Faith Is The Victory

Faith is the Victory “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:2-4) How many of us count it all joy when we are tempted on every side? But we are told to count it all joy. Why? Well, what exactly is being tested? Your faith! And when this faith is tested it works or produces patience and patience habitually revealed no doubt makes one perfect. What if, when you are tempted and tried, instead of revealing patience you get more agitated or annoyed? It is not faith! A person who reveals impatience under the testing of their faith shows that they have no faith, for if they had it, it would work patience for, “the trying of your faith WORKETH patience.” Seeing that there is only “one faith” (Eph 4:5), the faith of Jesus is the same faith we are to possess. It is no wonder then that this faith, “is the victory that overcometh the world…” (1 John 5:4) it is the faith of Jesus! Therefore only those who know that they are in possession of this faith can “count it all joy” when they fall into divers temptations, for they know that the testing of this faith will, not might, but will produce patience. And so they exclaim, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15:57) and “…this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4) This is the faith of Jesus that exclaimed, “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” (John 14:30) This is the faith of Jesus that said as comfort to His disciples, and comes to us as such, living in this judgment hour, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Therefore have this faith that you too through Jesus Christ the Lord may overcome the world, and all that is in the world, “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life…And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:16) “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” (1 Pet 4:1) Notice also that Peter does not say ‘arm yourselves likewise with a mind like that of Christ, but he does say ‘arm yourselves likewise with the same mind’. Not one like it, but the very same mind, the mind of Christ! This is why the Apostle Paul said, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 2:5) Let it! Do strive to have it, Let this mind be in you!

“For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son…” God does the giving and you are to receive Him. What does it mean when it speaks of Christ suffering for us? “For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted.” (Heb 2:18) Christ suffered for us in that He was tempted for us that He might succour them that are tempted and that is US! The sins He was made and thus tempted and tried with were not His own but ours, “ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows…He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities…and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa 53:4-6) Then when His faith was tried, it was tried for us. And after being subjected to such a test it was found to be like “gold tried in the fire”. To which Jesus says to “buy of me” that ye may be rich, yes rich indeed, rich in faith, the brilliant faith of Jesus. Yes our faith is to grow and that ‘exceedingly’ (2 Thess 1:3) but the faith we are to have must be of the same quality as that of Jesus, it must be gold. If it be any other material the fires of temptation will reveal of what quality it is. (1Pe 1:7) But if it be gold, and if you know it to be gold then there is great cause for rejoicing when the gold of faith is tried, for nothing is lost in the fires save that impure matter which is worthless in the eyes of a Holy God. Therefore, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”