Romans 12:21: “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
John 16:33: “These things have I spoken unto you, that in Me, you might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation/trouble; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” “You are of God little children, and you have overcome them (false teachers): because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” The most pervasive problem that we have in this world is overcoming evil. This is difficult because Satan so disguises evil that we do not see it as evil. Oh, we can easily see the evil in other people, but our own evil is another matter. We do not just need to overcome evil in the world, but we need to overcome evil within ourselves. Our three texts give us a clue as to how to overcome evil in the world and in ourselves. Romans 12:21 tells us: “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” The admonition is that we not be overcome by the pervasive evil of this world. All you have to do to realize the pervasiveness of evil is read the news and see how people are acting. You can even go in some churches and get a good clue – just saying. We are told to “overcome evil with good.” Simple. Right? Wrong! In theory all we need to do to overcome evil is to simply replace it with good. That is a good thing, but it is not a self-help project. In Romans 7, Paul dealt with his own problem with evil – or sin. He declared that it was impossible to overcome it within himself. Then he declared: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord…” Which brings us to John 16:33b where Jesus told us: “In the world you will have tribulation/trouble; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Long before Paul was converted on the Damascus Road, Jesus declared to his disciples that they could overcome the world because He had overcome the world. How did Jesus do that? Well, the Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted, yet He did not sin. He overcame sin, Satan and self at every turn in His life. No one else who has ever lived on this earth can say that. Jesus said that we could cheer up, because He has overcome for us. If we are to overcome evil with good, it has to start with faith in Jesus, who has overcome for us. That is what Jesus was doing on the cross. With His shed blood, Jesus made it possible for us to be overcomers. The problem with a lot of people is that they do not realize a need to overcome evil. They enjoy evil too much. Some just enjoy living an outright sinful life, doing “what comes naturally.” Others do not enjoy evil as much as they deny its existence in them. They do not live a “partying” lifestyle. They just succumb to pride and conceit and act like Pharisees. Whatever the case, we all need to overcome evil, and Jesus has made it possible through His life, death, resurrection, ascension and intercession for us. We can overcome evil by putting our faith in Jesus. Where we want to arrive is 1 John 4:4: “But you have overcome them…” How? Because “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” We can overcome by putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who is greater than Satan and greater than all of the temptations in the world. John gives us the greatest answer in 1 John 5:4-5: “For whatsoever/whosoever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 5. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” In order to overcome the world – sin, Satan and self – we need to believe in and entrust our lives to the One who overcame evil on the cross. Jesus Christ is the hope of the world. Indeed, He is our only hope in overcoming sin. Entrust your life to Him and let Him help you overcome. Now, we can see what it means to “overcome evil with good.” We do not overcome by our own good, but by the good of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are overcomers through Him. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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