Overcome Sin In Your Life
“Take FULL responsibility and confess it to God. He promises to forgive sin that we confess (1 John 1: 9)
“STOP doing it Proverbs 28:13 tells us that we find mercy when we CONFESS and also forsake our sin.
“Ask for forgiveness from anyone who has been hurt because of your bad choice.
“Put some protection or limits in your life that will help you not to start again. Get guidance from spiritual people for help, solutions, and accountability.
“Start spending time each day in prayer, reading the Bible, and listening or reading spiritual and biblically sound teachings. “
Rick Warren
If we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior we are in Christ; we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). God forgives us and He purifies us.
From there, God begins a work of sanctification in us — that is, He sets us apart for Himself. It is a lifelong process. And yes, we are always tempted, but the power to obey the Word of God and resist the devil is there.
Often the Holy Spirit shows us things in our life that are not pleasing to God. So we try to change, but it seems like nothing changes. The more we try on our own, the more we fail. In the end we are like the man described in the Bible who tried to please God on his own but was unsuccessful.
” For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing…For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? … “(Romans 7:19, 22-24, ESV)
The solution to this problem? “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:25)
But, how “by Jesus”?
When we repent of our sins and give ourselves totally to Jesus, believing that He is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, and that He rose again, God is making a change in our life. The potential for change is there. The power to change is there, but we must make take possession of what God offers us.
” You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
“12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.. (Romans 8: 9-14)
In short, in your own strength you are not able to overcome sin, but if you truly give yourself to the Lord Jesus by faith, the strength is there to overcome all kinds the sin. He will help you. He has given you a new spiritual heart.
And if you fall, do not be afraid to repent by asking forgiveness from God. How many times will He forgive you. The number of times needed. (1 John 1: 9–2: 1) “Lord, I pray for my friend. I pray that he will repent of his sin and turn to You with all his heart. The sin in his life is overcome in Jesus’ Name. Our Lord has already conquered sin at the Cross of Calvary. The devil is the father of lies but You, Lord Jesus, You are the way, THE TRUTH, and the life. Thank you Jesus for what You are doing in my friend’s life right now. »
Here are some“ down to earth ”things you can do:
* Pick a time and read the Bible and pray every day. Even if you don’t have much time, do it.
Confess your sin to someone spiritual, your pastor, or a mature man or woman in Christ. Not everyone is mature enough for this. Ask the Lord who you can talk to. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16, ESV)
* Ask a friend in Christ to pray with you and become responsable to him. He can ask you every week, “How are you doing in this area?” You phone him when you’re tempted.
* Be diligent in attending meetings of your church. And if you do fall … this is especially when you need the assembly.
* If there is a place or people or activities that make you fall, avoid them.
* If you fall, repent, accept the Lord’s forgiveness, and get up and go again. Do this even if you have to do it multiple times. (1 John 2: 1)
* Be serious looking to the Lord for deliverance and not yourself. “As we look at God, we don’t see each other – a blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had only repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect. As he looks at Christ, the very things that he has been trying to do for so long will be done in him. It will be God working in him to want and do. » A. W. Tozer
Trust in the Lord Jesus. He’s on your side. He loves you so much and He is for you. You are not alone in the fight. The strength is in Christ.
“9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 1: 9-2: 1)