ThinkOnIt...Victory!

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the un-circumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Colossians 2:11-15 NKJV

In the Old Testament, believers were circumcised to represent the covenant God made with them. And God said to Abraham: Genesis 17:11 "and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you." The cutting away of flesh represented that they could not save themselves, but rather they must rely on God. So
circumcision, itself, was not a bad thing. But over time, some forgot why they were performing the circumcision to begin with and there's where the problem is. Judges 3:7 "So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs."

In the New Testament, God has given us a new sign of His promise -- Jesus Christ. Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." When we believe in Jesus Christ, we are circumcised in the heart. God said in Ezekiel 11:19 "Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh". To demonstrate this change, believers are baptized. Acts 2:41 "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized".

Baptism is a symbol of what Jesus has done for us. When we are put under the water, we die to ourselves, as Jesus died on the cross to pay for sins. When we are raised out of the water, it symbolizes our new life we have in Christ. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, so too are we made alive by Him.

Do you carry a burden of guilt around with? Christ came to free you from that burden. Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares about you (1 Peter 5:7). When He died for your sins, the penalty for your sins was satisfied. You are no longer guilty of sin! He has forgiven you of all your wrong-doing and made you right with God. There is no more record containing every bad thing you and I ever did -- it's gone, wiped out, forgiven. Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Now that is something to get excited about!

In taking out of the way all the wrong and nailing it to the cross, Christ, took away satan's power over us. Fear of death has no hold on us anymore. For we know, when we die we go to be with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8) as forgiven souls, righteous in His sight because of what Christ did for us. What can satan do to us now? He can't take away God's love for us. It is written in Romans 8:34-36 "nothing can separate us from God's love". If God is for us, who can be against us?

To the Christian, who is walking by faith and not by sight, believing in God's Word and living out of those promises, they have victory! Where do you stand today?