Security in Christ: Protection Against Evil

By Dale Weckbacher

Text:  Jeremiah 29:11; Hebrews 13:5-6; Proverbs 3:5-6

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

(ESV)

It is normal for New Year’s resolutions to lie on the trash heap of good intentions about this time of the year leading to asking the question, how is everyone doing on their New Year’s resolutions?  The following is a list of the 10 most popular New Year’s Resolutions,

1. Exercise more
2. Lose weight
3. Get organized
4. Learn a new skill or hobby 
5. Live life to the fullest
6. Save more money / spend less money
7. Quit smoking
8. Spend more time with family and friends
9. Travel more
10. Read more (1)

If some of these are your New Year’s resolutions, I wish you the best at keeping them and not having them end up on the trash heap of failed resolutions.   However, if you have already broken some of these resolutions, it is not too late to pick up broken resolutions and not necessary to wait for the next New Year’s Day.  The greatest news, however, for believers in Jesus as their Savior is that there is security in Christ and protection from the evil one whether we keep our New Year’s resolutions or not.  This is because,

1)      God has a plan for each person’s life, a plan for their good and not their destruction (Jeremiah 29:11) – While this promise brings comfort, we struggle with security in Christ for we do not know the specifics of God’s plan for us and how it will unfold in our lives, requiring us to accept it in faith (Hebrews 11:1; Proverbs 3:5).    

2)      God never abandons us (Hebrews 13:5-6) – While God called His creation good in Genesis 1, there was one thing He stated was not good, Adam being alone (Genesis 2:18).  However, abandonment by others is something that occurs in our fallen world and since it is not good for us to be alone, it brings emotional pain to our lives.  Thankfully, God promises never to leave us, even though it may seem so as we experience the struggle of God’s plan for us unfolding in our lives (Hebrews 13:5). 

3)      God is trustworthy (Proverbs 3:5-6) – Abandonment by others throughout the course of our lives creates trust issues as we build up walls of distrust.  Unfortunately, these walls of distrust also create a lack of trust in God.  While we may say we believe God’s plans for us are for our good, the pain of the struggle as God’s plan for our lives unfolds can cause us to construct these walls of distrust, causing us to depend upon our own reasoning. 

4)      God protects His children from the evil one (1 John 5:18) – Those who have been born of God through acceptance of Jesus as their savior have protection from the evil one.  However, one that has been truly born from God will not continue in the habit of a sinful life but instead, seek to live free from sin.  This combination of being born again and seeking transformation through nonconformity to sin and transformation to godly thinking is what places and keeps us under the protective umbrella of God. 

5)      God brings abundance to our lives and not destruction (John 10:10) – Under the umbrella of God’s protection is abundant of life.  However, this abundance of life is not an accumulation of material wealth but an abundant life of love, peace, and joy.  Like the Apostle Paul, those living under the umbrella of God’s protection can have contentment even in dire circumstances (Philippians 4:11).  While the life of a believer in Christ may not appear to be a life of abundance on the surface, the inner peace and joy of one under God’s protective umbrella is abundantly able to provide joy in the struggles of life (James 1:2-4). 

6)      God transfers us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Jesus (Colossians 1:13-14) – Security in Christ is not due to our works but it is something one gains through the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 5:8).  This is good news for prior to our rebirth in Christ, our minds confirmed to the darkness of a world dominated by the kingdom of darkness.  As such, we were not capable of forcing behavior modification that would have satisfied God’s requirement to receive His justification.  Thankfully, Jesus, who knew no sin became sin in our place so we could receive righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).  It is this work of grace and substitutionary death by Jesus that provides eternal security and transformation in the life of anyone choosing to believe in Jesus as their savior (John 3:16; Romans 12:2).    

7)      Jesus has disarmed the rulers and authorities of darkness (Colossians 2:15) – As children of God we have security in knowing that Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities of darkness and when Jesus returns, He will once and for all lock Satan up (Revelation 20:1-3; 7-10). 

The greatest New Year’s resolution one can make is to make Jesus his or her savior.  If you have never done so, I invite you to unwrap the gift of salvation provided by God through His son Jesus and pray with me now, 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

For those that just prayed, you now live under the umbrella of God’s protection, but this does not mean a carefree life free from struggles and instead, a life with eternal security.  To remain under the umbrella of God’s protection and security one must study God’s Word, the Bible, pray or talk to God, and associate regularly with like-minded people that believe as you now do.  May God bless everyone reading this post.

1. Zomick, Brad. Top 10 Most Common New Year's Resolutions (and How to Follow Through on Them). goskills.com. [Online] Goskills. [Cited: January 1, 2020.] https://www.goskills.com/Soft-Skills/Articles/Top-10-new-years-resolutions.