Overcoming'
Overcoming
I have written quite a bit about the overcoming life, that which is mentioned in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation. The rewards to the overcomer are those we associate with the normal Christian life, such as the crown of life, ruling the nations with Christ, walking in the white robes of the Royal Priesthood.
Now here is the problem. This means that the believers who do not live the victorious life in Christ will not receive the crown of life; will not rule the nations with Christ; will not walk in the white robes of the Royal Priesthood.
If such be the case, all the casual Christians, who I believe constitute the majority of the believers in Christ, are under a false impression as to their future. If this is true, the alarm should be sounded.
I understand someone is teaching that we are an overcomer if we "accept Christ." They probably are deducing this from a verse in First John.
Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (I John 5:5)
If we read the entire book of First John we realize that the Apostle is not claiming that everyone who professes to be a believer in Christ is automatically an overcomer. If such were the case, what sense would the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation make? The Apostle John wrote these two chapters also!
What the Apostle means is that only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God are able to overcome the world. John is not stating that everyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God is by virtue of that belief an overcomer.
It is true that the believer can overcome the world by means of his belief in Christ. But numerous people who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, or else claim to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, obviously are not living a victorious Christian life.
John may have been reacting against the religion of Gnosticism, which was a problem in his days, by saying that unless you believe in Christ you cannot overcome the world.
And notice also, in the Book of First John:
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. (I John 3:2,3)
"Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure." If we were an overcomer merely by believing that Jesus is the Son of God, then our obligation would cease once we believed. But the Apostle says we must purify ourselves. In fact, the Book of First John contains one of the strongest exhortations against sin in the Christian life to be found in the New Testament.
To "overcome" means to gain victory over sin. How many professed believers do you know who are living the life of victory over sin? I think most of them will say something like, "As long as we are in the world we have to sin"; or, "no one is perfect"; or "we are saved by grace and not by works of righteousness we have done"; and so on and on ad nauseam.
The truth of the matter is, the Christian churches are filled with the works of the sinful nature. The people for the most part are not living the victorious Christian life. I think it is true that in many instances they are not being taught that it is necessary to overcome sin.
I don't believe the Apostle John would tell them that if they just believe Jesus is the Son of God they automatically are overcomers and will be given the crown of life; rulership with Christ over the nations of the earth; and will walk with the Lord Jesus in the white robes of the Royal Priesthood.
It seems to me we need to learn what it means to overcome sin, how to overcome sin, and to begin to practice what we have learned.
The true Christian life is one in which we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ at all times, day and night. We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God in order that we might prove His will in the operation of our gifts and ministries.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. (Romans 12:6)
The spiritual gifts we have received when we were baptized with the Spirit of God are of first importance in our lives. No matter what we do to make a living, to put bread on the table, our first priority is our service to God. This is the only correct orientation to the program of victorious Christian living.
I may be true in saying that most believers in Christ do not know what their gifts are; and those who do, do not give their gift or gifts the importance God means them to have.
Sometimes people are called to full-time ministry. I know I was, many years ago. Most Christian people do not have a dramatic "call to the ministry." But the New Testament commands each believer to "eagerly desire" a gift or gifts and to use it diligently. Woe to the individual who buries his or her gift, not using it to build the Kingdom of God, as the Lord leads.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. (I Corinthians 12:29-31)
If we ask the Lord Jesus for some kind of ministry we will receive it, for it is according to His Word. It is impossible for the members of the Body of Christ to come to the stature of the fullness of Christ until the gifts and ministries are operating in the Body of Christ.
So the first step in leading the victorious life is to be active in Christian service.
In order to receive and use spiritual gifts we have to be following the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God will reveal to us the behaviors we have to overcome if we are to live the Life of Christ.
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:13,14)
As we take up our cross and follow Christ, the Holy Spirit leads the way. One of the main tasks of the Spirit is to show us which of our behaviors are sinful. When He does, we are to diligently confess our sinful behavior to Christ and then violently denounce and renounce the specific behavior, declaring that we never again will do such a thing.
If we do this, when we are tempted in the future with this particular sin we will find that we now have the strength to resist it.
The practice of confessing and resisting our sinful behavior must be continued throughout our lifetime. It is little by little, command upon command, until we find that when Satan comes he has no part in us.
Such total deliverance from sin does not occur immediately but must be worked at as the Spirit lead us.
There are other areas of sin that must be conquered: our love of the world and of money, for example. We must follow the Spirit closely as He helps us untangle ourselves from our culture until we are involved in the world no more than necessary.
Jesus does not want us bound with love for and trust in money. We must work to have money to eat, be clothed, and have a roof over our head. However, it is not uncommon for people, even Christians, to seek to amass more money than they need so they always will be able to do as they please without worrying about misfortune.
In America people embrace money as being the solution to their problems. The only Solution to our problems is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Perhaps our greatest bondage is our self-will, our desire to plan our own life. Right at this point the battle is decided. If we are to live a victorious life, we absolutely must learn to live by the Life of Christ.
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. (John 6:57)
The above verse is how we live the life of victory in Christ. It is the rest of God, set forth in the fourth chapter of the Book of Hebrews.
To live by the Life of Christ is to think what He is thinking. It is to bring every thought into subjection to Christ at every moment of every day.
To live by the Life of Christ is to speak what He is speaking. How can we do this? To actually speak with the voice of Christ is an art that must be worked at. It requires constant prayer at all times, as we keep listening for His voice.
To live by the Life of Christ is to act as He is acting. Jesus always acted as He saw the Father acting. We are to act as we see Jesus acting. Again, this is an art that requires prayer at all times. We do not always see Jesus acting; but as we learn to live in the Spirit, we become conscious of what He is doing.
One time the Lord told Aimee Semple McPherson that when she laid hands on people it would be Himself laying hands on them. This gift certainly is not giving to everyone by any means. (I wish I had it.) But each one of us can look to the Lord carefully and ask His opinion of everything we are doing. Pretty soon we will be in the habit of looking to Christ continually just as Christ looked to the Father continually.
In order to live as I have outlined in the paragraph above, we have to set aside our own thinking, our own speaking, and our own acting. We have to die to self that we might live unto Christ. It absolutely is impossible to live the victorious life until we count ourselves dead that we might live as part of the resurrection Life of the Lord Jesus.
Living the life of victory means we have to be totally obedient to God in all matters, great and small. When I was in Bible school I was taught that no one can do God's will perfectly. That viewpoint is not scriptural. The truth is, God requires our complete obedience.
When we at any time are not obedient, we are in rebellion. Whoever is not gathering with Christ is scattering away from Christ. There simply is no middle ground in which we are neither obedient nor disobedient.
Obeying God becomes a delight when we practice it long enough. "I delight to do Your will, O God. Yes, Your law is in my heart." It is perfectly possible, and expected, that we do God's will on all occasions at all times.
God's commandments are not grievous. When we find that doing God's will is grievous, we need to ask ourselves, "Why is this so? When we do, we will find that we are clinging to an idol in fear that it will be taken from us. Our idol can be a child, a house, a job, a relationship, money, or friends.
When we follow the Lord long enough, we discover that doing His will always brings us to the desires of our heart. If at any time we disobey God, the result is pain, remorse, regret, sorrow of heart. God knows what will bring us to our true desires, and this is the direction in which He attempts to take us.
Whenever you feel "checked" in your spirit, do not push your way through. If you do, you will live to regret it. God is seeking your good.
The novice will say, "But how can I know God's will?" The Bible says if we will commit our way to the Lord, acknowledging Him in all our ways, He will guide us.
Learning how to know God's will is not always easy. It requires that we set aside a time or times each day for prayer and waiting on the Lord. When we do not have enough time to pray we must ask God to provide time for us. He will. He wants us to pray more than we want to pray.
Also, we need to spend some time each day in the devotional reading of our Bible. The Bible itself commands us to meditate in God's Word night and day.
The Bible is a guide to us so we have a general idea of God's will.
But for specific guidance we must learn to know what Christ is saying to us right now, and in every decision. Christian people hear Christ in various ways. Some hear the Lord's voice in their mind. Others feel peace when they are on the right path. Sometimes the words of a pastor or friend will stand out, or a passage in the Bible, so we know it is Christ speaking.
One thing is certain: if you are sincere in knowing God's will in a matter, if you will pray and keep on praying for wisdom, you will be led in the right way. But don't jump to soon. Wait until you are sure of the whole counsel of God.
Sometimes we have to make a decision. Then we are to keep praying and take one small step in the direction that seems to be pleasing to God. But we must watch carefully to see the fruit of what we are doing. If we have peace we may take another small step, watching carefully for evidence that God is pleased.
We must not be afraid to step forth in this careful manner. We have to learn to be decisive in what we do. A double-minded person is unstable. A believer who simply cannot stick with a decision may be in deception. In this case, make a decision, watch the fruit, and keep going. God can make changes as we go along, if we continue to pray. He can't steer a person who is not in motion.
So obeying God's will in every matter is at the heart of the life of victory in Christ. The Kingdom of God is the doing of God's will in the earth as it is in Heaven. Even the Lord Jesus had to learn obedience to the Father by the things He suffered.
The longer I live and serve the Lord, the more I become convinced that stern obedience to God is the most important behavior we can practice. "Fear God and keep His commands. This is the whole duty of man."
I notice in the last chapter of the Book of Revelation that the saints will govern the coming new world of righteousness. This tells me that people (and maybe angels also) can always choose to do their own will rather than God's. It may be for this reason that we are being taught the importance of obedience.
Perhaps the purpose of the life of human beings on the earth is so that God can pick out from the multitude of people, saints who will serve God in total obedience, no matter how they are brought through difficulty after difficulty; trial after trial; problem after problem; frustration after frustration.
Each believer who will continue to obey God throughout a number of difficult trials will be set aside, as it were, until God has found the required number of victorious saints, of rulers of the Kingdom.
The Lord Jesus Christ will appear from Heaven and call up to Himself these victorious Christians, these lords and rulers of the future. Then Christ will descend to the earth with His rulers and install the Kingdom of God, the will of God, on the earth.
See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. (Isaiah 32:1,2)
Christ and each one of His brothers has been tested, tested, tested in obedience to the Father. It has been the plan of God from long before the foundation of the world to create a kingdom that will prevent there ever being another rebellion against His will.
You and I of today have the opportunity to overcome through Christ the worldliness, the sinful nature, and the self-will that have us bound. The rewards for doing so go far beyond any glory we can imagine at this time.
These "rewards," if we wish to call them that, actually are increments of authority, power, and ability that will be revealed in us at the first resurrection from the dead. It may be true that some of them are being formed in us at the present time.
As I said at the beginning, the increments of authority, power, and ability mentioned in the first two chapters of the Book of Revelation are those promises we think of as belonging to all believers in Christ. If such were the case, the passages would not keep referring to "him who overcomes."
It seems to me that the inference is clear that the victorious saints are people who are among the remainder of the congregation but distinguished by their willingness to fight until they overcome the numerous forces that seek to prevent their walking with Christ as they should.
The cause for concern is that Christian people, many of them who are lukewarm, being casual in their approach to discipleship, are under the impression that they are going to "rule and reign with Christ," as they say.
It is not true. The need of the hour is for God's Christian leaders to warn their followers that they cannot ignore the words of Christ. Each of us must deny himself, take up his cross of deferred gratification, and follow the Master at all times.
If we do not do this, we will not share in His joy. We can forget about ruling with Him. We can forget about eating from the Tree of Life. We can forget about wearing the crown of life. We can forget about being a member of the Royal Priesthood. We can forget about ruling with Christ. We can forget about sitting with Him on the highest of all thrones.
We can forget about being raised from the dead and ascending to meet Him in the air. We can forget about descending with Him upon the white war stallions to install the Kingdom of God upon the earth.
We can forget about having close fellowship with Jesus as one of His brothers who will work alongside of Him as we inherit the nations and the farthest reaches of the earth.
It seems to me that in light of the magnitude of the loss that will occur to those who fail to pursue the life of victory in Christ, God's people should be warned of their eternal loss while they still have time to do something about it.
He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21:7)
How do you feel about this?