Mark Vestal Proud of nothing of myself. Freed by Christ who did it all!

Yes and no. Satan knows what God has said about his fate if he fails to defeat God, but he believes that he can still defeat Him. Satan also believed he defeated God at the cross, but did not realize, until it was later revealed by Christ ascended to Paul (Rom 16:24), that what happened at the cross was God's hidden plan of salvation for humanity and freedom for mankind from the clutches of Satan - "the god of this world" (2 Cor 4:4), during God's current age of grace (Eph 3:2).

1 Cor 2:7-8
"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

Although Satan's ultimate demise is prophesied to come after Christ's millenial reign on earth, he obviously does not believe this to be an absolute truth (Rev 20:7-10). Satan continues to refuse to believe God. Sound familiar? All that God is asking of us even today is to simply believe Him, to have FAITH.

The truth behind Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) and Christ's shed blood for us is what Satan focuses on keeping his world hidden from. Remember that it was through Satan's "subtilty" that Eve was deceived in the garden:

2 Cor 11:3
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

What is this "simplicity" that Paul is warning the world to not "be corrupted from", and what is the subtle lie that Satan uses? The truth is that God forgave the world of ALL trespasses (sins) at the cross through the shed blood of Jesus Christ:

2 Cor 5:19
"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

That truly is good news, but the subtle deception of Satan is found in the manipulation of how the good news is applied to us. Salvation is the free unmerited gift of God that ONLY comes by believing that our sins have all been forgiven forever (1 Cor 15:1-4). Are sins forgiven if you ask God for forgiveness? That is what Satan wants you to believe. THAT is the lie! Why? Because it keeps the truth of the cross hidden! We are not trusting (believing) that our sins were forgiven through Christ's shed blood, the only accepted means of payment for our sin debt to God (Heb 9:22). Also, the righteousness of God Himself is imputed to us upon having faith alone (Rom 4:24, 2 Cor 5:21, Eph 1:12-13). We can in no way earn God's free gift of salvation (Eph 2:8-9). Is anyone telling you the opposite?

When we ask God for forgiveness or repeat the so called 'Lord's Prayer' (which is for believing Jews to recite during their tribulation), we are actually following Satan's subtle lie and overlooking the purpose and power of Christ's blood at the cross. In actuality, we are "complete in Him" (Col 2:10) upon finally trusting in the finished work and shed blood of Jesus Christ as the sufficient payment to God for our entire sin debt. We overcome Satan's lie when we finally realize that Christ defeated sin for us at the cross and defeated our death in His resurrection...although Satan would certainly disagree!

April 06 2024 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report