Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:1-5 NIV)
The gullibility of people remains constant. Aren’t you amazed at what people will believe? Just look at the headlines on grocery store tabloids: Cow Mattresses Help Cows Produce More Milk; Mom On Diet Of Only Chicken, Lays Huge Egg; World War II Bomber Found On The Moon; Woman Gives Birth To Two Year Old Baby — Child Walks And Talks In Three Days; Adam And Eve’s Bones Found In Asia — Eve Was A Space Alien. Those have actually been printed, read, and believed by gullible people. And these same people have trouble believing in the miracle working power of God.
But the truth is that even Christians have a problem with faith. The challenge has always been to believe God. If we would enter into the place of God’s provision, we must have faith. Faith is the key that unlocks the door. By faith we came to know Jesus, and by faith we enter into the promises of God. Faith is the place to begin.
Vance Havner used to tell the story of an elderly lady who was greatly disturbed by her many troubles both real and imaginary. Finally she was told in a kindly way by her family, "Grandma, we’ve done all we can do for you. You’ll just have to trust God for the rest." A look of utter despair spread over her face as she replied, "Oh, dear, has it come to that?" Havner would say, "It always comes to that, so we might as well begin with that!"
Do you have trouble with faith? Is it sometimes hard to believe God? I’m not talking about believing in God, but believing God for His provision. To walk by faith is not simply to believe in God, but rather to believe God for all of life’s needs.
This is so important. It is important because we are engaged in the living of life. And sometimes life is a struggle. For the believer, it is especially a struggle. The one born of God is immediately put in conflict with the world. The Bible teaches that we are in a battle. The alternatives are clear. On the one hand there is defeat; on the other there is victory. The choice is between being an undercomer, one who is always under the circumstances, or being an overcomer, one who rises above the circumstances. We can either be overcome or we can overcome.
You can be sure that the enemy of our soul, Satan, has marshaled all of his demonic forces for the sole purpose of overcoming the believer. On the other hand, the Lord has put in place a divine strategy by which we can become overcomers. It is a brilliant one. Not only has He placed His resources at our disposal, in the form of His angelic hosts, but He has placed within us an overcoming nature.
Our text indicates that we are in a battle with the world. It is the world we have to overcome. Since that is true, it is important we understand just what the world is.
When I was a boy, a preacher in my hometown made this announcement: "I am going to preach tonight on why it is a sin to have long sideburns and a mustache." I suppose this was his idea of worldliness or conformity to the world. It seems laughable to us that this would be considered as a topic for a sermon. Is this really what worldliness consists of? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not questioning this preacher’s motives, only his information. You see, some people believe that conformity to the world consists in an outward conformity. There is an element of truth to this. People who adopt the philosophy of the world often reflect that in their appearance. But we must be careful to deal with the real issue. The real issue of worldliness is found in the prevailing philosophy of the world, a philosophy meticulously developed by the archenemy of God, Satan himself.
We must be careful also to avoid extremes. One extreme is to equate worldliness with outward, superficial things such as style. But the other extreme is to take the insidious threat of worldliness far too lightly. Some Christians are guilty of a causal playing down of the devastating danger of adopting the philosophy of the world. But to this John sounds the battle cry. The apostle of love speaks often of combat and victory. He heard Jesus, before Gethsemane, say, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." So John speaks of overcoming the Wicked One and the world here. He challenges each of us to live the overcoming life through faith.
Worldliness is not merely blatant sin. Worldliness is anything that diminishes our dedication, our devotion, and our walk with God. In 1 John 2:15-17 the apostle says,
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
What is behind the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life? It is the philosophy of the world. This philosophy is the sum of other things, material or philosophical, considered apart from God. The thing, or way of thinking, which entices me to trust it, or give myself to it, is the world. The philosophy of the world demands my allegiance, and in so doing crowds out my trust in Christ, my love for Him, and my devotion to Him. Allegiance to the world, and to worldly thinking, is that which cools my heart and makes the commandments of God burdensome. This is the field of combat for the believer.
We can see why it is such a threat. It produces trust in things, which makes us self-centered, class-conscious, self-exalting, and self-loving instead of other-loving, God-loving persons. But the best things about life are not things! But the world exalts us as individuals and seeks to appeal to our lust. Even the commercials on television appeal to our self-centeredness. We’re encouraged to take what we deserve, pamper ourselves, and amass material possessions, without which we will certainly not be happy. But the real aim of the world system is to refocus our attention from God onto things.
And to be honest, we must say that we all have experienced defeat at its hands. As we have struggled to follow Christ, we find that we have sometimes yielded to the world’s seductive sweetness. At times we have tried to live a self-giving lifestyle and found self-centeredness getting in the way. But thank God. We need not despair! There is a victory — a faith which overcomes. In fact there is a conquering nature.
In verse 4 we read, "for everyone born of God overcomes the world." In order to overcome the world we need more than self-effort. We need to become, by nature, overcomers. The strategy of our God, which is in itself brilliant, has given us this overcoming nature. This nature alone will undertake the contest with the world. This nature alone can continue it. All else wearies in the fray. This nature alone is born to conquer. It is the nature implanted in the believer at the new birth which makes the difference.
The amazing truth is that we have been altered at the very core of our being. We have been turned, from a creature destined for defeat, into a creature destined for victory. We have been inextricably united with our Savior, who has already overcome the world. We begin to overcome by allowing this new nature to have its way in our lives. In our contest with the world we must learn to yield to the nature of God within us. We must choose to trust in God. We must allow God to cause faith to rise within us.
The new nature desires to believe God. The old nature, which continually tries to reassert itself, tells us that we can’t believe God. But it is by believing God that we overcome the world. Verse 4 continues, "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."
Look at the faith through which we overcome the world. What kind of faith is it? Well, as we have said, it is the faith which produces a new life in Christ. It is faith in Jesus as the Son of God. It is the faith which brings us to Christ, and imparts the victorious divine nature to us. It is the faith which opens our eyes to the kingdom of God and to our glorious inheritance in Christ. It is the faith which brings us into a wondrous, intimate relationship with Jesus, our risen Savior. It is a living faith in a living God, who lives in us. Paul described it in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." Christ in me! That is what this faith produces in us.
But it is also faith in action. It is a life lived by faith. Continuing in Galatians 2:20 we read, "The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Four places in the Scripture, in Habakkuk, Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, do we find the phrase, "The just shall live by faith." The faith which overcomes the world is a faith lived out in deeds. In James 2 we read of the relationship of faith and works. They go hand in glove. When we put our faith into action, we really begin to see what God can do.
Don’t be afraid to believe God. There is no danger of developing eyestrain from looking on the bright side. Stepping out in faith will prove the words of Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Dr. Jesse Henly, a Bible teacher and Greek scholar, translates it this way: "I am almighty in the one who continually keeps pouring His power into me." Faith will bring you to that conviction. Faith will enable you to see beyond what seems impossible and believe it to be possible even though it may seem illogical. Philip Yancey defines faith as: "Believing in advance in something that will only seem logical when seen in reverse."
Walt Disney had a vision. It was for a fantasyland where people could come and, for a little while, lose their worries as they enjoyed this dream world. The result of that was Disney Land. Then in central Florida another piece of ground began to be transformed. Today it’s Disney World. Mike Vance tells about being in Disney World soon after its completion. Someone said, "Isn’t it too bad, Mike, that Walt Disney didn’t live to see this." Vance replied, "Oh, he did see it, and that’s why it’s here!" The power to see something through eyes of faith is the beginning of seeing it in reality.
F.B. Meyer said, "Unbelief puts our circumstance between us and God, but faith puts God between us and our circumstances." Whatever the circumstances, choose to believe God. And sometimes that means you’ll have to take a risk. Faith is not walking only where you can see the way. Sometimes faith means crawling out on a limb because that’s where the fruit is. Never let the fear of failure keep you from believing God or you may end up like Miss Jones.
Miss Jones, an elderly spinster, lived in a small mid-western community. She had the notoriety of being the oldest resident of the town. One day she died and the editor of the local newspaper wanted to print a little caption commemorating Miss Jones’ death. However, the more he thought about it, the more he became aware that while Miss Jones had never done anything terribly wrong, she had actually never done anything of note. In despair, the editor decided to assign the task to the first reporter he came across. The only fellow around was the sports editor, so he gave him the assignment. This is the result:
Here lie the bones of Nancy Jones,
Her life held no terrors.
She lived an old maid. She died an old maid.
No hits, no runs, no errors.
Choose to believe God. Choose to place your faith in His miracle working power. Choose to take an active step of faith based upon your trust in Him. Remember, Christ has already won the victory. By faith we enter into His victory as we come to know Him better. By faith we experience that victory as we allow Him complete control of our lives. It is this overcoming faith which pulls it all together. It is faith which makes the difference. It is faith which causes it all to work.
Someone who works in the field of Chemistry pointed out that if you mix hydrogen and oxygen, the well-known components of water, you get no reaction — and no water! But if you add a small amount of platinum to this stable mixture, things begin to happen rather rapidly. The hydrogen and oxygen unite and a chemical change occurs which produces H2O. Just as platinum is needed as a catalyst to achieve the desired result so faith must be present in our walk with the Lord to pull together everything else we do. Our church attendance, Bible reading, prayer, and faithful deeds bring us to a place of victorious overcoming only as they are mixed with faith. We need to understand the "chemistry" of faith. It is explosive!
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