Defeat Turned Into Victory

Q: What does the Bible say about victory in Christ?

The Bible teaches that victory in Christ is achieved through His atoning sacrifice, which conquers sin and death for believers. Victory in Christ is a central theme in Scripture, illustrating how His work on the cross transforms defeat into triumph for those united to Him by faith. In Romans 8:37, we are told, 'No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.' This victory is not based on our works but solely on Christ's finished work, which affirms that salvation is wholly an act of His grace. Through Christ, our defeat in Adam is transformed into life, hope, and righteousness, enabling us to live in the assurance of eternal salvation, as seen in Ephesians 2:4-5, where God, in His great mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.

Q: How do we know that Christ accomplished our salvation?

We know Christ accomplished our salvation through His resurrection and the assurance found in Scripture that He 'made perfect forever those who are being made holy.' The assurance of our accomplished salvation through Christ rests strongly upon His resurrection, which signifies His triumph over sin and death. Hebrews 10:14 assures us, 'For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.' This definitive act indicates that Christ did not simply attempt to save but effectually secured the salvation of His elect. The scriptural promise in John 10:28 reinforces this truth, affirming that no one can snatch His sheep from His hand. Therefore, our confidence in the certainty of salvation is wholly rooted in His finished work rather than our efforts or decisions.

Q: Why is God's grace important for salvation?

God's grace is essential for salvation because it is the unmerited favor that enables sinners to be justified and reconciled to Him. Grace is the foundation upon which our salvation rests; it is by grace that we are saved through faith, as articulated in Ephesians 2:8-9. This divine grace signifies that our salvation is not based on human merit or actions but is a gift from God. The historic Reformed understanding emphasizes that grace leads to justification—declaring sinners righteous based solely on Christ's righteousness. Moreover, God's grace transforms our hearts, enabling us to desire and follow Him out of love rather than fear of punishment. This concept is rooted in the sovereignty of God, who, in His grace, chooses to save His people according to His will and purpose (2 Timothy 1:9).

Q: What does the Bible mean by being 'dead in Adam'?

Being 'dead in Adam' refers to the spiritual death and total depravity that results from Adam's original sin, affecting all humanity. The phrase 'dead in Adam' encapsulates the doctrine of original sin and total depravity, illustrating how Adam's fall brought about spiritual death for humanity (Romans 5:12). This state of being dead signifies a complete inability to seek God or perform any form of good that leads to salvation. In our natural state, as sinners inherited from Adam, we are alienated from God, deserving of His wrath and condemnation. Scripture emphasizes that, apart from Christ, we are wholly incapable of saving ourselves, as seen in Romans 3:10-12. It is through the grace of God, however, that one can be made alive in Jesus Christ, shifting from the state of death to eternal life, as articulated in John 5:24.

Q: How does sovereign grace transform our defeat into victory?

Sovereign grace transforms our defeat into victory by unconditionally electing and redeeming sinners through Christ's atonement. Sovereign grace is the mechanism through which God takes those who are spiritually dead in sin and brings them to life in Christ. This transformation begins with God's electing love, choosing individuals not based on foreseen faith or worthy actions but purely according to His will (Ephesians 1:4-5). Through the redemptive work of Christ, who bore the penalty for our sins, the defeated state resulting from Adam's fall is reversed. As a result, Romans 8:31-32 reassures us that God is for us, affirming the victory we have in Christ as His people. It is essential to perceive that this victory is not achieved by human merit but is a manifestation of God's gracious and sovereign plan.

You remember in our last lesson,
David's forces had defeated Absalom's forces, and Absalom was killed. Now David should be returned
to the throne, and that's where we pick up in verse 1 of chapter
19. The title of the lesson is Defeat Turned Into Victory. How is it that the Lord turns
our defeat in Adam into victory in Christ? Verse 1, it was told
Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. And
the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people,
for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved
for his son. And the people got them by stealth
that day into the city, as people being ashamed, steal away when
they flee in battle. But the king covered his face,
and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom
my son, my son. And Joab came into the house
to the king. and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of
all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and
the lives of thy sons, and of thy daughters, and the lives
of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines, in that thou
lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared
this day that thou regardest neither princes nor servants.
For this day I perceived that if Absalom had lived, and all
we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. Go forth and speak comfortably
unto thy servants, for I swear by the Lord, if thou go not forth,
there will not tarry one with thee this night, and that will
be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy
youth until now.' And the king arose and sat in the gate, and
they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth
sit in the gate. And all the people came before
the king, for Israel had fled every man to his tent. I want
to look first at these verses on a personal level. Of course,
of course, David is mourning. He's broken hearted over the
death of his son. I cannot imagine the grief that
David is going through. Can't imagine it. And there's
nothing wrong with weeping in sorrow. Nothing wrong with that
at all. Our Lord Jesus wept, didn't he?
But there is such a thing as being excessively sorrowful.
I'm not going to be the one to define where that line is. There's
just such a thing as being excessively sorrowful. And more than likely
it comes from when we experience that, it comes from this. That
we love something or someone too much in a place that they
do not belong so that we're excessively sorrowful if the Lord takes it
away from us. Maybe David was excessively sorrowful. All the writers say that he was,
and like I said, I'm not going to define that line. Maybe he
was excessively sorrowful. But now, which of us can blame
him? Which parent here can blame David for this sorrow and the
loss of his son? I mean, what grief he's going
through. David had lost other children to death, hadn't he?
But he can't say about Absalom what he said about Bathsheba's
son who died. When Bathsheba's son died, David
said, he can't come to me, but I'll go to him. David can't say
that about Absalom. Absalom died in his sin, and
David knows it. I mean, what grief he's experiencing. And to make it worse, David knows
this is his fault. All this has transpired because
of his sin with Bathsheba. And maybe David's sorrow was
excessive. But now let me give us a caution
here. Be very careful about doing what Joab did in this situation.
He saw David, his friend, whatever their relationship was, he saw
David in this situation and went to David. Now be very careful
about doing what Joab did. Be very careful about ever following
the example of anything Joab did. Just be very careful about
that. And what he said may have been
right, it probably was. But now there's a fine line between
being helpful, giving somebody a good swift kick in the seat
of the pants when they might need it, and being like Job's
friend. And we've seen this in John's
study in Job. Job's friend, what they said
for the most part was true. But it wasn't helpful to Job,
was it? And usually it's not even applicable to Job, so just
be very careful. You know, this could cause a
lot of damage doing what Joab did. But I'll tell you why Joab
felt free to do this. I mean, you sit and wonder, what
gave him the courage to go to the king and talk to the king
like this? What he's really doing in verse
7, he's threatening David. What he's telling David is, you
quit this morning or I'm going to give you something to mourn
about. Now, Joab must have been a father, and he used the classic
line every father uses, you quit crying or I'll give you something
to cry about. That's what he's telling David. And I'll tell
you why he's got the courage to say this to David. Remember
when David involved Joab in his murder plot against Uriah. When
he did that, he gave Joab something that he could hold over David's
head for the rest of his days. And that's what Joab's doing
here. He's holding this over his head and he's threatening
him, I'm going to expose you and you're going to lose your
kingdom if you don't get up and quit this morning. Now what's
happening here is a picture of false religion. How false religion
turns the victory of Christ over sin into defeat. First of all,
they turned the victory of Christ into defeat by saying that Christ
is a failure. That's what, in verse 2, the
victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people.
They turned the victory of Christ into defeat by saying that he's
a failure. They say, now God is mourning over you because
you won't accept Jesus as your personal Savior. Christ died
for you. But you won't let him into your
heart. And God's crying over you. He's in heaven crying over
you. God's crying for you because his son died for you, but you
won't accept him. Don't you feel sorry for him?
And they try to get you to make an emotional decision and feel
sorry for God. Don't ever feel sorry for God. Ever. And what that teaching
is doing is turning the victory of Christ into defeat. Because
what they're saying is this. Christ didn't accomplish the
eternal salvation of his people. If Christ could die for someone
and they can still perish, then someone can indeed be plucked
out of his hand. Maybe you'll jump out because
he can't hold you. They're saying Christ by himself
did not accomplish the eternal salvation of his people and they
turn his victory over sin and defeat. Secondly, they turn the
victory of Christ in defeat when they make salvation conditioned
on man doing something. And those men soon find out they
can't do enough, and they have defeat in themselves. And what
they're saying is that Christ did not put the sin of his people
away from them as far as the East is from the West. That sin
can only be removed if you do something, if you do something
to ratify the salvation and make Christ's sacrifice effectual.
Well, that makes the victory over sin conditioned on the creature,
not on the Savior. And that turns the victory of
Christ at Calvary into defeat because man can't do something
to ratify the blood or to do anything but sin. It's impossible
for man to ratify their salvation because all they can do is more
sin. They can't ratify their own salvation. Christ must accomplish
this by himself. That's the only way victory is
possible. Third, they turn the victory of Christ into defeat.
by saying God loves everyone, yet he sent some people to hell.
That's what Joab says there in verse 6. You love your enemies
and hate your friends. You hate your friends. You hate
those that you love when you send them to hell. They turned
the eternally loving God into a monster, an absolute monster
who has set his love upon a person, who has sent his son to suffer
and die for that person. He would punish his son to death
for the sins of that person and then turn around and send that
person to hell anyway because they did not meet certain qualifications. Brethren, that God is not love.
That God's a monster, an absolute monster. He's wicked and unjust. That teaching turns the victory
of Christ into defeat. Fourth, they turn the victory
of Christ into defeat when they try to motivate people by the
threats of the law. You know, they have this church
discipline. It's such a big thing. How do
you have church discipline? All that is, is threats. Threats
of the law. Just like in verse 7, that's
what Joab's doing with David. He's threatening him into acting
like he's supposed to act. Now, the law was never given
to us, to mankind, as a way to earn salvation. The law's single
purpose was to cause us to see our sinful nature and our inability
to keep the law and to shut us up to Christ. The law's purpose
is to drive us to Christ for salvation. And you turn the victory
of Christ over sin into defeat when you threaten men with the
law and you require them to do anything instead of telling them
to totally rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ. To beg Him to have
mercy upon your sinful soul. To beg Him to be your righteousness. Men never come to Christ because
of a threat. Never. They always come to Christ
out of a need for the Savior. They come to Him because of His
love for them and His sacrifice for them. Not because of the
threat of the law. Fifth, they turn the victory
of Christ into defeat. By bringing shame upon the salvation
that the Lord Jesus Christ wrought for his people. That's what Joab
told David in verse 6. That you've shamed your people
this day. You've shamed them. I'm sorry
that he said that in verse 5. You've shamed the people. When someone claims that Christ
died for a person. But was not able to save them
eternally because that person refused to accept him. That's
bringing shame. upon the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. If he died for someone, but they
perished anyway, that's brought shame upon him. That showed an
inability on his part. If even one person for whom Christ
died is in hell, then Christ is a failure and he's a savior
of no one. Now that's so. But now listen,
Christ is not a failure. He's not a failure in the least.
He accomplished the salvation of his people. Those who believe
on him shall not be confounded. They shall never be put to shame
because there is no shame in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
how they turn the victory of Christ into defeat. But now,
brethren, we're defeated. In Adam, in our humanity, we
are defeated. Adam rebelled against God, just
like Absalom rebelled against his father David. And the result
of both of those rebellions are exactly the same. When Adam fell,
he fell into total defeat. When Adam fell, he fell into
death. He fell into sin. He fell into
enmity against God. He fell into this just waiting
for eternal punishment because of his sin and rebellion against
God. There has never been a more total defeat of any enemy than
man's defeat in Adam. And when Adam fell, you and I
fell. When Adam fell into death, we
fell into death too. When Adam fell into bondage to
sin and bondage to the law, we fell into bondage too. When Adam
fell into enmity against God, we fell into enmity against God. That's the nature that we have.
And in Adam, All we are doing is biding out our time on this
earth waiting eternal punishment for our sin. And if our defeat
is going to be turned into victory, the first thing that must happen
is we must hear Christ preached. The victory is found in Christ
and Him crucified. And Joab gives a hint here of
how our defeat in Adam is turned into victory in Christ. We must
hear Christ preached. Joab told David, you get up out
of this bed and you go speak comfortably to your servants.
You go speak to the heart of your servants. The exact same
command that Isaiah 40, God gives his preachers. You speak to the
heart. You speak comfortably to Israel. If our defeats can
be turned into victory, we're going to have to hear Christ
preached and God the Holy Spirit is going to have to give us a
conviction of sin. When we hear Christ preached,
that's when we see a picture right here in verse 9. And all
the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying,
The King saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered
us out of the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled out of the
land for Absalom. And Absalom, who we anointed
over us, is dead in battle. Now, therefore, why speak ye
not a word of bringing the King back? This is a picture of conviction
of sin. I can just see these elders of
Israel sitting around talking. They know they're guilty and
they know that David should come back to Israel and put them to
death. These men led the rebellion against David. They know who
they are and what they deserve. Now, what are they going to do? This is the argument amongst
them. What are we going to do? Whose fault is it that we're
in this situation and what are we going to do? Well, that's
a picture of the conviction of sin. When a sinner falls under
the conviction of sin, they have the same internal dialogue that
these men have. Whose fault is it, and what are
we going to do? It's not my mama's fault. It's
not my grandparents' fault, my dad's fault. Somebody did something
to me when I was little that caused me to be a sinner. I was
born that way. It's my fault. It's all on me. I rebelled against God. In Adam,
I rebelled against God. I'm dead in Adam, and in myself,
I'm the same way. I'm the one that cried, crucify
Jesus. I'm the one that said, give us,
grab us and crucify Jesus. I'm the one that said, I'll not
have this man to reign over me. I've got no king but Caesar.
I'm the one, I'm the sinner. Now it's my prayer that someone
here this morning is under the conviction of sin. And if you
are, You're miserable. I know you're miserable, but
that's good. I hope you are. And to you, I
say. You've heard about the victory
of Christ over sin. If you've been here very long
at all, you've heard the gospel preached. Yet you think. There's no hope for me. Why go
beg God for mercy? There's no hope for me. Why would
he have mercy on me? Go to him and see. Would you
go to him and see? Go to him and ask. Go to God
and beg him for mercy. That's what every single one
of God's preachers will tell you. That's the message that
David sent these men who knew they were in trouble. Look at
verse 11. And King David sent Zadok unto Abiathar the priest,
saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are you
the last to bring the king back to his house? Seeing the speech
of all Israel has come to the king, even to his house, You're
my brethren. You're my bones and my flesh.
Wherefore then are you the last to bring back the king? Now,
David sent messengers to these rebel leaders to turn their defeat. These men are defeated, aren't
they? Absalom, their champion, is defeated. Everybody, their
whole army is disbanded, just vanished off, run into their
tents. They're defeated. David sent
messengers to these men to turn their defeat into victory. And
you see the picture here of how the Lord turns the defeat of
his people in Adam into victory in Christ. First, when the Lord
intends to turn defeat into victory for someone, he always sends
them a preacher. Always. Just like the Lord sent
Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch. He sent Paul to Lydia, the Philippian
jailer. He sent Peter to Cornelius. He
sends a preacher. And David sent messengers with
a message of peace. This is a message of peace. There's
no threats in his message, is there? There's no talk of justice.
It's peace. No threats, no law, just peace. Why haven't you brought back
the king? You're my kin. You're my flesh and my blood.
There's no enmity between us. We're brethren. And God sends
his messengers with the same message of peace. There's no
threat. There's no talk of the law. There's
no justice. Just peace and rest in Christ. The message is come to Christ.
Come to the King. He welcomes sinners. He's the
friend of sinners. And the greatest evidence that
God is the friend of sinners is that God the Son became flesh. He became bone of our bone, flesh
of our flesh, just like a sinner. He became our near kin. So he
could be our kinsman redeemer. He took on him flesh and bone
and blood so he could be the substitute for sinners. There's
never been a greater friend. Come to him. Like I said a minute
ago, you've heard the gospel. You know who the Lord Jesus Christ
is. You know how God saves sinners
through the blood and the righteousness of his son. You've heard. How
about you? If you've been here very long,
now you know this up here. At least you know this up here.
That all men, you included, are totally depraved. You're sinful. You cannot please God. Now you've
heard that. Then why haven't you begged God
for mercy? Why don't you call on Him for mercy? Why don't you
ask Him to have mercy on your sinful soul? God delights to
show mercy to sinners. Then call on Him. Begging for
mercy. This is how God It turns our
defeat in Adam into victory in Christ. Second, when the Lord
turns defeat into victory, He does it for a specific person. Always for a specific person.
His elect. Look at verse 13. Now, David
sent this message to the elders. And, he says in verse 13, say
ye to Emesa, art thou not of my bone and of my flesh? God
do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host
before me continually in the room of Joab." Now this message
that David sent, look over Mark 16, is just like the message
that our Lord sent to his apostles after his resurrection. Look
at Mark 16. When the Sabbath was passed,
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome had brought
sweet spices that they might come and anoint the body of our
Lord Jesus. And very early in the morning,
the first day of the week, they came into the sepulchre at the
rising of the sun. And they said among themselves,
Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
And when they looked, they saw that the stone was already rolled
away, for it was very great And entering into the sepulcher,
they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in
a long white garment, and they were affrighted. And he said
unto them, Be not affrighted. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which
was crucified. He is risen. He is not here.
Behold the place where they laid him. But go your way and tell
his disciples." And Peter tells his disciples, and you tell Peter,
the one who denied him three times, the one who swore, no,
if I never knew the man. Tell Peter, he goes before you
into Galilee, and there you shall see, just like he said unto you,
you tell Peter. They sent the message to all
the disciples, but he said, you be sure to tell Peter. David
sent this message of peace to the elders of Israel, and he
sent them with a specific message for a specific man, Amasa. Now, Amasa, he was the man who
was the general of Absalom's army. He led the attack. against David. Amasa is the very
fellow who led the attack to take David's life and take the
throne away from God's rightfully appointed king. Other than Absalom,
Amasa must be the chief rebel in this rebellion. And there
sits Amasa. They're defeated. And this is
what he knows. In a very short time, his life's
over. David's going to come and put him to death. In the rightful
course of events, David's going to come and put him to death.
And he must be sitting there in his tent, full of fear. He
had to be thinking, what on earth have I done to myself? Choosing
sides with Absalom against David. How stupid am I? What have I
done to myself? And what does David do with the
Mesa? Does he put him to death? Does he throw him into the lions?
Does he cast him out of Israel, banishing from Israel forever?
Does he even chastise him? No. David sends him a message
of peace and makes this captain of the rebels, captain of his
army in the place of Joab. Maybe David must have found out
that Joab is the one that killed Absalom and David thinks he's
finally done with Joab. And he takes this former rebel
and makes him general of his whole army. And this is the message
of the gospel. The message of the gospel is
to all men. But it's to specific people. It's to God's elect.
And there they are, just like a mason, sitting in prison, just
waiting eternal death because of their sin. And if God gives
them any life, they think, what have I done? What have I done? Choosing sides with Adam against
God? I'm such a rebel. What have I
done to myself? And what's the message of the
gospel to those rebels? Fear not. You're my bone, my
flesh. Shall I not forgive all of your
sin and all of your iniquity by washing you in the blood of
my Son and making you a son of God? I will. That's how God turns
our defeat in Adam into victory in Christ. Third, God turns the
defeat of His people into victory in Christ by sovereign grace. It's always only sovereign grace. Now, Mason did deserve mercy. But David showed mercy to Amasa
simply because he would. He's king. He can do that. That's
sovereign mercy. And you'll notice Amasa didn't
even dare ask for this job because he knew he's not qualified. David
sovereignly chose him. Made him part of his own household.
And that's what God's done for his people. He determined to
show mercy to a people. Not because they deserved it.
Simply because he would. Just because he would. He chose
them and made them his and put them in his son. Sent his son
to suffer and die and pay for their sins. But now those people
are in this world spiritually dead. Dead in trespasses and
sins. Lost in Adam. Under the condemnation
of the law. Deserving nothing but wrath.
But God, who's rich in mercy, sovereignly chose them. He sovereignly
calls them by his grace. He sovereignly takes the chief
of sinners and makes him one of the sons of God. Isn't that
the story of Saul of Tarsus could tell? He saw the chief of sinners,
persecuted the church of God, the chief of sinners. What did
God do with him? He took that chief of sinners
and made him the chief apostle. Oh, is that because Paul was
more talented or more gifted than the rest of them. No, sir.
Sovereign grace because of God's sovereign grace. So you and I
are talking about that this morning. Why are you here this morning?
Why am I here, not somewhere else? Sovereign grace because
God won't let me be anywhere else. Sovereign grace. That's
how God turns defeat into victory. And fourth, God turns the defeat
of his people into victory in Christ. by pardoning their sin
and giving them a new nature. David sent this message of peace
and sovereign grace to the elders of Israel. And what was the result? Look at verse 14. And he bowed
the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man,
so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou and all
thy servants. God takes the chief of sinners,
washes them in the blood of his Cleanses that sinner from all
sin, all guilt, all iniquity and gives them a new heart. Gives
them a new nature. No longer are they a rebel. They've
been made a king and a priest unto God. This is the effect
that the gospel has on the heart of a sinner. I'm talking about
on the heart of someone who knows their sinner. The gospel will
bow the heart of that sinner. It'll break the heart. and give
a new heart. A new heart, a new nature that
loves the Lord Jesus Christ. That like these men of Judah,
willingly bows to Christ the King. Willingly bows to Christ
the Savior. David, in mercy, sovereign mercy,
sovereign grace and wisdom, turned their defeat into victory. He
turned their rebellious heart and made them his loving, faithful
servants. And that's exactly what the Lord
does for every one of his people. He gives them a new heart so
that they will willingly and lovingly bow to him. And the
rest of this chapter, that's what we're going to see more
examples of. More examples of sovereign grace. And what we're
going to see in the rest of this chapter is this. It saves. His grace saves. There'll be
no death in Israel today because sovereign grace. So, all right.
Well, I hope the Lord blessed that to you.

Defeat Turned Into Victory

What does the Bible say about victory in Christ?

How do we know that Christ accomplished our salvation?

Why is God's grace important for salvation?

What does the Bible mean by being 'dead in Adam'?

How does sovereign grace transform our defeat into victory?

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Defeat Turned Into Victory

What does the Bible say about victory in Christ?

How do we know that Christ accomplished our salvation?

Why is God's grace important for salvation?

What does the Bible mean by being 'dead in Adam'?

How does sovereign grace transform our defeat into victory?

Sermon Transcript

About Frank Tate

Comments

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