If Jesus Overcame the World, Why is it Such a Mess?

The following is a pre-recorded version of CORE Christianity.

If Jesus overcame the world, why is it such a mess? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. As always, you can post your question on one of our social media accounts, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can watch us on YouTube, and you can email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Jerry in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Jerry, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yeah, in the book of Revelations 3-5, it says something about, I will never block his name out in the book of life. Now, I thought once your name was in the book of life, it would never be removed.

Yeah, Jerry, thanks for this question. This is a text that does cause some concern for people because they think, boy, does God erase people's names from the book of life with his heavenly whiteout. You read this text.

I'll just read it. Revelation 3-5, the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

This is coming in the context of Jesus' exhortations to the various churches there in Asia Minor in Revelation 2 and 3. My view is that no, Jesus is not blotting names out. We have to understand when we see this language of the book of life elsewhere in the book of Revelation, in particular in Revelation 13 verse 8 and also in Revelation 17 verse 8, it says that the people whose names are in the book of life are there from before the foundation of the world.

Think about that for a second. We're talking about God the sovereign omniscient king. It's not as if somebody comes to the Lord and then he says, hey, Archangel Gabriel, I want you to write their name down in my book of life, and then they fall away, and then he says, hey, sorry, you're going to have to erase that kind of a thing, this sort of back and forth kind of a thing.

No, they're there from before the foundation of the world. God knows those who are his. I think that those whose names are in the book of life have absolute confidence, can have absolute confidence. What's being referred to here, I think, in this warning that Jesus gives is this promise that, look, those who overcome, there's no chance of them being blotted out. Not that there was a chance of them being blotted out or they'd lose their salvation, but that they can be fully confident that their names are there, and that they're going to be with the Lord in heaven. Again, later in Revelation, it's clear that those names are there from before the foundation of the world. That's how I understand this discussion related to the book of life, and hopefully that clears it up for you. Just again resting in the fact that God knows those who are his, and that that book is sealed. The people that are in that book, they've been there from the very beginning, even before the creation of the world, and so they're not being erased later on. Thanks, Jerry, for your question.

Thank you, Jerry. We've mentioned before we have a brand new Bible study on the book of Revelation. You can find that at our website, corechristianity.com, and it's yours for a donation of twenty dollars, or any amount, I should say. We'd love to send you that because we get so many questions about the book of Revelation. Let's go to Eddie in Monterey Park, California. Eddie, what is your question for Pastor Adrian?

Hey guys, thanks a lot for taking my call. I've been praying for you guys on a regular basis. My question is regarding holidays, birthdays, Mother's Days, Valentine's, stuff like that. I recently joined a church, URC, and I believe it was okay to celebrate birthdays as long as we always put Jesus first. But I have a brother at church that thinks we shouldn't celebrate any holidays and birthdays, and I can see that how that's training his relationship with his girlfriend.

So I want to see if I can kill him some scripture or something to encourage him or straighten me out, see if I'm in the wrong. So thank you guys. Yeah, well, I know that there are groups that do say, look, no holidays, no birthdays. I mean, not as many among, I think, Christian circles say you can't celebrate your birthday. I know that the Jehovah's Witnesses, for example, say you shouldn't celebrate your birthday. Now, my position, Eddie, is, man, whenever there's an opportunity to celebrate something, I want to take that opportunity. And so whether that's my birthday or your birthday or my neighbor's birthday, I think we should just throw a party and praise the Lord for his goodness to us. I don't think that the Bible speaks in particular to birthdays.

This is a matter of freedom. There are some people that really enjoy celebrating on their birthday and getting together with friends and family, and there are other people who just think, yeah, I'm not, you know, just another day, that kind of a thing. I guess the one passage of scripture that I think we could go to is in the Book of Romans, in Romans chapter 14, verse 5. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.

Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to the Lord.

While the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to the Lord. For none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord. And if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end, Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. And then Paul says this in verse 10 of chapter 14, why do you pass judgment on your brother or you? Why do you despise your brother?

So he's saying, look, there's some freedom here. Don't put your own personal rules on another brother or sister in Christ that God hasn't clearly outlined in scripture. God doesn't say in scripture, hey, don't celebrate your birthday. Well, you may not want to celebrate your birthday, but don't judge another believer for doing something like that. Now, with regard to holidays, sometimes quote, unquote religious holidays, you know, Christmas, that kind of a thing, Easter, there is a little bit more controversy. Under the new covenant, we don't have holy days. We have the Lord's day where we gather together on Sunday for worship. But again, I personally, my view is I don't have any problem with Christians celebrating the resurrection of Jesus and worshiping him, focusing on that in particular on one Sunday. I actually, I mean, this is something we do, Eddie, as a church. And I think it's a great opportunity to invite friends and neighbors to come and hear the gospel when ordinarily they wouldn't darken the door of a church. Maybe they're willing to come on Easter or on Christmas where we celebrate the incarnation of Jesus. And so I think there too, it's a matter of personal liberty and wisdom.

And may God give you wisdom and encourage you, brother, as you share with this friend in your church and hopefully looking at that passage in Romans chapter 14 can be helpful. You know, one of the things that's concerning, Adriel, is when people get kind of caught up in, I guess the best word is majoring in the minors, things like, you know, celebrating holidays or whatnot. We try here on this program to really come back to the core, the basics of the Christian faith. And, you know, there are some issues that, I think you've used this term, are sort of open-handed, that we can, you know, give each other grace. And there are other issues that are really core to Christian doctrine that we should not ever compromise on.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think it takes wisdom and the knowledge of the scriptures to discern which are which. Too often I think in the church, you know, we'll divide and split over things like, can we celebrate birthdays?

I know that sounds crazy. I mean, in the ancient church there were divisions over whether or not the clergy should wear beards, have beards. Now, that would have been a problem for me because I still, Bill, can't grow good facial hair. It really is.

People can pray for me about this. It makes me sad. But, you know, historically Christians have divided over all sorts of things. And oftentimes they weren't things that were central to the Christian faith, the resurrection of Jesus, the atoning work of Christ, those kinds of things. But sometimes things that were on the periphery where there's a little bit more freedom or a lot more freedom. And that's where we want to be gracious with one another and allow each person, as Paul said there in Romans 14, to stand before the Lord with a clear conscience. He stands before the Lord and is going to worship the Lord while also celebrating their birthday.

Hey, nothing wrong with that. Each person should be convinced in their own mind. Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We should mention that some of the radio stations that air our program actually air it on a delayed basis. So if you want to call and talk to Pastor Adriel live, here is the time that you want to do it.

Eleven thirty a.m. Pacific Time, which translates into twelve thirty Mountain, one thirty Central or two thirty Eastern Time. For that half hour, you can call right into our studio. Otherwise, you can always leave a voicemail message any time day or night. Our voicemail is operating. Eight three three eight four three twenty six seventy three.

That's eight three three the core. And you can also leave your question, record your question on our website at core Christianity dot com. Just click the little microphone icon and leave your question that way. Let's go to Jesus in Kansas City, Missouri. Jesus, thanks so much for holding on. And what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes. How are you doing? And thank you very much for your program. I'm listening to you.

That's almost every day. My question is, we all know that God is all-knowing, so I haven't written my Bible for a while now. Well, the one thing I cannot get on my mind is, how is it possible that God would create millions, perhaps billions of people who ultimately are going to end up in damnation?

Yeah. Jesus, not a small question. And the fact of the matter is, it is a question that should be wrestled with, that we should wrestle with, because we do confess, as you said, that God is all-knowing. You can't read the scriptures without coming to that conclusion, that God knows all things, that he's all-powerful, that he's in control, he's sovereign, he's this great king. From the very beginning of the Bible in the book of Genesis to the very end, in the book of Revelation, we know that God is in control over the affairs of the world. And so, in one sense, this is all very sobering, because we also recognize that there are many, you said millions, billions even, who reject the gospel, who want nothing to do with God.

And so the big question is, God, why would you make the world in this way, where there is so much loss, where there are so many who turn away from you? Well, first, as we're thinking about the very beginning in Genesis, God gave Adam and Eve a choice, free will, to follow him or to disobey him. In Adam, all of us are born dead in sin.

We inherit, if you will, Adam's guilt and also the sin which he committed, but we go on on our own to sin against the Lord as well, these actual sins that we do, turning away from the Lord. Now, God commands all people everywhere to repent, to turn to him. He gives the promise of the gospel to the whole world, promiscuously, we might say, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

That message goes out to all people as a real offer for them, so that they might be saved, so that they might experience God's grace, and yet many people reject that and want nothing to do with God and continue to suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness, and they will be justly condemned. Now, why did God allow the world to be this way? Look, the reality is we're not going to have, I think, this side of eternity, this side of heaven, a real easy answer there. We can say God is sovereign and he's also good, and we know that he's able to make all things work together for the good of those he called according to his purpose. Even evil things, even the sinful acts of people, somehow God is able to use all of it and receive glory, and so we know that, but we don't fully comprehend or understand everything behind why God has decreed certain things, and it's not for us to know. Now, maybe there will be a time where the Lord sheds light on this for us, but I rest in the fact, Jesus, that God is good, and that he is loving, and that he's called the world to trust in Christ, to follow him, and that he calls us as individuals to do that very thing, to love him, to follow him, and to share the message of salvation with the people around us. We can speculate all day long about why God allowed things that he allowed. We don't always have those answers, but we do know what God has called us to, and we do know what God has clearly revealed in his word, and that's that he sent his Son into the world to redeem it so that we might have life.

So I think that's where we need to focus. When we're struggling with these questions, we look to the cross, we look to the revelation of God's love for sinful humanity as Jesus was hanging there on the cross, and we say, God, I don't understand entirely why you allow certain things, tragedies, sins, to take place in the world, but I do know that you're able to conquer it all and that you have conquered the evil in the world through your Son Jesus, and so I'm going to put my hope in you and help me to follow you so that I might be a light in this world and someone who is an example of your love, your grace, in leading others to know your mercy. Jesus, I think that's as far as we can go, because God hasn't clearly given us all the answers pertaining to your question, but we can know that he's good, and that one day we're going to see much more clearly than we do now, and may the Lord give you grace as we look forward to that day. You know, Adriel, I was thinking about this is the very issue that burdens so many missionaries, and the reason that so many people have gone into the mission field throughout the history of the church is because they want to spread the good news. They want to point people to Jesus and go into those remote moments where more remote corners of the world where people have not heard his name, and to preach his name, and to bring people to repentance and salvation. You know, Bill, I'm glad you said that, and maybe that's the burden that Jesus feels, and really it's the burden that we should all feel, to see people come to know Jesus, to experience his grace in their lives, and we're confronted by the realities of sin, by the destruction that we see in the world, by the fact that there is a judgment that's coming. You know, we ought to, as Christians, take very seriously the calling in scripture to be a light in the world, and when we feel that burden, when we're struggling with those questions, to take them to the Lord. You know, I love the the book of Psalms because oftentimes the psalmist will go to the Lord with these very similar kinds of questions, asking God the why question. God, why do you allow me to suffer the way that you've allowed me to suffer?

Why is there so much pain and destruction in the world around me? And oftentimes, you know, where the psalmist is directed is to continue to trust in the Lord, and with the knowledge of the fact that God is king, and that God is good, and that's what we cling to in those times of darkness, knowing that God is good, and taking that burden that we feel for the lost, and saying, Lord, turn this into opportunities to share your love with the people around me. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

By the way, we have a wonderful core question that really answers a lot of these issues. It's called, How can Christianity be true if God allows evil? And you can find that at corechristianity.com forward slash questions.

Just look for that one. How can Christianity be true if God allows evil? We want to also tell you about a wonderful booklet. This is something that Adriel has written himself that really points us to our Lord and Savior. It's called Seeing Jesus. Yes, this short four-week or four-chapter devotional booklet really fixes our eyes on Jesus, who He is, what He came to accomplish.

I take just four different accounts in the Gospels and really dig deep into them, because I think that they help us to understand Christ and His ministry and what He was all about. Where there's a lot of confusion about Jesus today, I hope that you'll get your hands on this resource, Seeing Jesus. I wanted to share, actually, we got a really encouraging message earlier today, someone who got their hands on this resource.

I want to read a snippet from it. It says, I got my free resource Seeing Jesus in the mail last week. This morning, I finished reading this thin booklet, and I praise God for how He used it to illuminate His truth in my life. Thank you for writing it.

I am at a loss for words to tell you how amazing the revelations of Jesus Christ, my groom, my king, my healer and redeemer were profound. Thank you, thank you. Get your hands on this resource. We would love to send that to you. All you have to do is go to our website, which is corechristianity.com forward slash Jesus, to find that particular resource. Again, corechristianity.com forward slash Jesus, or you can call us for that resource or any one of our resources at 833-THE-CORE. You can also leave a voicemail at that number anytime, 24 hours a day.

Here's a voicemail that we received yesterday. Hello, I'm calling because there's a verse in John 16-8, or thereabouts, where Jesus says, Be of good courage, for I have overcome the world. I keep thinking, well, what does that mean? What does that mean that He's overcome the world when things keep going on the same? I would appreciate your thoughts or insights on that.

Thank you. Yeah, this is in the context of Jesus's upper room discourse. It's the series of teachings that Jesus gave to His disciples right before He departed earth. He's meeting with them. He's washed their feet in John chapter 13. He's letting them know that He's leaving.

He's going to leave. Of course, the disciples who have been walking with Jesus for some time now, they're terrified. They know Jesus has enemies.

There are people that don't like Jesus. What's going to happen when Jesus leaves? They want to go with Him.

They don't really understand where He's going. Yet, throughout this discourse, Jesus is comforting the disciples, letting them know He's going to send the Holy Spirit to them. He's going to the cross. Ultimately, He's going to rise again from the dead and ascend into heaven. Yet, He's going to be with His disciples. He's with us today through the Holy Spirit. There in John chapter 16, He's very honest with the disciples.

He doesn't say, hey, your lives are going to be really easy once I go. He says in John 16, 33, I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world.

There's a tension here. He says, look, you in the world, believers in the world today, you're going to experience tribulation, difficulty, suffering, death, sickness, all of those things, persecution, but you can take heart because I have overcome the world. Not in that the world has been conquered so that now you can have this great easy life if you want to follow me, that kind of a thing. No, we know elsewhere in John, John says that the whole world lies under the sway of the evil one, under Satan, 1 John chapter 5 verse 19, that the world, this world, this system of unbelief, rejection of the gospel, the whole world is passing away. That's the world that I think John is referring to and that Jesus is referring to when he says he's conquered it. It's this present evil age that is passing away, 1 John chapter 2 verse 17. In this world, we do experience suffering, intense suffering, but we are conquerors and more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. Paul says this in Romans chapter 8 in verse 37 in particular. What's interesting in that context there, sister, is he talks about the things that believers are experiencing, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sore, death. He says, look, nothing is going to be able to separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. We are overcomers.

How do we overcome? By faith. Jesus Christ overcame the world. How?

Where? On the cross through his resurrection from the dead. He conquered sin and Satan and the sinful system of the world ruled by Satan. Now, the word world throughout the Bible in particular in the Gospel of John and in John's writings, it has different meanings. Sometimes it's referring to just the world of unbelievers that God loves and sent his son into the world to save, John chapter 3 verse 16. Sometimes it's referring to this world system ruled by Satan. You see that in particular in places like 1 John, but here, I think it's referring in John 16, 33 to that world system of unbelief, of death, of destruction. It's that world that Jesus has conquered by his blood. And in Christ, we conquer too by faith through the blood of Jesus, through the testimony that we have, John says in the book of Revelation. And so we live in this tension.

Right now in the world, we do have tribulation. And friends, maybe you're feeling that right now. I don't know what it is that you're going to. Maybe it's sickness. Maybe it's the loss of a loved one.

Maybe it's persecution for your faith. And you're thinking, God, I didn't expect this. I thought walking with Jesus, I thought knowing God would make my life easier.

Actually, it seems really difficult right now, and I'm struggling to know, God, where are you? Well, remember what Jesus said. He said, in this world, you will have tribulation. He warned us about this.

He let us know this is what's coming. We're going to experience trials, tribulation, sickness, suffering, sickness, suffering, even as Christians. But Jesus has overcome the world by his death and resurrection. And we have the hope that in him, we too, you too, friend, are going to overcome by faith.

And so look to your Savior, Jesus, cling to him, and know that one day, he's going to wipe away every tear, and you'll be with him in the world to come. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at CoreChristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar, or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.