The Scriptures are all powerful in breaking down strongholds, raising up those who are pressed down, and guiding us into experiencing the Lord’s victory over all things. In this segment we set forth a series of subjects with appropriate Scriptures that strengthen faith, and lead to overcoming in the Lord.
Subject areas will be changed regularly, and previous scriptural readings and commentaries may be accessed by clicking different weeks in the calendar below.
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“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4-5.
This is a comparison between He who is in you, who is Jesus Christ, and he who is in the world, who is Satan. In times of spiritual warfare and suffering, we can be reassured that Jesus Christ within us is far greater in power that Satan and his demon spirits.
“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” John 6:57-58.
God sent Jesus to live His life on this earth in union with Him, drawing on the indwelling life of the Father to meet every need. Jesus instructed us to live our lives in the same manner, feeding on Him, or drawing on His indwelling life to meet our needs. He who feeds on Jesus will have the source of divine life that supplements his own ability and capacity.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom 8: 35-36 and 38-39.
There are times when we are faced with dire circumstances that make us feel estranged from God. Satan directs accusations into our minds, like, God has abandoned us; we are about to die; our sins have separated us from God and His love; God can’t help us, and so forth.
The first thing to realise is that these accusations do not originate from us. They are directed into our minds by Satan who is a liar, and that we can completely disregard them. The second thing is to believe the Scriptural truth spoken by the apostle Paul. NOTHING can separate us from the love of God and His desire to help us. Even when he was in the belly of the great fish at the bottom of the ocean, God heard Jonah’s prayed and came to his rescue.
There are times when God delays helping us, but these times of suffering are for our refinement, forging holiness in us, so that we may draw closer to Him.
“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
1 John 4:9-10.
God’s love towards us is absolutely unmerited by us, not depending on our love for Him, or our moral purity. He loves us because His nature is to love even sinners, desiring that they might believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved. Not only does He desire our salvation, but that we might receive Jesus Christ as our life, and learn to live through Him.
“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Rom 5:7-8.
There is nothing in ourselves that warrants God’s love for us. Even in our sinful state, God sent His own Son to suffer an agonizing death on the cross to bear the punishment for our sins. Peter explains His ultimate purpose, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…” 1 Peter 3:18-19. His purpose was to reconcile us to Himself that we might be accepted as beloved children, holy and righteous in His sight. Such is the nature of God’s love.
“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:14-16.
The confession that Jesus is the Son of God who was sent to be the Saviour of the world, is the basic testimony that procures our salvation. This reading assures us that if we are saved, that God dwells in us by His Spirit, and we in Him. By believing in His abiding presence in us, we are assured of His love for us. God is love, and if we abide in Him, we naturally abide in His love. This then is the test. If God’s love is in us, and we abide in His love, the consequence should be that we have love for one another.
“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.” Eph 2:3-5.
In all honesty, we have to acknowledge that we were like all worldly sinners, allowing our minds to be drawn into carnal thoughts and imaginings, into carnal judgments of the world and those in it, opening ourselves to all manner of resentments, judgments, pride and self-righteousness. We too harboured fleshly desires, satisfying the cravings of the flesh and the mind. There is no moral ground that we can stand on to claim worthiness. In our hearts we have to agree totally with this reading – it is because of God’s love, and the abundance of His grace that we have been led by Him to the Lord; salvation, and accepted as holy and blameless in His sight.
“Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.” Lam 3:22-23.
God’s love, mercy, and compassion are like an inexhaustible spring of sweet water that never fails to refresh our spirits and, restore our souls.
“If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Tim 2:13
“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…” Titus 3:3-7.“For we ourselves
God’s love towards us does not depend on our good works, or righteousness and kindness towards one another. When we have allowed our fleshly nature to overcome us, and have reacted badly towards others, Satan’s spirits heap shame on us, and accuse us that we have isolated ourselves from God’s love. This Scripture assures us that no matter what state we are in, God’s love is constant towards us, always reaching out to comfort us and restore our souls.
“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” 1 Cor 13:4-8.
Paul’s well-known summary of the virtues of love, expresses attributes of God’s love towards us, expressed through Jesus Christ. That love in a person expresses itself in patience and kindness towards others, is not easily provoked by their hostility or shortcomings, looking for their good points rather than their bad. Love does not envy others or make a show of one’s own virtue – and so forth. Whilst that form of love may appear to be beyond our human natures to manifest, it is in us in Jesus Christ who dwells in us by His Spirit. His desire for us is that we draw on His love by faith, so that it may flow out and encompass those whom we encounter.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Col 1:16-16.
Mankind was created through Jesus, and was for Him, and so He took responsibility for man’s reconciliation to God. The thing that had caused this separation from God was our sin, for, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8. A holy God could not dwell in the presence of sin, and before we could be accepted by Him, the power of sin that separated us had to be eliminated.
For He God made Him Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor 5:21.
To restore us to Himself, God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become the sin of mankind, so that it could be judged and put to death. On the cross, it was not Jesus who was being judged and put to death, but the sin of mankind, my sin and your sin. Jesus willingly accepted the label of the sin of mankind, and willingly bore its punishment, the penalty of sin being death. In Jesus case, this meant the horrifying death of the cross.
To be set free from the power of sin that separates us from God, we have to believe in our hearts, and confess with our mouths that Jesus has borne the punishment for our sins, and that we are now accepted as being righteous by God.
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Rom 6:3-4.
Our baptism is a further example of God delivering us from the power of sin. We were baptised into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but the above reading states that we were baptised into Christ’s death. Spiritually, our old man, under the power of sin, was incorporated into Christ’s death, so that the body of sin may be done away with. At the time of our baptism, what happened spiritually was not apparent, but later in our spiritual walk, when we do understand, we can claim it by faith, and apply it in our pathway to holiness.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Cor 4:17-18.
There are two types of truth, physical truth, which is what we perceive in our physical surroundings, and spiritual truth, which in our spiritual walk is all that Jesus procured for us by His sacrificial death on the cross. If our eyes are on physical truth, we see a path of continually sinning and repenting. If our focus is on spiritual truth, we walk in the light of our righteous before God because of the blood of Jesus that continually cleanses us of sin. The physical path is one of walking in the shadow of sin and death, but the spiritual walk is one of life and peace.
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7.
Walking in the light is walking in spiritual truth, which is one of righteousness, because the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us from all sin. This is the basis for fellowship with other Christians who are walking in the light.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:5-6.
The physical truth is that Jesus had to die physically to actually pay the penalty of sin, which is death. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men Rom 5:12.
The spiritual reality is that in accepting by faith the fact that Jesus bore the penalty for our sin, we can embrace the spiritual truth that God has accepted Christs sacrificial offering to exonerate us, and that we are now righteous in the sight of God.
‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.’ 1 John 1:8-10.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he stressed that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s righteousness and holiness. ‘There is none righteous, no, not on...for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Rom 3:10 &3:23. The other side of the coin is the sure promise of our gracious and merciful God, that it we confess our sins, He will forgive us, and the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The word cleanse means to purge out, telling us that when we testify to the power of the blood of Jesus by faith, it has the capacity, to gradually purge out all unrighteousness as we persist and become grounded in belief in our testimonies,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.”
Isa 1:18.
Even though we may have committed the vilest of sins, we have God’s promise that if we confess our sin in repentance, we will be forgiven. The essence of God’s forgiveness is that He remembers them no more. But often we cannot forget, and revisit our sin over and over again, praying repeated prayers for forgiveness. We must take our minds off ourselves and our own unworthiness, and turn them to the worthiness of God’s atoning sacrifice. It is by the blood of Jesus, the spotless lamb of God, that our sins have been forgiven. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”. Eph 1:7.
“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight…”
Col 1:21-22.
According to the law, the absolute penalty for sin is death, and Jesus “has reconciled [us to God] in the body of His flesh through death. There are two kinds of truth – spiritual truth, and physical truth. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “…we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Cor 4:18. The statement ‘you [are] holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight,’ is a spiritual truth. By accepting Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord, you are spiritually holy and blameless in God’s sight. The physical truth is that you are a work in progress, sinning and repenting, gradually being changed into Christ’s likeness. Paul tells us to keep our minds on the spiritual truth, because that enables us to enter into God’s presence without fear of rejection.
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.” Isa 43:25.
We, as children of God, represent His holy name before those in the world. Without forgiveness and the cleansing of the blood of Jesus, God’s holiness and righteousness are demeaned, and so He has provided forgiveness of our sins for His own name’s sake
The next part of the reading tells us how God deals with our sins. Once we have confessed with repentance, they are blotted out and God remembers them no more. It is as if they had never occurred.
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:25-26.
Jesus stated, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespass.” Matt 6:14-15.
The most important prerequisite in receiving forgiveness for sins is that we have no unforgiveness towards anyone else. Jesus told us to examine our hearts before praying for forgiveness to see if we are harbouring resentment towards another. He then commands us to forgive them, so that our heavenly Father may forgive us.
“Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.” Acts 8:22.
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” Acts 3:19-20. Acts 8:22. Acts 3:19-20.
Without repentance there can be no forgiveness, but proper repentance is more than an expression of words or an emotion of feeling sorry. True repentance is a setting of our hearts to obedience in forsaking that sin. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.” Ezek 18:30. The second part of the reading shows us that the sin originates from the thoughts of your heart, and we are told ‘to keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.’ Prov 4:23.
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” James 5:16.
There is a correlation between unconfessed sins and sickness. For instance, Jesus said to the paralytic who was seeking to be healed, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you,’ Mark 2:5, and he took up his bed and went away completely healed. When sickness persists despite our persistent prayers, we should examine our circumstances to see if we are harbouring unconfessed sins of unforgiveness. James tells us to confess our sins that we might be healed.
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
s James 5:16.
Some people suffer in silence, thinking that it is an imposition to ask God for forgiveness and healing. Turning our backs on forgiveness and healing means that Jesus suffered the agony on the cross in vain. God wants us to receive all of the blessings of the cross with thanksgiving, and offer praise and worship that glorifies His name, and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.” Luke 12:10.
Jesus had been casting out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit, but when the Scribes confronted Him, they accused Him of casting them out by the power of Satan. Blaspheming of the Spirit occurs when the working of the Holy Spirit is attributed to Satan. Blaspheming the Spirit may occur when a person declares a ministry anointed by the Holy Spirit to be occultist, or of Satan. Where the reading says that blaspheming the Spirit cannot be forgiven, it does not mean that a person will lose their salvation, but because their sin is not forgiven, the person must face God’s judgment and punishment.
“And another also said, Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house. But Jesus said to him, No one, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:61-62.
Putting the hand to the plough here is to leave the former life behind, and make a commitment to the Lord to serve Him as He wills, to step on the path of righteousness and fulfilment in His kingdom. To look back is to look back at things forsaken, and even partaking of them again.
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” Rev 3:15-17.
This is Christ’s warning to the Church at Laodicea. They were content with their spiritual walk and had become complacent, and stopped growing. They probably attended fellowship meetings and activities, but there was no real commitment to seeking the Lord and His righteousness, and to be wholly His disciples. In this state of being lukewarm, or complacent and contented, without changing, it was impossible to turn them around in repentance and returning to the Lord with a full commitment.
“News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” Acts 11:22-25.
Barnabas was a perfect model for the young church to emulate, and his words of advice were a perfect summing up of commitment - remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose. We should be steadfast to the purpose the Lord has called us to, being confident in His faithfulness to supply all that we need to fulfil it.
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor 15:56-58.
A strong commitment to the Lord is one that is steadfast in all circumstances, not being moved by discouraging blocks and opposition, knowing that your works are the Lord’s, done in union with Him, and He is well able to accomplish all things if our trust is in Him, and not ourselves. He will bear fruit, and your efforts are not in vain.
“He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight - if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” Col 1:21-23.
Our salvation and righteousness before God through Jesus Christ, should not be taken for granted. They are conditional to a steadfast commitment to the truth that we have been eternally saved by the virtue of the sacrificed body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the face of all accusations and taunts from Satan, our reply should be, ‘my righteousness is due to the worthiness of the spotless Lamb of God, who has paid the penalty for my sins on the cross.
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