“Go and sin no more” – John 8:11
Are you overcome and defeated by some sin in your life? Are you discouraged? Have you given up hope for victory? Have you given in to Satan’s seductive deception that your sin isn’t that bad, or isn’t really sin?
Is there victory over sin? Is it possible to overcome an addiction? There is no doubt that sin can be deep rooted and difficult to overcome. Not everyone struggles with the same sin. There are as many sinful addictions as there are different kinds of people. But there is hope.
Before we go any further I want to encourage you, especially if you’re struggling with sin, to read this study prayerfully. Take time to look up the verses and passages that are referenced. Whether you do this will show you how serious you are about gaining victory over your sin. If you’re looking for a quick fix and painless solution for your sin problem, dealing with sin doesn’t always work that way. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins so we could be forgiven through faith in Him. But because we are human, and sinful, there’s some work for us to do too. I don’t mean that we in any way add to the redemptive work of Jesus. But we are exhorted in scripture to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).
Having said that we need to also take hope in the fact that “It is God who works in you both to will and do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Since God is working in us, we should respond to our sins by surrendering to Him and asking for His help. That doesn’t mean we seek Him to get our way out of sin. It means we surrender to Him in whatever He determines is “His good pleasure.” That may mean ending a sinful relationship, or a liberty that is hindering you. If we want freedom from and victory over sin, we have to come to God as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2).
If we can find one addict delivered from one kind of sin, then wouldn’t it be proof that it is possible to overcome addiction in some way. If a drug addict is delivered from their addiction from drugs, isn’t that evidence that there is deliverance from other addictive things like alcohol, sex, greed, overeating, etc.? If God is impartial (Romans 2:11), and if He delivered a drug addict, why wouldn’t He deliver someone with some other addiction. I believe God offers deliverance and victory over anything that is contrary to His will and is detrimental to our lives.
I know there is victory over sin because I have experienced it. Before I came to know Jesus as my Savior I was addicted to profanity. When I say that, I don’t mean a smattering of four-letter curse words I would make for emphasis. My mouth was a gutter of filth. I remember being thrown out of my homecoming in high school because of the filth coming out of my mouth as I cheered on the home team and my buddies who were playing. My coach was embarrassed by my vulgarity. It was bad. But the night I repented of my sins and trusted Jesus as my Savior, that fifth was removed. It was noticeable to everyone who knew me. As I grew in the Lord and read His word, I learned Jesus said that what comes out of the mouth is from the heart (Matthew 15:19). Jesus had cleaned my heart, and the change in my language was evidence of that.
Maybe you’re thinking, “Pastor, that’s just talk. I’m really addicted, you know, to drugs.” Or. “Pastor, that’s just talk, I’m really addicted to porn.” Or “Pastor, I’m really addicted, I’m multiple addicted to porn, drugs, . . ..” I hear you. I’m not saying my change is bigger than yours. I’m just saying that, for me it was big. The seriousness of our sins is relative to us individually. You may look at my sin and think it’s gigantic. Or you may brush it off as nothing, a joke. But whatever sin is dominating us, to us it’s BIG. Jesus came to free us from our sins and anything that keeps us in our sin is a problem.
What Keeps People from Victory Over Sin?
Why do some people gain victory and others do not? If God offers deliverance from sin, why aren’t some people delivered? I believe it comes down to repentance and how we view sin. Think of Adam and Eve. God gave clear instruction about not eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent downplayed God’s command. The serpent’s deception began, “Has God indeed said”? (Gen. 3:1). We might translate that to, “Has God really said such and such is sin?” In other words, “Is God’s command really God’s command? Is it really such a big deal to not do what God says not to do?” Isn’t the first step in continuing to sin minimizing the particular sin’s seriousness? Once we convince ourselves (with the help of the devil) that our sin of choice is really not so serious, it’s a short hop, skip, and jump to, “You will not surely die” if you commit that sin (Genesis 3:4). Then you are on your way to a slippery slope of addiction to some sinful behavior.
Sometimes we excuse ourselves from sin. We say, “Nobody’s perfect,” or “I’m only human.” We may have lost the battle of resisting to sin so many times that we throw our hands up and say, “What’s the use, I’m going to sin eventually anyway?” Maybe we talk ourselves into thinking, “God will understand.” And then there are those who blame their sin on others. “Well, if those babes didn’t dress half naked I wouldn’t be lusting after them.” Or “If those hunks didn’t wear such tights pants and shirts, or no shirts at all! I wouldn’t be lusting.” You can always find an excuse for sin.
Another reason people do not gain victory over sin is that they fail or refuse to see the seriousness of their sin. There is no forgiveness for sin without repentance. When the Holy Spirit moved upon the early Apostles and thousands were saved, when the sinful people asked them what they needed to do in response to the gospel message, the Apostles told them, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). To “repent” (Greek metanoeo) means, to think differently, to change one’s mind, repent. There has to be a change in heart and mind toward the sinful situation a person is in. When we say we “repent” of our sins, do we actually have a change in mind about them, a change of mind that thinks, I don’t want to ever do that again?
Another reason people are not victorious over sin is closely related to repentance. The Bible states, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The word “confess” (Greek homologeo) means to say the same thing as another. In other words, confession of our sins is not merely listing them or saying them, it is more than that, it is seeing our sin the way God sees our sin. God sees sin as so serious a problem that He ordained the crucifixion of Jesus to pay for those sins. When we confess our sins before God, to we see our sins from God’s perspective?
Another way of thinking about this is, are we sincerely committed to not repeating the sins we are repenting of and confessing to God? Or are we just looking for a quick fix of God’s forgiveness just in case we die and have to come before Him? Are we truly and honestly taking our sin seriously? Do we really want to end it, or is sin a mistress, a secret indulgence we love? These are important questions.
We can excuse and blame others and continue in our sins, but the truth of the matter is, God has promised us a way out when tempted, and therefore, we are responsible when we sin. It’s true. The Bible says:
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) – 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
That one verse eliminates all excuses.
Now, I hesitate to say this for fear it will give some of you an excuse to justify sinning. But I want to be perfectly truthful and real with you. The likelihood that from the time we experience our spiritual birth until the time we leave this earth, we will sin. We do have a sinful nature. Romans 7 describes its tendencies. But Romans 8 also describes the page to victory provided by the Holy Spirit. So don’t excuse your sin, own it, repent of it, see and receive forgiveness for it from the Lord. Then press on to victory.
Why Is There Sin at All?
We need to ask ourselves, “Why is there sin at all?” Why did God, why does God prohibit certain things? Well, first of all, sin separates us from our Creator (Isaiah 59:1-2). Sin is not merely disobedience of God’s law; it is idolatry of self because in pride and selfish presumption that we think we know better than God in what He has commanded. If sin is rebellion against God, and we persist in it, then God has good reason to bar sinners from access to His Heaven.
But sin also separates us from others. Lying, stealing, covenant breaking like adultery, objectifying and dehumanizing people by lust, deadening our senses physically and spiritually through drunkenness so we become offensive and belligerent toward others, and a host of other sins separate us from people. Certainly, you can see how such sin destroys love and any thought of holy living.
God has called certain things sinful because they are destructive. God emphasizes the seriousness of sin because sin destroys what He loves, you, me, us, and His creation. That is why God prohibits certain things. And God our Creator knows best. So any sin, no matter how little itty bitty we think it is, is a BIG deal and we should refrain from it.
The nature of sin is something those who minimize sin often overlook. Sin is like cancer, it never stays just one cell, it metastasizes and spreads. Little sins grow to bigger ones. Small compromises lead to big compromises. Like in a fight, if you get sloppy and let your guard down, your opponent will take advantage and hurt you.
There’s a reason why much of God’s word is an exhortation against sin. There’s a reason much of the Bible is an object lesson and account of the consequences when people do sin. Sin is the worst thing that ever happened to anybody. Sin and the devil deceive into thinking it’s “Okay.” Sin, like cancer, starts small. Sin begins almost silently and undetected in us. If undetected and untreated, sin will kill us. Sin kills any hope of a relationship with God. Sin leads to physical death and eternal death.
God’s Provision Against Addictive Sin
Thankfully, God didn’t brush humanity aside when they sinned and just start over. Because God loves us, while we were still sinners, Jesus came to die for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus paved the way, through His shed blood, for the sinner to be forgiven their sins (1 John 1:7). But He also provided the way for victory over sin by introducing the Holy Spirit to us.
The Holy Spirit is our Helper who helps us to obey (John 14:15-16). As “the Spirit of truth” He tells us the truth about ourselves if we are willing to listen (John 14:17; 16:13). The Holy Spirit draws the sinner to salvation, indwells the repentant sinner when they trust Jesus as Savior (John 14:17; 16:8-11), and empowers us to live for Jesus (Acts 1-2). The Holy Spirit purifies our heart by faith (Acts 15:8-9).
The Holy Spirit inspires and provides the word of God to us (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God’s word is a sword to hack away at sin (Ephesians 6:17). God’s word is powerful scalpel to do spiritual surgery (Hebrews 4:12). It is by God’s word we overcome sin (Psalm 119:1-16). It is in God’s word we are promised that, when tempted, God will provide a way of escape so we can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Jesus said, “. . . If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). To look at some Christian’s, maybe many Christians, their lives of giving into sin are evidence of less than a mustard seed faith. But defeated one, look around you. Look at those who have experienced victory over their addictions by way of the Lord. If there’s just one case of victory, just one little mustard seed of victory among those beset by sin, shouldn’t that build your faith? Shouldn’t a seed of victory cause a seedling of victory to bloom in you?
God promises victory in Jesus by the Spirit (Romans 8!) I have seen victories in Jesus. Songs have been written about victory in Jesus. Testimonies have been shared, sermons have been declared, lives have born testimony to the possibility of victory in Jesus by His Spirit. People aren’t making all this up. There really is victory in Jesus!
Muster up a mustard seed of faith and bring your situation with sin before the Lord. Confess your sin before Him and take Him at His word and receive His forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Ask Him to help you walk in His light, the light of His word, and be cleansed by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7). Don’t take this lightly. Determine with what faith you have, to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, and know God is the One willing to work in you (Philippians 2:12-13). Don’t give in to the lies of the enemy. Sin is serious. But victory over it is possible. Take God at His word:
Romans 6:12-14 (NKJV) – 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
These are clear statements and promises from God.
Understand, our choices when faced with temptation lead to consequences:
Galatians 6:7-9 (NKJV) – 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
You cannot separate the love of God from obedience. If you love God, obey Him.
1 John 5:3-4 (NKJV) – 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (Cf. Also John 14:15 and 21)
If your faith is small, dig into the word of God. Your faith is built by feeding on God’s word (Romans 10:17).
Don’t let your failures beat you down. Press on. Endure to victory. Don’t give up! Don’t give in to sin! If you are thrown by accusers to the ground before the Lord, just remember what Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Sin can bring us to our knees. When you’re on your knees, PRAY!
I would add one more thing here in our discussion about overcoming sin. Don’t underestimate the importance of fellowship in overcoming sin. We should bear or carry each other’s burdens. This is the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). We need to love one another (John 13:35). The greatest love is loving others sacrificially (John 15:13). If you’re struggling with sin, seek some help from a dependable spiritually mature friend and pray and work through the problems together. We are instructed to help those who are weaker in faith (Romans 14-15). Seek help when you need it. Be help when others need it.
So, remember, if there’s just one testimony of victory by one person who was once addicted to a sin, then there just may be a victory on the horizon for you. You may have to scrap and go fifteen rounds with the enemy and your sin. You may have to dig in and consume God’s word. It will likely cost you the things of this world. And it may be the battle and struggle of your life. But we are promised victory by our Lord. There is victory in Jesus. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Overcome in the instruction and power of the Lord. Lord, please free us from our sins, all for Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen!