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Saturday 21 September 2013

Overcoming Evil

Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
 There is a lot of evil in the world. That's undeniable if you just look around. Death, murder, rape, starvation, sexual immorality, homosexuality, abortion, slavery, lying, coveting, stealing, hatred, manipulation and selfishness are just a few examples. It's all around us and Satan uses it all to try to devour us and overcome us.

It's easy to see everything going on in the world and just be overwhelmed and depressed by it all. It's easy to give up and wonder why God allows any of it to happen. It's easy to get disillusioned. On the other hand, it's easy to see all the evil in the world and get drawn into it, because it is attractive and it promises so much in this life.

But what does Paul command us to do?

"Do not be overcome with Evil, but overcome evil with good."

Don't let all of the evil in the world swallow you up, and don't become part of it. Don't let yourself slip into sin and temptation and don't let yourself slip into depression and disillusionment about the world. But we can't really do either of those on our own strength. We are sinful and we are naturally drawn to sin. Only by relying on God and trusting in him can we achieve this. Seek to obey him and he will bless that and help you.

Instead of giving into evil we need to do the opposite. We need to overcome it with good. When tempted to fall into sin, instead submit to God and obey him. Do good even when the world is shouting out for you to join it in doing evil. Do good even when Satan is trying to tangle you into a web of depression about the evils around you. Do good and submit to God, trusting him because he is good.

Are you being overcome with evil, or overcoming it with good through Christ?


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