1 JOHN 2:12-14

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a
wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one
that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which
built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Mt.7:24-27).
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my
disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn.8:31-32).
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent” (Jn.17:3).
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suf-
fered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Ph.3:7-10).
“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom
I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day” (2 Tim.1:12).
“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise
unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim.3:15).

3. There are young men, mature believers in the church. These must remember how far they have come. They have
come a long way: they have fought a long battle and they have now overcome the wicked one. The wicked one used to attack
them right and left, at every turn. He attacked them with every temptation imaginable, but especially with the sins that were
so common before their conversion, the sins of...
• evil and immoral thoughts • stealing • gossiping
• illicit affairs • lying • backbiting
• immoral practices • cheating • hate
• looking and lusting • pride • anger
• drunkenness • arrogance • loving money
• shoplifting • covetousness • greed
• drugs • hoarding
The point is this: believers who have walked faithfully with Christ over a long period of time have overcome the tempta-
tions of the wicked one. The temptations do not strike as often nor with the force that they once did. It was a difficult strug-
gle, a fierce battle all along the way, for it is never easy to die to self, never easy to deny self completely. It is never easy to
give up all one is and has to Christ and His mission. In fact, after we have committed our lives and possessions to Christ, the
wicked one attacks us more fiercely than ever before. Satan does not want to lose us and our loyalty to sin; he wants to cause
God as much pain as possible. Therefore right after we accept Christ, he attacks us with far greater force than ever before.
But the mature believer overcomes. However, he must remember how he overcame, for Satan stays after the believer as long
as he is on earth. The attacks perhaps are not as often nor as fierce as when the believer was younger, but the believer must
stay strong or else he will be caught off-guard and fall into sin. The mature believer must remember how he overcame the
wicked one and continue to combat him in the Word.

Thought 1. How do believers overcome Satan?
⇒ They overcome by drawing near God, by praying and asking for wisdom.

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and up-
braideth not; and it shall be given him” (Jas.1:5).
“The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the un-
just unto the day of judgment to be punished” (2 Pt.2:9).

⇒ They overcome by using God’s Word, quoting it over and over in their minds, to conquer the temptation.

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Lk.4:8).

⇒ They overcome by learning and knowing that God allows temptation to teach endurance.

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that
the trying of your faith worketh patience” (Jas.1:2-3).

⇒ They overcome by not yielding their bodily members to sin.

“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield
yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instru-
ments of righteousness unto God” (Ro.6:13).
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