This article is a summary from the following sermon: The Cross: The Trojan Horse of Hell by Jon Moffitt
We've been spending the last few weeks pulling back the curtain—seeing the depth of Christ’s victory, not just over sin, but over the rulers, authorities, and powers of darkness. And today, we come to the final piece: how the cross became the Trojan horse of hell.
Our anchor text is still Colossians 2:
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 2:13–15)
Jesus didn’t just forgive us. He humiliated the powers of darkness. He crushed Satan’s head, just as God had promised all the way back in Genesis 3:15.
But Satan didn’t see it coming.
The Satanic Gospel
There’s a gospel straight from hell. It wears church clothes, uses Bible words, and sounds close enough to the real thing to deceive even well-meaning Christians.
Here’s how it goes:
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"God wants you healthy, wealthy, and comfortable."
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"Your main problem is you just aren't trying hard enough."
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"Obey, give, serve, and believe—and God will owe you blessings."
But what happens when that gospel fails? When the marriage doesn’t get better? When the cancer doesn’t go away? When the money doesn’t show up?
You start to wonder if God failed—or if you did. Either way, you’re crushed. And that's exactly the point.
The satanic gospel makes you love a god who doesn’t exist—and hate the one who does.
It’s brilliant. And it’s deadly.
And if we're honest, we'd admit we want that gospel to be true. We want a God who answers all our prayers, gives us the life we dream of, and fits into our plans.
But that's not reality. It’s fantasy.
And Satan loves it when we chase a fantasy, because while we’re doing that, we stay enslaved.
The Inverted Gospel of Jesus Christ
The true gospel is upside-down. It's foolishness to the world (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Our King didn't come riding a war horse with armies behind him. He came in weakness, humility, and shame. He laid his life down for his enemies.
And in doing so, he conquered.
Satan’s gospel says:
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"Climb higher."
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"Take control."
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"Protect yourself."
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"Exalt yourself."
Jesus says:
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"Humble yourself."
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"Lose your life to find it."
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"Trust me, even when you can't see."
That’s why faith doesn’t come by sight. It comes by hearing. (Romans 10:17)
We walk not by what we see, but by what we hear from the Word of Christ.
That’s why so many struggle. That's why the real gospel feels almost ridiculous. Because everything in us wants to measure, touch, and control.
But the real gospel demands faith—faith in a King who conquered by dying.
The Trojan Horse of Hell
Satan thought he had won at the cross.
The Son of God humiliated, beaten, mocked, nailed to a tree. Cursed. Abandoned.
It must have looked like the ultimate victory for the kingdom of darkness.
But the cross was the Trojan horse.
Like the people of Troy pulling the Greek horse into their gates, Satan pulled Jesus onto the cross—and in doing so, he let the very power of God inside his own stronghold.
The moment of triumph became the moment of defeat.
Jesus didn’t lose at the cross—He triumphed.
He paid the debt. He canceled the record of sin that Satan used to accuse us. He disarmed the powers. He put them to open shame.
The cross looked like humiliation. It was actually the coronation of the King.
How the Resurrection Changes Everything
When Jesus rose from the grave, He didn’t just come back to life.
He declared to all creation:
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Death has been defeated.
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Sin has been paid for.
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Satan has lost.
He stormed the gates of hell itself, took the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18), and set the captives free.
He didn’t just survive death. He conquered it.
And now He sends us—His church—into the world to storm the gates of hell. Not with swords or threats, but with the gospel of grace.
The gates of hell cannot prevail against the advance of the gospel (Matthew 16:18).
Every time the gospel is proclaimed and believed, another captive is set free.
Living in the True Reality
The world will tell you the cross was weakness. Fantasy. A waste.
But we know better.
We know that true reality—the one we can't see yet fully with our eyes—is that Christ reigns. The victory has been won. Satan has been shamed.
We live in the already, waiting for the not yet.
We don't fight to win. We fight because Christ has already won.
And even when it feels dark—even when the world mocks us, when suffering presses in, when we feel the weight of our own sin—we stand.
Not because we are strong, but because Christ is.
We walk by faith, not by sight.
We look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Because what is seen is temporary—but what is unseen is eternal.
Take Heart, Christian
If you feel weak today, you’re exactly where you need to be.
This gospel isn’t for the strong. It’s for the broken.
It’s for sinners who can’t save themselves.
It’s for the weary who are done trying to be enough.
The victory doesn't rest on your performance. It rests on Christ’s finished work.
He has triumphed. He has disarmed the powers. He has set you free.
So cling to Him.
Trust what you hear in the gospel—not what you see in the mirror, or in the world, or in your circumstances.
Faith comes by hearing. And the Word you’ve heard is this:
Jesus Christ has conquered. And you are His.
