Struggling with Sin?

We have all struggled with sin.  Throughout history people have struggled with sin.  Here is just a small assortment of some of the more famous People;

·         Abraham – self-reliance (Genesis 12: ¹⁸ So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”)

 

·         Jacob- deceit (Genesis 27: ¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”)

 

·         Aaron -

·         Moses –

·         Joshua – Numbers 11: ²⁸ Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”²⁹ But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” ³⁰ Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

·         David - lust

·         Peter - Denial

·         Thomas - doubt

·         Paul

·         Luther

·         ME

·         YOU

 

 

It has been thought throughout the centuries that there was two kinds of sin;

·         Original sin – Satan/Pride

·         Actual sin – the act itself

 

But I believe though that after one reads what Paul says in Romans 7, we have to think there maybe one more. 
Romans 7: ²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature^[d] a slave to the law of sin.

How can Paul, who has confessed that he has sinned against God, that Jesus died for him and has been resurrected to eternal life, who has been on mission trips spreading the gospel, baptizing and making disciples, thus living a sanctified life still be struggling with this matter. 

 

Don’t these struggles ever stop?

 

First we need to define what we are trying to overcome.  Let’s define the other type of sin.  As Steve Deneff has in the book “the 7 Saving Graces” we have;

 

Three kinds of Sin;

·         The original sin – (the snake – Satan/pride-putting yourself in the center of your world)

·         The actual sin – (the bite – the act of doing or not doing, addictive behavior)

·         The residual sin- (the venom – the affects that the original & actual sin has on our habits, personalities, behavior, worldviews.)  Examples; laziness, low self-esteem, stubbornness, flippancy, restless spirit.

   

We know when the original Sin came into play – Adam and Eve.  Satan tempted their pride with His own and there we have it.  He continues tempting us but there is hope. 

 

The actual sin can be seen in so many places in scripture but here are some examples;

 We can see the complaints that Israel had in the book of Numbers were driven by Original sin and then Actual sin occurred.

1.       Complaints about their hardships (sin- not relying on God and instead complaining what he has not done for them)

2.       Complaints about lacking in their wants  (sin- Lusting/Greed)

3.       Rebelling against God’s leaders (sin- lack of trusting God)

4.       Not willing to take responsibility for their actions (sin- lying/disobedience)

5.       Refusing to believe God would provide (sin- lack of Faith)

 

So what complaints do you have today?  Examine your complaint.  If, your complaint is about how someone is being mistreated by another than I would say that this would be an acceptable one.  But if your complaint fits into the ones just mentioned then we need to seek forgiveness. 

 

We need to have a sensitivity to sin in all of its form.  We need to be confessing the specific sin so we can be restored.  To rid ourselves of the Original and Actual sin is to be sanctified; to rid your-selves of the residual sin is called the “way of holiness”.  

 

So are you working on being Sanctified? 

·         This starts with confessing that you know in your heart you have rebelled against God.  This means in your heart you know Christ died for you so you can live forever with Him.  Then know that He will return to judge the living and the dead. 

·         After confessing this are you allowing God to show you the things you need to change.  Are you making these changes?  Ridding yourself of making “yourself” the center of the world.  Stopping the behavior that is causing harm to your relationship with God. (drunkenness, lewd gestures, foolish talk, lies, etc)

 

Are you on the path to holiness?  This path is the same one to be sanctified, you are just on it for a while longer……

·         This starts with knowing that at any moment our vulnerabilities maybe used against us.

·         We need to confess these sins and abandon them.

·         We need to produce and practice virtue

 

Are these the same sins we already confessed?

They are the template we need to examine ourselves against;

1.       Lust

2.       Gluttony

3.       Sadness

4.       Greed

5.       Anger

6.       Envy

7.       Pride

 

“The end of our faith, the salvation of our souls, is the actual conversion of our whole nature into the image of Christ.  The end is a person that esteems others as more important than self.  It is a content and generous heart.  It is a soul that has taken ownership of the spiritual climate in his or her church; that has learned to wait on God; to see with faith, to rejoice in suffering, and to suffer with the world.”

(Steve Deneff)

 

Can this be obtained?  I believe all things are possible through Christ.  Can I do this on my own? NO!  We have a lot of hard work ahead of us to become all He has asked us to be.  We can do all the input – that is read and study and discuss but if we are not willing to perform the output - examine ourselves truthfully and make the changes in our behavior, attitudes, and thoughts then we have done nothing!

 

It is not going to be easy!  But I can persevere knowing this promise “John 14:21 - ²¹ Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

 

Do you Love Him?  This is what it really boils down to if you can make your way down the “Path to Holiness”.  How much do you really Love God!  Love covers a multitude of sins remember….