The Call to Conquer

While reading Revelation, I came across these words from Jesus:

[…] and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation unless they repent of their doings;

Revelation 2:22

Christ’s warning is severe, yet His mercy is still present. Judgement is announced, but repentance is offered first. Those who have followed what is wrong are given the opportunity to turn back, while those who have remained faithful are not given any new requirement. They are simply told to hold fast to what they have already received.

A few verses later, Jesus says:

[…] I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.

Revelation 2:23

Christ says He will repay each person according to their works, echoing a consistent biblical theme: our actions reveal the reality of our faith. As James writes:

So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

James 2:17

Christ searches the mind and heart. Repentance is therefore not only something we confess; it must begin to reshape how we live. This is perhaps why Jesus not only speaks about what His followers do, but also about what they must conquer,

[…] I will not lay upon you any other burden, only hold fast what you have, until I come. He who conquers and who keeps my works until the end I will give him power over the nations

Revelation 2:25-26

The Lord is clear in this passage: those who have remained faithful are not given some new burden. They are told to hold fast and remain faithful to what they have already received,

He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne

Revelation 3:21

Here, Jesus does not merely speak about trying to do good. He speaks about conquering, and that choice of words matters. Following Him involves a battle against the world, temptation, sin and even against ourselves.

This is why Jesus says that He searches the mind and heart. Doing the right thing outwardly can be easier than conquering what is happening within us, because temptation often begins with a thought or impulse. To conquer what is happening within us, we must be born again.

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly I say to you unless one is born anew, he cannot see the Kingdom of God”

John 3:3

Jesus was speaking about the new birth brought about by the Holy Spirit, through which God gives us new life and begins transforming us from within. To be born again is not merely to behave differently, but to leave behind our old ways and become new in Christ.

If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me

Luke 9:23

Notice that Jesus says we must take up our cross daily. This connects with the idea of conquering: it is not one moment of victory, but a life of repeatedly denying ourselves and following Him.

This is not simply about adopting new habits. It is something much greater: a reorientation of our whole life around Christ. The goal is not merely to obey better, but to become a different kind of person. It is not about making ourselves like Christ through our own efforts.

Instead, we repent and turn towards God, place our faith in Him, receive the Holy Spirit, and allow Him to transform us from the inside out.

Jesus also warns us what happens when, rather than resisting sin, we allow it to rule over us:

Jesus replied: “Very truly I tell you everyone who sins, is a slave to sin”

John 8:34

We are called to fight sin daily, not in our own strength, but through the grace of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. The same connection appears in the Epistle of Barnabas, which reflects the biblical idea that our works reveal the path we have chosen,

The Lord judges the world without favoritism; everyone receives rewards matching their actions. Good people have their righteousness leading them; evil people face their deeds’ results ahead of them.

Epistle of Barnabas 3:12

Reading these passages reminded me that Christianity is not merely about believing certain things to be true. It is about becoming someone new. Christ calls us to a daily battle against sin, pride, selfishness, and every attachment that draws us away from God. This battle is difficult because it takes place first in the mind and heart, often before anyone else can see it.

Yet Scripture repeatedly reminds us that we do not fight alone. Through repentance, faith, prayer, and the work of the Holy Spirit, Christ slowly frees us from the things that once enslaved us and transforms us into His likeness.

The call to conquer is therefore not a demand for instant perfection achieved through our own strength. It is a call to transformation and perseverance: to remain with Christ as He transforms us, to repent when we fall, to trust in His mercy, and to continue fighting and walking towards Him until the end.