1 John 5:4-5
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
What is victory over the world? John tells us, and it is not at all as dramatic-seeming as we might think. John tells us that victory over the world is our faith, as the one who has put his or her trust in Christ has overcome the world.
I think that, a few years ago, these verses seemed a bit odd to me. How could something as simple as trusting Christ equal overcoming the world? In my world, faith in Christ was natural and well accepted by all. People celebrated your faith. Church going was a good thing, almost expected by the “good” people of the community.
But then, as time has passed, I have come to understand that true faith in Christ is a great victory over worldliness. I can remember being challenged by those who claimed Christ and those who did not that faith is all well and good, but let’s not take it too far. We certainly would not want to be thought of as fanatical toward Jesus after all.
And now, as time has gone by, I am seeing how faith is an even greater conquest over the world. You see, in the day we now live in the US, faith is not as acceptable. The moral landscape of the US has changed. What used to be good and moral is now considered by society as intolerant and backward. Faith in Christ stands in the way of social progress. To believe that Jesus is the Son of God is to also believe his words and his standards. Jesus spoke clearly about marriage, about sexual purity, and about his own exclusivity. All three of those areas are unacceptable to many in our modern culture. In truth, the day may come when believers in Christ find themselves castigated by the world around them, considered to be as backward, bigoted, and dangerous as the KKK.
Of course, the caricaturing of Christians as harsh, closed-minded, backward, and dangerous is an unfair depiction—at least for genuine Christianity. However, the world will not care. There is a social, moral, and political agenda at work that demands that all people not only allow the freedom to do what God has forbidden, but also embrace and approve of the immoral decisions of others as right.
Thus we see how faith in Christ is an overcoming of the world. To believe in Jesus as the Christ is to oppose the part of the world that rejects any concept of the supernatural. To trust Christ is to acknowledge his exclusivity, actually daring to believe that others who do not trust Christ are outside the grace of God. This is not to declare yourself better than such people—we are all sinners who deserve judgment—but it is to dare to believe that not all people on the planet are equally forgiven. To trust in Jesus is to accept his lordship, even over issues where society demands we progress. The follower of Jesus overcomes the world by refusing to walk in lockstep away from the standards of God inspired in his holy word.
The true beauty here is not what we turn from, however, but that to which we turn. God is beautiful and glorious, holy in every way. God receives us into his family. The world would turn us from God. To overcome the world is to turn from the ways of culture and to embrace as the Lord the One who made us, who loves us, and who sacrificed himself to rescue us from our own sin before him. May we overcome and continue to overcome, experiencing his comfort and joy even in the midst of an age that would demand our concession.
Lord, you know that my faith in you is truly your own gift to me. I know that you are sovereign and always good. Please help me, as your follower, to overcome the world. I have no desire to beat others or to win in a contest. My desire is to not be led astray. My desire is to be faithful to you. My desire is to honor you in the middle of an age that would demand I not do so. For this, I need your help. The beginning of this victory is faith, and so I thank you for your grace that has come to me through faith in Christ.
Pastor Travis Peterson 