Monday, May 27, 2013

Victory Over the World

1st John 5:4 is a great verse of triumph that says: For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith.

What will we overcome? “The world.” This is talking about the evil world system dominated by Satan. 1st John 5:19 says: “The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” It is under his influence, following his path. But we can overcome it, at least in our lives How? By faith! 1st John 5:5 says, “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Think about it: The one who overcomes is the one who believes, and believing brings salvation. Ephesians 2:8 assures us, “By grace are you saved through faith.” Our new birth – our relationship with God - allows us to be over-comers. We can overcome the world. Victory can be ours.

But victory of what kind? Is it freedom from trials and tribulations? Freedom from sickness and distress? Freedom from labor and struggle? Of course not! In John 16:33, Jesus says: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Tribulation is guaranteed, but so is victory.

Romans 8:35-39 helps put it in perspective:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul apparently thought some people might worry they could be separated from the love of Christ, so he made a list of things people worry about. But his obvious expected answer is, NO! Nothing can separate us.

Oh, yes. Historically there has been a slaughter of believers. Christian blood soaked the floor of amphitheaters all across the Roman Empire as they were torn by lions, hacked by gladiators, or turned into human torches for Nero’s garden parties. And little has changed over the years as the persecution continues in communist and Muslim countries. But believers are called more than conquerors. Conquerors win, but we are more than victorious. We may lose our lives, but we gain eternity. He has that much confidence.

Paul could say, “I’ve lived through them all, and I know: Nothing can separate us from the love of God.” There are absolutely no exceptions, and especially not death. Death only transports us to heaven. It is in this life where the spiritual dangers lie, where the temptations confront us; but death is the end of harm. But even here, even when the world lays us low, we can be over-comers if we allow our trials to drive us to a closer relationship with God. That makes us more than conquerors. No matter what happens, as long as we have our love relationship with Jesus, we more than conquerors.

Let me close with this story: George Matheson, who lived in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1800’s had degenerative blindness. Yet, he worked really hard to finish seminary, and he spent his life as a beloved pastor. He also had a human love interest in his life, a girl he adored and wanted desperately to marry. But she refused to marry a blind man. But that rejection by his human love caused him to write the words of this hymn:

“O love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.”

Have you found that love relationship with God? It only comes through faith in His son, Jesus Christ, but it’s the only way you will overcome the world.

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