“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him”. (James 1:12. NKJV).
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10).
God has promised faithful believers eternal life as their crown of reward. This crown is not like the corruptible worldly crown – accolades; honours, titles, prizes, etc.; but incorruptible, unquantifiable, immeasurable and of eternal value.
Worthy of note however, is that every crown has a price tag, rules and of course regulations attached to it. Therefore, whoever desires to earn such crown must abide by the dictates of the system.
“Now the just shall live by faith….” (Heb. 10:38). This fundamental principle, affirmed four times in Scriptures (Hab. 2:4, Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38), governs our relationship to God and our participation in the salvation provided through Jesus Christ.
The devil on account of his rebellion with his cohorts, knows what he has lost by losing his earlier position in heaven before he was cast down, more so, he knows his ultimate destiny in hellfire, strive as much as possible to ensure that many people will inherit eternity in hellfire with him and his fallen angels. Therefore, he makes frantic efforts to frustrate humanity by luring them to sin against God so as to lose the crown of life that God has promised those who love and obey Him. He succeeded in deceiving our first parents – Adam and Eve, and by extension, as many that are living in sin today.
However, he could not succeed in his evil scheme with the second Adam – Jesus Christ. The same way he tried the first Adam, he did with the second Adam but failed woefully and has since remained a defeated enemy, paralyzed, powerless and conquered. (Math. 4:1-11).
Our faith must be tried by the devil, but victory is assured for those who cling to Jesus, those who look unto Him, the author and finisher of our faith, those who love and obey God at all cost. We need to always ask for God’s grace and the leading of the Holy Spirit so as to overcome the wiles of the devil.
Have a glorious, Spirit filled and fruitful week.
God bless you.