Studies have shown that resolutions do not work. You may realize this by now since most of your New Year’s resolutions have not panned out. No matter how much optimism or hard work you put forth, you cannot change the outside without working on the inside first. External change comes only from internal change.
Paul reveals his frustration in overcoming his own obstacles in Romans 7:21-24: “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am!” Like us, Paul wants to do what is right but there is a war within him that is making him a prisoner.
No one wants to call themselves an addict. That term is usually reserved for alcoholics and drug abusers. I want to suggest to you that anything you do that is abusive and disproportionate to your life is an addiction. It could be food, work, money, drugs, Facebook, television, a relationship, shopping, sports, or a host of other things. Anything you are doing that you do not want to do but can’t figure out how to stop is probably an addiction.
What are some signs you are addicted? First, it becomes a part of your identity. Second, when you try to quit you fail and feel increasingly hopeless. Third, when your addiction is threatened you are personally threatened. Fourth, you begin to lose quality of life. Fifth, you ease pain by getting the next fix. I would also challenge you to read Isaiah 44:9-20 and see if this sounds like you.
So how do you overcome addiction? You must change the heart, not the action itself. Changed hearts produce changed behavior. Most of us don’t want changed lives, just changed situations. We don’t want to change our eating habits. We just want to be skinny. Addiction is just a symptom to a bigger disease – idolatry. Anything we have allowed to have a place of importance above God in our life is an idol. Whatever you worship, you serve. Anything you serve you eventually become enslaved to.
How do you dethrone idols? Read Matthew 17:14-21. Jesus told His disciples they were not connected to God enough (unbelieving) and too connected to the world (perversed). He went on to say they should have had growing faith: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” We need prayer and fasting in our lives. Prayer connects us to God and fasting disconnects us from the world.
There is no magic formula to overcoming addictions. Overcoming requires life change. Connect to God by faith and prayer and disconnect from the world by fasting and watch how your life changes. You won’t just lose an addiction but will gain the life you’ve always wanted.
Showing posts with label victory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label victory. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Power Over Sin
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." - 1 John 1:8
I recently heard a story about two men who believed they were absolutely perfect, without sin. They told the preacher C.H. Spurgeon, “We can no longer sin, we are perfect.” Spurgeon, unsure he heard them right, asked them to repeat themselves. They replied, “We are perfect and cannot sin any longer.” Spurgeon gave them a “pop quiz” on their new found sinless perfection. He emptied a water pitcher on their heads. They responded like any other sinner would, with a few choice words, anger, and retaliation. Spurgeon discovered just how perfect they really were.
People who claim they are without sin commit one of the greatest sins of all – pride. No one is completely without sin. 1 John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Everyone has sinned.
But when you become a Christian, you should run from sin and to Jesus. Before Christ, sin had power over our lives. Our sinful natures decided for us our actions and reactions. But when we were saved, we changed. We became new creations once we gave our lives to Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says old things have passed away and all things became new. Our desire to sin is replaced with desire to please and worship God. While Christians are not incapable of sinning, they now have power over temptation and sin.
In Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin. For “our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Rom. 6:6). Paul goes on to say, “Likewise, reckon yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,” Paul urges, “but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead…. For sin shall not have dominion over you.” (Rom. 6:11-14). Christians have victory over both the penalty and power of sin because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
While the Christian still has the potential to sin, sin does not have control any longer – Jesus does. The Holy Spirit gives you power to overcome and resist sin and temptation. We will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh if we walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). Scriptures also says when temptation comes, you have a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). While Christian may sin, there is a huge difference between those who sin and repent and those who sin and habitually and persistently continue in it without repenting. Repent means to turn away with the intent and action to never do it again. Those who continue in sin with no remorse or repentance should ask themselves if they have ever been truly saved. If we are truly saved, we cannot continue in sin (Romans 6:1, 1 John 3:9; 5:18).
In the words of Patrick Morley, “A change in belief must bring about a change in behavior. Revival in your life must include reform and repentance. You cannot add Christ to your life and fail to subtract sin.”
I recently heard a story about two men who believed they were absolutely perfect, without sin. They told the preacher C.H. Spurgeon, “We can no longer sin, we are perfect.” Spurgeon, unsure he heard them right, asked them to repeat themselves. They replied, “We are perfect and cannot sin any longer.” Spurgeon gave them a “pop quiz” on their new found sinless perfection. He emptied a water pitcher on their heads. They responded like any other sinner would, with a few choice words, anger, and retaliation. Spurgeon discovered just how perfect they really were.
People who claim they are without sin commit one of the greatest sins of all – pride. No one is completely without sin. 1 John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Everyone has sinned.
But when you become a Christian, you should run from sin and to Jesus. Before Christ, sin had power over our lives. Our sinful natures decided for us our actions and reactions. But when we were saved, we changed. We became new creations once we gave our lives to Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says old things have passed away and all things became new. Our desire to sin is replaced with desire to please and worship God. While Christians are not incapable of sinning, they now have power over temptation and sin.
In Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin. For “our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Rom. 6:6). Paul goes on to say, “Likewise, reckon yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,” Paul urges, “but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead…. For sin shall not have dominion over you.” (Rom. 6:11-14). Christians have victory over both the penalty and power of sin because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
While the Christian still has the potential to sin, sin does not have control any longer – Jesus does. The Holy Spirit gives you power to overcome and resist sin and temptation. We will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh if we walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). Scriptures also says when temptation comes, you have a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). While Christian may sin, there is a huge difference between those who sin and repent and those who sin and habitually and persistently continue in it without repenting. Repent means to turn away with the intent and action to never do it again. Those who continue in sin with no remorse or repentance should ask themselves if they have ever been truly saved. If we are truly saved, we cannot continue in sin (Romans 6:1, 1 John 3:9; 5:18).
In the words of Patrick Morley, “A change in belief must bring about a change in behavior. Revival in your life must include reform and repentance. You cannot add Christ to your life and fail to subtract sin.”
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