Without Faith it is Impossible!

1John 5:11" And this is the record,that God hath given to us eternal life,and this life is in his Son."

John declared that our faith in Christ is the victory that overcomes the sinful influences of the world. And then,as if to test his readers' comprehension of that statement,he asked,Who overcomes the world?  John immediately answered his own question:only the one who believes that Jesus is God's Son.

No other agent or formula defeats the sinful influences we face. Only Jesus faced them, and overcame them all.It is only when we acknowledge our own helplessness and place our confidence in the sufficiency of Christ's victory, that we have victory over sin.We may try other means,such as will power,accountability, support groups, human thought, or philosophy, rituals,or routines, disgust for the sin, or shame and guilt. We may even find that some of those things offer limited success in helping us curb certain behaviors or keep them in check temporarily.But it is only through faith in Christ, and a total surrender to Him, that we can be tuned in to his will,our mind can comprehend His thoughts, and our actions become joyful acts of worship.

If we are believing in and relying on anything but Christ's victory to overcome sin ,our efforts are doomed.It is good for us to examine ourselves periodically to be sure that our faith is not misplaced. What a relief it is to know that the hard part of overcomming sinful influences has been done for us by Jesus' life, death ,and resurrection.To remain in His victory,we need only to hold confidently to God's provisions for us in Christ.Faith in Christ includes an understanding of who he is and a reliance upon him for salvation and an overcoming lifestyle.Through this kind of faith believers experience victory over the sinful influences of this world.For without faith it is impossible to please God!