What does it mean to be an overcomer in the Christ? What is better for the christian than to be victorious in his personal walk with the Lord. En route to victory what is there to struggle against for the soldier of the Christ if not sin, the flesh, one’s own evil mind, the world, wicked society, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Sound like a war? Does it sound overwhelming? Consider that Christ has already overcome sin, the world, and Satan as well as death and hell. With Christ as conqueror over all of life how can a saint of His go wrong but tragedies have happened. In this essay I consider some of what can contribute to overcoming in the Christ: to live in fear of Him and His gospel, choosing Christ over the creation as you seek Him, and to live passionately for Him with all of your person.
Fearing the Lord is fundamental to succeeding as a saint. What is fear of the Lord? The Bible teaches that fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 14:27 speaks, “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.” To fear the Lord includes being in awe and reverence of His Holy Majesty. To fear Him includes esteeming Him above all of creation for He is worthy and all of His creation is unworthy of Him. Of fear of the Lord is of the reason or reasons why one would treat that which is sacred of the Lord as sacred; For instance, one that would not misrepresent His gospel at all costs for fear of Him.
If fear of the Lord is the beginning to wisdom, which it is, how is it that it is also not the beginning to overcoming in the Lord? Proverbs 19:23 teaches, “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.” A consideration I have is for the saint to start each day meditating on some of why he should fear the Lord. I consider it to be of great benefit for the believer to begin his waking hour with speaking, “Now is the day of salvation.” and to proceed with meditating some on who Christ’s person truly is. What a blessing it is to have Jesus Christ to believe in for how is it not that meditating on who He is doesn’t bring one to a good place of awe and good wonder?
The day of salvation is now and what are the choices the saint in light has to make to help shape his destiny that he be an overcomer in the Lord? Consider seeking the Lord and how is one going to go about it? A few suggestions: consider reading His Word for His Word is living Spirit. By looking for Him there in His Word how is it the saint won’t find out more about His good person; the worthy person the saint is called into a relationship with and if the believer works his own self properly he will find himself in heartfelt passion for Christ. Having sought the Lord there is also reflecting on truth throughout the day to consider as well as turning away from lusts of this world that interfere with one’s first love, who should be God.
Consider: How can one be an overcomer in the Lord if one is first a lover of mammon and not the Lord? The Bible teaches: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” What is it that you desire the most and if it be not God how is it that ultimately your desire is not good. If you turn away from it in favour of seeking the Lord how is it you won’t be rewarded your desire after you have found greater. Consider: Matthew 7:7-11, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
Ultimately, to succeed in the Lord requires what it requires and given what the Lord has commanded of His believer in way of His first and greatest commandment how is it then that to overcome in the Lord doesn’t require all of one’s person to live in passionate devotion to God. The believer is called to love the Lord Jesus Christ with all of his heart, mind, soul, and strength. To me this is a call of passionate devotion that will, at a time or times, call for the believer to make sacrifices for the Lord’s sake. Will the believer do so?
John 14:15 teaches Christ spoke, “If ye love me keep my commandments.” How is this not a call for the believer to esteem Jesus Christ above all and to give him his all, including his soul, in living dedication to Him? Be ready to live for Christ with all a saint’s person and know that if the saint does this that ultimately he will never go wrong in doing so. Prepare himself to the best of his ability to be the person that can give the Holy Lord his all by turning away from all of that which would come in between him serving the first love, who is Christ, with his all.
I consider that to overcome in the Christ should be a passionate desire of the believer. To impress the great God Almighty is both a call and a privilege of the faith. Consider God describing His child and servant Job to Satan when He said, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” Now consider the New Testament instructing the believer to remember the patience of Job. It is clear to me that Job was an overcomer in the Lord and was richly rewarded. The saint is called to be as Job in such a manner, to overcome the trials before him for Christ’s sake. By fearing and seeking God to choosing Him over the creation, the saint can help forge out his life to help him reach his call to be a passionate overcomer for Christ.
