Defeated at the Cross

 

 

Defeated at the cross

Our primary adversary,

Not to come as some believe

But proven in history.

 

It is finished!

The shout of victory,

Not of defeat or delirium

Because of agony.

 

Satan the Prosecutor

Defeated at the cross,

Thus, to the victor the spoils

And recovery of the lost.

 

The scathing criticism,

The mocking and the scorn,

Transformed in but a moment,

Antichrists, be warned!

 

 

Oft we bind the devil

Who is already bound,

Note, captivity was led captive;

The victory resounds.

 

Do not fear the devil

Who thought he had won

But have faith in Christ Jesus

For the work is done.

 

King of kings is he

And Lord of lords as well,

The prince of darkness is defeated

Listen to his death knell.

 

Defeated at the cross

Satan and his demons,

And this for the believer means

So great salvation.

 

 

Defeated at the cross:

Hope for you and me

And all that believe in Christ

Shall live eternally.

 

No more prosecutor,

Satan is out of work,

He’s bound as bound can be,

Liberty to the Church!

 

No need for justice

Where there’s no accuser,

God’s mercy and His grace

Vanquished the abuser.

 

 

Defeated at the cross,

Satan’s head is crushed,

Tell me, if you truly believe this,

Why do you still fuss?

 

If Jesus said it’s finished,

What more is there

Other than to walk in victory

Rather than in fear?

 

Stewart Russell © February 2, 2025

 

Easily-Lost Salvation

 

 

 

A salvation that’s easily lost

Is no salvation at all,

Such a salvation is fickle even

And surely must be appalled.

 

A salvation that is earned

Can never be a gift,

Such would be recipient dependent

If you catch my drift.

 

A salvation that cost nothing

While available to all

Would be meaningless to most

And few would heed its call.

 

A salvation that cost a fortune

Straight-up, I’d be out

And only a meagre few would attain it

And this is without a doubt.

 

A salvation that is free

But that cost the giver his life

Cannot be an easily lost salvation

But one that conquers strife.

 

 

Yes, a so great salvation

As is mentioned in Hebrews 2

Comes with the wherewithal

To secure both me and you.

 

Yes, a so great salvation

Cannot be easily lost

For it was deliver to us by Christ

At an infinite cost.

 

It cost his precious blood

Spilled on a rugged cross,

Such a salvation cost too much

To be so easily lost.

 

Hence, why God’s offer

Is a total package,

And far beyond what any human

Is capable to manage.

 

 

Thanks to the Holy Spirit

Who comes with this salvation

And indwells every Spirit filled believer

Compliments: God’s redemption.

 

It is maintenance free

And inspires the believer to live,

Such is the so great salvation

That God our Father gives.

 

It’s no easily lost salvation,

In fact, it can’t be lost at all

For it bears an irrevocable seal:

The seal of the Triune God.

 

Thus, not one born again soul

Can pry open Jesus’ hand

For having said yes to the Saviour,

We are under his command.

 

Some have a tendency to argue

The saved can be lost again

But this is a contradiction in itself

And must be considered lame.

 

 

If the saved is easily lost

How many chances do we get

Before we run out of opportunities

And face eternal regret?

 

Born again how many times?

Two or three or even four?

Why, a person can only be born once

Need I say any more?

 

Do you know you are saved?

How many chances have you had?

If yours is a lotto salvation,

My friend, that is too bad.

 

Mine is not, I assure you,

It cannot be easily lost,

However, I glory not in an idle boast

But in the Christ of Calvary’s cross.

 

And so, I end as I began,

With the very first verse,

For if your salvation is easily lost

You’re still under the curse.

 

A salvation that’s easily lost

Is no salvation at all,

Such a salvation is meaningless

And surely must be appalled.

 

Stewart Russell © May 25, 2024

 

God’s Foreknowledge

 

 

Some believe that God can know

If He really wants to know

But He turns off his foreknowledge

And chooses not to know.

 

“God knows all that can be known”

This I read some time ago

So that God is limited in matters

That even God can never know.

 

For example, God did not know

That Adam and Eve would have fallen,

If so, why would he have placed

That tree in the midst of Eden?

 

Right in the focus of their mind

To harass them every day,

“Surely, God felt they would survive,”

This is what some say?

 

I find this particularly silly

And I hope that you do too

For if God wanted a world of robots

This would have been easy to do.

 

But to my mind, He did not,

That’s why He gave us choice

So that when presented with a situation

We would listen to His voice.   

 

The Bible shows in Holy Writ

That God is all knowing and all wise,

Nothing’s outside of His knowledge

No matter how cleverly disguised.

Well, why did He ask Adam

To declare where He was hiding?

Would God not have prior known

Even if Adam was lying?

 

God wanted Adam to own up

To the fact that he had disobeyed

And the punishment that would result

Commencing that very day.

 

God’s foreknowledge was not turned off

Nor was He unaware of the present,

A string of consequences had been set in train

Hence the course of unfolding events.

 

Still evident to our very day

As our world grapples with the fall out,

That sin has been the cause of all this

There are still many that doubt.

 

God’s foreknowledge is not on off,

This could never be a fact

For, how would an all-knowing all-wise God

Be able to accomplish that?

 

So, the mere fact that God knows all

Implies that all is already known

And this matter of a divine reality

Is certainly without our zone.

 

 

This says to my simple mind

That God knows the passage of time

Whether it be past, present or future,

All is contained in God’s mind.

 

It was God that created time’s line

He knows every single event,

It matters not its relative significance,

To God all of time is the present.

 

 

Time’s history is already written

And to God’s mind is already history,

To us much of history is in the future

But the present is our reality.

 

We often worry about the past

And we attempt to change the future

But the reality of the present presents

A quite overwhelming picture.

 

Concerning God’s foreknowledge

What is it you believe?

I adjure you, believe on the Lord Jesus

And “so great salvation” receive.

 

Stewart Russell © May 5, 2022

 

Five Reassuring M’s

 

 

Majesty is his name

No king compares,

None in this earth realm

Even comes near.

 

King of all kings

And Lord over all,

I am forever grateful

I answered his call.

Jesus is merciful

He is merciful to all,

Lord of mercy, my friend,

Ever since the fall.

 

Merciful in judgment

And extended in his grace,

Not to the Jews only

But the human race.

 

O, Jesus is marvelous

Of this there is no doubt,

Marvelous to them afar

And them here about.

Marvelous are his works

In all of creation

But none as wonderful

As his great salvation.

 

He is a miracle worker

Actually, the only one,

He still does miracles today

As in the days now gone.

 

The same yesterday,

Today and forever

And His great salvation

Is the greatest miracle.

 

Mighty in battle!

He is the Lord of hosts

Throughout all of heaven

And all of earth’s coasts.

His might has no end

He spoke and it was done,

I am still amazed today

He has made me a son.

 

Thanks for his blessings

Manifold by design,

As a child of the Father

I am his and he is mine.

 

Stewart Russell © July 25, 2021