"'V' Is For Victory"

“’V’ Is For Victory”

One of the most common approaches to preaching is using alliterative outlines in which the main points begin with the same letter. I often practiced this technique (sometimes it was a stretch) to aid listeners in remembering the message’s primary thrust. It was effective many times but I had to be careful not to distort Scripture’s meaning by trying to appear clever.

Some letters are hard to fit into this pattern. (At a pastors’ conference years ago I heard two speakers—one used “Q” and the other “Z” in forced ways which took away from the impact of their messages.) So when I prepared to bring a series of five sermons on the main doctrines surrounding Christ I discovered (much to my delight) that I could begin each title with “V”, a letter not often utilized in such a way, without misrepresenting biblical truth. Here’s what I came up with along with some key passages:

Verbal Inspiration—Scripture has its source in God and is therefore without error and trustworthy (“All Scripture is God-breathed,,,,”—2 Timothy 3:16; “Every word of God is flawless….”—Proverbs 30:5, emphasis added).

Virgin Birth—Jesus was miraculously born into humanity without a human father (“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son….”—Matthew 1:23; “…When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman….”—Galatians 4:4, emphasis added).

Vicarious Atonement—Jesus Christ died in our place to pay the price for the sin of the world (“…Christ died for our sins….”—1 Corinthians 15:3; “He is the atoning sacrifice…for the sins of the whole world.”—1 John 2:2, emphasis added).

Victorious Resurrection—His physically rising from the dead showed Him to be God’s Son and guarantees our future resurrection (“…Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead….”—Romans 1:4, NLT; “Because I live, you also will live.”—John 14:19. emphasis added).

Visible Return—Jesus will be seen when He comes back to earth as King of Kings (“…All the nations of the earth…will see the Son of Man coming….”—Matthew 24:30; “…Every eye will see him….”—Revelation 1:7. emphasis added).

So when we see the “V” sign (immortalized by Winston Churchill during World War II) let’s remember what it stands for to us (from two well-known hymns of yesteryear): “Victory in Jesus” and “Faith Is the Victory”. And never forget that in Jesus we’re always (in the words of an old chorus) “On the Victory Side”.

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan