Jesus Christ promised everlasting life in the Kingdom of God to "him who overcomes." But what does it mean to be an "overcomer"?
Jesus Christ offers everlasting life to all who believe in Him (John 3:16). But believing in Him entails far more than giving intellectual ascent to His existence or His redemptive work. Listen to what Jesus Himself says to the community of faith:
"To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7).
"He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death" (verse 11).
"To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it" (verse 17).
"To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations"He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery"just as I have received authority from the Father. I will also give him the morning star"(verses 2628).
"He who overcomes will...be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels" (Revelation 3:5).
"Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name" (verse 12).
All these wonderful promises — power over the nations, the right to eat from the tree of life, immunity from the second death, and so on — are all different ways of describing the divine blessedness the overcomer will experience. He will reign with Christ in His kingdom and ultimately inherit a world free of sin and disease. God Himself will dwell in their midst.
"They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain..." (Revelation 21:3,4).
That is precisely the state of existence all of us are looking for!
Every week, we receive scores of letters from people asking us to pray for bodily healing, for deliverance from their heavy financial burdens, for the healing of broken hearts, for divine help in resolving relationship problems-and on it goes; the list is endless! How wonderful it is to occasionally hear that God has indeed intervened and healed someone who has asked us to pray with them. We are uplifted when we learn that God has intervened and turned someone's tears of agony into tears of joy. But think of how it would be to live in a world where there is no pain, no mourning, no suffering-a world filled with the love of God!
There is coming such a world-and it's the promised inheritance to those who overcome! If you are to be a part of that world, then it is imperative that you know how to be an overcomer.
But first, before looking at the specific steps we can take to become successful overcomers, let's come to a clear understanding of what God wants us to overcome. To overcome means to conquer, to prevail over some enemy or opponent. But what, specifically, does God expect of us? What is it that we are to conquer?
Enemies of the Saints
The saints of the seven churches knew precisely what Christ was calling for when He pronounced His blessing upon "him who overcomes." In some cases, overcoming entailed renouncing heresy and seeing to it that heretics within the church were not permitted to continue spreading their damnable doctrines. In other cases, overcoming meant faithfully following Christ even under the pain of persecution and the threat of martyrdom. In still other cases, overcoming entailed repenting of personal sins and returning to a life of walking by faith. In each case, some enemy or potential enemy of the faith was involved.
The church of Ephesus (Revelation 2:17) had forsaken the love it had at first, thus increasing its risk of eventually falling into apostasy. To this church, the enemy was within. Overcoming entailed remembering and returning to the enthusiasm and good works that characterized this church in the early years of its existence.
The church of Smyrna (Revelation 2:811) appears to have been relatively free of serious internal problems. Its major enemy was from the outside. The saints who made up this church faced persecution, with the very real possibility of martyrdom. To them, overcoming entailed pushing back the fear and enduring the pain.
The churches of Pergamum and Thyatira (Revelation 2:1229) failed to excommunicate heretics whose damnable doctrines encouraged the saints to compromise their faith. To the members of these churches, overcoming meant driving out the heretics and repenting of the sins they had fallen into as a result of the heretics' teachings.
The church of Sardis (Revelation 3:16) had all but abandoned the self-sacrificing faith to which the true disciples of Christ are called. To the weary members of this church, overcoming meant waking from their spiritual slumber, recommitting themselves to Christ, and returning fully to a life of obedience to God.
The church of Philadelphia (Revelation 3:713) is dubbed the faithful church because Christ has only good things to say about it. Yet, the reference to the "synagogue of Satan" (verse 9) and to Christ's "command to endure patiently" (verse 10) implies that this church had endured persecution in the past and may have to endure it again in the future. To the faithful members of this church, overcoming meant: "Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown" (verse 11).
The church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:1422) could neither quench spiritual thirst nor offer spiritual healing for its members or for those coming to her seeking fulfillment for their spiritual needs. To the fallen member of this church, overcoming meant recommitting his life to Jesus Christ, the Overcomer par excellence, who is always ready to restore the fallen brother or sister to full fellowship.
The watchword is
compromise. In each case, believers had either already compromised some aspect of their faith or were facing situations wherein they would be tempted to compromise. Whether they would stand under the pressure of temptation depended upon the depth of their commitment.
The same is true today. While few in our modern western societies experience the kind of persecution and suffering the early Christians experienced, God still calls upon His people today to exercise the kind of commitment that enabled the early saints to endure brutal treatment rather than renounce the name of Jesus Christ.
In one sense, it is more difficult for Christians living in a time when religious faith is generally tolerated and religious freedom is emphasized. Without the pressure imposed by persecution, Christians have less resistance to overcome and are more likely to let the cares of this life become more important than their devotion to God. Prayer becomes a brief event that occurs just before falling to sleep each night. Bible study becomes virtually nonexistent. Church attendance falls off, becoming a once-in-a-while occasion. God takes a back seat to the pleasures and activities of life.
Conversely, when Christians are suffering for their faith or living under the threat of persecution, they pray much more often and much more fervently. They pour over their Bibles, seeking inspiration and encouragement for each day. They cry out to God-morning, noon, and night-for the strength to endure another day, looking to Him for spiritual and physical sustenance, thus developing and enhancing their faith. Their willingness to suffer and die rather than deny their Savior leads others to recognize the priceless treasures of true Christianity. In fact, history shows that Christianity thrives when persecution is intense.
Most of us face a very different enemy. Our enemy doesn't come to us with sword drawn and threats of physical harm if we don't renounce the faith, but is subtle. It is so subtle that we don't even think of it as an enemy. It is the tendency to fall into spiritual lethargy, and it is nourished by the lack of resistance in our lives.
An overcomer is not only one who resists the temptation to renounce his faith when heavy persecution comes, but is also one who, through honest and continuous introspection, is always aware of his own spiritual condition, and is diligent in putting sinful attitudes and behaviors out of his life.
Facing the enemy
The Lord Jesus Christ says,
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done" (Revelation 22:12).
He is not saying that God is indebted to the person who does good works, as if He owes anyone salvation. God owes no one anything! Every good thing we have-including our talents and abilities-comes from Him, so He owes us nothing!
On the contrary, we owe Him! We owe Him our lives and everything we own. In fact, everything we own is His anyway. So we really can't give God anything that did not, in one way or another, come from Him.
Good works, then, are necessary. They are required. And we will be rewarded for doing them. But let's not make the mistake of thinking that the rewards Christ promises to us are in any way a wage we have earned.
Now, with that possible misunderstanding settled at the outset, let's see exactly what it is that God wants us to overcome.
In the Middle Ages, church leaders identified the characteristics of fallen man. They called them the "seven deadly sins," which include sloth, lust, anger, pride, envy, gluttony, and greed. These sins are overlapping, and several of them could be categorized together, under one heading. For example, gluttony and greed are forms of lust, so both may be placed under the one category labeled "lust." Generally speaking, sloth involves lust, or an inordinate desire to have something-perhaps a life free of the "stress" of fulfilling one's obligations-without paying the required price. Anger, too, often involves lust. Even pride is a form of lust, since it is by definition self-serving and self-centered.
John writes,
"For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has done-comes not from the Father but from the world" (1 John 2:16). Here, John recognizes that all sinful acts-"everything in the world"-emerges from lust and pride.
For our purposes, we will focus on pride, lust, and anger, since the "seven deadly sins" can be sufficiently covered under these categories.
