Overcoming Recurring Sin

Overcoming Recurring Sin 

Practical Keys to Being Alive to God and Dead to Sin

Introduction: In our recent studies in Romans we discussed Paul’s challenge to the brethren and to us of no longer continuing in a “state of sin” because we have now died to the condition of having sin reign over us. Jesus has made it so we can now “reign in grace” (5:17) and therefore we have been set free from the slavery of sin and can now live for God.

Romans 6:11-14 gives us a number of imperatives – absolute commands – on how we are to live since we are now under grace and not under law:

• “Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God” (11)
• “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions” (12)
• “Do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God…” (13)
• “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

1. Conclusions from Paul’s Commands (Rom. 6:11-14)
   1. Verse 11 commands us to place our minds in the state of grace to which we have been freed. It is an “exodus” picture. Consider yourselves free from Egypt and servants of God following him to the Promised Land. It is similar to remembering our identity. We are no longer helpless servants of Satan and the “Egyptians.” The key thought is we are not helpless! 
   2. Verse 12 reminds us that we are still in a “mortal body” and that body still has passions that demand to be obeyed. Yes, coming to Christ did not end the passions of the flesh, but coming to Christ did enable us to conquer those passions.
      Further, we are to recognize the word “reign.” Do not let sin reign. Paul is not suggesting that we are now going to live sinless. But we are not going to let sin conquer us. Part of that involves not giving up when we have failed – relying on grace – and part is fighting back and not continuing in the path of sin. We will talk more of this in a moment. It is also the understanding that caving into sin, even the first time, is what starts us down the path of “letting sin reign.”
   3. Verse 13 gives us one of the keys to subjecting the passions of our body. The command is to transfer what we do with our body from one passion to another. We do not just stop passions, we exchange them. That is always the key to conquering sin. If we stop fulfilling sinful passions, we leave a void or vacuum in our life that must be filled. If it is not filled with a better, more fulfilling passion, the old lusts will return (2 Peter 2:20-22). That is the primary cause of failure when it comes to dealing with sin.
   4. Verse 14 gives the reason sin will no longer have dominion over us: we are no longer under law (under bondage to sin and no longer able to be justified, 3:20-21), but under grace (an ever-present opportunity to turn to the one on the cross for healing just as Israel did with the serpent on the pole in Numbers 20). That is how we are empowered to keep sin from reigning and having dominion. See Galatians 2:19, “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God.”
2. Understanding the Principle of Conquering Sin
   1. We need to always remember that God has continually reminded us that overcoming sin is possible (1 Cor. 10:13). In fact, not just possible, but assured if we will stick with him (Jesus our trailblazer through temptations, Hebrews 2). Too often, we consider the probability of overcoming sin so low that we can tend to shrug our shoulders and just give in. In other words, we go into this battle with a defeatist attitude, which sets us up for failure. 1 Thes. 5:23-24
   2. Colossians 3:1-5 sets forth a contrast which when understood will enable us to conquer sin. The idea is that we do not simply want to keep from sinning, we want to become detached from sin. Detachment or setting our minds on things above and off the earthly means we stop finding our meaning and security in people, things, positions, money and power so that they no longer lure us into sin or foolish actions. Truly setting our minds above and not on the earth means we come to rest in the knowledge that what is truly valuable to the soul can only be given by God Himself.
      1. First, seek the things above where Christ is. Then, set your mind on that things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Later, in verse 5, Paul will say, “put to death what is earthly in you…” The problem we have with our desires is that the more our mind is on earthly things, the more we are vulnerable to uncontrolled desires. 
      2. In other words, we cannot expect to conquer recurring sin when our minds are primarily set on earthly things and we lack a serious pursuit of the “things that are above.” When we do not have an “all of our heart” pursuit of God, we leave ourselves tormented and weakened by fleshly appetites (like being on diet with a freezer full of Haagen-Dazs, and expecting to stay on a diet). Trying to serve God half-heartedly while surrounding ourselves with temptation and minding the earthly will make us miserable.
      3. Most importantly, Colossians 3:1-4 is reminding us that we should not live our lives with the primary thought of giving up sin, but of experiencing life with God. Notice the words, “Your life is hidden with Christ in God.” With our minds set on the earthly, we are depriving ourselves of experiencing & enjoying life in the Spirit.
      4. Jesus described our dilemma when he spoke of the seed sown among the thorns: “the cares of the world, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in a choke the word” (Mk.4:19). Luke’s account, “choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life…” Again, what do we expect? It is like the couple who came to me with serious marriage problems and admitted they only spent an hour a week with each other. Well, what do you expect!
      5. We can illustrate this in a fleshly way – if you are married and became attracted to someone else, what would be the answer? Get away from the forbidden person and draw closer to your spouse! It isn’t rocket science!
3. Specific Mechanisms to Conquer Sin
   1. At the top of the list is is we are going to detach ourselves from sin we must understand the illusion of our desires and Satan’s temptations. Have you noticed that when you cave in to sin that the fulfillment wasn’t nearly as sweet as the anticipation? (Pro.9:17-18 – “The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing…calling those who pass by, ‘Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” and to him who lacks sense she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’ But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.”)
      1. Therefore, when we are tempted, especially strong temptation, we need to shout to ourselves, “This is a mirage! This is a lie! Death is the result.” We ridicule Adam and Eve, but that’s our foolishness also.
      2. The same is true with things that are not sinful of themselves like recreational pursuits (Pro.25:16) “Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, Lest you be filled with it and vomit.” The law of diminishing returns is always present with everything earthly pursuit. Always keep in mind Solomon’s experience in Ecclesiastes: “Vanity of vanities says the preacher, all is vanity.”
   2. We must remember that sin offers short term pleasure (Hebrews 11:25), but long term consequences. In other words, I must remind myself that the sin is not worth it.
      1. The worst consequence is what it does to our brains. Sin of any kind is addictive. Like a drug it gives us a brief “high.” In fact, it is a high that cannot be obtained otherwise (Illustrated by Proverbs 9:17-18). Consider the example of a man or woman having an affair. The reason it is so seductive is because the brief high in the affair does not happen in marriage which entails a day to day life of selflessness, transgressions, confessions, forgiveness, and hard work. Is there ultimately a greater pleasure and joy. Sure! But it does not provide that same instant “hit”. An innocent spouse simply cannot compete in the same way. 
      2. Sin gives us a taste for more that is nearly impossible to forget. Remember the potato chip commercial, “Bet you can’t eat just one”? Same with sin. Mental pictures cannot be erased. Sinful events make deep and lasting impacts on our brains that we can easily “call up” and relive for the rest of our lives. The sin can be forgiven, but the damage is irreversible.
   3. To overcome recurring sin we must learn to control our thoughts. But that seems and impossible task! Yes, it is a battle. Peter said, “Abstain from the passions of the flesh, which war against the soul.” Therefore, first we must understand that this is an ongoing battle. It is not going away, but it still can be conquered.
      1. The mistake that is often made is trying to stop thinking about the temptation. Evil thoughts come into our minds and we say to ourselves, “Stop it, stop it, stop it.” That is like telling someone to stop thinking about pink elephants. It has the reverse effect.
      2. Instead, scripture teaches us to replace evil thoughts with godly thoughts (Phil. 4:8). Solomon taught his son to overcome sexual sins by keeping his heart and passions on his own wife (Prov. 5:18-19).
   4. Flee! (1 Cor. 6:18; 10:14). The most obvious defense against sin is to get away from it! Just like being on a diet with a freezer full of ice cream, we need to be like Joseph who ran out of the house. To win the battle against temptation, we need to draw lines that keep us in a safe. For example, a sexual affair begins long before sex. It begins with thoughts, then conversations, then not maintaining a professional distance, then gazing longingly, etc. And all of this can take place gradually, almost imperceptibly over weeks or months. Most sins begin long before the actual act. Therefore, flee; draw good lines.
   5. Resist! James 4:7-10 gives us an excellent step by step prescription for conquering sin.
      1. First, determine to submit to God. God is my master who has bought me and freed me from bondage. We must make our minds up to submit.
      2. Second, resist, and the devil will flee.
      3. Third, replace the draw of sin by drawing near to God. When we do so, he will draw near to us.
      4. Fourth, clean yourself up! Cleanse your hands (clean up your actions) and clean up your mind. Being double-minded is tormenting. As my friend Bernice used to say, “That person has just enough religion to make themselves miserable.” Allowing sin to have a playground in your mind will never allow you to detach yourself from sin.
      5. Fifth, mourn over the sins you do commit. Do not justify them. Do not think them to be acceptable or a normal part of living as a human. Mourn.
      6. Sixth, humble yourself before God. In other words, go before God and be honest with him about who you have been, who you are, and what you have done. Plead for his mercy and help, knowing that you cannot succeed alone. He promises to exalt you.

Conclusion: Romans 12:10, “Abhor what is evil, cleave to what is good.” We need to remember, as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, we need to go beyond merely not transgressing a command. We need to abhor it. When we can truly abhor sin, we will not only be more successful in conquering sin, we will live at peace having limited the occasions of tormenting lusts.

Berry Kercheville