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"Unconditional
Surrender"
Consider
two countries at war. As the battles rage, it becomes obvious that one country is
the superior power.
The superpower OFFERS to end the war IF
the
altering opponent will ONLY
surrender. The
devastated enemy realizes that the ONLY viable option
remaining is to surrender or suffer total
destruction.
So
the officials of the defeated country meet with the
leaders of the dominant country and
say, “We are prepared to surrender to you.
Here are OUR
conditions…!”
Is
that the way it works?
NO!
The defeated enemy is not in ANY position to
negotiate the terms of surrender.
Only the triumphant victor has the power to
establish those conditions. The posture of the
defeated MUST be one of:
"Unconditional " surrender!
Many
applications of this analogy may be made to our
relationship with God.
In
our sin, WE are enemies
of God. James says, “Do you not know that friendship with
the world [i.e., the system that is opposed to God] is
enmity with God?
Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the
world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). As sinners, we have allied with the enemies of God becoming
enemies ourselves!
But, we have been duped!
The ruler of this world – Satan himself
– has portrayed God as an evil tyrant.
However, it is Satan who is the evil tyrant. He has promised freedom and happiness to all who would align
themselves with him, BUT he
delivers only bondage and misery, and in the end - everlasting
destruction (2 Thessalonians
1:7-10).
God
is THE Supreme Power. The
war against SIN (rebellion or opposition to
God's authority) has been fought and won by Him.
Satan has been completely defeated, but is
trying to bring ALL that he can down with him in the
short time remaining before the final Judgment
(Revelation 20:10-15).
Satan, NOT God, is our true adversary!
He “walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1
Peter 5:8).
Jesus said of him "He was a murderer
from the beginning, and
does NOT stand in the truth, because there is NO truth
in him" (John
8:44).
The
decisive battle of this war was fought on the CROSS
of Jesus Christ.
Satan THOUGHT he was the victor when his
“allies” were able to convince the authorities to put
Jesus to death on the cross.
However, it was in this SAME act that God
secured the victory!
Jesus, the Son of God, died “that He
might destroy him who had the power of death”
(Hebrews 2:14). Through
His death on the cross, Jesus provided the means of
reconciliation to God – having taken upon HIMSELF
the wrath of God against SIN.
Paul wrote to Christians saying, “When we
were enemies we were reconciled to God through the
death of His Son” (Romans 5:10).
The victory over Satan was sealed, God
having provided a cure for SIN
– Satan’s weapon
of "mass
destruction" –
evidenced by the fact that He raised Jesus from the
dead (Romans
4:25; 6:23).
NOW...
what do you and I do about OUR sin that
separates us from and makes us enemies of God?
WE
are NOT the ones to negotiate the terms of
reconciliation. We
are the offenders; God is the offended One!
God, through His love, has provided the terms
for reconciliation through His Son, Jesus.
When one believes in
Jesus (Acts 16:31), repents
of his sin (Acts 17:30-31), confesses
Jesus as the Victorious Son of God (Romans
10:9-10), and is baptized in
the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38), THEN
his sins are forgiven – he has been reconciled to
God! Then
one must continually surrender his life
in obedience to the will of God (Hebrews 5:9).
Through
"Unconditional
" surrender, God gives US the
victory!
Have
you Obeyed the Gospel? (click
here)
God
bless you!
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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