Colossians 2:14-15
For the past several decades there has been talk of nuclear disarmament between nations. This dialogue between rival nations has been to stifle any chance of a nuclear war which would effectively wipe the earth of mankind. When you see the videos of nuclear explosions, it is easy to see why the nations want to rid future wars of these terrible weapons, and common sense says that if you do not possess a certain weapon, there is no opportunity to use it.
Satan has hated mankind from the moment he laid eyes on Adam in the Garden. His objective then was to bring sin into the world through one man’s disobedience, and he succeeded (Romans 5:12). He then fought to stop the Promised Seed from coming by causing multiple rebellions and sins among God’s people, yet Jesus came anyhow, born of a virgin, and fathered by the Holy Spirit. He then lost all of his ability to wage war at the cross when Jesus crushed his head.
You would think that Satan would have conceded defeat when Jesus rolled the stone away from the Garden tomb, but he is still on the prowl, “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). If we are not aware of the defeat of Satan, we will think that it is still our job to defeat him, and we will turn to our own righteousness to do so. The landscape of the church is littered with the bodies of those who have attempted to overcome the enemy by their religious devices, only to be incinerated by a defeated foe.
When Christ died on the cross, he took the law of Moses, which had inflamed and revived sin within the heart of man for over 1500 years (Romans 5:20; 7:9), and He moved it out of man’s way. The obstacle that had kept man from God was the Law, which was “holy, just and good” (Romans 7:12), though it provided man with no help to become just, holy and good. We know that it was the law that Jesus removed, for Colossians says that he blotted out “the handwriting of ordinances that was against us” (Colossians 2:14). The Law was written by the very hand of God, and it had stood against man for too long.
To remove the law as an obstacle, Jesus nailed it to His cross, thus finalizing its demands and its requirements. He then made a show of the powers of darkness, insulting them with His precious blood by triumphing over them in His victory. This disarmed the devil, taking the one thing away from him that he had been able to use against man for centuries: the law.
Satan is a master of guilt and condemnation. He takes your knowledge of the law and uses it against you, always pointing out to you that you are a failure and condemning you for every act that you do, even the “good” ones. His voice screams at you that you are not doing enough to please God or that you have done too much to ever be any good to heaven. By disarming the devil of the law, God was taking away his leverage. He now has nothing to scream at you, for the law has been fulfilled by Christ.
This is knowledge that Satan has, but do you? If you are not aware that the law has been removed as an obstacle then you will go about every day attempting to do things to please your heavenly Father. Satan will take every available moment to condemn for what you do and do not do. Realize that the law is no hindrance, for Jesus has moved it out of the way. The moment that you see just how finished the finished work is, you will be no slave to condemnation and failure, and Satan will have been de-fanged. Praise God!
For the past several decades there has been talk of nuclear disarmament between nations. This dialogue between rival nations has been to stifle any chance of a nuclear war which would effectively wipe the earth of mankind. When you see the videos of nuclear explosions, it is easy to see why the nations want to rid future wars of these terrible weapons, and common sense says that if you do not possess a certain weapon, there is no opportunity to use it.
Satan has hated mankind from the moment he laid eyes on Adam in the Garden. His objective then was to bring sin into the world through one man’s disobedience, and he succeeded (Romans 5:12). He then fought to stop the Promised Seed from coming by causing multiple rebellions and sins among God’s people, yet Jesus came anyhow, born of a virgin, and fathered by the Holy Spirit. He then lost all of his ability to wage war at the cross when Jesus crushed his head.
You would think that Satan would have conceded defeat when Jesus rolled the stone away from the Garden tomb, but he is still on the prowl, “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). If we are not aware of the defeat of Satan, we will think that it is still our job to defeat him, and we will turn to our own righteousness to do so. The landscape of the church is littered with the bodies of those who have attempted to overcome the enemy by their religious devices, only to be incinerated by a defeated foe.
When Christ died on the cross, he took the law of Moses, which had inflamed and revived sin within the heart of man for over 1500 years (Romans 5:20; 7:9), and He moved it out of man’s way. The obstacle that had kept man from God was the Law, which was “holy, just and good” (Romans 7:12), though it provided man with no help to become just, holy and good. We know that it was the law that Jesus removed, for Colossians says that he blotted out “the handwriting of ordinances that was against us” (Colossians 2:14). The Law was written by the very hand of God, and it had stood against man for too long.
To remove the law as an obstacle, Jesus nailed it to His cross, thus finalizing its demands and its requirements. He then made a show of the powers of darkness, insulting them with His precious blood by triumphing over them in His victory. This disarmed the devil, taking the one thing away from him that he had been able to use against man for centuries: the law.
Satan is a master of guilt and condemnation. He takes your knowledge of the law and uses it against you, always pointing out to you that you are a failure and condemning you for every act that you do, even the “good” ones. His voice screams at you that you are not doing enough to please God or that you have done too much to ever be any good to heaven. By disarming the devil of the law, God was taking away his leverage. He now has nothing to scream at you, for the law has been fulfilled by Christ.
This is knowledge that Satan has, but do you? If you are not aware that the law has been removed as an obstacle then you will go about every day attempting to do things to please your heavenly Father. Satan will take every available moment to condemn for what you do and do not do. Realize that the law is no hindrance, for Jesus has moved it out of the way. The moment that you see just how finished the finished work is, you will be no slave to condemnation and failure, and Satan will have been de-fanged. Praise God!
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