“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11).
Satan knows that if he can cause us to be occupied more with our failures than with the Gospel, he can destroy our peace and thus our effectiveness. The Lord, however, wants us to know that those old sins, those sins that cast long shadows, those particular, shameful, embarrassing sins that loom up in the rear-view mirror to condemn us are all done away with through the blood. It is crucial that we grasp this truth and let it soak into our thinking. We must continually remember that God has dealt graciously and justly with all our failures through the blood of Jesus Christ.
But how do we make this knowledge work practically?
Let’s say you are a believer in Jesus Christ, but you have just sinned. You disobeyed a clear command in God’s Word. Maybe it was anger or lust or swearing or stealing or whatever. The Holy Spirit immediately convicts you of sin. So, you repent and confess to God and appropriate His cleansing (1 John 1:9).
So far so good!
But, then the enemy comes and whispers, “A fine Christian you are! Do you really think your sins are forgiven? Ha! You’re not even saved! You’re guilty my friend, and you know it. Forget all of this nonsense about being saved by grace!”
How do we answer him? It would seem that he is right. We claim to be Christians and yet we deliberately and knowingly sinned against God. Here’s what we do. Respond to the devil’s accusations by the Gospel. Tell him, “You’re right, Satan, I did that sin. Nevertheless, my salvation does not rest on my performance, but on the perfect performance of the Lord Jesus who shed His blood for me. I’m trusting in Him and His shed blood. So, the Lord rebuke you, Satan!” (Zechariah 3:1-5).
Now notice what our text says about overcoming the devil, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony!”
Did they overcome by ceaseless incantations? No!
Was it by the casting out of demons? No!
“But what formula did they use to overcome?” None!
“Did they overcome by binding and loosing?” No!
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by making their testimony what the blood had done. They testified that their sins had been taken away by the Lamb.
No accusation against us can stand before the throne of God because all Satan’s charges against us fall on deaf ears in heaven. That’s the power of the blood!
The blood of the Lamb is sufficient for our victory over Satan. Throughout the ages, the blood of Christ, the sacrificial lamb, has been the refuge and fortress to those who believe. By faith, we know and claim that the blood of Christ is entirely effective. It’s like this, either the Lord Jesus put away sin, or He didn’t. If He did not, how will it ever be put away? If He did, then Believers are in the clear.
By the way, when the enemy attacks us and accuses us, we shouldn’t take it personally. The attack is not against us. It’s against the Lord Jesus and His honour. The Devil always loves to attack the integrity and effectiveness of the blood as he insinuates that the Cross has not done enough for us. How he delights to cast aspersions on the Lord Jesus. How he enjoys trying to get believers to lose confidence in the blood of the Lamb.
However, the blood of the Lord Jesus is the conquering weapon. Had He not poured out His soul unto death, had He not been numbered with the transgressors we should have had no weapon with which to overcome the evil one.
And that’s the Gospel Truth!