Applying Our Faith

Read 1 John 5:1-12.

John makes it clear that the key to living life at its best—a life aligned with the will and design of God our Creator—is victorious faith. This kind of faith is more than a set of doctrines or beliefs, more than church tradition. It’s a daily experience of the love of Christ and putting that love into practice. Too many believers are saved by faith and have received their eternal inheritance yet live in utter spiritual poverty because they don’t exercise conquering faith. They don’t live victoriously over sin by the power of Christ, and so they don’t overcome the world (see 1 John 5:3-5).

What world is John referring to? There are two worlds that we face on a regular basis: an outside world and an inside world. The inside world you face includes your head and heart—it’s probably the location of the greatest battles of your life. In your internal world, you will face temptations to worry, indifference, selfishness, and more. These can be overcome by the power of Christ so that we have a positive impact in the outside world for His glory. If we want to live this way, we must honestly check our hearts and attitudes. When we see the brokenness, injustice, poverty, and need of the outside world, how do we respond? Do we shrug and say, “Well, what can I do?” or do we draw on the eternal inheritance we have in Christ and connect God’s resources with those situations?

We have been given an incredible and powerful inheritance through faith in God and His promises. We must exercise our faith, stretch it, and live by it. We can trust in the Lord, who’s given us this victorious faith, and go out and conquer sin and evil in His name. John wrote his gospel to tell us that Jesus is the only way to heaven, that there’s no salvation, no real peace or joy, apart from Him. Now in his epistle, John is telling us how to apply the Gospel to our life. He shares that we exercise our faith through love—love for God and love for others. “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:3-4).

Prayer: Lord, thank You for the gift of faith. May I exercise it daily, drawing from Your strength to apply my faith to my inner struggles and the outside world. I want to keep Your commands and so overcome the world. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.