Pastor's Corner: On being a victorious Christian

I really want to live the victorious Christian life. Don’t you? I mean, don’t you want to be one of those Christians that others look up to — a person with a faith that never wavers; a Christian who knows just the right thing to say and do to help someone in need?

But in terms of the Christian life, I’m more often like the prophet Ezekiel, looking around at the world and seeing lifeless bones — dryness and death (Ezekiel 37). I see and experience the wreckage of life and so do you — embattled families and marriages, health issues, chaos in the streets, natural disasters and terrorism, hatred and moral decay. I struggle against my own sinful heart. The victorious Christian life seems like a myth.

But it’s not. It’s just that it looks different than we often think. It’s not something you do. The victory has already been won. Jesus’ death and resurrection is your victory over sin, death, and the forces of evil. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Jesus’ death and resurrection is the event that puts you on the Christian road and then the rest of the journey is up to you; don’t make the mistake of thinking that Jesus did His part a couple of thousand years ago and now the rest of your Christian walk is up to you.

Pentecost is not about leaving Jesus behind and putting the burden on you to follow in His steps and live the victorious Christian life on your own. About the Holy Spirit Jesus said, “All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:15). Pentecost is about the Holy Spirit taking what belongs to Jesus and giving it to you. It’s the continuation of Easter in your life. Pentecost is about the fact that you live the victorious Christian life in the glory of the cross.

In John 16, just hours before His death, Jesus alludes to His death, resurrection, and ascension — and then tells His disciples about sending the Holy Spirit: “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. ... And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 15:26, 16:8). This convicting is done as the Spirit teaches you the truth that sin leads to death. Sin is life-stealing, but the righteousness of Jesus is life-restoring. Jesus’ victory on the cross is the defeat and judgment of sin and Satan. The Holy Spirit gives witness to the fact that the victory over sin and death has been won for you by Jesus, there on the cross, once and for all. And you live that victory now as you live in Christ and His forgiveness.

So it’s not that the victorious Christian life is a myth; it just looks different than many people think because it looks like the cross. The victorious Christian life is not lived above and beyond the problems of this life, as if Christians can somehow soar above them untouched. The victorious Christian life is lived exactly in the midst of this imperfect life.

Which means you’re victorious not when sin and its effects disappear from your life (as if that were possible), but when you repent of your sins and trust the forgiveness and victory of Jesus. You are victorious not when you grow up and stop needing to rely on Jesus so much. You’re victorious when you rely on him more every day. You are victorious when you take refuge in your Savior, who strengthens your faith.

You are victorious not when your life is problem-free, but when you forgive and do good to those who sin against you. You are victorious not when you have everything you want, but when you love others as you love yourself and do what you can to see that they have what they need. You are victorious not when others look up to you, but exactly when they don’t have to – because you are with them in the aftermath of sin and the wreckage of life, bringing Jesus and His cross of victory to them. That’s the victorious Christian life.

(Mark Schultz is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Havre.)