One of the most important studies we need to do is how to overcome sin, how to reach the perfection required for salvation. We are in a war against a foe that is stronger than we are. Our enemy is Satan. He was in third place in heaven at one time, more intelligent than all the other angels. Now after 6,000 years of practice in deceiving the world, he is a very dangerous enemy. He defeated the world before the flood, except for eight persons who were still on God’s side
Even with God’s people in the wilderness, Satan deceived all the older people except two—Joshua and Caleb—out of 600,000 men who left Egypt.
Men of great intellect and of great knowledge have not been a match for him. Powerful nations have fallen into his deceptions. Even professed Christians and ministers of the gospel, have bowed their heads to him in submission. One-third of the angels in heaven broke their allegiance with God and joined with Satan in his rebellion.
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:9
The devil deceives many in the world. He gives gifts—to Eve he gave a fruit. He hypnotized Adam. He offered the whole world to Jesus. God also gives gifts; when we are heirs with Christ we are given passage to the whole universe. We do not even need a passport to enter the country of heaven.
Although most of the world is deceived by him, he goes war against a particular group of people. “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. He wars very earnestly against the little faithful remnant. The war is against you and I.
No man is able to resist him. No man has ever overcome him alone. No man has been able to see through his deceptions alone. Out of all the Christians today, a remnant will be saved.
And yet, we must overcome him, we must defeat Satan or we will be lost. We have a promise in the Bible. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.” Revelation 21:7. He that overcomes the power of Satan and his angels, who overcomes sin and sinful desires in his body and soul, shall inherit all.
In our world today there are more than 2 billion Christians who have started a war against Satan with the purpose of overcoming him and to receiving the reward promised to the overcomer. The Bible tells us that only a small remnant will be able (with the help of Jesus) to defeat the power of evil and to win the battle. In order to win this war and overcome all sin, we need a helper who is stronger than our enemy. That helper is Jesus.
Since the beginning of this earth’s history, for 6,000 years men have waged a war against Satan and his power, but most of them have lost the battle in the end because they battled alone and lost. In cemeteries around the world there are millions of victims of Satan. They passed from life unto death, fighting in vain for the victory. All their prayers, offerings, and religious exercises were in vain.
Yet, Satan has been defeated. There are men and women and children who have asked help from Jesus and have been able to overcome Satan and his deceptions. How did they do it? What weapons did Jesus give us to use? We must know the answers to these questions so that we can overcome and be victorious also. In heaven there will be men and women, children, teenagers and small babies who have gained the victory. It can be done.
If we follow the instructions given to us in the Bible we all will be in heaven. We all will be overcomers. We all will be perfect in character. And how to do it is the most important study for us.
Goliath was stronger than David, a more experienced man of war. All the host of Israel was afraid of him, no one dared to go against him. Then comes David, a young shepherd boy and the giant was defeated so easily.
“This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” 1 Samuel 17:46. David spoke with confidence, without the fear of defeat. He had not a shadow of doubt that he might lose the battle.
Those who were afraid and had doubted, could they have easily overcome Goliath? Would they have lost and perished because they had no confidence in God’s help?
When the children of Israel went against Jericho, the great city, they gained the victory so easily when they followed the instructions of God. But a little later they went against a small city, Ai, and were badly defeated. What made the difference? This time sin had entered into the camp of Israel—just one sinner. Achan had disobeyed the commandment of God and because of this their power was gone and a curse was upon them. Therefore, they fled before the enemy.
Balak, the king of Moab tried to defeat the people of Israel so he called Balaam to curse them. But every time Balaam tried to curse Israel, God turned it into a blessing. Israel was victorious; the king of Moab could not defeat them.
But then, Balaam made a plan as to how to defeat Israel. He told Balak to lead them into sin, to make a great feast and invite Israel’s young people to the feast. Now they could be defeated so easily. They lost to their enemy.
Satan is after God’s people to destroy them. If angels would not protect us, we would not live anymore. We lose this protection when we disobey God and continue in a lifestyle of sin.
Satan is an accuser. If he sees you do something wrong, then before the good angels he will accuse you. Satan will say, “How can you give peace in the heart of a person who has caused heartache and sorrow to someone else?” Satan also says, “Look at this person, he did not forgive his brother—how can you forgive him? Look, he was dishonest, he lied, he stole something. How can you protect him in return?”
Satan picks on our sins, and weaknesses and tells God’s angels, “God rejected me. And you give grace to the people who are just as bad as I am. They are selfish, covetous, and jealous.” Sometimes God may not protect us or our property if we reject Him and walk away from Him.
In our warfare, we all have a Goliath on our way against whom we must fight. We all have a dangerous enemy who tries to defeat us, to stop our progress. This Goliath may be an appetite for harmful foods or drinks. It may be a bad habit that we engage in, or perhaps a desire to read forbidden books or watch television shows, or a difficulty in loving our enemies. This Goliath may be covetousness, pride, selfishness, jealousy, or an unforgiving spirit. Millions of Christians have fallen as victims to these giants.
Because of this mighty enemy, many Christians try to justify their failures by saying, “No one can keep the law of God; it is impossible to be perfect. No one can overcome all sins.” And so easily they fall into the hands of their enemy, Satan.
A Christian who has not overcome his sin, who plays with his enemy, is the greatest loser in this world. “Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. . . . Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not.” Jeremiah 5:15, 21. They are called foolish and without understanding.
“Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.” Proverbs 13:15. The way of a transgressor is hard, full of misery, disappointments—a
joyless and unhappy life.
David said, “For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.” Psalm 38:4
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 14:12
For a moment, the way of Satan may look good, as it did to Adam and Eve. But in a little while, there is a disappointment. Depression is the result of defeat; worry and anxiety are signs of defeat, showing that Satan has gained the victory. Boredom is a result of defeat, and also self-pity. Loss of self-respect shows that Satan has overcome us. Confusion of mind is a blindness that Satan has cast upon people. Millions of Christians are suffering these direct results of Satan’s victory.
The ancient Israelites wept all night in agony and fear, while Joshua and Caleb had peace. When a Christian is victorious and overcomes Satan, there is peace, joy, love, and power to do all things correctly; there is also cheerfulness and happiness, and a busy active life in helping others.
Only a victorious Christian knows how to live a good life. Only he can truly enjoy life. The joy of Jesus is far greater than all that worldly entertainment can give us.
In order to overcome our enemies, these giants, Goliaths that fight against us, we need to follow certain instructions.
The first thing to do is found in Hebrews 11:25, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” The key word here is “choosing.” Moses chose rather to suffer affliction than enjoy the pleasures of sin. Is this your choice? Have you made up your mind to suffer affliction, to deny yourself and carry your cross, rather than enjoy pleasures of this world for a season?
The second thing to do is found in 1 John 5:4–5, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.” To be born of God; by faith we are born again of the Holy Spirit. A born-again Christian is a happy person, his joy is full.
“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12. Come to Christ to receive power. If someone is lacking this power they have not come to Christ yet. False christs cannot give power to overcome sin.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Resist him! Do not invite Satan to tempt you. When you take a magazine or book in your hand that is inspired by Satan, you do not resist him. When you turn on the television to watch a show, you are not resisting him. You are inviting him to come and tempt you. When you spend time with the company of people who do not love God, or go to a place of entertainment, you are not resisting Satan, but again you are inviting him to tempt you.
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Evil thoughts cannot enter your mind if you pray without ceasing. It takes practice, but it is a wonderful weapon against our enemy.
Fasting and prayer—when other things have failed, fasting will gain a victory. “And when He was come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And He said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” Mark 9:28–29. It is the best way to gain willpower, to subdue desires and appetites, lusts of the flesh and body. Sister White had never eaten whole wheat bread, and it did not agree with her taste. She said to her stomach, “you will get nothing until you are ready to accept this bread.” And, soon enough, her stomach was ready to have this bread. Some have difficulty with a vegetarian diet. Try doing the same. Jesus said that there are things that can be overcome by fasting and prayer only.
There is one more instruction—to love God and to hate sin. Eve did not hate sin, she desired to eat from the tree of knowledge; she wanted it. Also, if we love sin or the bad habit or bad indulgence, we will never overcome. We must learn to hate sin. This happens at Calvary. If you love to read these worldly books, if you love to watch these sinful shows, if you love to eat harmful foods and drinks, you will never overcome. One who loves sin will not be able to fight against it. If we love this world, the love of the Father is not in us.
“Many desire the final reward and victory which are to be given to overcomers, but are not willing to endure toil, privation, and denial of self, as did their Redeemer. . . . The controlling power of appetite will prove the ruin of thousands, when, if they had conquered on this point, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every other temptation of Satan. . . . As we near the close of time, Satan’s temptation to indulge appetite will be more powerful and more difficult to overcome.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 491
Those who indulge appetite and passion, their words are not utilized by the Spirit of God so as to reach the hearts of the hearers. Their minds are not clear.
If you fail in overcoming, there is a reason for it. You did not surrender to Christ. This must be done in order to overcome sin. Everything depends on overcoming Satan. There are seven promises for the overcomer in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. But, there is not even one promise for those who fail. We must not fail. We must not give up. Be strong. Stand for God, for the truth, and fight manfully, in the strength of God; defeat Satan and the power of sin.
Isaiah gives us this promise, “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.” Isaiah 49:24–25. If you have been a captive of the mighty, you can escape; there is a way out.
“And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2 Timothy 2:26. The captive of the devil can be recovered.
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57. “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14. Christ is mightier than Satan. Through Him you can overcome.
We can be healed and our troubled hearts can have peace. Our depression will be gone, worry and anxiety will be put away.
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5. By His death we can live. By His blood we will overcome. If you love Him you will hate sin that caused such suffering to your Redeemer.
Jesus said, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Luke 16:10. Become faithful in the smallest things; start with little evils and soon you can tackle the giants. But, if you neglect the little sins, you will never overcome the greater ones. As you gain victories daily, as you resist temptations daily, when you are faithful in the smallest things, you are defeating the devil. You will change daily.
Enoch had many names written on him: Victory, purity, holiness. Before these can be written on you and me, we must fight and overcome. In the Bible we are called a holy nation, purity of heart must reflect on our countenances.
The Bible is clear on how to overcome; how to gain the victory. By helping others to overcome, we help ourselves. By looking to Jesus, we change to His likeness. By lifelong, persevering effort to discipline, and by self-denial Jesus will help you defeat our enemy, so you can become overcomers.
“One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, He it is that fighteth for you, as He hath promised you.” Joshua 23:10. If God is with us, who can be against us? Wonderful is the reward of the overcomer. May the Lord give this victory to all of us. Amen.
Timo Martin