Fighting Persistent Sin

[Not long ago, a friend asked about fighting a persistent sin. Here is an edited version of my reply – Coty]

After God makes us a new creation in Christ, certain sins disappear. They never rear their ugly heads again. Often this happens immediately upon being saved, sometimes much later. He graciously gives us these tokens as a down-payment of the complete transformation that He promises in the new heavens and the new earth.

With some other sins, the temptation to give in may disappear for a time. But God has not removed our susceptibility. The disappearance is temporary. Satan waits “until an opportune time” to tempt us again (as Satan did, unsuccessfully, with our Lord – Luke 4:13). In this case, the period of zero temptation is a strategy by the Enemy to get us to let our guard down, to remove boundaries – as in a war, a general might withdraw his troops and temporarily not engage in any action, all the while preparing for a surprise major assault.

Then there is a third type of sin. These are constantly with us. We feel the temptation every day until we die or Jesus returns. Scripture calls us to battle these continually, putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Romans 8:13).

How do we do that? How can we put this third type of sin to death when the temptation keeps popping up every day?

The battle takes place on three fronts: In the mind, in the affections, and in actions.

The Battle in the Mind

1) Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). What lies has Satan used successfully against you in the past in tempting you into these sins? Once you’ve identified the lies, arm yourself with the Word of Truth to fight those lies. This link provides some examples.

2) Fight desire with desire. Sin is not the way to love, joy, peace, security, or fulfillment. It is the way to death, to the destruction of all that is good, even all that is pleasurable.

3) Don’t downplay the importance of any sin. Never excuse it or claim it is not so bad.

4) Preach the Gospel to yourself, listen to the Gospel preached, and ask others to speak it to you. Satan will try to condemn you and to make you think that you are His slave. In Christ you are not. 1 John 1:5-2:2 is helpful here.

So points 2, 3, and 4 together say: Your sin is great. And the Gospel is greater.

5) Remind yourself regularly: This fight is temporary. God has placed you in it, requiring you to depend on Him to fight it. He will glorify Himself in the fight, and, in the new heavens and the new earth, He will make you perfect practically as you already are perfect positionally before Him in Christ.

The Battle in the Affections

1) Cultivate a hatred for this sin. Reflect on ways this same type of sin has destroyed the lives of others and dishonored our Lord. Reflect on the way Jesus did resist (if there are biblical examples) or must have resisted this temptation. Remind yourself regularly that sin is completely antithetical to who you are in Christ (1 John 2:28-3:10 is especially helpful, particularly verse 9. The KJV is quite literal: “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.” We cannot sin without denying our new birth.)

2) Cultivate love of God, love of Jesus, especially a longing to be like Him.

3) Cultivate a love for your family and the family of God around you, thanking God always for each of them. Every sin will have an impact on them.

The Battle in Actions

1) Be quick to confess and repent, making no excuses.

2) Be quick to pray when tempted

3) Identify those situations and moods that lead you to be tempted, or to let your guard down, avoiding such situations when possible, and watching yourself even more carefully when you can’t. Develop a strategy for what you will do in those cases.

4) Seek help and prayer from others and develop a regular plan for who will ask you about your battle against such temptations.

5) Pray every day for each person in your family and for several in your church, asking God to use you in each of their lives.

Note that this is not a way to put the sin behind you once and for all. For sins in this third category, there is a daily – even hourly – fight the rest of your life. But the fight itself can be God-glorifying. That’s why God hasn’t taken away the temptation.

Love you, brother. You are indeed a new man in Christ. Live it out through the fight to depend on Him, the fight to love Him, the fight to love your family and the family of God.

In Him, Coty

 

The Lies of Satan and the Word of God

Our Lord Jesus tells us:

[The devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar, and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

What lies does Satan tell you?

Here are seventeen that he has used against me over the years – and responses to each from God’s Word. I encourage you to make your own list, adding additional lies, and developing a list of Scriptures to use in our battle against the enemy.

(1) THE LIE: There is no such thing as Satan

THE WORD: Satan tempts (Matthew 4:10-11), can be rebuked (Zechariah 3:2) and resisted (James 4:7), fell from heaven (Luke 10:18), asks to be able to accomplish his purposes (Luke 22:31-32); our battle is neither against flesh and blood nor against an abstract force, but against rulers and authorities (Ephesians 6:12).

(2) THE LIE: “You’re so bad, you might as well never try to be good.  God will never forgive you for all that you’ve done.”

THE WORD: “Don’t you know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And that is what some of you were.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (emphasis added)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

(3) (Satan doesn’t aim to be consistent: Note that this third lie is virtually the opposite of the second, but he uses both against the same person, sometimes within minutes):

THE LIE: “Aren’t you becoming a wonderful Christian now!  Look at all the things you do for God!  Isn’t it too bad that all those other Christians aren’t doing so well.  And all those unbelievers . . .  Well!”

THE WORD: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9  not by works, so that no one can boast. 10  For we are God’s workmanship.” Ephesians 2:8-10a

(4) THE LIE: “Don’t even try to resist this temptation — you can’t do it!”

THE WORD: “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”  1 Corinthians 10:13

(5) THE LIE: “Shouldn’t a great mind like yours take an academic interest in Christianity?“

THE WORD: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things– and the things that are not– to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God– that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’”  1 Corinthians 1:26-31

(6) THE LIE: “This is more important right now!  You can (read the Bible, pray, serve others) tomorrow.”

THE WORD: “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”  Hebrews 6:12

(7) THE LIE: “God’s way is no fun; you will miss out on life if you follow him!  My way is the way to life!”

THE WORD: “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.  What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of?  Those things result in death!  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:20-23

“. . . the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace . . .” Galations 5:22

(8) THE LIE: “You’ve been good for quite a while now – come on, you deserve a little fun.”

THE WORD: “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”  1 Corinthians 10:12

(9) THE LIE: “This sin really doesn’t matter . . . It’s only a little one.”

THE WORD: “Be perfect, therefore, as your father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew  5:48

(10) THE LIE: “Everyone else is doing it, so it must be ok!”

THE WORD: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

(11) THE LIE: “Just this once. Come on, just this once!  See what it’s like!  No harm can come from this one time!”

THE WORD: “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he  is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.”  James 1:14-15

“This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”  1 John 2:5-6

(12) THE LIE: “No one will ever know!”

THE WORD:  “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” Luke 12:2

(13) THE LIE: “You’ve already blown it — you might as well give in the rest of the way and ask God to forgive you later.”

THE WORD: “What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means!  We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”  Romans 6:1-2

(14) THE LIE: “You’ve given plenty to God — keep this for yourself.  He can’t expect you to give him everything!”

THE WORD: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26 (emphasis added)

(15) THE LIE: “God doesn’t love you!” 

THE WORD: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

(16) THE LIE: “God couldn’t possibly intend for you to do that!  Here’s an easier way to accomplish the same thing!”

THE WORD: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways…. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9

(17) THE LIE: “If anything looks good to you, go after it!”

THE WORD: “Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and his pride in his possessions — comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”  1 John 2:15-17

How to Hold Fast Our Confession

How do you respond when confronted with temptation, sin, and failure in your life?

We often respond in one of three unbiblical ways:

  • “I’m forgiven! Therefore, sin doesn’t matter!”
  • “I’ll overcome this. I’ll fight it and won’t fall into it again!”
  • “Now I’ve blown it. There’s no hope for me. I might as well give up. All is lost.”

How should we respond?

  • Not with indifference.
  • Not with self-confidence and self-effort.
  • Not with despair.

Consider what the book of Hebrews tells us at the end of chapter 4. The author has just explained that a Rest awaits God’s people; as we believe in Him and in His promises, we can rest from our works, from our efforts to cleanse ourselves. Yet we do strive – we strive to enter His rest! We work hard to depend on Him.

And striving to depend on Him instead of striving to make ourselves presentable to Him only makes sense. For we can never fool Him. His Word discerns our thoughts and intentions, opening us up before Him. He knows our every weakness, our every temptation, our every failure. While we may strive to make ourselves worthy of His acceptance, He always knows how far short we fall.

In this context, the author writes:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

That is: Jesus is our great High Priest. He overcame those very temptations that you face – and, having overcome them, He now is exalted to the right hand of God the Father. So we must hold fast to the truth of the Gospel, confessing it with our mouths, believing it in our hearts, and preaching it and applying it to ourselves every day. For remember what the Gospel tells us:

  • Jesus is indeed the Son of God. He is powerful and mighty, wise and discerning.
  • Jesus experienced weakness. He was tempted in every way even as we are – and He knows the power of temptation more thoroughly than any of us, for He resisted to the end. He understands our struggle.
  • Jesus held fast the confession. He was without sin.
  • Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice, so that you, fallen sinner that you are, might be reconciled to God the Father (Hebrews 7:27).

How, then, do we fight the fight against temptation, against unbelief? How do we follow our Lord and Savior in holding fast to our confession? Hebrews 4:16 tells us:

  • Go to the Father! He sits on the throne, showing that He is the Almighty One! He is far more powerful than the Tempter.
  • Go to the Father! With Him you will find mercy! For Jesus knows your weakness (Hebrews 5:2), and He is the One who offered sacrifices – Himself! – for you.
  • Go to the Father! Do that boldly and confidently, for the Gospel of our confession teaches that Jesus is our mediator! (Hebrews 9:15)
  • Go to the Father! For He will give you both the power to resist temptation and the power to hold fast to your confession. Indeed, He will give you the power to enter His rest, granting (as we could render the last few words of Hebrews 4:16) “grace unto a well-timed help.”

So fight the good fight – by His power. Hold fast your confession – by turning to Him, depending on His grace, actively depending on Him and His promises. Don’t belittle sin. Don’t be self-confident. And don’t despair. We have a great High Priest. Depend on Him. He will never let you down.

The Calculus of Temptation

Why do you disobey God? Why is disobeying God attractive to you?

Sin promises us greater joy, greater fulfillment, greater life. The temptation may be to internal sins like anger, bitterness, lust, pride, greed, cowardice, and self-centeredness, or it may be to external sins like hurtful words, illicit sex, physical violence, duplicitous lies, or outright theft. But in every case, the motivation is similar. Just as the serpent tempted Eve in the Garden (Genesis 3:1-5), so sin tempts us today: “Following God doesn’t lead to true fulfillment. Be all that you can be! This is the way to pleasure, to status – to life itself!”

The tempter tries to portray God as an out-of-touch authority who likes to throw His weight around, and get those under Him to do meaningless tasks for His pleasure. So the tempter asserts that both the costs of following God and the benefits of sin are high. He furthermore asserts that the both benefits of following God and the costs of sin are low. So it’s only logical, he alleges, to sin. It’s in your self-interest.

How can we combat this calculus of temptation?

The Bible does not tell us to avoid the calculus. Rather, the Bible tells us to do the calculus rightly. Look at the true costs. Look at the true benefits. Do what is truly in your own best interests.

Consider Romans 6:20-22. Paul has said that we have only two choices: We are slaves to sin, or we are slaves to righteousness. He then instructs us to think clearly about what life is like as a slave to sin. What are its benefits?

What fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. (Romans 6:21)

In effect, Paul acknowledges that there were some short-term, seeming benefits of sin. There is some pleasure in contemplating the words you will say to get back at the co-worker who belittled you. There is some enjoyment that comes from spending the tax dollars you lied to avoid paying.

But, Paul says, consider the end of those sins. Consider the long term. Even in this life, there may be long-term, negative consequences: You may remain bitter and angry for years; you may end up in jail. But much more importantly, the end of those things is life without God. Life without the Giver of life. Life without the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Life that is not life at all; life that is death.

So the benefits of sin are brief and temporary, at best lasting a few decades. Furthermore, the costs are huge – and eternal.

Now move to the other side of the calculus, says Paul.  Consider the benefits of being God’s slave – that is, the benefits of the obedience that comes from faith in Christ:

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (Romans 6:22)

Note that in this passage Paul says nothing about the costs of obedience. Those are real, as He details elsewhere (2 Corinthians 4:7-18, for example), and as Jesus Himself tells us (John 15:20, for example). But here in Romans 6 the Apostle focuses on the surpassing greatness of the fruit of faithful obedience: Sanctification. That is, becoming like Christ. Taking on His image. Being His image-bearer. Displaying His likeness, and thereby being His ambassador. And the end, rather than death, is eternal life. Union with the Giver of life, the Giver of every good and perfect gift. And that must be true life.

So Paul concludes in Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death” – the natural consequence, the just deserts of sin is not joy, pleasure, and life, but the absence of everything good. Death itself. “But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Union with Christ now, in this life, and all the joy that accompanies His presence even as we go through trials and difficulties; and then, the new heavens and the new earth, when we see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12), when there is no more mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4), and we will be with the Life-Giver forever.

So Paul invites us: Do what is in your self-interest! Do the calculus! But judge the costs and benefits rightly. Look at the time frame of eternity. Look at each act not only in isolation, but consider how it enslaves you further under sin or under righteousness. Look at the end to which you are moving – and get off the road that leads to death.

The battle in my heart, the battle in your heart, is to truly believe that every commandment of God is for our good (Deuteronomy 10:12-13), that in His presence alone is fullness of joy, at His right hand alone are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). This is the testimony of Scripture; this is the testimony of our brothers and sisters in Christ over the centuries – including those who have given their lives for Him.

So what about you? Do you believe? Do the calculus rightly! Fight the tempter’s lies! And, saved through His blood, walk in newness of life to the glory of God the Father (Romans 6:4).

Fighting the Temptation to Grow Weary in Well-Doing

Galatians 6:9-10 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

In last Sunday’s sermon, I asked: How do you fight temptation to grow weary of doing good? For we all face that temptation. Every one of us at times feels like giving up, like stepping back from whatever ministry we do. But as we saw, Paul says it is absolutely vital for us not to grow weary. Indeed, he makes not growing weary in well-doing a key part of the test to see whether or not we are saved.

So how can we fight against this common, serious temptation? (more…)