Victorious Living for Those Who Have Been Made Victorious in Christ

By Mark W. Christy, PhD

According to Scripture, Christians are expected to fully obey the commands of God. In John 14:15, Jesus says emphatically, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (cf. John 14:21; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 1:6).[i] Jesus also says that His true followers will obey God: “For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). In Ephesians, Paul notes that “the will of God” must be done “from the heart” (Eph 6:6) Finally, Jesus even goes so far as to say one’s entrance into heaven depends on such obedience: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matt 7:21).

This expectation of obedience creates quite the conundrum for anyone who maintains a proper biblical view of themselves in regard to sin. Paul in Romans 3:10-12 offers this perspective: “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” John, in his first epistle, goes so far as to say anyone who denies they are a sinner is a liar: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1:8).

Given that God expects obedience from sinners who have by default disobeyed, how can Christians ever hope to meet His condition for fellowship? Thankfully, God sent Christ who fully obeyed the will of God so that we, as Christians, receive fellowship with God through Him. Paul puts it this way, “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Rom 5:19). Here, Paul makes it clear that a believer’s acceptance by God is not based on his/her righteousness but upon the righteousness of Christ alone. Unlike Christ who was completely perfect and without sin, the believer (a sinner) is made righteous by the blood of Christ.

While Christians are made righteous by God in Christ, they still struggle with sin. By sinning, they fail to do the will of God, and it would seem that this should once again prevent their ability to fellowship with God. The gospel of Jesus Christ, however, offers the solution to this apparent problem. It teaches that Christ satisfied God’s command to obey through His sacrificial death on the cross (Rom 5:18). For those who repent and put their faith in Christ and His death as the substitute for their sins, Paul declares, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). True believers, according to Jesus, are given to Him by the Father, and He has promised that they are safe in God’s hands: “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:29; cf. Rom 8:38-39; Eph 4:30).

While the promises of Christ offer real assurance to the true Christian, one should carefully consider whether he or she is indeed an authentic believer especially since the example of Simon the Magician in Acts 13 demonstrates that a person can believe and be baptized and still remain unconverted. Clearly, a person has the potential to deceive themselves and make a false confession of faith in Christ (cf. James 1). For this reason, Paul says, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test” (2 Cor 13:5)?

When performing a self-examination in light of God’s Word, which reveals His holy perfection and divine expectation of the same among His followers, even a true Christian will be forced to carefully consider their authenticity in regard to the faith. John in his first epistle offers same counsel which at first glance could easily cause even the most godly among the faithful to shudder: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1:6-7).

After meditating on 1 John 1:6-7, one could quite easily determine that any Christian who sins while proclaiming fellowship with Christ is a liar. This, however, is not the proper interpretation of John’s words as the proceeding verses in his first epistle will demonstrate:

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1:8-10).

For John, the “darkness” is equivalent to being apart from Christ and disobedient to the His gospel of salvation by grace through repentance and faith, whereas the “light” is reserved for those who have responded. John makes this certain when he points out that no one can claim sinlessness; therefore, sinners who are saved should confess their sins and thereby bring them into the light of the gospel which offers complete forgiveness (at the point of salvation) and grace for victorious living.

In terms of salvation, a Christian’s victory over Satan, sin, and death is a gift given by God through Christ: “but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:57). Specifically, this victory is faith in Christ: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4; cf. Eph 2:8-9). Christians are, in this way, made victorious by God apart from any effort by themselves as God himself supplies their salvation in Christ by giving them the gifts of repentance and faith (Acts 11:18; Eph 2:8-9; 2 Tim 2:25).

While Christians (who are authentic) can indeed proclaim victory in Christ in the past tense, they are also called to victorious living despite their ongoing struggle with sin. They are to live a life of humility whereby they carefully examine themselves in light of Scripture and constantly strive to walk in obedience to its teachings (2 Cor 13:5). As they grow in their knowledge of God’s Word, they will find the need to repent because their struggles with sin will be made known to them by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit as they study God’s Word: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26).

As believers humble themselves and seek to follow God by living in submission to God’s Word, they will find that doing so requires an ongoing transaction of will. The Bible teaches that believers must actively, obediently, volitionally, deliberately, and voluntarily choose to repent of any and all sins while at the same time and in the same way choosing to follow Christ in perfect submission to the will of God. Appealing to Christians on this matter, Paul writes,

“Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom 13:12-14; cf. Col 3:1-17).

Even though believers are called to actively choose to repent and obey in the course of the daily living, the power to do so comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit: “if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:13). As believers submit to the Word of God, the cleansing power of God’s Holy Spirit will enable them to live the victory through righteous living even while they have made completely victorious in Christ Jesus.

[i]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.