It Is Written
I have come to see our spiritual battle against the devil as a battle of arguments, or words. It is like being in a courtroom. You have the accuser, which is the devil, then there is the defense attorney, which is Jesus, and the Judge, which is God the Father. Mankind is charged with sin and must plead his case before the court. The devil is the first to speak, as he reminds the court of man’s multiply violations of God’s law and demands punishment for sin. Man recognizes his guilt and asks for forgiveness from the court. Jesus then responds by saying that man’s sin has been paid for by the shedding of His own innocent blood, thus satisfying Divine Justice. God the Father deems man forgiven, based on the law of redemption and man is set free.
In the 12th chapter of the book of Revelations, we are told that we overcome the accuser through the blood of the Lamb, by the word of our testimony and by not loving our lives even unto death. (verse 11) Here the way to victory is three-fold. It is the path of redemption, the path of declaration and the path of dedication. Our testimony is the declaration of what the blood of Jesus has done for us and is followed up with our dedication to walking in the newness of life we have received in Christ. Yet the battle still rages. The accusations still come against us and temptations continue to arise to get us off the path. Though the Court has declared us forgiven and free from sin, the enemy is forever inventing new strategies to deceive man and to keep him under his control. More than ever we must stand our ground on the victory that has been purchased for us and declare: “It is written”, when attacked by the devil.
This is spiritual warfare and is fought on specific arenas and with certain weapons. The enemies’ weapons are accusation, deception and destruction. Our weapon is primarily the Word of God. When Jesus was confronted by the devil, He responded by quoting the Word of God. He was tempted in the arena of the physical, of His purpose and position. Each time He responded by saying: “It is written”. The Word of God is eternal and once sown will not return void. It must be declared in faith, when the accusations come against us. It is the banner that is raised up, when adversity comes in like a flood. When the Word of God is spoken out, the enemy must deal with it rather than our thoughts, feelings or desires. As we stand on the “Rock”, our victory is insured.
The devil is an astute adversary and is constantly devising new strategies of war. His skill in deception is revealed in his continual questioning of God’s Word. His attempt to make truth relative and remove absolute language from daily use, is now the accepted view of reality. What was once called “sin” in now called “sickness”, and instead of the need of preachers to call man to repentance, there is a turn to physicians and psychiatrists to prescribe the right medication. Instead of “going to court”, (being the arena where Satan lost), now it is the avoidance of confrontation by tolerating diverse moral behavior and holding to relative truths, (opinions). More than ever we must declare: “It is written!” It is written: “Man shall not murder”, (abortion). It is written: “Immorality is sin!” It is written: “Man shall not steal”, (cheat on his taxes). It is written: “Homosexuality is perversion and sin”. Only in declaring the Word of God and confessing what the blood of Jesus has done for us can we defeat the devil in the arena of our daily life.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Mat. 4.1-11; Heb. 10.17; I Peter 1.24-25; I John 2.1-3; Col. 1.13-14