I John 5:4 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
True salvation comes only through faith (Ephesians 2:8,9). It is the door to salvation because it trusts in what God has revealed to us about salvation in the Bible. Christ died for us and we need nothing else but to believe that He is all we need to be saved.
Salvation, however, is only the beginning of the many things that God wants every believer to have and accomplish in this life. You may remember that Canaan in the Bible is not a picture of Heaven.
Instead, it is a place that God gives a believer who is willing to move forward and grow in grace. It is where the milk and honey of the Christian life are found. There are, however, enemies in it that must be conquered. One of those enemies is “the world.”
The “world” refers to those temptations that are contrary to accomplishing the full will of God. They are all around us, and sometimes they are in our homes. We face them daily – and sometimes hourly. Our flesh is naturally drawn to them, but when we walk in the Spirit, there is victory over them.
To help us have victory, God has given us many promises of victory. They are as a “shield” that is indestructible and can defeat any enemy: “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Ephesians 6:16). The key to that kind of victory is faith that God will keep us – as long as we are following Him.
You may have heard the saying that reveals that the Christian that is doing God’s will is invincible – until God is finished with him or her. It’s true. It’s time we believe it and forsake that which slows us down in service for Him.
That kind of service requires “crucifixion” to self and to the world. There can be no lasting victory without crucifixion to worldly desires. Only God can do it in us: “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14).
Who are you going to serve, Christian – Christ or the world? Are you really serving Him in the way He desires? There can be no victory without battle.