TRIUMPH IN CHRIST
II Cor. 2:14
INTRO. Notice carefully, the first part of our text. The human race was never meant for defeat. God’s intention in creating man was that man should be master over all creation. (Gen. 1:26) -- "And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have DOMINION over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
His order to Adam was: (Gen. 1:28) -- "...Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it..." But Satan entered the scene and deceived mankind and introduced defeat in all of mankind’s efforts.
But God introduced Jesus (Gal. 4:4-5) -- "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." And remember our text? "God...always causes us to triumph in Christ" So everything is fine and we’ve got nothing to worry about...right?
Not exactly. There can be no winner without a fight. The fact that God always causes us to triumph should tell us that there is still a conflict raging. See vs. 17. Satan is still in the business of deceiving lost souls and condemning them.
(ill.) -- The story is told of a passenger train that was rushing into New York as another train was emerging. There was a head-on collision. Fifty people died. An engineer was pinned under some of the wreckage, near to death and with tears streaming down his cheeks. In his hand he held a yellow piece of paper. With his dying breath, he said, "Take this. This will show that someone gave me the wrong orders." How many are stumbling through this life in frustration and defeat because they have been misdirected by the philosophies of this world?
But if men will only follow God’s directions He will make us to triumph over our worst fears and enemies.
I. THROUGH CHRIST WE CAN KNOW TRIUMPH OVER SIN. (II Cor. 1:20-21)
A. Before we go any farther, I think it is important that we understand what sin is.
1. There are many answers, but I think the best one is: "The inability to please a holy and righteous God while in our natural state."
2. Rom. 3:23 and 5:12. We are all sinners. We may fool ourselves into believing we are not, but that does not change God’s knowledge of what we really are.
B. In the remainder of this sermon I will speak of our triumph over self, Satan, and the sentence of death. But before we can ever hope to triumph over self, Satan, or death we must first experience a triumph over sin..."For all have sinned."
1. Despite the most popular religious teachings of our day, man’s sin nature can not be conquered with good works or morality. (Gal. 2:16) -- "...a man is not justified by works... (and again)...for by works shall no flesh be justified."
2. Our morality and works, essentially, constitute anything we might do to try to win God’s goodness or favor. But since God is holy and we are sinful; what could we possibly do to earn His good favor?
C. Do you remember our text? "...thanks be unto God which always causeth us to triumph in Christ..." God Himself will save us from our sin and He will do it through His Son Jesus!
1. 1:20 says "For all the promises of God in Christ are YES!"
a. Does God love you? YES!
b. Will God save you? YES!
c. Will He take us to Heaven with Him? YES!
d. Will He secure us for all eternity? YES!
2. Notice 1:21 (Read)
3. Now, how does a sinner, lost and condemned get a righteous God to establish and anoint him in Christ?
a. How does a sinner get hold of God’s promises?
b. How does a sinner get God to say YES?
1. 1:24 (Read)
2. (Eph. 2:8-9) -- "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
3. (Gal. 3:6) -- "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
4. It will work for you too.
II. THROUGH CHRIST WE CAN KNOW TRIUMPH OVER SELF. (II Cor. 1:22)
A. I wish Christians were perfect. But we are not. We often fail at the simplest tasks and how often is even the greatest resolve soon forgotten?
1. But we are good at making excuses! For missing S.S. or church or not praying or studying our Bible or giving as we ought. Oh, we know what we ought to do, we just don’t do it!
2. But just as we needed God to save us we also need Him everyday of our life to strengthen us, or else we become servant and victim to our own failings and shortcomings.
B. If, as a Christian, you have ever felt that you are not what you should be...If you have ever failed your God...or your church...or your family...or even yourself; you are not alone.
1. We have all experienced these feelings from time to time. Even the apostle Paul felt this way.
a. In Rom. 12:1-1, he said, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
b. Now this is the ideal situation. This is the mark that we, as Christians, are to aim for, but we already know that we tend to miss the mark more than we hit it. Evidently, the apostle Paul knew this problem all too well.
c. Rom. 7:15-20 (Read) You see, the sin of this world and this life brought him to a point of despair in his Christian life (Rom. 7:24).
d. But He goes on to say in vs. 25, that he found his answer and his strength in God through Jesus.
C. II Cor. 1:22 and text, "Thanks be unto God which always causeth us to triumph in Christ"
1. It is frightening to think of how quickly we would loose our soul’s salvation if God saved us and then left us to our own means.
2. As we just saw in Romans, even the great apostle Paul would not have been able to retain his salvation by his own merits. (Yet there are those who arrogantly preach that they have works good enough to keep their salvation.)
III. THROUGH CHRIST WE CAN KNOW TRIUMPH OVER
SATAN. (II Cor. 1::21-22, 2:11, 14a)
A. SATANIC is the one word which best describes the troubles and sorrows that mankind experiences. Because Satan is the source of all trouble and sorrow.
1. (I Pet. 5:8) -- "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
2. Make no mistake about it, he has both the desire and the ability to devour you.
3. He would love nothing better than to see your immortal soul roast in the flames of hell for all eternity.
4. Satan has many weapons to use but time is his greatest ally.
5. (ill.) -- A story is told of a preacher who had a dream that he could see into hell. Satan was having a meeting with his demons and they were discussing the best ways to trap the souls of men. The first demon suggested that he could tell men that the Bible was a fable. That wasn’t good enough. The second demon suggested that he could tell men that there is no God, no Saviour, no Heaven, and no Hell. That wasn’t good enough. Suddenly one arose and suggested that, if sent, he would tell them that there is a God, there is a Saviour, there is a Heaven -- yes, and a hell too; but then he would tell them that there is NO HURRY; tomorrow will do. They sent him.
B. But when a sinner is saved, he becomes the property of the Living God.
1. (II Cor. 5:17) -- "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
2. As a new creature we are given the Holy Spirit to live in our heart and guide us.
3. So with the help of the Holy Spirit and the Bible we can understand II Cor. 2:11 better. "For we are not ignorant of his devices."
C. But can we actually triumph over Satan? And if so, how?
1. There is a lot of talk today about Christians defeating the devil. Let me tell you, YOU CAN NOT DEFEAT THE DEVIL! Only God can do that. But in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit, you can stand against the devil’s onslaught. And by not giving in to defeat, you, in essence, triumph.
a. David before Goliath, "My God shall deliver you into my hands."
b. The 3 Hebrew children before the fiery furnace, "Our God is able to deliver us."
c. Moses beside the Red Sea, "Stand still and see the power of God."
d. Paul said that he prayed to God three times to remove his "thorn in the flesh". Described as a "messenger of Satan."
e. In Jude 9, Michael, the archangel, would not confront Satan in his own power but said, "The Lord rebuke thee."
2. As a Christian, you know that Satan has been defeated once -- when you were saved. And you were saved by faith.
a. So, in order to stand against him you must use the same weapon.
b. This is why II Cor. 1:24 says, "for by faith ye stand."
IV. THROUGH CHRIST WE CAN KNOW TRIUMPH OVER
THE SENTENCE OF DEATH. (II Cor. 1:9)
A. Someone said, "Everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die." Not even Christians. But there is a fate worse than dying...that is dying twice.
B. Can a person die twice? Yes.
1. Rev. 20:11-14 tells us of the Great White Throne Judgment.
2. When Adam sinned in the garden, he put all men of all time under the sentence of death. (II Cor. 1:9) -- "But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves."
3. But there are two deaths. The first death is the death of this physical body. (Heb. 9:27a) -- "It is appointed unto man, once to die..."
C. Think on this: Is it dying that terrifies us or is it death?"
1. They are not the same thing. Dying is what we do when life is leaving us, but death is what happens to us after we die. (Heb. 9:27) -- "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
2. When I was a lost sinner, I had the sentence of death over me. Not just of dying but of the terrible things which will come after dying.
3. But when I was saved, Jesus took care of all that. II Cor. 1:9-10 (Read) He has delivered me from the second death, He is delivering me, and He will continue to deliver me. Past - present - future.
D. So how does a saved person experience triumph over the sentence of death.
1. II Cor. 1:9
2. To a saved person, death is the only means of entering Gods holy presence.
3. I Cor. 15:50, 53-54
CONCLU. God can solve all your problems and salve all your fears through Jesus Christ. Text.
