What does victory look like? The Eagles won the Super Bowl in a decisive victory. I’ve known people to beat cancer, and that’s victory. The Allies beat Germany and Japan in World War II. Victory is defeating the enemy and winning. In 1 John 5:4-5, John writes, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” If you are a believer and follower of Jesus, you win!
Jesus said you must be born again. Without Christ, you are dead in sin, lost in transgression, under the kingdom of darkness and a slave to Satan. Jesus explained “being born again” to Nicodemus the Jewish Rabbi in John 3. He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus asked, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” You must be born of God and believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And you can’t “born yourself” again; God does this to you, of His Spirit. Are you born again? Do you believe? Who do you say Jesus is?
You see, the world is against you. This world is not our home. The power of the world is against you in commercials and marketing and social media. It shows itself in sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these (Galatians 5:19-21). The world makes promises it cannot keep, it seduces you and traps you. The treasures on earth are what moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but your treasures in Christ are in heaven, where your heart is (Matthew 6:19-21). You cannot serve two masters, you have to fight the battle. How can you overcome?
You overcome the world and have victory through faith. Christ has set you free! “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.” It was a one-time act, the hour you first believed, when you came to know Christ and were born again. And it is an ongoing battle; Paul told Timothy, “Fight the good fight of the faith and take hold of the eternal life to which you were called (1 Tim 6:12).” Put on your armor today and lean hard into faith in Jesus. The key to victory is believing in Jesus, the Son of God. Victory is not found in yourself or church or denomination, it is in the person, Christ Jesus, your Lord and Savior. Do you want to live the Christian life of victory? Christ has already won the victory for you on the cross. You win!