Unconditional Surrender Grant
We'll get to that sandwich shortly, but first, a story => In April of 1861, Confederate warships bombarded Union soldiers at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Thus began the War Between the States – the great Civil War fought on American soil. 420,000 American lives were lost in this war. To put that into perspective, if you count all the wars that this country was involved in before and since the civil war, the loss of life in all those other wars combined was roughly 440,000 – only 20,000 more than those we lost in the Civil War alone.
In the fall of 1861, Ulysses S. Grant and his band of volunteer soldiers took the small town of Paducah, Kentucky, at the mouth of the Tennessee River. In February 1862, in a joint operation with the U.S. Navy, Grant's ground forces applied pressure on Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, taking them both—these battles are credited as the earliest significant Union victories of the American Civil War.
At each victory, when the rebels would ask for terms of surrender, Grant replied that no terms “except unconditional and immediate surrender” would be acceptable (Who’s in Charge? Grant!). It was because of this that Ulysses S. Grant became known as Unconditional Surrender Grant. Even President Abraham Lincoln referred to him as Unconditional Surrender Grant.
It was April of 1865 when General Grant’s forces caused the unconditional surrender of the Confederate rebels under the command of General Robert E Lee.
In spite of Grant’s demand of unconditional surrender, he was a benevolent victor, in that he allowed the rebels to keep their sidearms and horses for the spring planting. He even shared his army’s rations with starving enemy troops. And though the surrender was indeed unconditional, Grant agreed to let General Lee leave Appomattox with his dignity and his sword. Thanks to Grant, the US Civil war ended on a note of reconciliation.
Application For Us Today
All we who desire to live a Christ-like life are engaged in a great war today. There are casualties all around us of those who have surrendered to the enemy of our souls – that roaring lion who seeks to devour us – that liar satan( 1Peter 5:8 )! He is the one who tempts us to gratify our selfish desires. He is the one who pulls us into those sins that so easily beset us. We don’t have a chance to do hand-to-hand battle with this enemy. Why? He is a higher power than we are. He has been successful in defeating humans for thousands of years. No, we cannot match our ability to his. And yet, the Bible says that we are to resist the devil. So, what’s with that?!
I used to think that my willpower was the power of force – "I’m going to make it happen my SELF. I’m going to fight off the temptation. It’s all about ME!" After all, didn’t James 4:7 instruct us to “Resist the devil and he will flee from you”? Sure he did, but when that was all I did, I failed miserably. Why? I went straight to the meat, without "eating" the rest of the "sandwich". Let me explain, as we look into the context of the "Authoritative Sandwich" in James, chapter 4 =>
James 4:6 "... God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble -- Humble "Bread".
James 4:7 a Submit yourselves therefore to God. -- Submissive "Tomato".
James 4:7 b Resist the devil, and he will flee from you -- Authoritative "Meat".
James 4:8-9 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness -- Cleaned and Purified "Lettuce", through introspection confession, and repentance.
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, (Humble "Bread") and he shall lift you up.(Victory in Jesus! Hallelujah!)
- John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He who abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
- Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
This planet, as we know it, is nearing destruction. We see more and more polarization of its inhabitants. Some are choosing truth. The truth(of the Bible) is setting them free from those behaviors and attitudes that previously brought pain, distress and darkness, while others are choosing darkness by ignoring the light(truth).
- WHO IS THE TRUTH? John 14:6,15-21 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. ... 15 If you love me, keep my commandments{teachings}. 16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever: 17 the Spirit of truth... You know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. 19 ... you will see me. Because I live, you will live also... 21 One who has my commandments{teachings} and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”
- More about the Comforter => https://sidnash.org/docs/ComforterSent.html
- WHO IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD? John 1:1-14 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. ... 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. ... 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ... 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
- Study on John 1:1-5 => https://sidnash.org/docs/John1.1-5.html
- Study on John chapter 1 => https://sidnash.org/docs/John1.html
- WHO WANTS TO SET YOU FREE? John 8:31-38 Jesus ... said to those Judeans who had believed him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free... 36 If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. ... 38 I say the things which I have seen with my Father..."
This is your choice... and mine!
The question is, will you and I give our unconditional surrender to the benevolent "only true God"( John 17:3 )? Or, will we allow other gods to control us? Ultimately, those will be our only choices. Either we'll be embraced by our Benevolent General - Jehovah, along with His "beloved" Son? OR, will we be devoured by the lion( 1Pet 5:8 ), "the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and satan"( Rev 20:2 ).
Desiring to live by every word that comes from the mouth of Jehovah ( Deut8:3; Matt4:4 )
-Sid Nash: 01/02/2026. Latest version: https://sidnash.org/docs/AuthoritativeSandwich.html