The Blood of Christ the Conquering Weapon
Adapted in large part from a sermon by C. H. Spurgeon, May 30, 1875 Jay Wegter, Editor
Our battle is not with flesh and blood. It is with principalities and powers in the heavenly places (this refers to the entire realm of spirit beings) (Eph 6:12). Satan’s power, energy, swiftness, and wisdom all combine to make him a most formidable foe of the saints.
He deludes, deceives, blinds, buffets, and beguiles (2 Cor 4:4; 1 Thess 3:5)—he has thousands of years to perfect his craft. He is the father of lies (Jn 8:44). He is always in a posture of one in waiting to ambush the unwary (1 Pet 5:8-9).
If the evil one could have a favorite truth, it might be, “the soul who sins will die” (Ez 18:4b). For it says in Hebrews 2:14-15 that apart from Christ’s work, the devil “had the power of death” and by means of that power and the resultant “fear of death,” sinners were “subject to slavery all their lives.”
No human plan or philosophy could have broken this fear-induced slavery by which Satan holds his captives. And it is not an idle fear, for in the book of Job, death is called ‘the king of terrors’ (Job 18:14). And is it any wonder that sinners secretly shudder, for death holds the portent of unknown horrific eternal judgments.
The fear of death does not drive sinners to Christ; instead it only strengthens their slavery to the world, the flesh and the devil. Satan terrifies and enslaves the sinner with death, and then like some ghoulish coroner at the bedside of the dying soul ensures passage into hell. Why does Satan have an insatiable desire to populate hell? Why is he doing everything in his power to swell its ranks? In his twisted heart, he finds some satisfaction in contemplating the immensity of the human rebellion against God—as if by the sheer magnitude of the apostasy he can, in his mind, justify his own rebellion.
But, for the devil, even a single faithful follower of Christ is one too many. For the existence of a true saint proclaims to the rational universe (angels and demons) that God is worthy of worship, and that Lucifer’s defection from God was the height of wickedness and folly.
Satan’s hatred of God and God’s holy character is played out in his relentless malice against believers. The saint cannot be passive in this battle—‘take up the full armor of God’ (Eph 6:11, 13-14ff.). The believer is commanded by God to resist the devil (1 Pet 5:9). Passivity is not an option. To not fight, or cease to fight is to be overcome. We must be on watch—girding up the loins of the mind always being ready for action (1 Pet 1:13).
Our strategy for victory is taken from Revelation 12:11. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. The saints are allied by the weapon they utilize in common—we preach Christ crucified (1 Cor 1:23). The death of the Son of God is our conquering weapon. If Jesus had not died, we would have no conquering weapon by which to overcome the devil.
Sinner, Jesus Christ died to clear away your sin—this is the vital, central point of the gospel (Eph 1:7). The death of Christ is the death of sin and the defeat of Satan (Rom 16:20). Thus the death of Christ is the believer’s hope and assurance of victory (Heb 12:1-3). They overcame by the blood of the Lamb. That is, Christ’s blood was shed in a substitutionary manner—the blood of God’s Lamb sacrificed for us. The chastening for our wellbeing fell upon Him—this is substitution; the just for the unjust (Is 53:5; 1 Pet 3:15).
His vicarious death was the satisfaction of God’s justice (Rom 3:24-26). Under God’s moral government sin must be punished. It was punished in the death of Christ. Therefore the propitiation Christ accomplished is the hope of men (Titus 3:7). His death is effective to take away sin; to take away the tremendous load of transgression off of the elect; to cancel out the dreadful debt of the law; and to secure forgiveness (2 Cor 5:19-21). By His resurrection—all He did in His death was accepted by the Father—Christ’s resurrection secured our justification (Gal 2:16-17).
The tribulation saints of 12:11 overcame the devil and the beast by the blood of the Lamb. In the heat of battle, when their own lives were on the line—that is when they overcame by the blood of the Lamb. Do you see how clear this is—the blood of the Lamb is not just for our admiration—it is not just the theme of hymns we sing in church. No, the blood of the Lamb is for holy warfare.
The blood of Christ speaks of better things than the blood of Able (Heb 12:24)—because the blood of Christ is able to speak peace to the troubled conscience (Heb 9:14). It is not the kind of peace that takes its ease. No, this peace is designed to produce backbone, holy boldness, and militancy for the gospel (Eph 6:18-19).
This blood was shed to arm the saints for warfare. It is Christ’s victory given to the church as her rightful property. It is our conquering weapon to overcome sin and Satan. It is a mighty weapon able to subdue sin, to withstand temptation, to generate endurance, to produce holiness, to strengthen purity. Since your battle is in the heavenlies and your weapon is the blood of Christ and your foe is Satan, there are applications and strategies for battle that every saint and minister of the gospel must practice.
I. You must regard Satan as truly overcome and vanquished by Christ
By faith you are to grasp your Lord’s victory as your own (Rev 3:21). Christ expects you to participate in His victory—regarding His victory as your own victory—because it was in your nature that He triumphed over the enemies of your soul. By His bloody death at Calvary, Christ stripped Satan of his chief weapon (Col 2:15; Heb 2:14-15).
He smote the serpent with a death blow to the head. He has made His people overcomers by His own overcoming. We are circumcised by His circumcision. We are crucified by His cross. We are buried with Him and risen with His resurrection. He is your Head—as members of His body, you did in Him what He did (Rom 6:2-7; Gal 2:20; Eph 2:4-7; Col 2:9-15).
You must be strengthened by grace so as to become brave enough to fight a vanquished foe. You will not overcome him by a ‘power encounter’. No, that is not the biblical strategy. To wield the blood as your conquering weapon, you must exert ‘aggressive’ faith and ‘out-truth’ the evil one in his insinuations by means of the gospel. This is not a conversation with the devil; it is a conversation with your own heart. It is a battle for the mind. It involves constantly educating your conscience by preaching to it Christ crucified for sinners.
We overcome sin, death, hell, and the devil in the Person and work of our Lord. Let the eyes of your heart look upon your conquering Savior and be encouraged by the sight of the victory wrought in your nature (Eph 1:18-21). We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Rom 8:37-39).
II. To overcome Satan in the heavenly realm, you must overcome him as the accuser
How often he plants accusations in the sensitive hearts of the saints. Haven’t you heard there accusing memories that shock and startle the conscience? Haven’t you heard charges and accusations which bid you to visit the memory of former sins and retry the case?
The evil one knows that by his croaking and shaming and pointing, he can conjure up black memories of the sins of our youth. “How can you be a child of God?” he reasons. Your life as a professed Christian is nothing but a sham, a heap of hypocrisy, better characterized as apostasy. As the accuser, he plants thoughts of crippling reminders and remorse about our barrenness, coldness, defeat, and compromise. He urges us to come to pessimistic conclusions about ourselves. He suggests that our Christian life is defined by our sins and impartially mortified lusts. As Thomas Hooker said in The Poor doubting Christian drawn to Christ, “Satan begins the accusations, then lets us take over beating ourselves up—doing his work for free.”
The saint can be staggered by these accusations. “How can I face God with the foul remembrance of these iniquities filling my mind and conscience?” “If the memory of my sins is this vile to me, how must they appear before a holy God?” Now is your opportunity to overcome by the blood of the Lamb.
You were born for battle—remember you have an Advocate as well as an accuser. Your Advocate is also in the heavenlies (Eph 1:11-14, 20-23). He pleads the merits of His own blood on your behalf (Rom 8:31). He lives to make intercession for you (Heb 7:25)—for He is the One who has discharged our debt (Col 2:14). By His cross He assumed our liabilities (1 Pet 2:24). In order to get the victory—you must know that the accuser’s cruel voice is silenced by the blood of the Lamb, for the blood tells of the infinite God who accepts the sacrifice that He Himself has provided (Heb 9:14; 1 Jn 2:2).
The propitiation wrought by Christ is the manifestation of God’s love for you—the pinnacle of His affection (1 Jn 4:10). By Christ’s atoning sacrifice, divine justice was accomplished against your sins. Now divine justice decrees you to be clear—absolved of your sins because the Lamb of God became a curse for His people (Gal 3:13). This is the source of your victory over the accuser in the heavenlies.
When accusations assault you, make certain you do not run anywhere but to the atonement. There is no conquering weapon but the blood of the Lamb. Draw all comfort from the atonement, not from inward feelings and inward disputations. Hide only in the wounds of Christ. Do not seek to balance your conscience by works and by law—for if you do so, the law will turn on you when you fail to measure up.
Your Advocate and Defender will repel the charges brought against you. We are assured from Romans 8:31-34 that no charges brought against us will stick. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son , but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Every accusation of the accuser will be overcome by the invincible argument of the blood of the Lamb.
III. Believers are to overcome the enemy in regard to access to God
The accuser of the brethren seeks to hinder us from bold, confident, and free access to God (Eph 3:11-12; 2 Cor 3:4; Heb 4:16). The evil one harasses; he assaults with thoughts of care, guilt, heaviness— all to make us hesitant to readily draw near to God.
The accuser insinuates that your soul’s dwelling place has been in the world and in the flesh more than in God—therefore, there is nothing left for you to do but mourn your miserable distance from God. It is at this moment that you must reckon the fact that you are brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13). Take hold of the promise that you have boldness to enter the holy place by the blood of Christ. Let your heart take courage (Ps 27:14)—allow your heart to consent to God’s love (1 Jn 4:16-19). See God’s desire to display His excellence and perfections in the giving of the Son to be the propitiation for your sins (Rom 3:25-26).
Your Father in heaven does not want you in a state of spiritual paralysis and estrangement from Him. The Father has sworn with an oath in order to assure us that believing sinners shall forever have perfect representation. For, Christ is an everlasting Priest according to the order of Melchizedek— He answers for the sins of His people in His own Person (Heb 6:17-20). Therefore, look to Christ again to see that your full favor was procured when your transgressions were removed at Calvary (1 Jn 3:1; Eph 1:3-8). Plead the propitiation that you might draw near with confidence (Heb 4:16). Hide in Christ’s wounds, seek refuge in nothing else—overcome through the blood of the Lamb—plead the atoning sacrifice. A. A. Bonar elaborates on the blessings of a clear conscience in his book, The Person of Christ,
Every act and suffering of that glorious Person confronts the case of every sinner. Not only does He remedy the case of every individual sinner of all that “multitude which no man can number,” but besides He meets every individual sin, and applies out-poured life to each stain, to blot it out. This is exactly what was needed. If I see Him who is the atonement to be God-man, then I see an offering so vast, that every crevice of the conscience must be reached.
IV. Overcome in heavenly places before the throne of God before you go forth to serve the Lord
You are surrounded by people who desperately need your ministry. The Lord has placed you within social spheres in which you may be the only consecrated believer among your unsaved counterparts. The Word of the cross in your mouth is mighty to defeat evil among your fellow men. But, the battle must be fought above first. You must overcome in order to serve. You must prevail at the Mercy Seat in secret—then in the pulpit and the workplace, neighborhoods, and the byways. Christ must be appropriated as the Physician of your soul before you can commend Him to men as their Physician (Matt 9:12).
The blood of Christ is not only our argument to defeat accusations; the blood of Christ is our guarantee of the new covenant (1 Cor 11:25; 2 Cor 3:5-6; Heb 8:8-12). The blood of the Lamb shed for us gives us the confidence to take possession of all of our covenant blessings. God has condescended to make an eternal covenant with believing sinners by means of the blood of His Son. Wonder of wonders, through the Son, the Father has graciously bestowed what His righteousness requires of us in order that we might stand before Him as beloved sons (Rom 4:5-8; 10:4).
Through Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant believing sinners are beneficiaries of an unbreakable pact (Heb 8:6). Like a new bride who is filled with self-consciousness about the imperfections that may make her unlovable—the blood of Christ clears away every inner protest which would suggest we are ineligible or disqualified for the love of our Heavenly Bridegroom (Eph 5:25-27).
V. Overcome by laying hold of the sufficiency of God from the throne of grace
Our main business as Christ followers is to bear witness with the blood in the power of the Spirit. We have life—we owe our life to the crucified One—who in His sovereign mercy has enabled us to look to Him that we might live (Jn 3:14-16).
The cross is the wisdom of God and the power of God (1 Cor 1:24, 30). The blood of the cross drives out error, it crucifies self-righteousness, it softens hearts, it overcomes despair, it reveals the bitterness and noxiousness of sin, it overcomes every form of sin and vice, it cleanses from all filth, and it stirs to love and obedience (this is the use of the blood of the Lamb in the lower sphere—in our preaching of the power of the gospel).
We must exhibit greater courage in order to win spiritual victories. Some who profess Christianity are too timid to speak of Christ’s blood even in godly company! They love themselves too much to get into trouble by their religion or by exhibiting any semblance of zeal. How, therefore, can they be of the noble band spoken of in Revelation who loved not their lives unto the death (Rev 12:11).
Ministers take note—God will not do anything by us unless we are true friends of the cross of Christ (Gal 6:14; Phil 3:17-21). If we are untrue to the cross out of fear of man, our ministries will be neutralized. It is folly to live for the respect of men (Jn 5:44; 12:43). We need backbone, fixedness, and self-denial. We must be willing to be made nothing for Christ’s sake—to be made a fool for Christ’s sake (1 Cor 4:10). Be a faithful witness of His blood—all your hope is there (1 Thess 5:8).
VI. We must overcome in order to face suffering and persecution with joy
Scripture makes a clear connection between maintaining a clear conscience and the ability to glorify God in our suffering. “For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God” (1 Pet 2:19-20).
“But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame” (1 Pet 3:14-16).
Maintaining a clear conscience before God and men is vital if we are to honor God amidst our suffering (Acts 24:16). “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name” (1Pet 4:15-16).
We must maintain a clear conscience in order to know we are suffering according to the will of God. “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right” (1 Pet 4:19). In order to bring honor to God amidst our suffering, we must know that we have no legal guilt before God.
The believing sinner has had his legal guilt removed by Christ. “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col 2:13-14).
Apart from a blood-washed conscience, we are prone to draw wrong conclusions when severe trouble strikes us. We may be tempted to reason like the widow of Zarephath did when her child succumbed to sickness: “So she said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!” (1 Ki 17:18).
A clear conscience gained by overcoming allows us even to engage in rejoicing when persecution finds us: “So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41). “Shame for His Name” means bearing the reproach of Christ. Believers are exhorted to bear the reproach of Christ—it is a part of our radical identification with Him and our fellowship with Him: “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Heb 13:12-13).
Only by means of a clear conscience can the believers experience fellowship with Christ amidst their sufferings (Phil 3:10; Col 1:24). Believers have been granted to suffer with Christ. It is our privilege—we suffer for His sake (Acts 9:16; Phil 1:29). “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom 8:16-17).
CONCLUSION
A blood-washed conscience is essential if we are to overcome as the saints did in Revelation chapter twelve. They did not love their lives unto death. Christ was more precious to them than this mortal life itself (Jn 12:25). They faced martyrdom with courage because they had overcome every accusation of the enemy by the blood of the Lamb. They understood that they were suffering for Christ’s sake (2 Tim 3:12).
The church in America is very sleepy—totally unprepared for persecution. We live in a land in which personal peace and prosperity are worshipped. “Don’t let trouble near my door” is the mantra of the middle class. The thought of joy by means of suffering for Christ’s sake is far from the minds of professing Christians. If we are to be ready for the suffering and persecution that is sure to come (2 Tim 3:12), we will have to be deliberate in preparing one another. Preparation begins by learning to be competent and proficient with the blood of the Lamb, our conquering weapon.
The boundless value of blood-bought clarity of conscience cannot be measured. Consider that under the old covenant, a perfect conscience always eluded even the most devoted worshipper. “Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation” (Heb 9:9b-10).
Only when Christ obtained eternal redemption did a perfect conscience become possible. “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb 9:14). By God’s own initiative, He pierced the vast sin barrier that separated us from Him—and He did so by piercing His Son for us (Is 53:6). Now the God of the universe wills to be known by means of the redemption accomplished through His Son. He is known as Just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom 3:26).
This is incredible—God establishes a relationship with us based upon what He has done with our sin! Now the great guilt transfer which took place at Calvary is the foundation of our fellowship with God. In his book, Communion with God, John Owen states that when you bring your sin to Christ and go to Him for righteousness, you are communing with God. The perfect conscience which is found through faith in Christ’s blood is the Christian’s equipment for ministry, spiritual warfare, sanctification, and victory in suffering.