We’ve heard it all before: “Why can’t you just quit your bad habits?”
Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? So why is it that many believers struggle with habitual sin and cannot seem to be set free? Are we really to just accept that maybe we should just rely on repentance and live with our bad habits?
Whether it’s a bad habit of drinking, smoking, watching pornography, or working too much, we’ve all had a bad habit that we found hard to break. One thing that is for sure is that if we are all to expect it to go away overnight, then we’re probably dreaming a tall tale.
Some people get released from their sinful habits right away while others go through a long process of pruning in their lives, but one thing for sure is that God is working to set us free from habitual sins. Here are three points to remember when battling habitual sins.
Acknowledge that there is a flesh that battles your spirit
The reality is that we live in two realms all throughout our life here on earth — that is the flesh and the spirit. Many times our spirit will go against the flesh, and we must make a choice which realm we will fall under.
Galatians 5:17 says, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”
Realize that we cannot help ourselves
Here’s some really bad news that you have to understand: Your sin is much bigger than you. Anyone who believes that sin is harmless does not understand the weight and power there is behind sin. It’s so powerful that just one sin can sentence us to death and separation from God for all eternity.
Our sins are extremely big problems and we cannot solve these problems by ourselves. On our own, we can never completely break free from our sinful habits.
Rely on God’s power and grace
Thank God that Christianity is not just about the bad news, but about the good news of what hope we have. Sure we cannot save ourselves, but there is one person who can and has already saved us from sin — that’s Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Because of God’s grace, we are not only freed from the consequence of sin but are also given the ability to say no to sin.
When we start pursuing God more and continue to be filled by His presence, we are slowly relieved of our desire to sin over and over again. It is God’s in-filling that pushes out the desire of sin, not our willpower. Spiritual discipline does not come by pruning the flesh out of us, but by growing the spirit by experiencing the Spirit more and more.
