Overcoming

Yesterday, I heard a pastor mention the movie Left Behind. When the book was released in 1995, it became a sensation. Every pastor seemed to preach a sermon about it, either in support or opposition. I read it at least once, if not more. I enjoyed reading it and found several valuable insights. I understood that the book was a fictional story inspired by the Bible’s teachings about the end times. Like most authors, it used literary license to move the story forward.

Left Behind Book

There’s a scene in the book where a girl realizes she’s been left behind after the rapture and rushes to her mother’s church. She bursts through the doors and, running in, she sees the pastor! She asks him why he wasn’t taken, and he replies (I’m paraphrasing), “I was left behind because I said all the right things, but I didn’t truly believe them.”

It’s not enough for us to know what is written in the Bible. We are lost if we don’t believe it; heaven is closed to us. This fact is based on the truth that the whole Bible is about Jesus.

“You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me;” – John 5:39

So here’s the thing. No one wants to be “that guy” or “that girl” who isn’t invited to their high school prom. If we don’t live by faith – boots on the ground kind of faith – we won’t be invited to live with Jesus. Like it or not, we will be left behind, destined for eternal punishment if we do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Being an Overcomer

I don’t need to write about God’s faith that we used for salvation. Instead, I want us to look at how we use this same faith to live an overcomer’s life.

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” – 1 John 5:4-5

By faith, we live for the things that are important to God. The world tells us that the most important things are for us to get a job, get a spouse, get a house, get a car, and get lots of stuff. Those things are not priorities for God.

The desires of believers in Jesus are the opposite of those in the world. Jesus tells us that we must die to ourselves so that we can live for Him. Jesus tells us that the most important thing is to love God and our neighbor. Jesus doesn’t tell us to get a job, but He tells us to obey God’s call on our lives. Marriage is optional. The Holy Spirit had Apostle Paul write:

“Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”
– 1 Corinthians 7:8-9

As for all the other stuff, Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

How We Overcome

Do you see it? Christians struggle when they use the template of the world to live in the kingdom of God; it just doesn’t fit. The preeminent command from God is for us to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15)

We do not overcome the world by our righteousness. Romans 12:21 states, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” But what is good? Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:18b) So, it is God, working in us and through us, that crushes the wickedness that attempts to defeat us. If we live in obedience to Jesus, then we will be overcomers, just as God intended.

No matter what it’s all about, it’s all about Jesus.