God’s People Should Expect Victory

by Rick Blumenberg / @rickblumenberg

Too many who claim to be believers in Christ do not expect to win the battle against sin and evil. They merely hope to get out of this world without being a casualty (going to hell), but they often do not have even the faintest expectation of real victory. They seem to think Satan is bound to win and about all we can do as Christians is try to carry out an orderly retreat until Christ returns to take us to be with him.  And yet the Scriptures are full of references that show we can expect the triumph of good over evil, of God over Satan, in this world!

When Jesus gave his great commission to the disciples (and to us) he said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."(Mt 28:18b NIV) and "And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." (Mt 28:20b NIV)  Since we know this, shouldn't we expect to be victorious? After all, wasn't John writing to us when he said, "the one who is in you (the Spirit of Christ) is greater than the one who is in the world." (the spirit of the antichrist)? (I John 4:4b) 

Christ has already won the battle with Satan. The war is now being fought in this world, but the last battle has already been fought in Gethsemane, on Calvary and in what is now an empty tomb. Even though we serve the winner, too often we who are believers in Christ are willing to concede the victory to sin and death, while we hope to run off to heaven where we'll be safe, even though millions are perishing under the cruelty of Satan.

What we need is a theology of victory. We need such a great faith in the weapons of God and in the plan of God that we expect to win a resounding victory. God's plan is that his followers give their lives as completely and unselfishly as Christ gave himself during his life and ministry on earth. Naturally, if we refuse to follow God's plan we can expect our alternate plan to be less successful at best, if not totally worthless.

Love is more powerful than hate, kindness more powerful than cruelty, patience more powerful than impatience. Good is always more powerful than any corresponding and opposite evil. There may be instances where evil appears to triumph in the short term, but good always prevails in the long term if it has people who lift it up and practice it in their daily lives This being so, why would we assume that evil will triumph and prevail against the Lord and his people?

Isaiah gave us God’s words about the age in which we now live when he wrote, "The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory." (66:18) And in verse 23b, the Lord is quoted as saying, "all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the Lord."

We just need to do our job. We need to act on our faith in God and his methods. God's primary method is for people to use the weapons he has given. Weapons such as truth, compassion, concern, kindness, love, prayer, and others like these—all greatly powerful when shared from a selfless heart. With such a flawless plan and such invincible weapons we can attain victory. We must believe God and cease to be prophets of doom. We need a faith that we can win our world for Christ and begin to see the rule of the Kingdom of God in the affairs of humanity.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.