Pathway to Victory

Guest (Male): Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Dr. Robert Jeffress: Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to study God's word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, the problem most of us have with God's will is not that part of God's will we don't know. We get all centered on the things we don't know. The real problem is what we know, what God has told us we need to do through His word. The way obedience protects you from Satan's attack is what we're going to talk about today.

David J. Mullins: Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. Most Christians understand that we're supposed to obey God, but have you ever stopped to consider that your obedience actually serves as protection? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress reveals how practicing righteousness shields you from the enemy's attacks in four very specific ways. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates.

Dr. Robert Jeffress: Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Many Christians view God's commands as restrictive, just a long list of rules that limit our freedom and steal our joy. But nothing could be further from the truth. God's laws aren't designed to confine us. They're designed to protect us from an enemy who wants to destroy everything we hold dear.

Today, I want to show you how obedience isn't about restriction. It's about stopping the barbarian at the gate before he gains entrance into your life. Along those lines, and to help you discover how to defeat the enemy, I've written a best-selling book for you. It's called *The Divine Defense*. This isn't theory; it's practical biblical wisdom drawn from Ephesians 6 that will transform how you fight your daily battles against Satan. When you support Pathway to Victory with a generous gift, I'll send you this powerful resource as my personal thank you.

One more thing: at the close of today's program, I'm going to answer a question that confronts many families. How do we rescue our children who are suffering from gender confusion? But right now, let's resume a study in Ephesians 6 that we started on yesterday's Pathway to Victory. I titled today's message, "Stopping the Barbarian at the Gate."

Obeying God, practiced righteousness. That strategy is simply this: if you want to protect yourself against Satan, do what you know you should do. When you choose to do what you already know to do, that obedience protects you in four specific ways. I want you to write them down. First of all, obedience protects us from the consequences of sin. Secondly, obedience protects us from doubt about our salvation.

I used to have a seminary professor who said, "Men, never forget this: nothing will cause more doubt in your life than trafficking in unlived truth." It was obvious what he was saying. For a pastor to stand up and proclaim truths that he doesn't embrace, to condemn behavior that he engages in, he can't keep that up for very long. It will produce tremendous doubt in his own heart.

But that truth doesn't just apply to pastors; it applies to all of us. When you sing about things that aren't true in your life, when you proclaim what a wonderful joy it is serving Christ but you're not following Christ, it creates doubt about your own salvation. Here's what I've discovered after years of ministry: there are some people who can hold on to their faith and hold on to their disobedience for a while, but eventually, they let go of one or the other. You'll either give up your disobedience or you'll give up your faith.

That's what doubt comes from. It comes from disobedience. It's popular in today's world to deify doubt, talk about how doubt's a good thing. We say things like, "It's better to debate an issue before settling it than to settle an issue before debating it." But it's interesting that in the Bible, doubt is never portrayed in a positive way.

In fact, doubt is always condemned. There's a word for doubt in the Bible; it's called double-minded. In Psalm 119:113, "I hate those who are double-minded, but I love your law." You know what the antidote for doubt is? It's not faith; it's obedience. The best way to cure your doubt is to obey God. That's what 1 John 3:18 and 19 say.

Listen to this: "Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this, that is our obedience, that we are of the truth and will assure our hearts before Him." The way you assure your hearts that you really belong to Christ is by obeying the word of God. If you don't remember anything else I say in today's sermon, I want you to write down and remember this saying forever: only professions of faith that result in expressions of obedience guarantee we are in possession of eternal life. In other words, profession plus expression equals possession. That's how to know if you're really saved. When you obey God and make that a practice in your life, it gives your heart assurance that you are truly a child of God.

How does obeying God protect us from Satan? First of all, it protects us from the consequences of sin. Secondly, obedience protects us from doubts about our salvation. Thirdly, obedience protects us from the loss of heavenly rewards. Choosing obedience protects us from the loss of heavenly rewards.

Most people, even Christians, have a great misconception about heaven. They think heaven is going to be like a sanctified socialist society where everybody's the same. Everybody has their little plot of land, their one acre and their little mansion. Everybody has the same street of gold that they walk on. It's the same for everybody; it's the great leveler of humanity, heaven. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Although we will enter heaven by the work of Jesus Christ, we will fully enjoy heaven as determined by our works while here on Earth. Good works are worthless in obtaining our place in heaven, but good works after we're saved are invaluable in determining the kind of heaven we experience. Where is that in Scripture? Listen to 2 Corinthians 5:10. Paul wrote, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one of us may be recompensed," rewarded, for his what? Faith? No, for his deeds in the body, according to what he has believed? No, what he has done, whether it be good or bad. That word "bad," *phaulos* in Greek, means worthless. There is a judgment coming that will determine the kind of heaven we enjoy.

I was thinking this week about how to illustrate this to you, and it's a crude analogy, but maybe you can get the gist of it. When Disneyland, the original Disneyland, was first opened in Anaheim, California, the year I was born, 1955. Do the math. Go ahead, finish it up. You got it. All right. When it was opened up, it wasn't like it is today where you can go into the park and you can pay one price and you can ride the rides as many times as you want to, as long as you don't mind standing in line for five hours. You're free to do that as often as you can, but you all did it for one price.

It wasn't that way originally. At the original Disneyland, you bought an admission ticket. Guess how much the admission ticket was in 1955? One dollar. One dollar allowed you entrance into what they called the happiest place on Earth. That was the advertisement: "Come to Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth." You got in for a dollar, but that was just the beginning.

If you wanted to ride the rides, you had to buy a book of tickets. All the tickets weren't the same. There were your A tickets; those were the really crummy rides. Getting in a little cart pulled by a donkey going around the park—that was an A ticket. B tickets were a little bit better. C tickets were better than that. But the ultimate was the E ticket. That was the highest category of tickets. Those were the really cool rides, like the Matterhorn or Pirates of the Caribbean.

Everybody got into Disneyland by paying the basic price, one dollar. Everybody was excited to be there. They were happy to be in the happiest place on Earth. You got in for a dollar, but you had to pay to enjoy a little more happiness. You had to pay to ride the rides. Nobody was complaining that they got in there, but they saw and probably wished they'd saved up a little more money so they could buy a little more happiness.

Now, I know it's a crude example, but it really is accurate about heaven. Nobody who goes to heaven is going to be upset that they're in heaven. It's going to be inexplicable joy that we escape the judgment fires of God. We're going to be filled with joy as we see our loved ones again who are believers. But there's also going to be a degree of regret, a sense of loss for some Christians as they realize what could have been theirs had they not been more faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prove that, pastor. All right, I'll take up my challenge. 1 Corinthians 3:14 and 15. Paul is again talking about that judgment seat of Christ. He compares the judgment to a fire that tests every man's work. He says in verse 14, "If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he will receive a reward. But if any man's work, that is his life, is burned up, his life is seen not to be gold, silver, and precious stones, but wood, hay, and stubble—not evil things, but just worthless things—what will happen to that Christian? He will suffer loss, even though himself he will be saved, though as by fire."

Underline those two words: "suffer loss." Yes, there are Christians who will experience loss in heaven as they realize what could have been theirs if they had not allowed Satan to rob them of their eternal reward. If Satan can't rob you, listen to this, of your presence in heaven, he wants to rob you of your rewards in heaven through disobedience. Now we've got to be careful here. To overdo the regret, the sorrow of heaven for Christians is to turn heaven into hell, and we don't want to do that. But to ignore the very real sense of loss that's going to be there is to make obedience to God inconsequential in this life. Our obedience to God not only matters in this life, it matters in the next life as well.

How does obedience protect us from Satan's attacks? It protects us from the consequences of sin, doubt about our salvation, the loss of our eternal rewards. But fourthly, obedience protects us from Satan's further entrance into our lives. Obeying God, stopping the barbarian at the gate as I said in the sermon title, stopping him now prevents him from gaining further entrance into our life. C.S. Lewis said it so well. He said, "The road to hell is a gradual one, the gentle slope, the soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."

Satan is a very crafty beast. He doesn't enter our heart in one attack, gain victory, plant a flag in our heart, and declare he's won. Doesn't work that way. He looks just for a little opening in your life, a little compromise that can be a toehold, that turns into a foothold, and eventually a stronghold in your life. One compromise—maybe it's allowing a conversation with somebody of the opposite sex to veer in a direction it shouldn't go. Maybe it's borrowing something from your place of work with the intention of returning it, but never getting around to doing so. Maybe it's going to visit an internet site you've heard about, and you just wanted to see what everybody's talking about, but it's a place you shouldn't be. Maybe it's choosing to give up your Bible reading one night for an extra episode of your favorite sitcom.

Nothing wrong with that, but here's the point: compromising can be a habit. Compromising once makes it easier to compromise the second time, the third time, the fourth time. Samuel Johnson said, "The chains of habit are too small to be felt until they're too strong to be broken." Solomon said it this way in Proverbs 5:22: "His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin."

What is Solomon saying? I've got a very high-tech sermon illustration for you: a piece of string. We don't spare any bucks here at First Baptist Dallas where you go for the high-tech. But notice, I can wrap this string around my hand once. Is it binding my hand? Is it restricting my freedom? Not at all. It's gone. But you know, if I wind this string once, twice, three times, four times, five times, this flimsy piece of string keeps my powerful hand from moving at all. It's constricted.

It's the same way with compromise. One compromise, no big deal. But that second one, and that third one, and that fourth one will end up binding you and destroying your life. That's the power of a habit.

One Haitian pastor illustrated that truth this way by telling this parable. A certain man wanted to sell his home for $20,000. Another man wanted to purchase the home but lacked the necessary financial resources. After a great deal of haggling, the owner agreed to sell the home for half the asking price with one condition: the owner could retain ownership of one small nail protruding behind the front door.

After several years passed, the original owner decided he wanted his house back, but the new buyer was unwilling to sell it back. So the first owner went out and found a decayed carcass of a dead dog and hung it from the single nail on the front door, which he still owned. The stench was so horrible that the house soon became uninhabitable. The new owner was forced to sell the home to the original owner at a ridiculously low price, all because of a single nail.

The pastor concluded the parable with this application: if we leave the devil even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotten garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ's habitation. Let me ask you this morning: have you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ—every area of your life except one small area? Is there one chink in that spiritual armor, that breastplate of righteousness, one opening that the enemy can enter and gain an advantage over you? That's the price of disobedience. Obeying God is your protection against Satan's further entrance into your life.

How do you make practiced righteousness, obedience to God, a habit in your life? How do you make it the rule rather than the exception for your life? That's what we're going to talk about next time as we talk about the power of obeying God.

I'm speaking to some Christians today. You know what that peg is, that nail that you've retained ownership of. Maybe today you would say, "God, I'm going to quit arguing with you about this. You're right, I'm wrong. I'm surrendering that area of my life to you. I'm going to commit to obey you not in just some things, but in all things you've revealed to me that I need to do." Making that decision won't lead to death; it will lead to eternal life, to joy like you've never experienced before.

But I'm speaking to some today who are not yet Christians. You've never placed your faith in Jesus as your savior. Whether you know it or not, you're part of Satan's kingdom, and he is a very unworthy master. What he has to offer you is nothing but pain and eternal death. But today, maybe you've come to the understanding that you don't have to stay where you are forever, that Christ came to offer forgiveness of your sins and a right relationship with God. Today, if you would like to receive Jesus as your savior by believing that he died on the cross for your sins, if you're ready to accept that gift of forgiveness today, I want to invite you, wherever you are, to pray this simple prayer with me, knowing that God is listening to you. Would you pray this with me?

Dear God, thank you for loving me. I know I have failed you in so many ways, and I'm truly sorry for the sins in my life. But I believe what I've heard today, that you love me so much you sent your son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins, to take the punishment I deserve. Right now, I'm trusting in what Christ did for me, not in my good works, but in what Christ did for me, to save me from my sins. Thank you for forgiving me and help me to live the rest of my life for you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

David J. Mullins: Satan, the barbarian, loves to attack our families, even our children and grandchildren. In a moment, I'm going to answer a question from a concerned woman who asks, "How do we rescue our queer, trans, or polyamorous child from the evil one?" Stick around because this is an issue that too many families are facing.

But first, I want to mention my full-length book I've written on spiritual warfare. It's called *The Divine Defense: Six Simple Strategies for Winning Your Biggest Battles*. In addition to teaching you how to deal with Satan, my book answers some of your toughest questions about the prince of darkness and demons. It also covers topics like heaven and hell. Plus, it includes thought-provoking, discussion-oriented questions.

Many of our listeners have chosen this book to guide their small group study or their Sunday school class. My book comes with my thanks when you give a generous gift to support Pathway to Victory. As an added bonus, we'll also include a convenient brochure called "Equipped for Battle." This illustrated six-panel resource describes all the pieces of protective spiritual armor God has provided to us. Be sure to contact Pathway to Victory today and request your copy of these resources.

Let me thank you in advance for your financial support of the ministry of Pathway to Victory. It's my voice you hear on the program each day, but it's supportive friends like you who deliver this broadcast to every corner of our world. God is using your generous gifts to bring light in the darkness. Here's David with all the details.

You're invited to request a copy of Dr. Jeffress' best-selling book, *The Divine Defense*, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. As an added bonus, we'll also send you the highly requested "Equipped for Battle" brochure. Just call 866-999-2965 or visit online at ptv.org.

When your gift is $100 or more, we'll also send you, in addition to the book, this month's new teaching series on audio and video disc along with the companion study guide. Plus, you'll receive a special children's book titled *Suited Up for Kids*. This colorful book helps the children in your life learn to fight temptation and trust in God's protection. To request these resources, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org.

For a quick and easy way to support Pathway to Victory, text PTV to 78800. You could write to P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. And now, it's time for today's edition of "Ask Dr. Jeffress." A listener named Laura asks, "How do we rescue our queer, trans, and polyamorous child from the evil one?"

Dr. Robert Jeffress: Laura, thank you for that question. It's one we're receiving more and more frequently here at Pathway to Victory. You know the Apostle John said, "I have no greater joy than this, than to know that my children walk in the truth." Conversely, the greatest pain we parents have is when we see our children not walking in the truth, and especially when they're overcome with gender confusion or homosexual relationships.

What do we say to a child who's living a lifestyle that is contrary to what Scripture says? As parents, we have the obligation to speak the truth, but to speak it in love. We should never hesitate in affirming what the Bible says about sin. But at the same time, I think it is very important that we do everything we can to keep that bridge of communication open with our children.

I don't believe what some parents believe, that we need to turn our back on our children until they repent. I don't find that anywhere in Scripture. Now, I'm not saying if you have gay children that if they, quote, "get married," you need to attend the ceremony. I would never do that. That's condoning something God has condemned. But it doesn't mean you cease relationships with your children. You continue to pray for them, to make them know your door is always open to talk with them and help them.

One of the greatest illustrations of that is in the story of the prodigal son. You remember the son said basically to his father, "I wish you were dead, but since you're not dead yet, I want my portion of the estate." He got his money and went to the far country. The Bible says when he hit a low point, that son said, "You know, my father's servants have more than I have. I shall get up and go back to my father."

The Bible says when the father looked out on the horizon and he saw his son walking toward him, the father ran to embrace his son. He hugged him and he kissed him, and the son began that speech, "Father, I've been wrong and..." and he cut him off. He didn't need to hear any more speeches. His son was home, and that's all he needed to know.

You know, I've often wondered how it is that that father just happened to be on the front porch looking out when his son appeared on the horizon. I don't think that was an accident. I think the father sat on that front porch every day, starting early in the morning, waiting until late at night, looking for some sign of his son's return, hoping this may be the day, perhaps this is the day my son will return. I think that ought to be our attitude toward our children who are living apart from God. We keep looking, we keep hoping, we keep praying for their return, and when they do return, we rejoice in it. So my best advice to you, Laura, is don't give up hope, don't give up praying, and always keep the communication lines open with your child because very possibly, that day will come when they return.

David J. Mullins: I'm David J. Mullins, wishing you a great weekend. Join us again next week when our series called *The Divine Defense* continues right here on Pathway to Victory.

Guest (Male): Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Experience a journey that will refresh your spirit and renew your faith on the Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska. Sail aboard Holland America's luxurious Koningsdam through British Columbia's beautiful inside passage. You'll witness God's handiwork on full display. Call 888-280-6747 or visit ptv.org. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here.

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We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Oh, and one last thing before we go: have you reserved your spot yet for the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska? You've been hearing me and Dr. Jeffress mention it, so what are you waiting for? Just picture yourself on the deck of Holland America's elegant Koningsdam and stepping out on deck to witness nature's grandeur. It's beautiful. These moments in God's creation will deepen your faith in powerful ways. It really will. Experience five-star dining, luxurious staterooms, and visiting iconic ports like Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. We're also bringing along our own Christian entertainment; you'll love it. Seats are filling up, so book your spot today at ptv.org.