so that it would be gone. Having nailed it to the cross. There's the explanation of it all. He was crucified. First Peter chapter 2 verse 24 puts it this way, "And He Himself bore our sins on His body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness," 1 Peter 2:24. When Jesus Christ hung on the cross, He was bearing out sins on His body. So you see all the things that God's law declared me guilty of, all the violations, all the failures, nailed to the cross.

Remember when Jesus Christ was crucified, Pontius Pilot put over the cross that He was king of the Jews. The Jewish leaders wanted him to change it and say, "He said He was king of the Jews." Pilate said what I have written I have written. He finally stands up against the Jews. Before he crucified Christ they said, Well, we'll tell Caesar that you're not his friend because you tolerated a revival king. Now he's crucified him. He can say what he wants to say to go to Jews. I have crucified the king of the Jews. That's the reason this man is dying on a Roman cross. He is the king of the Jews. As such He is a rival to Caesar. That would be his justification. The crime for which He's being crucified is right there.

I think that's the picture here. All the things that were against me, all the sins that have placed me in the debt are nailed to the cross. My greed, my pride, my lust and on we go with our sins, He died. Do you realize the penalty for lying is death? Yes, nailed to the cross. My penalty for that's paid. You're envious. Yes. You realize . . . You're a thief. Yes. You're an adulterer. You realize . . . nailed to the cross. Nailed to the cross. The penalty for that sin is death. Yes, been nailed to the cross. When He died He bore my sins in His body on the tree. So there are my offenses nailed to the cross. They've been crucified because He has died for them. What a beautiful picture is carried out here.

This is the contrast. We start verse 13, "You were dead. He made you alive." How did this all happen? He forgave you. He wiped the slate clean. He removed the sins, the debts. He nailed to the cross. You were dead. He made you alive. But He couldn't just declare it so. Romans tells us He had to be both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Christ.

Many people think God's just going to put it on the scale and your good will outweigh the bad and most people with that kind of philosophy of life or theology of life think the good will outweigh the bad and they'll make it. You have to understand you only have to put one sin on one side and it's over. Because the penalty for sin is death and all that means in Scripture.

Chapter 1 verse 21 of Colossians, "And although you were formerly alienated." Note the description of what we were. "Formerly you were alienated." You were separated from God. Estranged from God. Spiritually dead. You are hostile in mind. The uncircumcision of your flesh. You were a fallen being. You were hostile in mind. You were also engaged in evil deeds. So that was our condition. "He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death." . . . ? . . . contrast of what you were and what you now are in Christ. You were alienated, hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you. You were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive.

Come back to the book of Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2 parallels what we've been talking about in Colossians. It's a fuller unfolding. Now how Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 begins. "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins." When you were dead. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. "In which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the Spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest." So you see, we are sinners by action and by nature. And our walk, our conduct, our behavior was characterized by sin. I know I repeat this till you're tired of hearing it but we need to understand this whole emphasis that church has undertaken of a moral reformation of our society and our country is an attack on the work of Christ. Spiritually dead people don't honor God with their life and their conduct. It comes out of the fact that by nature they are children of wrath and they live according. And we wring our hands and say what is happened to our country? What has happened to our country is it is populated by people who are spiritually dead who are by nature children of wrath and now they are in an environment where they have more liberty to express that and they are walking accordingly.

"But God," verse 4, "being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ, by grace you were saved." You see God's solution. Not, we got to clean up this place. We got to get people to stop walking like this. No. We need the grace of God to intervene in their lives with supernatural divine power, to make dead people alive. People who have no relationship with God and live as His enemies to come into relationship with Him and live as His children.

"He raised us up with Him," verse 6. Then those great verses, verses 8 and 9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not as a result of works." People think they are going to get to heaven by their works. People attend Indian Hills, hear this week after week, but in their mind they really believe they are going to get there because they are a good person. They have yet to understand the issue of spiritual death and spiritual life.

That's a fuller picture of what we've been talking about in Colossians chapter 2. Come back to Colossians 2. So Christ's victory over sin has been complete. We've been forgiven. Our sins have been forgiven. They're canceled. They're removed. They're crucified. But not only has Christ been victorious over sin He has been victorious over Satan and that's verse 15 of Colossians chapter 2. "When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him." The work of Christ at the cross brought the defeat of Satan and His demons. And all who are in Christ partake of that full and complete victory.

When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities. Rulers and authorities is a reference to spirit beings, angelic beings. We saw that in chapter 1 verse 16. Here the context makes clear we are talking about fallen spirit beings. Satan and demonic spirits. Demons are fallen angels over which Satan rules and leads. He disarmed them. A word that only has one other use, a verb that has one other usage in the New Testament and that will be in Colossians 3:9. The picture is putting something off, stripping something off like clothes. So what He did was strip them of their power and authority. He disrobed them of that authority and power that they had. And when He did that He made a public display of them having triumphed over them through Him.

He made them a public display in the context of having triumphed over them, words that are drawn from a picture of a victorious Roman general. And a Roman general who had accomplished a specifically significant victory. There were certain guidelines for this honor to be bestowed upon him of the kind of victory he had and so on. He was given a royal parade into Rome. And it was a tremendous celebration that took place in this context as he was privileged to ride in recognized as the conquering general and the significant defeated foes were led behind him. Then he was demonstrated to be a mighty conqueror, shown in the presence of those whom he had defeated. Now that's the picture you have here. That Jesus Christ in His work at the cross has completely subjugated Satan and his hosts and they have been publicly displayed as conquered by Him. I take it that display would take place primarily in the spirit world.

And this is what Jesus had in view in John's gospel chapter 12. Remember chapter 12 was the close of Christ's public ministry in John's gospel. Chapter 13 begins with the last supper. And in John's gospel chapter 12 verse 31 Jesus said, "Now judgment is upon this world. Now the ruler of this world is cast out." Satan the ruler of this world is about to be crushed, subjugated, conquered, defeated.

Turn over to Hebrews chapter 2. Talking about the victory of Christ in His death. Pick up with verse 14 of Hebrews 2. "Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same." The children that He was going to redeem coming out of the Old Testament reference from Isaiah immediately preceding verse 14. Since those who were to experience God's redemption were human beings, flesh and blood, Jesus Christ the Son of God became a human being, flesh and blood, so that He might redeem them. "In order that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." You see what would take place here? He would render powerless, render inoperative, He would break the power of Satan. And Satan ruled over fallen sinful beings because the wages of sin is death. And they were subjugated to him as their ruler. Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day in John 8, "You are of your father the Devil and you manifest his character in all you do." But God through Christ broke that power and the power of death because the wages of sin is death. And these who were following Satan were under His power and subject the penalty of their sin death.
"He might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives." This is an aside but I couldn't help but think as I was working on this passage this work and watch some of the news. You know, people say, oh they're not afraid to die and I'll just met the grim reaper. But you know it's amazing how different it is when they face death. People who have been in a train wreck or a plane wreck in their lives . . . you know, they're hysterical. And somebody who's been in a earthquake, they are running out into the street screaming. Why? If you are not afraid to die, what's the big deal?

I was reading in the Old Testament this week about man and his transitoriness. He's like a vapor. And he names lands or buildings after himself. What? Trying to escape the reality when he's done he's gone. So we go around and we read buildings and they have the name of the billionaire who built it or owns it or this or that. Why? What is the point of it? We want something more permanent than my life which is but a breath. Death looms over.

I was reading the account of a billionaire who died a few years ago and the vast sums of money he spent in the last years of his life trying to find someone who could extend his life. It can't happen. So they have pictures of the castle he had and where he lived the last days of his life and they figured the billions of his empire and he's gone because he couldn't find anybody he could pay to deal with death. But you know, Jesus Christ has dealt with it. Does that mean Christians don't have to die physically? No. Spiritual death is immediately taken place the moment you believe in Christ. You are brought into right relationship with God. The last enemy that will be finally removed is physical death, 1 Corinthians 15 says. But we know what's been done. This body will be glorified either at my transformation at the Rapture or my resurrection. So death, the fear of death has been taken care of. I don't look forward to the process of dying. But the fear of death and the power of Satan in this realm has been broken. Taken place in Christ.

Come back to Ephesians chapter 4. The reference that sometimes I believe is misunderstood that I think is parallel to Colossians 2:15 that I want to make mention of. Ephesians 4 is talking about the resurrection and ascension of Christ. I like that victorious conqueror. He bestows gifts upon those who are His followers and supporters, if you will. So Christ when He ascended to the Father, following His resurrection, He what? Sent the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit came to indwell God's people and what? Gift them. So that's the picture. Verse 7, "To each one of us," Ephesians 4:7, "grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift." And those gifts, some of them are enumerated in verse 11. They are given for the building up of the body of Christ.

But note verse 8, "Therefore it says when He ascended on high He led captive a host of captives." I take it that is saying the same thing as Colossians 2:15. He made a public display of rulers and authorities, those who had held mankind in captivity. Their power was broken. They were conquered. Some have taken this as a reference to Old Testament saints who were being held in a compartment of Hades. And following His death and burial, Christ went to Hades and He liberated those who had been waiting in the good compartment of Hades. I don't think that's what this verse is talking about, especially in light of the parallel with Colossians 2:15. Literally, we have it translated "He led captive a host of captives." Literally, He led captivity captive. Same expression is used in Judges chapter 5 verse 12. In Judges chapter 5 verse 12 Barak is instructed to rise and lead captivity captive. What's the instruction? Arise. Conquer Sisera and the opposing armies and lead them as the triumphant conqueror. Demonstrating them to be defeated.

So Christ when He ascended on high He publicly displayed . . . What all that entailed in the spirit world, I don't know. But there was a public display we are told of those He had triumphed over, the victory that He had won. Those who had held men captive is what Hebrews 2:14 was talking about. Now are conquered. Their power is broken.

This is a tremendous picture. It prepares the way for dealing with those who would want to give us something more or something else. Now we say we are not enticed by these things the Colossians are. Well, you know the church has been permeated and saturated by teaching and doctrine that attacks the very thing that we have just discussed in verses 13 to 15 of Colossians chapter 2. We have all kinds of psychology and counseling programs that have enveloped to help people deal with sin. You know, part of what we have to do is get back in the past and find out how you were raised and what your parents were like and so on. Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Do you understand what happens when you believe in Christ? Your sin is forgiven. The debt there is wiped out. The debt is removed. It's nailed to the cross. You understand it's done. It's done. I am free. If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free pretty much. Glad that's not the way my Bible reads. You shall be free indeed. Now what kind of freedom are we paddling around as a church? Oh yes, they trusted Christ. They just had to go back and we had to work through the things of their childhood. We had to go back and work through what happened to them as a teenager. We had . . . Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Don't you understand what happens? When I believe in Christ I'm crucified with Him. When He died I died. That took care of my past, folks. That took care of all the accusations that could be brought against me past, present and future. I was buried. It was done. New life. New me. Well, then we have those who are on the spiritual warfare kick. And you can go and take their converse because you've got to learn how to deal with the Devil and demons and besides . . . And I was watching a program where a man was promoting this just about a week ago. Boy, these ancestral demons . . . how they got in and if you've touched a Ouija board or you had a parent who was into Ouija boards or maybe your grandparent touched an Ouija board. You would have demons that got into your family that would not necessarily have been removed when you trusted Christ. What happened to Colossians 2:15? It doesn't work with ancestral demons? It doesn't work with Ouija board demons? It doesn't work with witchcraft demons? I think we have a problem here at the basics. We have some of the bestselling "Christian" literature today along this very line. Does the church not understand the finality of the work of Christ? No, it does not. It is a doctrinal statement that we give superficial head nod to but in actual practice and living it out, it's just ignored as though it really wasn't relevant to dealing with the serious issues of life.

I believe that Satan is real and powerful and alive. I believe the demons are real and powerful and alive. I believe their power over me has been broken. Any influence they have in my life is because I invite them. I am glad to follow them for the pleasure I get out of certain sin or whatever. But I live under the authority of a new master. I don't have to fear Satan and the demons. I don't have to submit to him. I don't have to go through any magical incantations to get rid of him. "Now we command you demons, leave." Now that's impressive but the church not ought to be involved in magic. I mean, what has happened to the church? We've got the truth of the Word.

I was reading an article last night. The man was saying, well, what's not dealt with in this article is whether certain Christian counselors who believe in the integration of psychology and the Bible are on the right track or not." Sad. This is still the issue to be debated? I want you to understand how my sin was dealt with. Praise God it's done. Now I'm still learning to live in light of all of that but that's all in Christ as I'm nurtured in the Word, as I submit to Him, as I grow in the fellowship in the context of the body. I say this because I fear we read all this and say yes, this is all this stuff. We all agree to it. We all know it well and on we go with our life and somehow the church's foundation continues to get eaten away by those things which are an attack on the very things that we say, "Oh yes, we hold to and hold very dearly." We just ignore them in the way we live.

Paul is telling the Colossians you be ready to confront those who have contrary teaching by what? Walking them through this again. What a wonderful salvation we have. I should be surprised that we are inundated with a tide of filth and open rebellion. No, I say, Oh, how needy they are of my Savior. What joy could be theirs to know their sins are forgiven, canceled, removed, crucified. And Satan is conquered. If you'll but believe the glorious gospel, that you are a sinner and Christ died for you and you will place your faith in Him alone as your Savior, this instant transformation with identification with Christ and new life in Him takes place in your life. There's no human explanation for it. It's a divine reality which Ephesians 1 says is the same power that resurrected Christ from the dead, turned loose in your life. It's the Gospel which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

Have you believed the Gospel? Is the life transforming power of the Gospel evidence itself in your life and the way you live? If not, I trust today will be the day of salvation for you. Let's pray together.

Thank you, Lord, for such a Savior, such a salvation. Lord, may we never tire of this old, old story, to be reminded of a wonder of a salvation that completely and fully and finally dealt with our sin, the penalty and debt of sin, that set us free from the power and domination of Satan. Lord, a salvation that is complete in every way because it's provided by a Savior who is complete in every way. How privileged we are as the redeemed to give forth the message of the Gospel to those who are lost, to beseech them in the name of Christ, be reconciled to God. Lord, may we number one live out this truth in our lives day by day and then number two may we boldly and fearlessly proclaim this truth, not being distracted or led astray in any way until Christ comes. We pray in His matchless name, amen.


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