03 - CHAPTER 1: IS IT POSSIBLE?

Is there such a Life? St. John plainly says that every child of God "overcomes the world." Now THAT is Victory! And he tells us how Victory is secured: "This is the VICTORY that overcomes the world- even our faith" (1 John 5:4) -- and then most of us give up in despair! It all seems too vague-too indefinite. Besides, isn’t our faith too small or too weak? Or perhaps we don’t possess the "right kind of faith" to get the Victory. With many of us there is a sneaking idea that the schoolboy was very near the mark when he said ’Faith is believing what ain’t." But of this we are sure: to most Christians the Victorious Life is a beautiful mirage which vanishes into thin air, or recedes into the distance as we try to approach it. And so we look forward to finding it in heaven!

Now St. John isn’t speaking about Victory in heaven-for THERE, "faith is LOST in sight." So there must be a Victory here on earth, in some way the result of faith. The writer would gladly give all he had in the world if in exchange he could have seen this way of Victory 25 years ago! After many years of Bible study; after many fears of futile "struggling with temptation" which, with monotonous regularity, tested him, he at last saw a way out-or rather a way IN. It was to him a new way-a LIVING way -- and eagerly he entered in. He now sees there is such a thing as Victory, and he marvels how he missed his way before. In the joy of-to him-a wonderful discovery he longs for others to share the blessing-in these "last days." And is there not a real heartfelt yearning amongst Christians today to lay hold-not on LIFE, for they have that -- but on "LIFE MORE ABUNDANT"? The Victorious Life! The words ring with hope. Moreover, wherever an announcement is made that such a topic is to be talked about, men and women flock to discover the secret of such a life. For they KNOW intuitively that when VICTORY comes defeat goes! Those shameful betrayals of the Master, which are so discouraging, will vanish away. With Victory will come PEACE-a peace which really passes all understanding. With Victory will come JOY-a rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8). With Victory will come POWER-the very "power of God." The Victorious Life -- a life of Peace, and Joy, and Power. Would not SUCH a life satisfy any man? Can we ask for anything better? And Christ offers THIS. The writer proposes to try to make it plain and clear to the simplest mind, what the Bible says about this Life. We shall ask: How can it be obtained and retained? What are its difficulties and its dangers? Can it be lost? If so, can it be regained? We shall speak of real Victory and FALSE. We hope to tell of its Triumphs and its Testings. Now we wish TO GIVE A WARNING

It is this: Satan will do his utmost to cloud your mind. He will bring all sorts of doubts and difficulties to light. Why is this? Just because he is eager to prevent you from gaining Victory! Believe me, the devil does not mind your being "religious," and he does not mind how much POWERLESS work you attempt so long as you fall short of the Victorious Life. So long as you go to the world for your pleasures, and so long as you fall into the usual sins of respectable people, THE MORE YOU ATTEMPT FOR CHRIST the more the DEVIL IS PLEASED. He simply revels in seeing defeated, worldly Christians desperately busy for Christ. But the devil will do his level best to discredit Victorious Life teaching and to keep you from even SEEKING to understand it. He is quite an adept in using-i.e., misusing-Scripture. But be confident of this very thing that the teaching is striking home and striking him-the devil-when difficulties are suggested to your mind or some verse of Scripture "comes" to you, which seems to contradict some statement made in these chapters. No one is more anxious than the writer that only the truth as it is in Christ shall be heard. If any statement is not true to Scripture or to experience, none will be more delighted to have this pointed out than the writer, who is possessed with a consuming desire that every Christian shall be "filled with all the fullness of God."