"Overcome or Overrun"

Article written by Pastor Phil Bray

 
            “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:21). Do not be conquered by evil. Do not allow evil to gain the upper hand, to smother out the good in your life. Do not allow evil to shape and define your life, your identity, or even your mood. Many times we have the false impression that we can dip our toes into the water of evil, through entertainment or social choices, and it not affect us. Can you dip your feet into an oil slicked lake and come out clean? For many of us that dip of the toe is not really what we are doing is it? We slip our whole foot into the cool and murky waters, sliding imperceptibly down until we are neck deep in sludge. Still we declare ourselves to be ok, “It’s not affecting me!” 

            What we do not realize is that evil overcomes us, not by direct assault, but by subtle deception. Evil overcomes us, not by a direct assault on our will. Evil overcomes us by the slow but steady pull on your heart to conform to the values, beliefs, and priorities of the world in rebellion against God. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and accept and perfect.” (Rom 12:2). You are being conformed by every show, every song, every post, every conversation you engage in. Everything is shaping you for good or ill. The idea of a this neutral position from which we sit and evaluate and enjoy the world while remaining aloof and unaffected by the world’s evil is an illusion. It is not reality. 

            The moral acceptability of immoral behavior is a testament to this fact. The world in which we live is far more accepting of sexual immorality of varying kinds because of the sexually explicit, perverse, and depraved lifestyles portrayed in media and social media. The culture is an ever flowing stream of moral sludge. The sexual revolution that began as a stream of “free love” in the 60’s and 70’s has become a festering lagoon of depravity today. We are being overcome by evil, literally drowning in evil, and yet we foolishly continue to say, “It’s ok, it doesn’t really affect me.” At some point in the boiling process the frog stops being able to say, “Its ok, its not really affecting me.” At some point the sludge creeps up your chin and begins pouring down your throat. But then, it is to late and you have crossed lines which you cannot uncross. 
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            Jesus tells us to “overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:21). You must conquer evil or evil will conquer you. It is a fight to the death my friend. You will die or evil will die. John Owen, a puritan, once said that you must be killing sin or it will be killing you. How do you overcome and conquer evil? By doing good. Begin with prayer, pleading with God to produce in you the fruit of the Spirit, to transform your heart. Then, commit to memorizing and meditating on the Scriptures, forcibly pushing the truth of God into your soul. God’s word, God’s thoughts and ideas must shape the reality of your heart. Your desires and priorities, your values and commitments will be shaped by the world, or by the Word. Transformation happens BY the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2). Begin obeying God’s word, trusting the Spirit to convict you and lead you. Do all that Jesus teaches which is ultimately summed up by learning to love one another. Intentionally and consciously deny yourself, say no to what you want and serve others in love. Reject the selfish desires of your heart. Refuse to gratify them. Replace those desires with new desires by diligent and disciplined practice of spiritual habits. Fasting can help you learn to abstain from the desires of your flesh. Serving can help you learn to consider others more important than yourself. Both of these are tangible expressions of “self-denial” which will shape your heart according to the pattern of Christ. Rather than continuously gratifying your sinful desires through continual exposure to the sinful activity of our culture we must deny ourselves and expose our malleable heart to the way and word of Christ. Only by the pursuit and practice of what is good can we overcome evil rather than overrun by evil. ​