"Overcoming"

Recently while listening to an individual that was going through some marital difficulty, the husband and wife decided to seek out a counselor in the world. The wife went in to visit by herself, then the husband. The conclusion by the counselor: they had seen situations like this for many years and never once has the problem like the husband had ever been overcome! In other words, once you have a particular practice, there is no cure. We have heard that for many years. Once an addict, always an addict. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Once a sex addiction, always a sex addiction. Once a liar, always a liar. I have heard this MANY times over the last 30 years of my preaching/counseling experience.

The question that needs to be asked: is this really true? The majority of counselors and psychologists deal with the lost world. People that are separated from Christ are in their sins and controlled by sin. That is why many can never change or it is a limited change by acting out certain practices in their own lives. "Count to ten to manage your anger!" and things like this to control our lives. God spoke from the beginning to Cain that "sin was crouching at the door and its desire is for you." (Gen. 4:7) Paul spoke of himself, before he came into Christ in Romans 7 that sin dwelt in him and it was sin that controlled his life, even when he desired to do what was right! But what about a person in Christ? Paul taught that such a person has a "new self" that can be "renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him." (Col. 3:10). The new self is from God, created by God, according to the image of God. Paul reminded the Ephesian brethren to put on this new self, which is in the likeness of God (Eph. 4:24). The brethren at the Rome congregation were instructed that it was the predetermined plan of God that His children would be "conformed to the image of His Son." (Rom. 8:29) In all this, we find that one in Christ can change, can overcome and not be a hopeless case. The world has no power to become conformed to God in righteousness and truth. They have not been united with Christ, raised with Christ so there is no help from God! Unreconciled people are still in their sins and they conform to the image of sin!!

When Jesus said He had overcome the world that one could take courage in Him because in Him we have peace (John 16:33), He wasn't speaking of behavior modification. He was talking OVERCOMING! John reminds us: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world..." (I John 5:4). If one is in Christ, the only issue is will we put on the new self or resurrect the old self that was buried with Christ in baptism (Rom. 6:6-7) that is enslaved to sin? Too many are listening to the world, taking the advice of the world, thinking like the world and having to depend on the world's resources to control their lives. What if we would listen to Jesus? "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come." (II Cor. 5:17)