Struggling with Sin: Victory in Christ

So in the last post I talked about how we all struggle with sin and some reasons why I believe its important to share. So this time I thought I'd share about another aspect of dealing with sin, realising the victory we have because we are found in Christ Jesus. Paul says in Corinthians,

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15 v 56 & 57

God promises us through his word that, when we depend upon him he will give us the victory over sin. A lot of the time, christians walk around as if it is impossible for them to defeat their sin. In one sense, they are right! In our own strength, we are powerless to defeat sin. God knew this and, in his mercy, he sent Christ as fully God, fully man to pay the final sacrifice. Lots of people will stop there but we can go further. Christ payed the final sacrifice so that we may no longer fear sin but have victory in Christ over it. Jesus did not come just to free us from sin but to stand up and do battle with it in the knowledge that victory is sure for those who are found in him.

And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Romans 8 : 2-4

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

1 John 4:4

When we really live these verses out in our daily lives, the change and effect is extraordinary. In realising these truths, we can stand strong against sin. As christians, yes we will still fall because we will never be perfect until we reach heaven but, if we keep reminding ourselves that we are no longer "Slaves to sin" but are now "bond-servants to God", our sin can become less frequent.

Victory in Christ is amazing when we realise it. Bear in mind that Satan does not want you to realise your victory in Christ because when we do, we realise how truly powerless he is over us. The one thing he can do to us as christians is weigh us down with our sin and cause us to stumble instead of living our lives for God. Realise your enemy, realise your sin and then realise that they need not have power over you because you serve a conquering king. To him be the glory.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6: 10-17

Suffering Silently with your Sin: 5 Reasons to Share

Probably one of the top five problems amongst christians and churches today is how we deal with and look at sin. So many of us try to hide it, cover it up and pretend that it doesn't exist in our lives. Of course, when sin comes up as a discussion we will say "I sin all the time and I know my sin displeases God" and we are right to say that. But so often we are vague and sketchy about our sin when discussing it with other people. Why is this the case? I suppose the simple answer is found in the gospel of John "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." - John 3:19 . Yes as christians we are saved by Christ’s blood which covers all our sin, but we still sin and the sinful nature's reaction is to cover it up and pretend its not there. So here are five reasons to break this mould and to share your sin with those closest to you.

1. Accountability

The first thing to mention when searching for someone to have as a one to one accountability partner is that they need to be a christian, a close friend and dependable. Once that person has been found it's important to be completely honest with them. Pauls instructions for Christians living in Ephesians 4:25 say “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body.” If honesty is lacking in the relationship then the accountability sessions will be fruitless. However, once you share openly and honest with someone, they will then be aware of your particular sins and be able to look out, rebuke, encourage and correct you.

This is probably the hardest part of the whole process. We don’t like being completely honest about our sin and we like to cover things up. I know that is one of my traits and it has been a massive battle to face up to some of the things I’ve done. But take it from someone who has been through that fire, the rewards are life changing.

2. Study Together

One of the key ways of tackling your sin is studying with someone. This can be really useful as you can look at scripture in reference to sin or even the particular sin that you are struggling with. Studying God's word has a direct effect on tackling sin. David writes "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" in Psalm 119:3. See the link, when we study, meditate and keep Gods word it can keep us from sinning. God's word also gives us instruction in what to replace our sin with in Romans 6:13 "Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness."  If we realise that we need to completely submit ourselves to God, willingly and gladly, then sin will have much less of a foothold in your life.

3. Pray Together

After studying, its always great to pray with each other and continue praying for each other as the week goes on.  Sometimes it can just be a great encouragement and spur you on not to sin when you know a brother or sister in Christ is praying for you. We can also pray that God would help us to see our sin as He see's it. We know that God despises the sin that we do and that Christ has died for that sin. When we realise the anguish and pain it brought our Saviour, our desire should be to turn from it. James also encourages us to help each other in this. In chapter 5 verse 20 he says "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins." Praying with each other means that you can lead each other to confessing your sin before God which in turn means you can both...

4. Lead each other to the Gospel

This is probably the most beautiful part of being accountable to someone. There can be times when you feel so weighed down and buried by sin that you cannot lead yourself to the cross and forgiveness. There have been so many times when I've felt like my sin was just too big for Jesus to deal with. There have been times when I've felt like I've hurt so many people in so many ways that there is no way God would want to hear from me. By God's grace, at these times he has always provided someone to give me a wake-up call and point me to the gospel. They'’ve brought me verses such as Ephesians 1:7 "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace" and Acts 3:19 "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,". My personal favourite is Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, that's how far God has removed our sins from us". God, because of the work of Christ on the cross, has banished my sins as far away as possible from me. He remembers them no more and I am clothed in the perfect life of Christ, a saint.

5. Understand Grace Better

The ultimate experience of this is that you have a deeper understanding of Gods grace which in turn leads to falling more in love with him. When we understand grace more then the more we will be gracious to others. Paul tells us to "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 4:6. When we are more gracious to people, the more likely they will be to confide in you and the more likely you will be able to help them and build people up for the kingdom. Also, see how the process has come around full circle. We started off struggling with our own sin, and now we have come round to a position where we can help and guide other struggling christians.

So if you struggle with sin realise you are not alone. I have never met a christian who doesn't struggle with sin. Find a good christian friend, be open and honest and lead each other to the cross and the blood that washes us whiter than snow. 

Humility: True Greatness

 

I have read this book twice but would be wrong to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it both times. You see, it's not the type of book that you can enjoy reading because it accurately exposes to you the root and cause of all your sin...PRIDE. He talks about how every time we sin, we do it because we think we know better than God (Pride) and we actively go against His will. It is a book which is applicable to all of us. Here is an extract from the book....

Pride take innumerable forms but has only one end:

self-glorification. That's the motive and ultimate

purpose of pride - to rob God of legitimate glory and

to pursue self-glorification, contending for supremacy

with Him. The proud person seeks to glorify himself and

not God, thereby attempting in effect to deprive God of

something only He is worthy to receive. No wonder God

opposes pride. No wonder he hates pride. Let that truth sink into your thinking.

...Thankfully, C.J doesn't just leave us in this state of feeling useless and ugly but, gives good clear biblical advice on how to practically and spiritually deal with the pride in our lives and seek to grow ever more dependent on Him and hence become become truly humble. After reading this book I always take stock. The revelation of your own sin, which is rooted deep in pride, is a horrible thing. In reality the reason I find it horrible is because I don't like being told that I'm bad and that I do wrong things. 

I am still an eternity away from being truly humble. Its a process which breaks you down to build you up. I've taken to remembering this verse whenever I feel convicted of sin and in turn my pride.

Matthew 18:3-4
And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "

You can get this book from several places Amazon Eden or your local Christian Bookstore. I pray that it will be as useful, instructive and gentle to you as it was (and still is to me).