Victorious Living
“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” 1 John 5:5
There have been many times over the past week that I have often thought to myself, as Paul did in Romans 7:19 when he wrote “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” I know that I am probably the only one in this boat (tongue in cheek), but I often struggle with doing what I know is right and not doing what is wrong. In most instances, it is just the omitting act of not doing what I know I should do, but there are those times when I find myself fighting with my sinful nature. I can think of numerous times when I have struggled with doing wrong, but somehow I had victory in the fight and was kept from doing wrong. What is it that allows me to fight off the sinful desires of my flesh? What is it that allows me to lose the battle of my flesh? What is it that helps me do what is good? What is it that keeps me from doing what I know I should do?
I was reading in I John 5 this week and found the answer to all these questions. John closes chapter 5 by talking about the victory there is for those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. “Everyone born of God overcomes the world (v. 4a).” Because of the new birth, salvation, we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to overcome our sinful nature. So what happens when we fall? Very simply put, we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to have complete control of our life. We are not making Jesus, Lord. The Bible clearly teaches that when we ask Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of our life, we get 100% of the Holy Spirit. We don’t get just part of the Holy Spirit; we get all of Him. So if we have all of the Holy Spirit, we have all it takes to live a victorious life. When we fail to live this victorious life, it is simply because we have made a conscious decision to not allow the Holy Spirit to have complete control of our life. We have all it takes to live a life that is controlled by the Holy Spirit. We simply have to take advantage of the power within us. The next time you are faced with a decision to do what is good or to do what is evil, claim the victory that has already been won at the cross of Christ.
“This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4b
Living Victoriously,
Aaron Hodges
I think this is a really important topic and relevant to the life of every Christian. I wholeheartedly agree with what you say, Aaron, that the remedy is through the work of the Holy Spirit in us. As I continue to mature in my faith, I discover that it is easier to get things right when I'm in close fellowship with God and in tune with His Spirit. "But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16) And the way to develop this close fellowship is through worship!
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