Breaking the Hold of Habitual Sin

By Mark McCrary

Introduction

  1. Mk. 14:28, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
    1. If anything describes the plight of man in dealing with sin, this is it. Most desire to be strong and faithful, steadfast and true.
    2. Yet, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, Rom. 3:23
  2. One of the hardest things to deal with as a Christian is the fact our temptations don't disappear when we are cleansed!
    1. Continue to struggle with sinful desire, anger, foul language, drinking, smoking, jealousy, hatred, etc.
    2. Paul deals with the temptation to give into sin in 1 Cor. 6:9-10:
      1. Perhaps some thought they no longer had to struggle with sin-- on the verge of going back
      2. Notice v. 11-- these were sins they had engaged in before.
  3. Each of us have weaknesses to certain temptations, even as Christians, which we must deal with, as these Corinthians.
    1. Some sins have no lasting power over me-drinking, theft, murder, etc.
    2. But, there are other sins that do drag us down.
      1. Our struggle to be the Christians we want to be becomes more and more difficult when we repeatedly commit the same sin.
      2. Soon, feelings of despair and guilt can accumulate and begin to crush us with despair.
      3. The question that rolls over and over in our mind: "How can I overcome this sin which seems to hold me in a grip of steel?"
  4. Your presence displays a willing spirit; how do we deal with the weak flesh? Want to suggest three things:
    1. We must understand the reality of habitual sin
    2. We must understand how God views this problem
    3. By examining the Bible, we must take real steps with God's help to overcome our sin.

The Reality of Habitual Sin

  1. First, man is a sinful creature.
    1. Not because he must sin, however.
      1. For many, so influenced by the doctrine of original sin, this is almost a blasphemous statement.
    2. We are not born sinful. Sin is a condition we enter into when we violate the will of God, Ezek. 18:19-21
      1. The guilt of sin is charged to the one who sins.
      2. This agrees with 1 Jn. 3:4-sin is action against the law of God. It is a condition we choose
    3. So, while man is not born with a sinful nature, we still will sin because we live in a sinful world.
  2. Second, we must first realize that habitual sin is not a new problem-- we are not the only ones to struggle with it.
    1. Abraham had a seemed to have a recurring problem with the truth
      1. He lied to Pharaoh, Gen. 12:14-20
      2. He lied to Abimelech of Gerar, Gen. 20:1-14
    2. Samson had a weakness for the lust of the eyes-women!
    3. The apostles had a problem with pride and ambition
      1. Matthew 20:20-26
      2. Lk. 9:46
      3. Lk. 22:24
      4. Paul's statement in 2 Cor. 12:7 has lead some to think he wrestled with pride as well.
    4. Even the great apostle Peter, after understanding that prejudice was wrong, apparently still struggled with it on at least one occasion, Gal. 2:11-14
    5. What comfort do we gain from these examples? As I deal with habitual sin, I am not unique. I have no failing that others have not had.
  3. Having said that, however, there are certain facts we must realize about habitual sin:
    1. We must not excuse it in our lives
      1. The Bible makes it clear that while sin is a reality of our lives, it is not to be accepted in our lives, 1 Jn. 2:1
    2. We choose to sin
      1. It is tempting to say we could not help it; we had no choice; "The devil made me do it"
      2. That philosophy does not stand up to the Bible
        1. READ James 1:13-15-- James lays the blame for sin right in our own lap.
          1. It is our lust and our desire
          2. It is our fault when we allow our desire to carry us away.
          3. Our tendency is to blame others, Ex. 32:24
            1. King Saul did it so long ago in 1 Sam. 15; society does it today to excuse the actions of so many.
    3. Before too long you can become comfortable with sin
      1. "Its my only vice."
      2. "It won't happen again"-- watch out!
      3. "Everyone else is doing it"
      4. "Its not as bad as what ________________ is doing."
      5. Every time we violate our conscience; every time we choose to sin, it becomes easier to make these statements.
      6. Eventually may end up fitting the description of the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 10:26.
    4. Then, despair and disappointment can convince you to just give up
      1. "What's the point in trying?"
      2. Get to the point where we not only doubt our ability to withstand temptation but we begin to doubt God's willingness to forgive.
    5. There are consequences to habitual sins
      1. Ex. 20:5
      2. Because of the habitual sin of a lack of trust, the children of Israel were forbidden from the land of Canaan for 40 years. They eventually lost their kingdom to the Babylonians.

Understanding Habitual Sin from God's Perspective

  1. God hates sin-- habitual and otherwise
    1. As a result, He can have nothing to do with us if we continue in sin, 1 Jn. 1:6-7
    2. You see, for God it is not just a weakness, a shortcoming, a character fault-- it is SIN, INIQUITY, TRANSGRESSION
      1. God didn't just slap the wrist of Adam & Eve-- He had to kick them out of Garden
      2. He didn't just tell King Saul he shouldn't have rebelled, 1 King 15-- He removed the kingdom from Saul
      3. He didn't look the other way with the rich man, Lk. 16-- He sent him to eternal punishment
      4. Hell is not a place of eternal annihilation-it is a place of tribulation and anguish, Rom. 2:9
    3. Perhaps I see nothing terribly wrong with lying, getting drunk, cursing, lusting, failing to control my anger, failing to forgive, divorce, abortion, but let me assure you that God does.
      1. READ Pro. 6:16-19; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Rev. 21:8
  2. His hatred of sin is so deep that he paid the highest price to rescue our soul from it, READ 1 Cor. 15:3; Heb. 9:28.
  3. We must learn to hate sin as much as God does! If we really hated our habitual sins, would do something about it.

Practical Steps to Overcome Habitual Sin

  1. Repent, Lk. 13:3
    1. What is repentance?
      1. Afraid we may not really understand what repentance is today
        1. Simply saying, "I'm sorry" isn't enough
        2. True Biblical repentance is a pain and sorrow that encompasses the soul of man, 1 Kings 21:29; Jonah 3:6; Acts 2:37
          1. It is reflective of a deep sorrow and anguish of the spirit over what we have done.
    2. Repentance involves making things right in any way possible, Lk. 19:8-10
    3. Repentance means changing the way we think.
      1. Notice what Jesus did with the apostles when the longed for greatness-- He taught them what true greatness was-- He tried to change the way they thought. When the way they thought about greatness changed, their behavior did as well (this fact is borne out in Acts)
      2. Determine from the Bible what is wrong with your thinking. Memorize a passage or two that deal with you habitual problem.
    4. READ 2 Cor. 7::9-10-this leads to godly sorrow, which leads to…
  2. Make a decision: Whom will you follow? Yourself, or God?
    1. READ 1 Kgs 18:21-Elijah called for a decision. Either continue sinning or follow God.
    2. "That's too easy!" Not saying all this is involved with overcoming habitual sin is easy-but you must take a stand.
    3. You must convince yourself that what you are doing is wrong, destructive, and sinful-and you want it out of your body and soul. And, you are willing to do whatever it takes in order to achieve this.
      1. Until you reach this point, you will not overcome sin.
    4. What sin plagues your existence? Make a decision now to eliminate it!
  3. Ask God to forgive you, Heb. 4:16; 1 Jn. 1:9
    1. If you have never come to Him, know enough to repent and have decided to follow Jesus…
      1. You need to confess His name, Rom. 10:10
    2. You need to be baptized for the remission of your sins, Acts 2:38
    3. All the determination and repentance in the world won't remove the guilt of sin or give you the guidance necessary to overcome habitual sin if you don't do this.
      1. "But, surely God won't forgive me-I keep doing the same thing!"
        1. READ Mt. 18:21-22
        2. If God calls upon us to do this, will He not himself?
    4. Who does God stand ready to forgive? READ James. 4:6-10
      1. One with the attitude of David, 2 Sam. 12:13
    5. Not only does God forgive, but also He thankfully forgets.
  4. Be watchful, Mk. 14:38
    1. "Be watchful" carries several ideas:
      1. Be honest-with your weaknesses.
        1. As long as you lie to yourself, you will not change
        2. Problem of King Ahab, 1 Kgs. 18:17-18; 22:8
      2. Be aware-- of what causes the temptations and sin
        1. READ Ezra 10:10-11
          1. Where are you weakest? What are the things you can do to avoid those temptations?
          2. You may need to surround yourself with new friends
          3. You may need to quit your job and take a new one
        2. "Do I really have to go that far?"
          1. Well, have you really repented? Did you really decide to follow God?
          2. READ Mk. 9:43-48
  5. Replace wrong behavior with right behavior
    1. This is what Paul hit on in Eph. 4:22-32
    2. If you merely stop doing what is wrong and do not replace that behavior with something that is right you will probably fail in the long run.
    3. Reason it is so important to become active in the church as Christians, especially new.
      1. You stop associating with worldly people and start associating with godly people
      2. Begin exchanging worldly activities for godly ones.
      3. If you try to leave the activity of the world but don't busy yourself with righteous activity, got too much dead time
        1. The purpose of the church
    4. Example of Paul, Acts 9:20-- after becoming a Christian, "immediately"
    5. Example of Apollos, Acts 18:24-28
  6. Intricately involved in all of this is:
    1. A deeper meditation upon God's Word
      1. Jn. 8:32
      2. You cannot walk according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:4-5) if you don't know what the spirit revealed
      3. Yes, it will require a lot of effort; but, just how badly do you want to overcome your sins?
    2. A deeper dependence upon prayer
      1. Your daily communication with your source of strength

Conclusion

  1. God has a vision for all of us: 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9
    1. He gave His Son to deliver us from something we would not deliver ourselves from
  2. How do we break the hold of habitual sin?
    1. Through understanding the reality (and great danger) of habitual sin; How God views sin and the moves He has made to remove it from our lives; and looking to Him and His word for guidance to overcome it, we can overcome.
  3. It may be a battle fought over the course of your lifetime-- but with each victory, you will grow stronger
    1. READ Romans 13:10-14

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