Victory Over Evil Forces

We live in solemn times.  We can look at what is happening today and see in it the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.  Bible prophecy shows us how the Lord is in control throughout until now and forever.  The following commentary, written for a previous lesson, is to encourages not to fear but be sure that in Christ, we are victorious.  

Victory Over Evil Forces

Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

We read the verse for this week's lesson, and we have to ask ourselves several questions. One of them is what does Paul means by "in all these things?" To answer this question, we have to go to the context of the passage. Romans 8 is telling us that because of what Christ has accomplished on the cross, sin no longer has to defeat us. We are not reading the whole of chapter 8, for lack of space and time. Yes, we will suffer, and we will be afflicted. None of that means that God does not love us. God has given us all for us to succeed as Christians. All we have to do is receive it. Paul seems to be telling us that we do not need to fear or doubt. God loves us, and He is in control. We can trust Him.

Why would Paul emphasize this? Because, in chapter 7, Paul spoke about how sin worked internally. When we are living by faith, sin is still within us, striving for mastery and control. And, this battle continues and intensifies for as long as we live and grow in faith. It will not stop until we die or are translated. So, Paul is saying that sin attacks us from within and without.  But,  our greatest struggle with sin is inside; sin, after all, is iniquity – a bent toward self. Paul is saying that despite all that, we should never doubt that God loves us; this is perhaps better said in Romans 8: 35 – 39,

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now, the word Victory, from the title means the overcoming of an enemy or antagonist. So, the one that defeats or overcomes an enemy or opponent is called a victor. This word victor comes from the Latin word vincere, which means to win, to conquer, or to overcome – the term used in verse 37. What do we overcome? Sin's mastery over us. We are no longer captive or enslaved by sin, whether external or internal, through Christ, who loved us. Here our Victory is tied to God's love for us. So, just as His love is certain and constant, so is our Victory in Christ.

Let us read a couple of quotes from Ellen White in this subject,

"Jesus gained the victory through submission and faith in God, and by the apostle He says to us, 'Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.' James 4:7, 8. We cannot save ourselves from the tempter's power; he has conquered humanity, and when we try to stand in our own strength, we shall become a prey to his devices; but 'the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe.' Prov. 18:10. Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name."—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 130, 131.
"The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His pro­tection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy's power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat; we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your helper. Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 490, 493.

Now, what about Victory over demons? You will notice that Ellen White does not talk about Victory in terms of casting out demons. Not all victors in the faith will be called to do that. The fact that we do not follow their prompting is Victory in itself. Casting out demons is powerful and given by God. However, Christ tells the disciples, "Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). Ellen White elaborates on those whose names are written in Heaven,

From age to age, all who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon written against their names in the books of Heaven, and in the closing work of Judgment their sins are blotted out, and they themselves are accounted worthy of eternal life. {Volume 4, Spirit of Prophecy 309}

Included in this list are those mentioned in Hebrews 11. Not one of the names of people mentioned there made the list because demons were subject to them. They were there because they believed the promise of God, and it was counted to them as righteousness. Their Victory came from believing that God loved them. And, they died believing the promise that had not been fulfilled. They died with the hope that one day God would fulfill this promise and they would be there to enjoy it. They died with the joy and certainty that their names were written in Heaven. They died with the assurance of God's love for them. Do we have this certainty of God's love for us? Do we have the Victory that is ours in Christ? 

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Weighed and found wanting

Weighed and found wanting

A few thousand years ago, a Greek King ordered some craftsmen to make him a crown of gold. The craftsmen were paid handsomely and delivered a beautiful golden crown worthy of royalty. The King had a gut feeling that the craftsmen had cheated him, so he went to the wisest man in his kingdom for help. The name of the man was Archimedes. Archimedes accepted the project, admitted it was a challenge, and requested the King for time to determine whether the craftsmen made the crown of pure gold or not. Archimedes thought for days, the problem riddling him and absorbing his life. One day he filled his tub with water to its average level. Upon entering the tub, Archimedes realized that the water level rose a few inches. His weight had displaced the water and raised the volume in the tub. Archimedes had an epiphany. Running out of the tub, he yelled, "Eureka! Eureka! I found it!' Archimedes discovered that to determine whether the crown was pure gold, all he had to do was learn the amount of gold the crown was supposed to weigh, place it in a tub of water, and mark the water displacement. Afterward, Archimedes repeated the same process with the crown. If the craftsmen made the crown out of pure gold, it would displace the same amount of water as pure gold. If, however, the crown was not made out of pure gold, the amount of water displaced would differ. In the end, Archimedes determined that the craftsman cheated the King. The gold in the crown was weighed and found wanting.

With this in mind, we look at Daniel 5. But, first, We use the expression, "the writing is on the wall," to mean the signs are apparent. In Daniel 5, the biblical passage for this week, it means that you have crossed the point of no return, and judgment has been rendered. If Belshazzar were a crown, Archimedes would have found him lacking gold. Belshazzar was, at best, a gold plated crown. What type of Christians are we? Are we pure gold or gold

plated? Pure gold will not tarnish and become purified in the fire. Gold plated will tarnish and completely melt in flames. How can we become pure gold Christians?

The author of Hebrews says that "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). So to become pure gold Christians, we need faith. Where do we get faith? Roman 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." But it is not just any faith or belief in God. James 2:19 says, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." The faith we are talking about here it is humanly impossible to develop. Human faith is corrupted by sin, imperfect, and finite. Revelation 14:12 describes the multitude that God saves as having the faith of Jesus; this is pure gold faith. Human faith is a gold plated faith.

Belshazzar lacked this faith of Jesus. His problem got worse because he had opportunities to acquire it, but chose not to, against the convictions of his heart, despite all the evidence God had given him. Daniel points this out to Belshazzar as Daniel interprets the writing on the wall:

Daniel 5:18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:

Daniel 5:19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before Him: whom He would He slew; and whom He would He kept alive; and whom He would He set up; and whom He would He put down.

Daniel 5:20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

Daniel 5:21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.

Daniel 5:22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;

Daniel 5:23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

Ellen White states concerning Daniel and Belshazzar,

Daniel did not swerve from his duty. He held the King's sin before him, showing him the lessons he might have learned but did not. Belshazzar had not heeded the events so significant to him. He had not read his grandfather's history correctly. The responsibility of knowing truth had been laid upon him, but the practical lesson he might have learned and acted upon had not been taken to heart; and his course of action brought the sure result. (Ellen G. White Notes, 36)

God will also find Those who like Belshazzar reject the opportunities that God grants them found wanting. They are gold plated Christians. 2 Timothy 3:5 describes them as, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." Revelation 3 calls them Laodicean--

Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Ellen White explains regarding those who follow the steps of Belshazzar,

In the history of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, God speaks to the people of today. The condemnation that will fall upon the inhabitants of the earth in this day will be because of their rejection of light. Our condemnation in the judgment will not result from the fact that we have lived in error, but from the fact that we have neglected Heaven-sent opportunities for discovering truth. The means of becoming conversant with the truth are within the reach of all; but, like the indulgent, selfish King, we give more attention to the things that charm the ear, and please the eye, and gratify the palate, than to the things that enrich the mind, the divine treasures of truth. It is through the truth that we may answer the great question, "What must I do to be saved?" (E. G. White Notes, p. 33)

God offers us-- Laodiceans, an opportunity to become pure gold faith Christians. He says to us in Revelation 3:18,

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Will we accept His invitation?

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz