Victory Is Assured

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Today we wrap up our series on the Unseen – the battle being waged for our souls. Here’s a short recap:

• Faith is believing in things Unseen – a recognition that there is more to this world than meets the eye.
• A Cosmic Battle between the Kingdom of God and the rebellious King of Darkness began before the creation of the world. We currently live in the “Here” but “Not Yet” of the perfect, complete reign of the Kingdom of God in the New Heaven and the New Earth still to come.
• Satan is a real foe, set to destroy you through accusation, lies, and temptation.
• God has given us His armor as protection, and it’s up to us to decide if we want to do what it takes to put on this armor: know the Bible, pray, and memorize scripture. Or we can choose to fight while fully exposed.
• Angels and demons are spiritual beings engaged in this battle with us and against us. Specifically, angels are a gift from God to minister to us in our times of need.

As you can see, we have explored many angles to this “Unseen” that many people choose to be naïve about.

Usually a preacher will save the big idea of the message until the end. Today I’ll come right out and share it with you before we get started. This is the one thing I want everyone here to know when they walk out of this place today – the culmination of our entire series on this Unseen Cosmic Battle: Victory is assured! We don’t have to doubt it, or worry about it, or fear that God will fail us.

The Bible tells us repeatedly that we have victory in Jesus. Many books are published to tell us how we can have that victory and have the amazing life we hope for. The problem with many of these books is that they seem extremely trite when real troubles appear – when a child unexpectedly passes away, or when we are dealing with chronic pain or sickness, or when we can’t find a job or pay the bills, or when our prayers seem continually unanswered.

We all know people with these struggles, and all of you have your own struggles. That’s why, today, I can’t just say, “You’re a victor, not a victim,” and leave it there. That statement has more nuance. However, even with all this mess, I don’t need to change my original statement. Victory is assured – but it may not look like what you expected.

Having said that, I want to clearly define what Victory in this spirit battle actually looks like; and I want to do it in such a way that every one of you, regardless of your circumstances, will see how you can experience victory in your own life.

Our text for today is from Romans 8:31-39, but before I read the text to you, I need to back up and recap the letter to the Romans for you.

In this letter Paul wrote to the church at Rome, he lays out the entire doctrine of salvation in Jesus.  He begins by describing how sin came into the world through Adam, but how, through Jesus, all our sins can be forgiven. He explains how even though we stand forgiven, sin is still trying to rule over us. We must strive to live by the Spirit rather than fighting sin by living according to the law, but how hard it is to live a holy life! Essentially, Paul describes the entire Christian life, from sin to salvation, to struggle in our sanctification, and even the suffering we experience . . . all of it.  He paints a picture of this spiritual battle we all experience.  In Romans 8:31 we come to the high point in Paul’s entire letter. It’s almost like Paul is a battalion captain trying to rally the troops before a big battle.

Nothing in this battle, nothing you do or fail to do, nothing Satan throws at you has the power to separate you from the Love of God. Let that sink in!

Let’s break this text down. If you have your Bible with you, why don’t you open it to Romans 8:31.

Verse 31 – “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Compared to having God for us, nothing is even worth mentioning as being against us. I know it doesn’t always feel that way. Sometimes you definitely know you’re up against some tough stuff, but compared to the infinite God of the Universe, whatever your trial or hardship, it’s NOTHING compared to God’s power.

Verse 32 – “He who did not spare his own son. . . .”

Remember, this God who is for you is the same God who sacrificed His own Son for you. If He is willing to give up His own Son, do you doubt that He will also give you absolutely anything else you need in this battle?

Verse 33 and 34 – Who will bring any charge? Who will condemn?

We know Satan absolutely loves to bring charges and accusations against us. And – silly us! – we sometimes fall for those lies and believe God is going to deal harshly with us. But Paul reminds us that God is the judge who justifies – the God who gave His Son FOR YOU. Jesus, the One who died and was raised to new life FOR YOU, now sits at God’s side defending you. So while Satan tries to condemn, at the end of the day who condemns you? NO ONE, because of your relationship to Jesus and His cleansing blood. You are innocent. You are clean. You are accepted. You are loved.

Victory Defined

Now, knowing all this, Paul asks the Big Question:

Verse 35 – “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

(First – do you notice the word “US” here? We keep trying to remind you this battle is not an individual battle. We fight together.)

This question actually defines the battle you are fighting in. This invisible war between Satan and God has always been about separating you from the love of God. All the things fighting against us have the same goal. They are all trying to separate you from God’s love. Satan’s continually tries to:

• Overcome us with temptation.
• Shame us with the guilt of our sin.
• Harm us through evil actions of others.
• Break us through the death of a loved one.
• Overwhelm us with busyness so our relationship with God languishes.
• Get us to walk away from God or feel like He is turning His badk on us.

The text goes on with a more “rubber-meets-the-road” kind of question. This list looks a lot like the list I made earlier of troubles we face in this congregation. The list Paul writes here tells what he has experienced himself, but it’s the same idea. “Can the trials and troubles YOU face separate you from the love of Christ?”

Verse 36 – “As it is written. . . .”

Do you know why this Old Testament quote is here? This verse comes from Psalm 44 and is included to remind the people that all the troubles they were going through were not different from the trials the Israelites had faced for centuries. The Christians in Rome were not the first to face death, danger, famine and hardship, nor would they be the last.

I say the same thing to you. I’m not trying to belittle what you’re going through. I know it’s hard.; but you’re not the first and you won’t be the last. You’re not unique.

Fallacies of the Battle

After walking through this passage up to this point, I think we need to refute a few fallacies too many people believe about this battle for our souls.

• Too many of us have fallen for the lie that once we become Christians, our lives will become easier. Books like the ones I showed earlier perpetuate the lie that the struggles will end when you choose to follow Jesus. That’s simply NOT TRUE.

Even worse, expecting to be shielded from hardships when you follow Jesus makes God seem like a liar. You end up being mad at God, asking, “Why me?” But God never promised you a life free of troubles. In fact, even though the Bible is filled with promises of victory, nearly all of those promises mention the struggle you will face.

John 16:33 – In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Every one of us has trials. We all face situations that are hard and unpleasant, and we wish we didn’t have to experience these things. However, we shouldn’t ask God, “Why me?” Early Christians never thought to ask God that question; they knew if it wasn’t their present trouble, it would just be another one.

• Another fallacy is that while we may experience hardship, with God’s help, we’ll get through it unscathed. It’s like we expect to walk through the fire without getting burned.

In reality, the struggles and battles of this world will leave us looking weary and battle-worn – dirty, exhausted, beaten, bruised and bleeding. Our faces won’t speak of victory even though we have won another clash in our war.

• The final fallacy is believing we will win every battle. Yes, final victory is assured, but that doesn’t mean victory in every battle. The war – yes; every situation you face – perhaps not.

In the moments when we are knocked down in battle, we find victory every time we get back up to fight again. We find victory when we remind ourselves of God’s love, which will never be taken from us. If you say something mean-spirited you wish you’d never said, or if you go to a website you know isn’t God-honoring, or if you give in to self-doubt and think you’re a failure – you can stop the cycle of shame. You can stand up and live to fight another day knowing God has not left you, nor does He condemn you.

Conquerors Through Christ

I saved the best for last today. Let’s go back to the final verse of this passage: “We are MORE than conquerors through Him who loved us.” We succeed at an even greater level. This is a great verse to focus on when the accusations of the Enemy are coming at you hard and fast.

Our standing as “more than conquerors” is in no way based on our own talent, our own fight, or our resolve. Our victory is fully rooted in Jesus, the One who loved us. It was Jesus who won this war for us 2000 years ago on a cross. Satan was officially defeated when Jesus spread His arms on that cross, died for our sins, and was then raised to new life. We see that picture in Colossians:

Colossians 2:15 – And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Jesus’s Victory didn’t look like victory. Let’s think about that for a second. “He made a public spectacle of them.” The Jesus who was hanging naked from a tree “made a spectacle” of them! When we say victory may not look as we think it should, let’s not forget what Victory looked like for our Savior.

• Nobody expected Him to be betrayed by His own disciple. If we were betrayed by a friend, we would feel that we lost that battle.
• Nobody expected Jesus to be found guilty, beaten, mocked, and then killed. That would feel like utter defeat to us, but victory in Jesus looks different from what the world thinks it should. Jesus did not walk through this trial unscathed! He has scars on his hands and feet from that fateful day.
• Jesus endured all this to the end. He remained in the Father’s love. He was obedient unto death. The world scoffed at Him. Satan thought he dealt the decisive blow. Yet Jesus modeled for us victory in seeming defeat. – victory by standing firm in God and His love throughout the darkest times.

Conclusion

What we must remember today is that although the final victor in the Cosmic Battle has already been determined, that doesn’t stop Satan and his dominion from fighting against us. He will continue to fight until that last moment promised to us in Revelation when all who oppose God will be thrown into the Lake of Fire in judgment.

That’s why this battle still feels so real – why we seem to take some shots, lose some battles, yet have this assurance that we still have victory. It’s not because we can follow seven steps to a better life and have bad things stop happening to us. It’s because our victory is rooted in Jesus, the same Jesus who took His own abuse in the midst of His own victory. All we have to do to experience that same victory is to follow Jesus’s example and stand firm in God’s love. That’s all we have to do to experience victory in our own struggles. As long as we stand firm, we cling to God, our rock and our deliverer. Even when we have no idea how our situation can come to any good, we stand firm and trust. We trust that:

Romans 8:38-39 – ³⁸Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depeth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is what victory looks like for us today. It looks like believing God loves you even if you feel like the world is falling apart all around you. Victory is not neat and clean and easy. Victory comes with battle wounds. It’s hard-won, but it’s assured.