Baptist City Blog

Three Keys to Overcoming Satan

Revelation 12:11

"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."

I believe that the story in Revelation 12:11 was the battle that was fought when Jesus was in the grave. Revelation 12:7 says, "And there was war in heaven:..." Notice that this is a past tense statement. Then in verse 9 it says that the Devil was cast out of Heaven. However, verse 10 tells us why the Devil was cast out when it says, "Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ:..." It was through the salvation of Christ that ultimately caused the Devil to be cast down. The angels of Heaven fought with the Devil until Jesus rose from the dead. When He rose from the dead, then they had the power to overcome Him "...by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

That same power that the angels used to overcome the Devil is available to us. When you see this war in Heaven, you see in verse 9 that every personage of Satan was used. Satan used all of his power to win this war, but was still overcome by the blood, their testimony, and a willingness to fight unto death. Christian, no matter what power Satan may use to fight against you, you have the power to overcome Him with these same three keys.

First, you must be saved if you want to overcome the power of Satan. Only through the blood of Jesus Christ can anyone overcome the power of Satan. It is the blood of Jesus Christ that saves us from our sins. Romans 5:9 says, "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." If you are not saved, you have no power to overcome Satan and his destructive forces. The blood of the Lamb is the foundational key to overcoming Satan. You must be born again if you want to overcome Satan.

Second, you must have a good testimony if you want to overcome Satan. In verse 10, Satan is called, "the accuser of our brethren." You are going to have to live right if you want to overcome Satan. If you give Satan ammunition to accuse you through living a life of sin, then you have no power to overcome him. Yes, you still have to deal with your flesh when you get saved, but you can overcome the flesh through the help of God's Holy Spirit. You must have a good testimony if you want to overcome Satan.

Last, you must be willing to die for the sake of Christ if you want to overcome Satan. If you are more concerned with the affairs of this world than you are with winning the battle over Satan, then you will never overcome him. When you're more interested in television, money, careers, promotions and the world's approval than you are with serving God, then you will never have the power to overcome Satan. When you come to the point when serving the LORD is the only thing that matters to you, then you will have the power to overcome Satan.

Do you really want to overcome the power of Satan in your life? Then you must first be saved. Has there been a time in your life when you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins? If not, then you need to do that right now. If you can point to that time, then you need to be sure to live your life in a holy manner and not care about the world, but care about pleasing God, even if it means you must die. This type of living will give you a good testimony, and it will give you power to overcome the powers of Satan.