The Enemy Has Been Defeated

I was listening to my iPod today, and a phrase hit me in a new way. The song sang, “The enemy has been defeated, and death couldn’t hold you down, I’m gonna lift my voice in victory, we’re gonna make your praises loud.” I have heard these words so many times but it wasn’t until today that I finally grasped the magnitude, power and the truth of those words.

I immediately thought of the Old Testament and times when people were defeated, and nations were conquered. Over and over again in the Old Testament, nations are getting overcome and defeated. These defeats are not like losing in a game of Risk where we simply pack up and move on. In the bible peoples who are defeated are devastated; their homes are burned and left in shambles, their possessions are taken from them or destroyed in front of them, and they are left with absolutely nothing! There was no mercy for those who were conquered. People were taken captive, the royal families and lines were killed, and all sense of their nationality was often snuffed out.

It was at this point I realized the impact of being defeated. In no way will anyone willingly, after a nation has been defeated and conquered, turn back and say “yeah that’s what I want, let’s go join them.” No one says that. They want to be on the winning side, and celebrate with the rest of their people.

I bring this up only because of my own sin. I am a sinful man who sins, as is every person on earth. We are all from the nation of sin and our ruler and king was Satan. We by our nature worship anything and everything but through the Holy Spirit working in us through God’s grace, we can come to worship the true God, Jesus at the foot of the cross. We have been given adoption into the Kingdom of the God of the universe; the triumphant King over sin and death. King Jesus has conquered our sin and has defeated Satan once, for all. Christ, the king of kings and lord of lords has specifically chosen us to join His kingdom, and to be with Him, and to BE HIS, forever.

We would never desire to be on the losing side of a biblical defeat, yet this is our statement to Jesus when we sin. It is us saying, among other things, that we would rather cling to the momentary “comforts” of a defeated nation, rather than cling to the hope and everlasting joy of the risen king. We would rather be identified with a being who was thrashed and beaten without mercy to fulfill a momentary need than to live for Jesus and receive his eternal glory.