By relying on Jesus and his crucifixion, Christians could overcome sin, the fear of death, the devil, the world, and the former self, said an elder.
Based on 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, Elder Zhao Jingzhu of Bo'ai Church in Cao County, Shandong preached a sermon titled The Victory of Cross in a Sunday service conducted on February 21.
"Christ is life and cross is the way. When a believer accepts the life of Jesus, he is walking on the path of the cross. But few people have Jesus in their life, and few the knowledge of the cross. God's ultimate goal is to enter and dwell in our life through the victory of Jesus on the cross. So the salvation of the cross is the focus of the whole Bible and the foundation of faith," he said.
"If a man does not sin, he doesn't need the cross. While he does not fall into temptation, he does not require the Son of God's redemption. We are all born with sinful nature since Adam disobeyed God's command. We often feel the pain with the law of sin in the body, as we do evil without being taught by others."
He continued that the cross was the salvation for the problem of sin, as God gave his only son, Jesus, to bear man's sins. "Because of his death, he broke the sinners' shackles to provide them with a new life, a life without sin. So believers can overcome evil by relying on the cross."
Death was the result of the crime as the Bible told us that the wages of sin were death which was the end of every one.
The elder shared a surgeon's conversion experience. After studying the Bible, his friend knew something about Jesus, but he had no convictions. Regarding the truth as perfect, he failed to connect the belief with life and understand the soul's end-result. In the hospital, he found non-Christians were very painful in the face of death and unwilling to leave the world, while Christians were calm, and some even died singing hymns to praise God happily. Thinking about death after these experiences, he believed in Jesus.
"Jesus tasted death and died for us to break the shackles of death on us. Therefore, those who believe in Jesus can overcome death by relying on Him, as they will enter the eternal kingdom of heaven to live with God forever after death."
"After a man sins, he lives under the devil's power, which is the most vicious enemy of all humanity. No one can overcome the devil by himself, but the believers can thank God who has defeated the devil. We who confess with mouth live in Christ, no longer living under the power of the devil. At the same time, God gave us authority to trample on snakes and scorpions if we rely on Jesus to resist all enemies with strong faith."
"God has granted us the right to rule the wonderfully formed universe. After people sinned, the world became degenerate, with all kinds of temptations seducing us. We have no way to overcome the world's various temptations by ourselves, but the Lord can help us win the battle. Through the death on the cross, Jesus has overcome the world as a victor. Uniting with the Lord who has died for us, we can overcome the temptations from the world and the devil," he stated.
The pastor claimed that we also needed to overcome the stubborn old self in our life. It would be a long and arduous process to overcome the former self that Satan often used to defeat us.
"We should have a clear head to win our old self, relying on Jesus, who has already conquered on the cross. He who surpasses himself is a complete victor."
(The original article is published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
