Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? I John 5:3-5
In the New Testament, the word world is used in two different ways. Sometimes it describes the earth and all its people (“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29), and sometimes it refers to sinful, self-absorbed patterns of life. When John says that believers “overcome the world, he has the second meaning in mind.
We live in a culture that promises far more than it can deliver. Each and every day, we are barraged by promises of beauty, riches, success, fame, and pleasure. They claim to be able to fill our hearts and give us ultimate happiness, and quite often, we believe their lies. If these promises came to us dressed up as demons in little red suits, we’d recognize them at once and refuse to trust them, but because their lies appear, like Satan himself, as sources of light, we are easily duped.
Why do we need to overcome the world? Because it can overwhelm us and distract us from our relationship with God. These lies steal our attention, erode our faith in God, corrupt our motives, and strain our relationships. Every part of our lives is affected, if not ruined, if we believe the false promises.
Overcoming the world doesn’t happen by magic because we say a certain thing or by osmosis because we attend church. Wars are won by carefully planning, marshalling resources, being courageous in action, and especially by following the directions of the commander. In our fight with the world, we overcome when we stay close to Jesus, recognize and reject the lies we hear, and walk in obedience to Him. The things we must overcome aren't always bad things. Hobbies, family, serving, studying. The Lord gives us a life on this earth to enjoy and a brain to pursue things, but when these things take control of our life, our time..they have become IDOLS. We place them before God and therefore are "worldly". Such an easy trap to fall into. Thinking I am safe when really I have been blindsided by Satan.
