How am I supposed to live victorious in this dark world, and what does that even mean?
Sometimes, in our Christian walk we can get confused. Sometimes this happens right from the start and we try to build on that. It’s far better to gain a solid foundation to build on now, so through your journey with Christ, you can stand firm.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
In this article, I want to talk about our walk with Jesus and what it means. I want to help people understand what it means to be a Christian in this dark world, and even though you might not feel like you’re on the right path, that you are if trying to live for Christ alone. We all have choices to make each day, and these choices will have an impact on, not only our lives, but those around us, also.
Table of Contents
The first step after accepting Jesus is accepting that Jesus is now in you
Upon accepting Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior, you were given the Holy Spirit as a Helper and as your seal of Salvation. By having the Spirit of God in you, you are made right with God through Jesus. Without a relationship with Jesus, there is no Salvation, and without the Son in you, the Holy Spirit won’t be given to you, either.
So, if you’ve truly believed and accepted Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior, you have the Spirit of God in you and you’re made right before God. This is something you must accept from the beginning. I say this because there are so many Christians who have this feeling that, “Maybe I’m not saved; maybe the Holy Spirit isn’t in me. If He was, then why do I mess up so much?”
The devil will try to make every believer feel this way. This is why you must put on the full armor of God each day and take every thought captive, analyzing and testing the spirits. You can get fooled and misled very easily if trying to work through your own power. That’s why the Holy Spirit is with you, to give you discernment and to lead you so that you stay on the right path.
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Right from the start when you give your life to Christ, you are given the same power and authority as Jesus was given over the devil. We must not try to misuse this power, but to use this power to maintain our walk with Christ. With this power, we don’t have to give into the temptations and lies and fears of the devil. With this power in us, we can have freedom in our minds and peace in our souls.
This world is dark and is full of evil. There is nowhere we can go where we don’t find sinful activity. But with the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we have the ability to utilize self-control and avoid participation. The devil can’t make you do anything, especially if you have Jesus in you. But you need to practice your authority, and not expect the Holy Spirit to automatically do it for you.
You have the power in you to be a Christian in a fallen world
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
When you become a Christian, a follower of Christ, you are given the power to live as Christ lived. So many Christians are stuck with a feeling that they can’t completely sever their old lifestyles or step away from their former friends. Because of this, they can’t do the work God intended for their lives.
Jesus didn’t promise that this new way would be easy, but He did promise that He would be with you and that you could do it through Him. This is where you have to set emotion aside and look to reason. The Holy Bible is God’s Word which tells us how we should live as Christians. Christianity is based on a “Knowing” and not an emotion. We know how Jesus lived and that we’re to live that way, too, regardless of how we feel.
So, what I’m saying is, don’t feel like you have to please your friends and family. If your commitment is to Christ, then the bible says that you must die to self and follow Christ. Putting God first in all things. You must do things based on what the Scripture says, and not the way people make you feel. You must be willing to walk away from sinful activity at any cost, and be an example of Christ.
If you do fall into sin, be willing to get out of it as quickly as possible, confessing the sin and repenting. Rather than beating yourself up over it, which is what the devil wants. He will throw every condemnation possible at you if you give in to sin. But, know this, that you are forgiven and accepted just as the prodigal son was lovingly accepted back with the father. Get back in the Word and be restored.
If you follow God’s commandments and live by the Word of God through faith, you’ll please God. If you allow yourself to be “feeling” based, you’ll fall away from God. The devil works on emotion; God works on wisdom. We must learn this from the very start. God made us emotional beings, but gave us a mind to think and make choices based on fact, knowledge, and wisdom.
What does the bible say about those who truly know Christ?
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Christians will show the love of Christ to others
So, the above Scripture tells us that we’ll know that we know Christ if we keep His commandments and word. It also says that if we claim to live in Christ, that we’ll walk as He walked. Finally, it says that we will love our brother and not hate him.
What does it mean to hate your brother? Well, first of all, brother means fellow Christian, man or woman. Secondly, all people are potential brothers and sisters in Christ. God meant for all people on earth to know the Son, and that none should perish. Hell was only meant for Satan and the fallen angels.
We must love our brothers and sisters, and not hate them. This means that we must be kind to one another. We must make allowances for their shortcomings, and not judge them harshly. We must be willing to lovingly steer them away from sin and back to a right way of living (this is referring to those in the church, not those in the world), and we must be willing to forgive just as we were forgiven in Christ.
This commandment, “Love one another,” is the new commandment that Jesus gave us in the New Testament. This doesn’t do away with the original ten commandments, but rather, sums them all up. If you love Christ and have the love of Christ in you, you’ll keep the commandments of God through faith and respect to God.
It’s important to see how God has accepted you and has forgiven you for your faults and be willing to do this for others. Allow God the opportunity to judge others for their sins, and instead, show them love and be an example of what it means to live as Jesus lived. It might hurt to forgive someone who might not deserve to be forgiven, but this is what God wants to see from you as a Christian. One day, God will make right for you all the wrongs that were done to you. For now, trust God and have faith in Him, and if only for that reason, forgive others as quickly as possible.
A Christian must accept that eternity is real and final
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
This Scripture is telling you that what you do for others, is what you do as unto Jesus. What you’re not willing to do for others, is what you’re not willing to do for Jesus. It’s telling you that a true Christian will do things to or for others as they would for Jesus. He’s calling these, “the Righteous.” He’s saying that the righteous will inherit eternal life, which is Salvation and eternity in Heaven.
However, He’s saying that those who aren’t willing to show love to others, that they will experience everlasting punishment. This is the same death and eternal future that Satan will experience.
This judgment is final. There isn’t a second chance. The life you’re currently living is your second chance; hearing messages of warning like this is your second chance. Now is the time to live the way Jesus lived and do your best to live according to the will of God.
What does it mean to be victorious in Christ?
Many Christians aren’t living the life Jesus promised in John 10:10.
Jesus promised abundant life. By accepting Christ into your life, you’re supposed to gain life, and more abundantly. But so many Christians are sad or worried or fearful or sick or depressed or even on the verge of suicide. This doesn’t sound very abundant, right?
The abundance of life that Jesus is talking about is Spiritual abundance. It might very well also mean physical abundance of wealth and possessions, but first, I think it means mentally and spiritually.
A person who is mentally abundant will have wisdom and a sound mind. They will have direction in life and think clearly. They will be at peace and not fearful of anything. They will be able to rest and remain content and happy even in tough times.
A person who is spiritually abundant will know the love of Christ in them. They will have the Spirit of God shining through them for all the world to see. The nine fruits of the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, will show in the things they do and the way they act. Their spirit will be in harmony with the Spirit of God, and they will have great spiritual discernment towards harmful or misleading spirits.
This abundant life in Christ is what each Christian needs to be victorious in this dark world. To do this, all the above information in this article applies; love your neighbor, avoid sinful activity, forgive those who wrong you, live according to the will of God and obey His commandments.
If you’re continually participating in sin of any sort, you’re giving the devil a foothold in your life. It’s impossible to live the abundant life that Jesus is talking about with the devil in your life. This victory that I’m talking about is victory over darkness, the devil. If you don’t do away with the devil and the things that are in him, you won’t find victory in Christ. There will always be a dead weight clinging to you weighing you down.
Conclusion
To summarize this article, 1; accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and accept that He and the Holy Spirit now live in you. 2; don’t live as the world lives, but, be transformed to the likeness of Christ – strive to love as Jesus loved. 3; strive to live more abundantly through Christ by living unto Christ – read the bible daily to know how God wants you to do this. 4; find victory in Christ by eliminating sinful living and get rid of all signs of the devil in your life – don’t give the devil a foothold.
The steps to freedom in Christ aren’t difficult, but they do require a change of lifestyle. They require new habits and some discipline. But instead of focusing on feelings and emotions, and making choices based on those, focus on eternal life and the Word of God, and make your choices based on those.
Finding victory in Christ is made simple to Christians. Living the victorious life in Christ and denying the sinful nature is the hard part. So, instead of trying to do this in your own power, surrender fully to God and do it in the power of His Spirit. Remember above where He says He’s already given you power to tread on serpents? Now’s the time to utilize this power.
Use the power of the Holy Spirit to say no to temptations, to say no to thoughts of fear, to make good choices throughout the day, and to turn to God in prayer, praise, and bible reading when things are starting to get difficult in your mind. This is the way to victory in Christ in this dark world, and it’s a process that will take time to get right. But you can only get better through practice, so, practice!
If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you can follow this link (Prayer for Salvation) to find out how. Also, if you need prayer for your life or your family, feel free to fill out a private prayer request in the provided prayer box in this article. My wife and I would love to pray for you.
Take care!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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