Can We Live Victoriously?

MEMORY VERSE: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” —Hebrews 13:8

I CORINTHIANS 15:3-15,58; HEBREWS 13

THOSE who love the Lord may live victoriously and in full assurance of faith that the promises of God which sustain them and the conditions of divine favor that have gladdened their hearts will never change so long as they remain loyal to the Heavenly Father’s will. This is true because our Lord never changes.

The child of God who is filled with the Spirit that comes from above shall have little difficulty in being victorious, because his heart is established and his faith rooted and grounded in righteousness. His soul is like an anchor that is sure and steadfast in the truth, and when the trials of life bear down upon him or when the winds of trouble spring upon him he can, in full assurance of faith, turn to God for help and know that he will receive it.

The truth is seldom found among the worldly wise or strong-bodied, but on the other hand, even as the Apostle Paul pointed out (I Cor. 1:26-28), “Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are.” And following this argument the apostle explains that the reason why the truth finds its way to the lowly and despised of this world is that “no flesh should glory in his presence.” This is the class that goes forth in full assurance of faith that Jesus Christ IS the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

The worldly-wise are too preoccupied with their own accomplishments to consider our Lord at this time, but must wait until the future thousand-year kingdom of Christ, when they will be dealt with and will receive lessons that will humble their hearts. In that day the whole world will come to know their Savior and the glory of his unchangeableness.

There are many admonitions surrounding our study text that may assist us in our growth of Christian character—concerning brotherly love, our treatment of strangers, sympathy for others, and our conversation. We are also given the promise that our Lord will never leave us nor forsake us—this being one of the most blessed promises in the entire Word of God,—and it is supported in Old Testament Scriptures as well (Deut. 31:6), “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Keeping this thought in mind, together with the thought of the memory text is indeed strengthening to us, for what greater assurance that we may be victorious in our Christian walk could we have than to know that our Lord will never abandon us in our desire to follow in his footsteps?

And again, the apostle continues (13:6), “We may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Fear is one of the greatest enemies that we have to overcome in this life, and it causes untold distress among the human family, as well as among the Lord’s people. We may be sure that there was no fear in the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world; our first parents realized divine protection over them. When sin came in, the whole picture changed, and since then man has become very fearful as a result of his alienation from God. With the child of God this need not be so, for we may boldly say that he is our Helper and we can therefore put away fear. This may require faith in many circumstances, but if we keep this admonition in mind it will help us to become victorious in our consecrated lives.

We must also be on guard regarding what we have learned to be the fundamental doctrines of our faith, even as the apostle said (13:9), “Be not carried about with diverse and strange doctrines.” It is important in the end of this Gospel-Age harvest to be alert and hold fast those doctrines of truth that have gladdened our hearts—keeping the truth pure and simple in our lives.

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