Luke 1:71-75
Luke 1:71 (KJB)
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
The enemies of ancient Israel were many, from the time they left Egypt to the
time of the Roman occupation. They had very few periods of respite in their
history. Yet, through all these threats by their mortal enemies, Israel had
survived and the messianic line was protected. Satan could not defeat Israel to
the point of keeping the Messiah from being born but he tried desperately. He
knew that if Messiah was born, that would begin the last days and his doom would
be more sure. (Heb 1:2 KJV) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
The third stanza of Martin Luther’s Hymn: A Mighty
Fortress is our God
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
Luke 1:72 (KJB)
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
The mercy which was promised to the fathers, that is, the Patriarchs, is
salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ which was a great mystery in the Old
Testament but revealed in the New. This covenant of mercy or salvation was given
to Abraham. (Gen 12:2-3 KJV) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I
will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: {3} And
I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee
shall all families of the earth be blessed. All the nations which have
cursed Christianity has come to nought. In the United Sates today there is a war
on Christianity. It is resulting in the slow destruction of this once strong
nation. God reconfirms the covenant in Genesis 15. (Gen 15:5 KJV) And he
brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars,
if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Then God continues to reveal a little bit more about the covenant in Genesis 17.
(Gen 17:4-8 KJV) As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt
be a father of many nations. {5} Neither shall thy name any more be called
Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made
thee. {6} And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of
thee, and kings shall come out of thee. {7} And I will establish my covenant
between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an
everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. {8} And
I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be
their God. Here God tells Abraham that the covenant will not be temporary
but will be everlasting. That means it goes beyond the present earth into the
New Heavens and the New Earth. Those who are saved in Christ will be part of it
but those who reject Christ will be cast into outer darkness. If you do not have
the Son, you do not have the Father. (1 John 2:23 KJV) Whosoever denieth the
Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the
Father also.
Luke 1:73 (KJB)
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
(Gen 22:16 KJV) And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for
because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only
son: (Heb 6:13 KJV) For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear
by no greater, he sware by himself, God Himself had sworn to Abraham that
his seed will be as the stars of Heaven. (Gen 22:17 KJV) That in blessing I
will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the
heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess
the gate of his enemies; Abraham will be the father of the faithful, that
is, all those who are saved by Grace. This is why when the Pharisees tried to
claim the fact that they had Abraham as the father, Jesus rebuked them.
(John 8:39-40 KJV) They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus
saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of
Abraham. {40} But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth,
which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Luke 1:74 (KJB)
That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our
enemies might serve him without fear,
Those in attendance probably had thought that Zacharias was now prophesying that
these events were related to the Messiah and that the Messiah was to be born so
He could throw the yoke of Rome off the nation of Israel. That was not the
message being given. The enemies in view would be those who are not saved. The
unbeliever, in any social standing in society, is the enemy of the believer. If
you don’t think so, then bring up the subject of Christ and salvation to friends
and family and see what a reaction you get. When one becomes saved, the kingdom
of Satan has no authority over us and because our sins have been forgiven and
removed, we can serve the Lord without any fear of the spiritual enemy. The
other enemy which the believer is delivered from is the law of Moses with all of
its accusatory nature. (John 5:45 KJV) Do not think that I will accuse you
to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
Since Christ will have fulfilled every aspect of the law of God, the believer is
under no obligation to that law. Those who are unsaved will, be judged out of
that law on the last day but the believer has passed from death to life.
(John 5:24 KJV) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Luke 1:75 (KJB)
In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Those who become saved will be considered holy and righteous by means of the
sacrifice of Christ and this verse also teaches eternal security. Once a person
has imputed to them the holiness and righteousness of Christ, it is permanent
and not temporary. Those who believe they can lose their salvation, are
basically placing themselves under a law that does not exist. They have become
their own standard in the belief that the will never sin again to maintain their
salvation status.
(Eph 1:4 KJV) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
(Rom 3:22 KJV) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ
unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: