Overcoming Sin

Why is it that when you became a Christian, you didn't get victory over that sin that has enslaved you for so long? You hear many stories about people who have overcome drug addiction, alcoholism or homosexuality. I don't know about those who testify that they came to Christ and "never took another drink", or "never injected another syringe", but I never experienced anything like these miracles with my sin problems. My victories all have the element of time and patience, just as Christ taught about the character of faith. How does the little mustard seed get to be the large tree of which he spoke? Many years of sun and water. How does the commanded mountain get from here to there? One shovelful at a time. How did Christ cast out the demons which his disciples were unable? As He said, "This kind doesn't come out without fasting and prayer" Again, time, prayer, longsuffering, and patience.

Is there a gene that makes addiction more likely for one than the other? Does God make us have homosexual lusts? Are we genetically determined as to our sin preferences? No, and yes. There is, for example, the kleptomaniac who cannot help but steal. Though you and I might be unable to understand it, this person would insist that he is unable to overcome this compulsion. What is wrong with him? Did God design his genes to bring about the result that he would be unable to obey the dictates of his own conscience?

We are told by Paul in his letter to the Romans, that

Romans 5:12. "By one man sin entered the world, and death by sin, and death passed upon all men because all sinned."

While scholars have fought for years about what this means, let me make it very simple, and let your spirit judge whether I am amiss. In Hebrews 7:9, the writer's whole argument about the superiority of the priesthood of Melchisedec over the priesthood of Levi hinges on the FACT that Levi paid tithes to Melchisedec while yet unborn in the loins of his ancestor, Abraham.

Hebrews 7:9,10 "And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him."

If that is the true state of man _ that we existed in our ancestors, then the whole of humankind was in the loins of Adam. That is why in the original greek, it says in Romans 5:12 "all sinned", not as the KJV has translated it "all have sinned". "All have sinned" in english allows each sinner to have sinned in his own time. The special greek tense used here means that all sinned at one point in time. When Adam sinned, we concurred and sinned in him! If it can be said that the unborn Levi paid tithes to Melchisedec, then it may certainly be said that we sinned in Adam, though yet unborn.

What this sin did, was introduce death -- death in the form of the second law of thermodynamics, or entropy _ the tendency of order to disintegrate into chaos. Imagine that Adam was genetically perfect. Now the principal of entropy begins to have unfortunate impact on his genes. Cosmic rays, poisons and other influences, which did not exist before sin entered the world through Adam, now began to corrupt his genetic makeup. His first offspring was a clear indication: He murdered his brother in a jealous rage. Adam, who apart from sin was never to die, now would die, albeit in several hundred years. Even the angels ("the sons of god") became corrupted and manifested it through the corruption of unlawful carnal knowledge.

Genesis 6:1-5, "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became] mighty men which [were] of old, men of renown. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually."

Jude 1:6-7, "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

What is the point of all this? Just this: That God created us all in perfection and planted our potential in Adam (Adam is the hebrew word for "mankind"!) When WE sinned in Adam, we became corrupted in many different ways. The law was given to illustrate this to us. As Paul taught us in Romans and Galatians, the law could not save us, but only condemn us. As such it was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The law has brought us to the point of confessing our inability to overcome our slavery to sin. Sinners is what we are! How can we change what we are? One can say, "I AM a homosexual. I cannot love the woman. I can only love men!" But God has given an answer. His law says that this is wrong. The law demands the death of the transgressor. And God exacted the punishment for the transgression from His own obedient Son. Okay, so knowing this, what are WE to do?

Since we are by nature - by identity sinners, God has to change our identity! AND HE DOES!

Ezekiel 11:19-20, "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, AND WILL GIVE THEM AN HEART OF FLESH: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God."

Ephesians 2:3-6, "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and WERE BY NATURE CHILDREN OF WRATH, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: "

We are made of two parts, the body (the flesh, our unredeemed humanity) and our spirit. Together, these comprise the whole of what we are, our life also known as our Soul (hebrew "nephesh", greek "psuche") God has ordained our redemption to take place in two phases. First, he redeems our spirit and places His Holy Spirit within us. Then, at the time of resurrection, He redeems our body.

Romans 6:5-9, "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. "

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his SEED remaineth in him: and HE CANNOT SIN, because he is born of God.

The body is not yet "born of God" but the new man is incorruptible.

1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible SEED, but of INCORRUPTIBLE, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

"Incorruptible means it CANNOT BE CORRUPTED, IT CANNOT SIN!

So you see beloved of God and fellow warrior against sin, we are a walking dichotomy. Do not be surprised that you fail to have victory over your sin. If you could, what would be the reason for getting rid of these sinful bodies? They are still condemned because sin cannot be rooted out of them. Just as our old man had to die (Romans 6), and be remade into the "new man" (new heart, inner man etc.) Our bodies have to be planted and from the seed a new body will be created. It will be as similar to our old bodies as the oak tree is to the acorn!

Does this mean that we can simply give up the struggle against sin? No! God is glorified in the struggle! We are a testimony to the angels. (See Ephesians 3) We demonstrate the power of His grace in that we do not trade on His grace. His grace is not just the terms by which we receive the gift of His salvation, but the substance of those terms. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Romans 5:20) God has provided means by which we might prevail in this victory over the course of our lifetimes.

Ephesians 4:22-24, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. "

Our flesh, our as yet unredeemed humanity CAN be brought under control of the new man, the inner man, the new heart, and the indwelling Spirit of Christ a.k.a. the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:11-16, "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: "

Okay, so what is the practical application for MY life you say. Your problem is homosexuality, an incredible lust which seems hopeless to overcome. Well, what a coincidence! We just happen to have a great God for Whom overcoming is a favored pastime! Let's examine the sin of homosexuality for a moment to determine our strategy to bring about its defeat.

Many believe that God rained fire and brimstone down on the city of Sodom for the sin of homosexuality. In fact, the act known as sodomy derives its name from this misguided notion. For the truth of the sin of Sodom, let us go to the Word of God which He spoke through the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Notice, not a WORD about homosexuality! Paul told us that homosexuality results from our being unthankful in an unreasonable response to our knowledge about God which He reveals in His wrath and His creation around us. If we refuse to seek the knowledge of God, He very fittingly gives us over to the seeking of empty carnal knowledge which leaves us unfulfilled slaves to our flesh, so that having empty knowledge we profess ourselves to be wise, thus becoming fools. The result of the sin of Sodom is that they were given totally over to carnal and sensual pursuits.

Jude 1:6-7, "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. "

Paul taught us in his gospel message to the Romans that their unthankfulness resulted in their being given over to the flesh.

Romans 1:21-28, "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: ..... ...., "And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; "

Do you see the common thread here? On the part of the Sodomites, they were full and idle. They had no compassion for the needy. Many times when we are richly blessed, that is not our best disposition.

Proverbs 30:8-9, "Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny [thee], and say, Who [is] the LORD?

Their homosexual inclinations were not the sin for which they were punished. THEY WERE THE PUNISHMENT!

Knowing what the cause of homosexuality CAN be (remember: just because homosexuality is the RESULT of being unthankful does not necessarily mean that ALL homosexuality is the result of this) can give us insight as to what spiritual weaponry we can use to combat it.

Simply put; -- B E M O R E T H A N K F U L !

When you are tempted, begin to recount the blessings of which you've been in receipt. Be thankful for past victories over this sin. Thank him for the struggle and the opportunity He has given to you to choose Him. Certainly you will have failures, but don't lose hope. The depth of the struggle and the difficulty only illustrate what a price Christ paid to purchase you from this. If you could have complete victory, why would He have had to pay for it? This in itself should make you grateful to Him.

When you've been in love with a person, you have wanted to shower them with expressions of your love. You want so badly for this person to have knowledge of the depth of your affection. This is the basis for the Floral industry! Now imagine your frustration if you did not have the resources to purchase gifts for your beloved!

Now think of appearing before your Lord and Savior. For the first time, you are completely unencumbered with sin. You now have the capacity to fully and completely understand the price He paid to purchase you for Himself. Imagine for the first time, the floodgates of your heart are opened and you are able to love Him with an infinite love. You look around for some expression of your love for Him. There they are! Crowns of victories! Expressions of times you put aside the incredible lust of your flesh and preferred the glory of Christ to the fulfullment of the desires of your flesh!

Choose to feel that gratitude now. You have a righteous new nature within you if you have believed in Him. You have the capacity to love Him if you'll only begin to exercise it. The writer of Hebrews told us how to recognize which inclinations are of the sinful unredeemed flesh and of the incorruptible spirit -- the Word of God!

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Yes, it makes the impossible distinction between soul and spirit. The spirit and the body are so engaged that the soul (our wholeness) seems indivisible. Just as the colors yellow and blue result in an entirely new color -- green. The spirit and body become an entirely new entity, the soul. Imagine the difficulty in distinguishing yellow from green or blue from green! If you remove either one, the character of the green is lost!

The Word of God, however CAN provide the miraculous distinction of the Soul and the Spirit. Once you begin by the Word of God to recognize your spirit as distinct from the flesh, you can begin to walk in the Spirit and ignore the inclinations of the flesh! Once you begin to recognize and be comfortable with this new spirit of yours, half the battle is won!

Galatians 5:16-17, "[This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. "

Begin to pray for those others with whom you've partnered in this sin of homosexuality. When you are tempted, pray intensely for one of them. If the temptation is the result of demonic activity, can you imagine the reaction of the demonic host when he sees that his work results in prayer for others? I think THIS is how we begin to spell RELIEF!

To be sure my friend, beloved of God, the struggle will be extremely difficult. It may be that your sin will come out "only with fasting and prayer". It may be that you will achieve victory only when given your new sinless body to join your sinless new nature, but rest assured, God is glorified in your sincere struggle. The struggle is an indication that you indeed have a sinless, incorruptible new nature and the guarantee of the Spirit of Christ within you to assure the redemption of the possession He has purchased. (Ephesians 1:14)

When we fail in our struggle, God is faithful to discipline us. Part of the victory we will gain will come from this discipline. If the author of our salvation was made perfect (greek "Telos", mature), who never sinned, imagine how necessary suffering is for us.

Hebrews 2:10 "For it became him, for whom [are] all things, and by whom [are] all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

Hebrews 12:2-13, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened [us] after their own pleasure; but he for [our] profit, that [we] might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. "

We are not to despise the chastening of the Lord, nor are we to become discouraged or faint. Chastening is grievous, but if we respond properly, it will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Imagine if a person failed to make straight paths for his feet but instead wandered around, and then imagine breaking one of his legs. He would no longer have a problem with wandering as he wouldn't want his lame leg turned out of the way. He would make straight paths and allow his leg to heal!

During those low moments, when victory seems unattainable, remember the following:

1 Corinthians 15:51-54, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. "

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