Overcoming sin

[foadle]

What do you do when there is a sin in your life and you just can't seem to get a handle on it.
I'm sure we have all been there - so where does that leave us.

 

[GoDsGiRl930]

What do you do when there is a sin in your life and you just can't seem to get a handle on it.
I'm sure we have all been there - so where does that leave us.

Well, we all have sinned, but what exactly do you mean when you say that you cant get a hold of your sin?

 

[foadle]

That I have struggled in the same areas for a very long time

 

[GoDsGiRl930]

That I have struggled in the same areas for a very long time

Oh, okay. Well, first of all you must pray to God for strength to be able to confront that particular sin. We cant grow spiritually if we are not honest with ourself and with God. UM....Do you have someone in your church( pastor, youth pastor, ect....) that you trust to talk about this situation? If so, talk to them about it for they may be able to help you more than I can.
God Bless!
Kayla

 

[mourningdove~]

What do you do when there is a sin in your life and you just can't seem to get a handle on it.
I'm sure we have all been there - so where does that leave us.

When I think of a sin that "you just can't seem to get a handle on", I think of addiction.

Is that what you're referring to - a habitual sin behavior (like alcoholism, drug addiction, sex addiction, etc.) that a person wishes to stop, but finds they cannot, no matter how hard they try?

 

[OnYourWings]

habitual sin is a rough thing. eventually any behavior not aimed at bringing glory to the Lord can become a stronghold, strangling your growth as a Christian and hindering your progress.

for me in my own personal struggles the feeling of condemnation has been the hardest thing to overcome. it's very hard for me to remind myself, fall after fall, that the Lord is just waiting for me to turn back towards him and that he'll be faithful to come running to embrace me. i allow myself to get disappointed in myself, expecting to find God shaking his head, as frustrated and angry at me as I feel at those times.

our God is a loving God, though... i'm so glad for that.

 

[foadle]

When I think of a sin that "you just can't seem to get a handle on", I think of addiction.

Is that what you're referring to - a habitual sin behavior (like alcoholism, drug addiction, sex addiction, etc.) that a person wishes to stop, but finds they cannot, no matter how hard they try?

Yes it is habitual and RULING MY LIFE. How do I live in the freedom God has given me more successfully?

 

[OnYourWings]

Yes it is habitual and RULING MY LIFE. How do I live in the freedom God has given me more successfully?

the only thing that has ever helped me with engrained, habitual sins is to pray like a madman when i come face to face with the temptation to fall again.

it can be the prayer of a scripture that deals with the temptation at hand, or just a cry for help. sometimes i'll force myself to pray or dig into the scriptures for 10 minutes, which really helps.

last thing is to repent immediately and return to the love of God when you do slip up. God loves you and knows every single time you're going to mess up from this moment on - and it doesnt change his Love for you. when you fall He's just waiting for you to turn back to Him, and will Love you. it's important to remember that the Holy Spirit only makes us feel guilty enough to return to the Lord - any guilt that strikes at you and makes you feel unworthy of God's love or the company of other believers is an attack designed to keep you down, weak, and unrepentant.

 

[mourningdove~]

Yes it is habitual and RULING MY LIFE. How do I live in the freedom God has given me more successfully?

I understand your struggle better now and suspect many others here do, too ... but "be encouraged!" There IS hope in Jesus Christ!

Here are some ideas - things I've learned from experience:

- If dealing with an addiction like alcoholism, etc., don't be afraid to reach out for some practical support, like a 12-step group. I know this isn't a deeply "spiritual" answer, but it works for many. I was born again, steeped in the Bible, in fellowship with other Christians, and praying alot, but still couldn't stop drinking! (This nearly broke my heart!) The Lord chose to direct me to AA for the help I needed. There, I learned to live "One Day at a Time", dependent on God - all the while being sure to keep myself steeped in the Bible and close to God in prayer. (<-- important) AA/12-step groups are not for everyone, but "it worked for me".

Regarding other habitual sins?

(1) No matter how serious/shameful the sin - how awful or self-condemning I may feel about what I've done - or how many times I've fallen before - I ALWAYS strive to ask for forgiveness as soon as possible after falling, and then repent, to the best of my ability, before the Lord. And I ask for His help to stop the behavior. (I suspect you may already be doing all this.)

(2) A priest once gave me some some extremely helpful advice. He told me to pray the "Our Father" prayer each time right after I committed the sin. I've repeatedly done this and this has helped to somehow "loosen" the power of the addictive behavior. Since you don't appear Catholic, you may have a favorite Psalm or passage of Scripture that you might wish to pray to our Father each time after you've fallen.

(3) I have found it extremely helpful to privately confess my sin - no matter how embarrassed I may be by it - to a more spiritually mature person that I trust and respect, like a pastor or priest.

There is a saying in 12-step recovery that goes: "You are as sick as your secrets". Many addictive behaviors are done secretively, or are rooted in a secret sin. Therefore, there can be tremendous healing power in confessing one's sin to another and exposing one's sin to "the light", in the presence of another. (I can't explain how it works - I just know that it does!)

In my denomination, we have what's called the sacrament of confession, in which we confess our sins to God in the confidential presence of a priest. In the 12-step recovery process, there are steps for taking a personal spiritual inventory and then confidentially sharing the inventory with another. I'm guessing that many pastors are also equipped to deal with matters of sin on a confidential basis. (<-- confidentiality and trustworthiness being key!)

They all seem to work on the same premise: the power of the sin is somehow "lessened" when the sin is confessed to another and it is no longer a powerful "secret" operating in a person's life.

(4) If you haven't yet received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, you may wish to surrender more fully to God and ask the Holy Spirit to come "more fully" into your life. The Holy Spirit is Our Source of Power.

(5) Deliverance. If you are mature in the ways of the Holy Spirit, you may wish to pray for self-deliverance from your addictive sin. (A good book to read: "Christian Set Yourself Free" by Graham & Shirley Powell) If you are blessed to have a deliverance ministry in your church, you may wish to seek them out for prayer. Also, lots of info on deliverance can be found in the CF Deliverance Ministry forum. You may even wish to post your question there.

I've probably given you way may more info than needed (and some more practical, than spiritual), but maybe something here will be helpful to you. I pray so. As a child of God, NO sin need rule over you. Jesus is Our Deliverer from all sin, including the annoying habitual stuff.

God bless you!

 

[foadle]

I understand your struggle better now and suspect many others here do, too ... but "be encouraged!" There IS hope in Jesus Christ!

Here are some ideas - things I've learned from experience:

- If dealing with an addiction like alcoholism, etc., don't be afraid to reach out for some practical support, like a 12-step group. I know this isn't a deeply "spiritual" answer, but it works for many. I was born again, steeped in the Bible, in fellowship with other Christians, and praying alot, but still couldn't stop drinking! (This nearly broke my heart!) The Lord chose to direct me to AA for the help I needed. There, I learned to live "One Day at a Time", dependent on God - all the while being sure to keep myself steeped in the Bible and close to God in prayer. (<-- important) AA/12-step groups are not for everyone, but "it worked for me".

Regarding other habitual sins?

(1) No matter how serious/shameful the sin - how awful or self-condemning I may feel about what I've done - or how many times I've fallen before - I ALWAYS strive to ask for forgiveness as soon as possible after falling, and then repent, to the best of my ability, before the Lord. And I ask for His help to stop the behavior. (I suspect you may already be doing all this.)

(2) A priest once gave me some some extremely helpful advice. He told me to pray the "Our Father" prayer each time right after I committed the sin. I've repeatedly done this and this has helped to somehow "loosen" the power of the addictive behavior. Since you don't appear Catholic, you may have a favorite Psalm or passage of Scripture that you might wish to pray to our Father each time after you've fallen.

(3) I have found it extremely helpful to privately confess my sin - no matter how embarrassed I may be by it - to a more spiritually mature person that I trust and respect, like a pastor or priest.

There is a saying in 12-step recovery that goes: "You are as sick as your secrets". Many addictive behaviors are done secretively, or are rooted in a secret sin. Therefore, there can be tremendous healing power in confessing one's sin to another and exposing one's sin to "the light", in the presence of another. (I can't explain how it works - I just know that it does!)

In my denomination, we have what's called the sacrament of confession, in which we confess our sins to God in the confidential presence of a priest. In the 12-step recovery process, there are steps for taking a personal spiritual inventory and then confidentially sharing the inventory with another. I'm guessing that many pastors are also equipped to deal with matters of sin on a confidential basis. (<-- confidentiality and trustworthiness being key!)

They all seem to work on the same premise: the power of the sin is somehow "lessened" when the sin is confessed to another and it is no longer a powerful "secret" operating in a person's life.

(4) If you haven't yet received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, you may wish to surrender more fully to God and ask the Holy Spirit to come "more fully" into your life. The Holy Spirit is Our Source of Power.

(5) Deliverance. If you are mature in the ways of the Holy Spirit, you may wish to pray for self-deliverance from your addictive sin. (A good book to read: "Christian Set Yourself Free" by Graham & Shirley Powell) If you are blessed to have a deliverance ministry in your church, you may wish to seek them out for prayer. Also, lots of info on deliverance can be found in the CF Deliverance Ministry forum. You may even wish to post your question there.

I've probably given you way may more info than needed (and some more practical, than spiritual), but maybe something here will be helpful to you. I pray so. As a child of God, NO sin need rule over you. Jesus is Our Deliverer from all sin, including the annoying habitual stuff.

God bless you!

thank you nuvu2 for your advice it is appreciated.

 

[bakerdad32]

What do you do when there is a sin in your life and you just can't seem to get a handle on it.
I'm sure we have all been there - so where does that leave us.

Iknow it is very hard but find someone you can trust that won't judge you and have them call you each day to check. be honest this will help keep you i check we did this at our church they would call to see if we had prayed and read the word i'd rather be acoutable now to man then later to god
god bless

 

[KEMMER]

What do you do when there is a sin in your life and you just can't seem to get a handle on it.
I'm sure we have all been there - so where does that leave us.

look at the consequences of this particular sin. if you can't see them how about the consequence of not knowing how t stop this sin. this here is one of the consequences right there. you're relationship with christ is going to suffer and you need to ev aluate how much of a relationship u want with him. draw near to christ and he will draw near to you. part of that drawing near is getting rid of sin in your life. claim victory in this area today through the acknowledgement of the terrible consequence of this sin HOPE THAT HELPS. resist temptation and the devil will flee.

 

[Febe]

What do you do when there is a sin in your life and you just can't seem to get a handle on it.
I'm sure we have all been there - so where does that leave us.

Oh... I certinly recognise that!

In my church, confession is the great help...

And apart of that... I ask Jesus to take over my "free will", willingly given, and I ask Him to take control over all my thoughts... This has been to a great help for me, lately...

 

[foadle]

Thanks for your help guys. Much of it is stuff I have tried and am still trying but the stuff I have not I will certainly take on board.

 

[Andrew]

True deliverance comes when you have no desire for it anymore. If you have to 'will yourself', pray, fast, resist, bind, loose, etc just to overcome another temptation, then you are still bound.

These are all self-efforts. And self-efforts can only go so far. You may succeed for a while, but it will come back again, and you usually go on a binge then!

The key I believe is God's grace and no condemnation. Romans says that sin shall not have dominion over you becos you are not under the law but under grace. IOW, the sin will dominate you if you are under the law.

What does "under the law" mean then? Law in the Bible means trying to keep a law eg: I will not view porn. Thou shall not do it.

The more you try to keep that law, the more that sin will dominate you. Becos the strength of sin is the law.

Trying to keep laws implies self-effort. This is known as the flesh in Bible terms. Self-effort, flesh and works (of the flesh), Mt Sinai go together. Grace, faith, Spirit, Mt Zion go together.

So the more you try not to do it, be it praying, confessing, binding, loosing, abstaining, etc, the more you will end up doing it.

Your deliverance is not a method, but a person -- Christ Jesus. That's why Paul, after describing his struggle with sin in Roms 7, says "WHO shal deliver me," not "What shall deliver me..." His answer is of course, Christ Jesus.

So the first thing to do is to free yourself from any law you may have. Forget "Thou shall not view porn" or "I will not do it". Don't even try to stop yourself. Go ahead.

Yes it sounds crazy and you will go crazy for a while, but grace simply reveals what's in your heart all along. If all along a person wants to commit adultery, then when laws against adultery are removed from his life, he will just do whatever is in his heart all along.

But it is grace that transforms a person from inside out. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. Laws only modify a person's behavior on the outside but have no power to change the heart..

 

[foadle]

True deliverance comes when you have no desire for it anymore. If you have to 'will yourself', pray, fast, resist, bind, loose, etc just to overcome another temptation, then you are still bound.

These are all self-efforts. And self-efforts can only go so far. You may succeed for a while, but it will come back again, and you usually go on a binge then!

The key I believe is God's grace and no condemnation. Romans says that sin shall not have dominion over you becos you are not under the law but under grace. IOW, the sin will dominate you if you are under the law.

What does "under the law" mean then? Law in the Bible means trying to keep a law eg: I will not view porn. Thou shall not do it.

The more you try to keep that law, the more that sin will dominate you. Becos the strength of sin is the law.

Trying to keep laws implies self-effort. This is known as the flesh in Bible terms. Self-effort, flesh and works (of the flesh), Mt Sinai go together. Grace, faith, Spirit, Mt Zion go together.

So the more you try not to do it, be it praying, confessing, binding, loosing, abstaining, etc, the more you will end up doing it.

Your deliverance is not a method, but a person -- Christ Jesus. That's why Paul, after describing his struggle with sin in Roms 7, says "WHO shal deliver me," not "What shall deliver me..." His answer is of course, Christ Jesus.

So the first thing to do is to free yourself from any law you may have. Forget "Thou shall not view porn" or "I will not do it". Don't even try to stop yourself. Go ahead.

Yes it sounds crazy and you will go crazy for a while, but grace simply reveals what's in your heart all along. If all along a person wants to commit adultery, then when laws against adultery are removed from his life, he will just do whatever is in his heart all along.

But it is grace that transforms a person from inside out. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. Laws only modify a person's behavior on the outside but have no power to change the heart..

wow that makes the most sense of anything I have heard in a long time on this topic. Really I think God has been trying to tell me something along those lines for a long time but the truth is while I expect grace for everyone else I have struggled with excepting it for myself for a long time. It is okay if others are not perfect but I have to be type mentallity. You are right.

 

[Febe]

Thanks for your help guys. Much of it is stuff I have tried and am still trying but the stuff I have not I will certainly take on board.

Good luck!
Praying that something will help...

 

[mourningdove~]

... So the first thing to do is to free yourself from any law you may have. Forget "Thou shall not view porn" or "I will not do it". Don't even try to stop yourself. Go ahead.

Yes it sounds crazy and you will go crazy for a while ...

Yes, I agree you may go crazy for a while ...
and maybe for a very lonnggggg while ...
and hit a very low emotional and spiritual bottom ...
experiencing much self-hatred and self-condemnation ...
and a deep sense of isolation from others and distance from God ...

... IF the sin being discussed is an addictive behavior.

just a gentle warning ...
shared in love.

 

[foadle]

I know that one all to well I have been fighting this for many years ... Somehow though the last few days I have had a piece about it I have never had before

 

[mourningdove~]

I know that one all to well I have been fighting this for many years ... Somehow though the last few days I have had a piece about it I have never had before

I'm so glad. I sense your sincere desire to deal with this issue, and my guess is that the Lord does, too!

God bless!