While Christ's work of sacrifice is sufficient for all mankind, his work in us is not finished. If we were guaranteed salvation, then why would Christ repeatedly warn us in the book of Revelation to overcome? Christ says, " . . . to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life…He that overcometh shall not be hurt by the second death (eternal death)…He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life…." (Revelation 2:7, 11, 26, Revelation 3:5) Clearly, overcoming is important to God and is connected with our salvation. The good news is that Christ gives us all the help we could ever need to succeed at overcoming. Christ in You What is often not grasped by most Christians is the "mystery" regarding the process of salvation and overcoming sin through Jesus Christ. If we can understand this mystery, we will know how to be a successful overcomer. In Colossians 1: 26-27, we read, "The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." The "mystery" is that Jesus Christ is the One who gives us the strength to overcome! We need to understand that by Christ dwelling in us through God's Holy Spirit, He gives us the sufficient strength and power to overcome. He helps us and makes it possible for us to be successful overcomers and to receive the glory of salvation, which is the entry into God's kingdom and family forever. The confusion about having "guaranteed salvation" may be based on the fact that God loved us so much that He sent His Only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." (Romans 5:8-9). This verse does tell us the wonderful truth that we are saved through Christ. But, it does not give us free license to keep on sinning! God tells us in the Bible that He will not dwell with sin (Revelation 21:3, 7-8). In Galatians 5:19-21 we are told that sinners will not enter the Kingdom of God. Christians need to understand that salvation is not "guaranteed". Rather, salvation is the gift of God (Romans 6:23). This means that God decides who shall receive this gift! And, God says He will save those who overcome sin! Brethren, we must persevere in our calling and be successful overcomers. The Apostle Paul describes his daily battle with himself overcoming sin, calling himself a "wretched man" (Romans 7). Paul explains that since the "wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:33), we "die" daily because we sin daily. Overcoming requires true repentance of sin and turning away from the sin that ensnares us (Romans 2:4). The only way to win this battle is to have an unconditional surrender to let Christ direct our lives. Although Paul says we may sin daily, he is not talking about going out daily and committing the physical acts of adultery or murder. Paul is talking about the condition of our hearts (our thoughts), and how our thoughts are not completely pure (Jeremiah 17: 9). In this physical life, we still battle daily against thoughts of coveting, lusting, and hate. As we overcome, our sinful thoughts and sinful acts should become fewer and farther between because we will grow in Christ's righteousness and He will give us the strength to overcome. Paul knew the "mystery" of the power of Christ in him. The Apostle Paul is talking about Christ delivering him from being a slave of sin! Brethren, this is the true meaning of overcoming! Paul understood that Christ is "the beginning and finisher" of our salvation (Revelation 1:5), and joyfully thanked Jesus Christ for His help in overcoming. Don't Give Up In Luke 9:62, Jesus said, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God." Christ is using this spiritual analogy about perseverance in our faith. In this story a person went out to plow a section of land. He started in the cool of the morning, but as the day progressed and the heat was rising, he was sweating and the insects were bothering him. Then, he began to have difficulty plowing the rocks and the hard soil. It was at this point that he started to have "second thoughts" about finishing the job, and started to form in his mind reasons (or excuses) why he should quit plowing. Soon enough, he walked away from the unfinished job. Christ is trying to make a spiritual lesson here. When God the Father, who is the Master Potter (Isaiah 64:8), brings one to Christ (John 6:44), then the person who is called is warned to "count the cost" (Luke 14:26-33) and makes a full commitment to go all the way to become God's holy, righteous, spiritual child. In the beginning things may not be too hard for him, but after a while his spiritual travels start to become rough and sometimes his trials, overcomings, and tribulations multiply and may become severe. It is at this point in his spiritual life that he may have "second thoughts" about his calling and commitment. He may make excuses about keeping God's commandments, and he may even give up. Christ says that this person is not fit for the kingdom of God. In Romans 11:29 Paul writes, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." Even though this person has reached the point of spiritual fainting, the two most important things that should be on this person's mind are, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13), and the other one is, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:26-27) Christ also gives us another important spiritual analogy about being a successful overcomer. In Matthew 14:23-32 is the story of Peter walking on the water. Peter saw Christ walking on the Sea of Galilee and being amazed asked Christ if he, too, could walk on the water? Christ commanded him to come to Him, so Peter got out of the boat and started towards Christ, walking on the water! But, Peter was distracted by the fierce winds and tossing waves, and he became afraid, having "second thoughts". And, having doubts about his success, he began to sink and cried out for help to Christ. After pulling him from the water, Christ said, "Oh you, of little faith, why did you doubt?". Peter had doubted that Christ would give him the power to be successful at walking on the water! Brethren, we should learn from this story. We do not want to be like the Israelites who reached the Promised Land and doubted God's help to save them from the Giants. As we go through life we will encounter spiritual "giants" and obstacles in our path, but we should not doubt the power of Christ to make it possible for us to overcome these "giants". Sometimes our trials, overcomings, and tribulations can become very severe and we can become afraid and doubt Christ's power like Peter did in the water. We should know that it is especially at times like this that we need to be more diligent in our faith in Christ, not doubting Him, that He will make it possible for us to succeed. Having the spiritual knowledge and faith that Christ will help us in everything is the essence of being a successful overcomer! A Personal Example I would like to personally mention something that happened to me regarding overcoming. I was baptized in 1972, and from then on I tried of my own initiative to be a successful overcomer. As time passed, I was continuously disappointed with myself that I was not able to live the righteous life that God wanted. I was striving hard with prayers, studying, fasting, and still found myself unsuccessful at overcoming sin. The harder I would try to be a perfect Christian, the greater the realization that it was to no avail. Eventually, I even had a breakdown and I began to have "second thoughts" about whether I was even called as a Christian. Not knowing what to do, God must have inspired me to "hold fast" to my calling until He would later reveal to me what I needed to know. All I knew was that I was committed to stay with God unless God would send an angel to tell me that I was not called. Many years later, my striving to overcome was still met with the feeling that I was a failure-even a minister and friend told me I should leave the faith. Then, something wonderful happened to me! After 24 years of struggling with sin and meeting constant failure after failure, suddenly I was able to successfully keep God's commandments and had the strength to overcome sin with God's righteous thoughts. Of course, I know that none of us will obtain complete perfection in this life. The Apostle Paul explains this in Philip. 3:12, "Not that I have already obtained, or am already perfected; but I press on…" What happened? I believe Christ came to me and gave me the strength I needed to overcome. Why didn't Christ help me during the first 24 years of my calling? Because during those first 24 years I didn't strongly believe in the power of Jesus Christ within me! My earlier relationship with Christ was not directly with Him, but through my membership in a church organization. I had a misguided focus on the human ministry, rather than focusing completely on Jesus Christ as my High Priest and personal spiritual champion, the only One capable of delivering me from the slavery of sin! I would like to encourage any reader who is having problems with overcoming sin to continue on without quitting (Ecclesiastes 10:4). Some of us who have more to overcome will take longer than others who have less to overcome. And, God works with all of us in different ways, so it is not wise to compare ourselves with others. God worked with Moses for over 40 years to help him overcome and to develop God's righteousness. You must never take sin for granted and become used to it in your life because you can lose your salvation. The one thing you don't want to do is to leave God. If you feel that you have left God, or that God has left you, you can always humble yourself through prayer and fasting, beseeching God for understanding and help. We must also remember that Christ encourages us and during the hour of our need (Romans 8:31-39), we can go before Him boldly and ask for His help (Hebrews 4:15-16). |
