Why can i not repent of ceartain things?

WilliamBo said:

I'm roughly 6 years into my walk with God and i have overcome a lot but there are ceartain things that i just keep doing over and over and over that I'm pretty sure are sinful in a way and it's like part of me just won't ''surrender'' to God and I just don't understand why... i don't understand why I can't just DO WHAT IS RIGHT, why i feel so obligated to do what is selfish and wrong sometimes.

For example- I am on probation for a DUI i got over 3 years ago and they changed my license to a ''temporary permit'' where i can only drive to and from work. Well, I've been driving constantly to run errands like grocery store, wal-mart, etc. And I feel like it's wrong but i just keep doing it over and over and over, thinking ''well if i get pulled over, they will AT MOST just give me a ticket.'' Just little things like that... or like telling a lie here and there. I don't understand why i do it when i know it's wrong. Why am i like this?

Does it just take time to be cleaned of stuff like that? I keep thinking I am unworthy and that my heart is lacking, like I'm just not good enough... any long-time Christians here go through this? What was your experience?

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Breaking the law by driving illegally on your temporary permit is risky. I wouldn't call it a sin. Habitually lying would be a sin.

WilliamBo said:

I'm trying but I don't understand why I am so stubborn about certain things...

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Presumably because you are not humble before the Lord Jesus, which is not something you can attain to yourself, although God rewards efforts to do so. Brokenness before the Lord usually results from being in desperate need of help from the Lord, such as when one is suffering terribly and doesn't have enough control to make it stop. And unfortunately it has to go on a long time for it to change your character. What is worth all that pain, trouble, and loss? Being closer to God, having greater faith, having greater future reward, knowing the Truth and being more free, becoming more like God, and seeing God is all well worth it—and its blessings are forever.

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” (John 14:21, 1984 NIV)

All these blessings and more come from, among other things, struggling to be obedient to God in the ways he has already commanded. The fact that you asked this question means to me that you are already trying to do what is right. As for stopping sinning, it is easier to replace the habit with something non-sinful than to just stop cold (sometimes you need to just stop cold, though). In a general sense, we need the Lord's help for everything. Seek his help in prayer regularly and look in Scripture for how he might have already shown how to handle some situations.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5, 1984 NIV)

Persist in doing the things Jesus commanded. Without getting into what "sins you can't seem to stop" is all about, it is highly beneficial to struggle to be obedient in other ways.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8, 1984 NIV)

The important thing is to stay connected (or increase one's connection) to the Lord himself. Being obedient to the Lord's commands makes him responsible for the consequences of your obedience, and you will see that he is very faithful with that responsibility.

You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. [Ed.: then Jesus said something for the rich young ruler's specific spiritual problem] Then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:19-21, 1984 NIV)

WilliamBo said:

I'm trying but I don't understand why I am so stubborn about certain things...

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It is not about what you can do or what you can not do, It is about what He did for you. He took your place. Every time you fail and fail we will, just put it under The Blood and keep walking. When we fail, it is just showing us that there is only One that is perfect, The Lord Jesus Christ. It is also a way that draws us closer to Him in prayer, repentance, and dependence. And when you fail, know that He is not mad at you. It is the flesh that is stubborn because it does not want to die. But little by little it must, and it will, because He said, "I will finish the work I started in you."

WilliamBo said:

I'm trying but I don't understand why I am so stubborn about certain things...

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What's the reasoning that leads you away from God into sin? Repentance is a change of thinking, of mind, and such a change involves understanding what chains of thought and behaviour lead you into sin. What are the lies you're adopting that make it so easy to disobey your Heavenly Father? Why are they effective in inducing you into sin? Sometimes, figuring these things out can help in correcting and/or avoiding sinful behaviour in the future.

At bottom, though, all sin is a love problem. You love your Self more than you love God. There's always only one solution to this problem: Self has to die.

Matthew 16:24-25
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Romans 6:6-7
6 knowing this, that 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.
7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.

Romans 6:11-12
11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

WilliamBo said:

I'm trying but I don't understand why I am so stubborn about certain things...

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True Godly repentance I believe to be a gift of God through the Holy Spirit. Man can feel bad about things but, might have nothing to do with real repentance.

When caused by the Holy Spirit -- we should truly feel sickened and embarrassed before God with ourselves -- realizing that sin is not worth the separation from God.

We may be left yearning for a while as we wait and desire for that contact to return. I just went through one of those. The sanctification process can be a rough one.

M-Bob

WilliamBo said:

I know that God has begun a work in me. Does He always complete the work He begins in people? Philippians 1:6 says "I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." Does that apply to all born again Christians? In Revelation it says that people's "lampstand" can be taken away, which kind of seems like the opposite. I am nowhere near perfect yet and after 5 years I still have so far to go... it frightens me as little bit.

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He is The Author and Finisher of our Faith. There are countless churches today that The "Lampstand" has been taken away and yet they continue as bussiness as usual. In your latest blog, by your words, I see growth, which I hope encourages you. In our walk, there will be good days, and there will be bad days. On the bad days, He is faithful to comfort and encourage us for He is The Faithful Servant. And to answer your question directly, The Faithful Servant (Jesus) will never leave you, nor forsake you, so of course He will finish the work He started in you.

I will pray for you.

Here is what I recommend: Walk to and from the grocery store, and not only because you're illegally driving. You messed up and put the lives of others at risk by choosing to drive over the legal limit. Use the time it takes to walk to and from the grocery store and other such places, and the strain that accompanies it, as a time for prayer and repentance. Use the arms and legs and whole body that God gave you. If it's ever too weary, remember that the Holy Family walked to and from Egypt when Jesus was just a baby; that Jesus and the disciples walked all over Israel; that Paul traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles to spread the Gospel; and if the groceries are heavy, remember that Jesus carried the Cross on his back after he had been beaten. Glorify God for the body he has given you, and offer up the discomfort to him. I promise you, you will know God better, and other such trials later on in your life will be met with more ease, less fear, and even joy.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on your servant, WilliamBo.