How Long Does Victory Take?

1 - The Immediate Need

How long does it take to overcome sin? If we believe the Bible's teaching that as born-again believers we will have complete and total victory over sin in our lives, and if we accept that God's own power gives us all we need to have it, then the question may be asked: "Since I am willing to have this victory, how long will it take to start experiencing it?"

The answer to that question is the same as the answer to this question: "How long do you need it to take?"

While this is answering a question with a question, it really does give the correct answer, for it is written, "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him." (Matthew 6:8) We are also given this promise: "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:19) If God will supply everything we need, then the only thing that determines how quickly we receive something from Him, whether it is victory over sin or anything else, is how quickly we need it.

How quickly do we need to stop sinning? Some have said, "I believe victory is possible, but it doesn't happen until you have been faithful for years and years," or, "Sure, we become better Christians until we cease to sin… some day." Some have said, "That is wonderful that some people are able to do that, but I haven't reached that level of faith yet."

Words like these show that the speaker does not really understand the nature of sin, or how quickly the results of sin affect us. The third reply actually seems to make the ability to stop sinning a power in the believer, and not in God, because they talk about the believer's "level of faith" as if it was something we could earn. True faith and true victory are gifts to receive, not rewards to win or to earn. But in all these cases, the speaker does not recognize his need. The sinner says, "I know the penalty for sin is death, but I sin all the time, and I am alive." What they mean is, "Even if sin will kill me eventually, it is a slow process that will (hopefully) give me time to return to faith." So even if salvation, and the ability to avoid sin, comes to us completely, they think that it may also be a slow process.

But both these opinions are wrong. The effects of salvation are immediate, and so are the effects of sin. As we saw in earlier studies, sin is not some "bad act," but rather a condition of the mind and soul that causes one to perform acts of rebellion, or "transgressions." Understanding this is very important for a proper understanding of the Gospel message. This condition, sinfulness, is a poison that kills holiness (the spiritual life) in the soul - not over a long period of time, but immediately.

So how is it that people do not notice? Why doesn't the sinner see the life leaving him with each and every transgression? It is because, as it is written, "the dead know not anything." (Ecclesiastes 9:5) In the context of spiritual life, one is only truly "living" when he or she is free from sin. The Scriptures describe those who are not saved as being "dead in trespasses and sins." (Ephesians 2:1)

We may hear about people being "desensitized" to violence and sex by experiencing the things in modern-day books and movies. That is exactly just what sin does to the consciences of human beings. It makes the sensitivity of the spirit "dead," and makes additional acts of wrongdoing seem acceptable in the eyes of the sinner. This is what sin does, and these effects are immediate. It not only separates the soul from the Father, but it also kills the realization of how far the darkness is from the light. It covers up the sinner's need for immediate help, so that even they do not realize the danger they are in.

If we understand what sin is, and what it does, then we will understand that for the sinner the need to cease from sin is absolutely immediate. But does the Bible say this? And does the Bible say that God will give us what we need to do this immediately? Just how long DOES victory take?

2 - The Power of Creation

Although the Bible describes God as a "Creator," there are some people who do not believe that this word applies to Him in all areas. They see Him as a "Developer", or even as an "Evolver," who does things gradually, over long periods of time. And yet, even those things that have taken a period of time to complete have been formed through a series of immediate steps.

The creation of the world in six days was completed through a set of of specific events, many of which caused "something" to come out of "nothing." In these acts, particularly the "out of nothing" ones, God demonstrates His power as the Almighty Creator, who needs no starting point to make an end.

When our Father said, "Let there be light," (Genesis 1:3) there was light, even though there was no light before He spoke - or even anything that could ever produce light. When He said, "Let the earth bring forth grass," (Genesis 1:11) He created the first living things, although a moment before He spoke there were no living things at all. The moment that our Father breathed His Spirit into the body that He had prepared from the the earth, a living man was produced, (Genesis 2:7) where before there had been no human life.

There may be steps involved in the way that our Father creates things, but those steps are never "slow" or "gradual."

What about the conversion of a sinner to a saint? How long does that take? The examples above were chosen for a purpose. They show our Father creating light from darkness, and life from non-life. They show our Father creating humanity from an unliving form made of earth.

The sinner lives in darkness, and death, and earthliness. The saint lives in light, and life, and spirit, and there is nothing in the sinner that could ever produce these things. (Job 14:4, Matthew 7:18) The examples our Father has provided for us in the creation of the world reveal that His power, working through His Word and His Spirit, act on nothingness, and lifelessness, and earthliness, and the result is a Christian life - and this result is created instantly, just as in the examples provided.

There is no delay. There is no "development" from a sinner to a saint. There is no "evolution" from a transgressor to a servant of righteousness. There is no slow, gradual process from a child of the earth to a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. We need it to be an instant change, because sin is deadly... and our Father provides for our needs, showing us exactly how through His examples and His promises.

3 - Summary

If the sinner truly understood just how quickly he needed to be cleansed from sin, but believed that it would take a long time or years of "practice," he would have reason to be very concerned. If the Bible student truly believes that the "wages of sin is death," he will not want to remain a moment in the condition of sin, not even to "begin a journey" out of the sinful state.

Fortunately, our Father is described as the "Great Physician," the most effective Healer, and for a good reason. He heals the sick, He raises the dead, and He restores complete health. He does so not only for the body, as His Son showed us often in the Gospels, but He does so for the mind and the spirit as well.

Consider how Jesus healed the sick. He did not do so with long treatments, or with slow-acting medicine. Instead, He spoke and the sick were healed instantly. He does things in exactly the same way as His Father in Heaven.

Why, then, do people believe that His spiritual healing is any less powerful, or slower, then these clear demonstrations of His ability? It is because they have been told, for so long, that they will have to exist in the sinful condition all, or most, of their lives. It is because they have been affected by the doubts of unbelievers, and their own Christian experience suffers (of course) because they have been deceived by accepting these doubts.

But there is "balm in Gilead," (Jeremiah 8:22) and a Healer for "they that are sick." (Matthew 9:12) If we will believe, and get rid of the unscriptural limitations that our false teachers have placed upon God's healing power, then we will see miracles. He will always fulfill the expectations of His faithful children. If we ask Him for freedom, and life, and light, and purity, why would our Father, who wants these very things for us, say, "Wait?" It is not the God of the Bible, or any god worth worshipping, who tells His children to "wait a while for salvation." He has it, now, for all who truly believe.

We need it now, and He has promised to meet our needs. He waits for our trust, and our faith, that is all... and then He says, immediately, "Thy sins be forgiven thee;" (Matthew 9:5) "go, and sin no more." (John 8:11)