The storm rises from the deep
And rages around me
But I will remember
When doubt wars within my heart
The battle almost lost
I will remember
You have the last word
It is finished
You have the last word
It is finished
My fear is silenced in your love
My hope is endless
Your voice that calmed the violent sea
Speaks courage over me
So I will remember
The words that wake the sun to rise
Are breaking through my night
I will remember
You have the last word
It is finished
You have the last word
It is finished
My fear is silenced in your love
My hope is endless
Your word stands through the ages
Your voice shatters the darkness
In you we are more than conquerors
You speak and strongholds surrender
Your name overcomes the enemy
In you we are more than conquerors
I believe every born-again Christian needs at least one song he/she clings to when life gets messy, circumstances overwhelm, and depression begins to infiltrate the mind. For me, "Last Word," by Elevation Worship, is my continual spiritual warfare anthem which helps clear my mind and gives me the wise perspective I need to face another day. For some people, it could be a classic hymn or a contemporary song of worship, but it must grip the heart enough to overpower the mind. Truth be told, we can get lost really quick if we camp out in the mind too long, which inevitably is the battlefield where spiritual warfare is waged. Therefore, we are wise to consider Paul's exhortation that protecting the mind is perhaps the most important task we have as followers of Christ if we are to survive the schemes of the devil which serve to undermine and destroy our faith from within. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2). It seems in our present day and age that Satan is either significantly downplayed by our culture, meaning the devil is portrayed more as a caricature or cartoon to whimsically disregard as folklore rather than reality, or he is dismissed altogether. Many people simply don't take him seriously, which is quite ironic because his impact and influence can be witnessed firsthand by the onslaught of evil plaguing our world today. Make no mistake, HE IS REAL, and his desire is to draw us away from God's protection where we are weak and vulnerable to attack and defeat.
Scripture reminds us, "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). The thing most people fail to realize is that Satan invests little time, energy and resources undermining the weak in Spirit. Those who are immature and shallow in their faith require minimal temptation and trial to steer their devotion away from God because their spiritual roots are shallow. Their resolve and resistance to attacks is too easily swayed because their knowledge of the Bible is limited. Therefore, they default to self-preservation when spiritual warfare ensues rather than investing quality time in prayer and studying God's Word for wisdom, hope and discernment. That is why it is so important for Christians to feed upon the pages of Scripture DAILY if we are to withstand the continuous onslaught of the enemy. Jesus put it this way:
"A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear" (Matthew 13:3–9).
The key is understanding how foolish we are to assume we can defeat Satan in our own strength, but also how impossible it is to distinguish the flaming arrows of the enemy without grounding our hearts and minds (soil) in the absolute and life-saving truth of Scripture (seed). Keep in mind, Paul taught that the only offensive weapon at our disposal to withstand spiritual warfare is God's Word. Therefore, if we desire to not only hold a strong defensive position but assert power and strike back at the enemy, it must come through the sword of the Spirit. "Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:14–17).
It is unfortunate that more often than not, many Christians fail to realize seasons of trial and hardship are necessary for our sanctification and identify us as followers of Christ. They refine our character, for trials are opportunities to gauge our spiritual temperature and evaluate the depth and breadth of our faith. Make no mistake, in a world consumed by abortion, gay marriage, and racial injustice, the Bible is not silent in any way on these issues and many others. It speaks plainly and clearly concerning what the world considers "controversial" topics of our day, yet even self-proclaimed Christians cower in confusion when pressed to stand firm on what the Bible says. Why? In some cases, they simply don't know for sure what the Bible says regarding a specific issue because they're not reading it. In other instances, many do know where the Bible stands, but to avoid persecution simply remain silent, allowing the only voices to be heard as those who would rather spite God's Word with every fabric of their being than subject themselves to its supreme authority. How can this be?
As crazy as it sounds, still others know what the Bible says on a particular social issue and either boldly reject it altogether or justify their personal stance by declaring the Bible's position as "open for interpretation." By doing so, they alone determine to have ultimate authority by judging what is true or not from the pages of Scripture. I understand the dilemma though. Some cultural issues are very personal and emotional for people who perhaps have a loved one who is gay or believe that abortion should be a legal "choice" for whatever reason. It is never comfortable or easy standing on God's Word at the sake of personal relationships where sin and theological confusion are present. Persecution is likely a guarantee if we publicly endorse the Bible's position. However, we also cannot fall prey to the schemes of the enemy which tempt us to believe in 99.9% of the Bible rather than 100%. This is a massive problem in the church today and we must be bold enough to not only address it, but disciple others on how illogical it is to trust and believe in 99.9% of the Bible and not 100%.
Listen: 0.1% is all the opportunity Satan needs to destroy our faith from within (and the body of Christ universal) if we allow this pattern to continue flourishing. Therefore, we cannot endorse the Bible as absolute truth and consider 1 or 2 issues (it clearly addresses) as false or open for interpretation when Scripture's position is firm and unwavering. It's simply a package deal with God's Word, which we must reconcile in our hearts once and for all if we identify ourselves as Christians. I know because I once faced the same predicament, but ultimately understood that my faith was void if I didn't embrace the Bible COVER-TO-COVER as absolute truth. I had to choose whether I believed the Bible was inerrant or not (i.e. incapable of being wrong) because my faith was inconsistent and hypocritical if I called myself a Christian and disagreed with or discredited the very Word which is the cornerstone of Christianity. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Keep in mind, even the great pastor and evangelist, Billy Graham, struggled with the same dilemma but ultimately prayed, “Father, I am going to accept this (Bible) as Thy Word—by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word!” The true crossroads we must reconcile in our hearts and minds is this: Have we forgotten that God truly has the Last Word and it is unequivocal, absolute and unchanging? Or have we fallen prey to our own pride and foolishness by minimizing the importance of defending God's Word and embracing our doctrine at 99.9% because we do not adequately fear Him?
"Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. Do you not fear me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it. But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away" (Jeremiah 5:21–23).
A wise, Biblical counselor once told me, "Satan is a genius." As I look back, I cannot remember the exact details of the conversation we had but I can remember those words clearly. It is a peculiar quote and almost feels blasphemous repeating. However, over time I have come to appreciate the truthfulness of that statement because Satan is far more intelligent, crafty and complex than my feeble mind can wrap my head around. He has infinite resources at his disposal this side of heaven, and can easily overpower us at any time unless we are grounded in our faith and the absolute truth of God's Word. It may seem painstakingly redundant, but the crux of our eternal fate hinges upon the prominence and position of Scripture in our lives. In other words, does the Bible sit adjacent to us as an occasional reference point when our logic and understanding are deemed insufficient? Or do we rest UNDER the supreme authority of the Bible in submission to God's Word no matter the cost? We cannot miss this point. For if we desire to withstand the enemy and defeat the forces of darkness in this world, we must relinquish personal control and surrender our lives to Christ and His Word. "Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil" (Proverbs 3:7).
What we must also realize is that when life seems hopeless and Satan is attacking us from multiple directions, we cannot lose faith, for those are the moments when our resolve it tested. Trials are not necessarily a sign we are being punished for some reason or because our faith may be weak. Rather, if we are indeed trusting in the Lord, submitting to the authority of His Word and actively applying it to our lives, we can know we are EXACTLY where we need to be in our faith walk. When we're fighting to apply God's Word while Satan is unleashing his army of demons against us, we can be assured our faith is strong because of the amount of attention Satan is investing to derail us. I have counseled many brothers in Christ over the years (and preached this truth to my own heart many times) because it is essential to spiritual survival. We simply cannot forget that if Satan is focusing so much attention and resources against us, it is for good reason because we are precious in God's sight and not easy prey. Why then would he waste his time? Consider Jesus' explanation:
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it" (Matthew 7:24–27).
Satan focuses on the strong in faith because he knows if he can destroy our foundation, which is our devotion and submission to the authority of God's Word in our lives, then our faith will crumble because we no longer trust what is absolute truth and what is not. Moreover, if we abandon our faith in Christ, we are more likely to persuade others in our sphere of influence to do the same and accomplish the enemy's ultimate mission. Consequently, it should come as no surprise why the Bible is under constant attack in our culture with incredible ferocity by those who are threatened by its existence. The audacity that we as Christians believe the Bible is "absolute" truth is considered ridiculous and labeled as judgmental and unloving by those who oppose our doctrine, yet it has not silenced man's fascination with discovering what is indeed true or not. Consider Pilot's cross-examination of Jesus and what question haunted him:
"So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, 'Are you the King of the Jews?' Jesus answered, 'Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?' Pilate answered, 'Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?' Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.' Then Pilate said to him, 'So you are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.' Pilate said to him, 'What is truth?' After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, 'I find no guilt in him'" (John 18:33–38).
Perhaps the most honest question we could ever ask is simply, "What is truth?" For when Satan unleashes his fury against us, tempting us to abandon our devotion to God, we must wrestle with the same question Pilot asked Jesus over 2,000 years ago. Reason being, it reveals whose strength we default to in order to escape our plight or alleviate the trials before us. If we're honest with ourselves, our immediate inclination is to self-protect first and rely on God second, which is where Satan seeks to divert our attention. However, the Bible is clear that relying on our limited, experiential knowledge is utter foolishness compared to the omniscient sovereignty of Almighty God. Therefore, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones" (Proverbs 3:5–8). Most of us are familiar with verses 5-6, yet few realize that verse 7 ("Be not wise in your own eyes...") cautions us to resist prideful thinking which elevates our preconceived wisdom over God's. That is why reading the Bible in its entirety is so critical. Anyone can justify virtually anything by taking words out of context, therefore we must discipline ourselves to read a passage in its entirety to avoid misunderstanding.
In the end, our survival is dependent upon the health of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ and His Word. As time goes on, the importance of submitting to God's Word entirely has become "unfashionable" in churches today. Many would rather focus solely on God's love, grace and mercy, while foolishly ignoring the fact that if it were not for His righteous law, His love, grace and mercy would be meaningless. In other words, if there was not an absolute standard for what is right or wrong, we could live as we please. Sin would not exist and the world would be utter chaos because our standard for truth would differ because all truth would be relative, ebbing and flowing based on personal preference. Yet that is essentially the post-modernistic thinking and moral relativism our world is tempting us adopt as our theology today. Proponents of the Bible desire nothing short of its complete annihilation as absolute truth, because if the Bible is absolute then personal accountability is required, and people do not want to be held accountable to anyone or any particular standard of righteousness. However, the Bible emphatically warns, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). Therefore, we are wise to remember (as Elevation Worship sings) that the Lord alone has the last word regarding all things under the sun, and it is finished for all eternity because of His sacrifice on our behalf for the forgiveness of sin. "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" (Romans 11:36).
