Jesus speaks to His people today "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." Such an honor to be sent to the world by our Creator God! We surely do not deserve such an honor. And, there are many who are not yet prepared to go anywhere, for they neither have a message nor an experience. To take a message not sent of God to those seeking truth would be deceive and cause the loss of souls. Who then is called? It is those who have overcome and are overcoming.
What then does it mean to "overcome"? Let's look at the statement in context. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne." Revelation 3:21. Here we have a study set before us. I fear that many do not understand that even though Christ was perfect, He did indeed overcome. So, how about us? If we have truly overcome, is that the end of overcoming? Of course not. That is why we do not say "I am saved" even though we may be in a "saved" condition at the moment. Sanctification and justification are the work of a lifetime. As Paul said "I die daily."
A proper understanding of what it means to overcome sets aside the false teaching that one is justified in having eternal life when sinning a known sin. Who will sit with Jesus on His throne? "Him that overcometh" will be in heaven. Those who do not overcome will not enter the kingdom of God. Overcome what? That is a hard question for many who have been taught they are saved in sin, or that they are in a converted or saved state when sinning a known sin. For Jesus means "Him that overcometh" sin. He who ceases to sin is he that over overcometh sin.
Moses sinned just prior to his death. Did he overcome sin? Well, what would you say about Moses just prior to his last great sin of pride and anger? The Bible says that he was faithful. "And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth..." Numbers 12:6-8. Moses had overcome sin. That does not mean that he would never sin again. It means that he had ceased sinning just as the thief on the cross had ceased sinning. The difference being Moses had ceased over a longer period of time. Since the thief had overcome, he will be in heaven. "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise." It is "to him that overcometh" that Jesus will I grant to sit with Him in His throne.
"In the kingdom of God, position is not gained through favoritism. It is not earned, nor is it received through an arbitrary bestowal. It is the result of character. The crown and the throne are the tokens of a condition attained; they are the tokens of self-conquest through our Lord Jesus Christ." The Desire of Ages, pg. 549. Does this mean that salvation is purchased? No, that is not what is being said. It was stated clearly this is not the case. "It is not earned." That "self-conquest" was not the result of self, but of the divine nature which empowered the repentant sinner to develop habits of righteousness. Those habits that Moses had developed by allowing Christ to rule in his life were seen in what happened after he sinned his great sin of pride and anger at the end of his earthly life. His character, his habits, enabled him to turn back to Jesus when he came to his senses and saw what he had done to Jesus with his great sin.
Would we not be better off if we had been living a righteous life over an extended period of time? Do you really have to think about getting out of bed early, or eating healthy food, or making your bed, or brushing your teeth? For those who used to smoke, they do not have to think about not smoking anymore because they have developed a character that does not smoke. They are no longer a slave to cigarettes. How is it with us? Are we still enslaved by sin?
"I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." Romans 7:23. Or, have we been set free from sin? "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Romans 6:22. Are we overcoming temptation or yielding to it? Are we filled with the Spirit of God or are we walking after our flesh? "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 6:22. When we surrender to Jesus, His Spirit comes into the heart and purifies it then and there. The motives are then holy, not corrupt. The flesh remains vile and evil, but it has no power to do any wrong thing. The divine nature of Christ indwelling the heart keeps the body under, as Paul puts it. We do not yet have holy flesh, but we may possess a holy mind and heart. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5. The new covenant promise is to write God's law upon the heart, the new heart, the purified heart that comes with power to obey God's law. We are recreated from the inside out. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." Ezekiel 36:26, 27.
Cleansed from sin, that is what it means to be an overcomer. "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalms 51:5-7. It is the power of grace received into the heart that brings about this miracle of miracles, the new birth wherein dwells Christ and His righteousness through His Spirit. That experience must be maintained if the righteousness of Christ is to remain in the sinner. We must remain dead to sin and alive unto Christ.
So....where do we stand today? Or better yet, where is Christ standing in your life today? Is He in your heart? If not where does He stand? Many err here. They do not understand what it means when Christ says that He will not forsake us when we sin. He does not mean He will remain in the heart, He does not mean He will cover unconfessed and unforsaken sins. Then where is Jesus when we sin? "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock." Why does He stand at the door knocking? Because Jesus promises the unrepentant sinner "if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20. Then we will have both a message and an experience to go where He sends us, to a world soon to perish. "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." |
|
If you know of one who would benefit from our newsletter,
|
