As you can see Belief in God and Faith are synonymous:
1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him.
1 John 5:4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
As you can see FAITH and born of God are the same. And FAITH ALONE overcomes the world.
And who are those who are saved? Notice the present realities:
1 John 2:13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.
What does it mean to "Overcome the world"? Is it the "World" as in earth, atmosphere, plant and animal life that is evil?
Of course not. It is the mind and teaching of man that is evil.
Jer. 17:
9 The heart
is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
To overcome the world is to overcome the "teaching" of the men of World. And whose teaching did the Prophets and Jesus and His Disciples warn about? Atheist's? Buddhists?
NO! God/Jesus warns about the teaching of men who claim to know the God of Abraham.
Let's face it, no one on this forum is going to be "overcome" by the teaching of Greek Mythology. No one here will give "Thor" any reverence. But someone who "Comes in Christ's name", who preaches that Jesus is truly the Christ, that person could deceive someone.
Jer. 14:
13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold,
the prophets say unto them,
Ye shall not see the sword,(You are saved) neither shall ye have famine (Jesus does it all for you) but I will give you
assured peace in this place.(you are secure in your salvation)
14
Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in
my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them:
they prophesy unto you a
false vision and divination, and
a thing of nought, and the
deceit of their heart.
Matt. 24:
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that
no man deceive you.
5 For
many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;
and shall deceive many.
Rev. 12:
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
2 Cor. 11:
13 For such
are false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel;
for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore
it is no great thing if
his ministers also be transformed as the
ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according
to their works.
This theme is present through out the Bible. It was the only God of Abraham preaching people on the planet that killed Jesus. Not the heathen or Gentile. It was the only God of Abraham preaching people on the planet that stoned Stephen and killed the Prophets, that threatened to stone Caleb, all the way back to Abel, who was murdered by his "Christian" brother because Abel respected God and Cain did not.
The Pharisees were such deceivers. Jesus called them "sons of satan". They had tricked entire generations into rejecting the God of the Bible and following the one they created. Many actually preach that they were "Trying to please God by obeying Him" but satan's children do not try to obey God, they use God's Word to deceive as the serpent did with Eve. By God's Mercy and belief in the Word's of the Jesus of the Bible, I have been able to "overcome" this worldly preaching. And am trying to share these things with you.
Jesus created the Path, walked in it and showed us the way to "Overcome the World". We just need to "Believe in this Jesus enough to follow His instructions the way Abraham believed in Jesus enough to follow His Instructions. There is no other way.
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
