Why is it so difficult to get free from certain sins? When I was younger, I would hear preachers and teachers talk about besetting sins. These are sins that ensnare a person, and they find it almost impossible to get victory over them. I agree that certain sins, for certain people, can be very difficult to break free from. Even if we do find victory, we can find ourselves right back in them at some point in our lives. Why is that? It is almost as if Satan knows exactly what triggers us. It reminds me of the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis where every person was assigned a demon to tempt them and keep them from following Christ. While scripture does not confirm this to be true it certainly does feel like we have a personal demon attached to us; however, the Bible does confirm that we are tempted by Satan (James 4:7). What are we to do? If he knows what triggers us and keeps hammering us, are we without hope?
The answer is repentance! Repentance is most simply explained as turning away from sin and turning toward Jesus. A fuller definition might be the means by which we participate in gospel transformation by seeking forgiveness in Jesus, exercising faith to overcome sin and growing in gospel maturity. There is a point in our Christian walk where we come to faith in Jesus and repent of sin. We find forgiveness of sin and we are saved by the power of the gospel found in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection; however, repentance isn’t just a one time experience. Coming to Christ begins the lifelong experience of continual repentance. Stuart Scott in the book Killing Sin Habits calls this mortification (killing sin) and vivification (living by the Spirit). These two processes are what is meant by ongoing repentance. A Christian, regardless of how long they have been a believer, should be constantly submitting to Jesus and living out the cycle of repentance and faith. This is what matures us in our faith and gives us victory over sin.
True repentance is only found in Jesus Christ. I cannot overstate how important this is, we cannot do this in our own power. In fact, trying to handle sin in our own power is what keeps us from truly finding victory. This struggle is expressed by Stuart Scott as the Temptation Cycle. It looks like this: temptation, feeble struggle, rationalization, unholy surrender, sin is accomplished, momentary guilt, sorrow and shame, confession to God delayed, confession, Christ not put on, isolation (no outside help sought), time passes and the cycle repeats. Have you seen this cycle played out in your own life? I know I have. Often, we fall to temptation in our lives and feel bad, but we don’t really do anything about it. Repentance is not just feeling bad and asking forgiveness for sin.
We need to feel sorrow and we need to come to the Lord and seek forgiveness, but we also need to seek change. Remember, Jesus did not just forgive people and then tell them to keep living the same way. He called them to leave their sin and follow Him. That call is still active today. Don’t shortchange yourself with cheap repentance.
Jesus died for life transformation, not to just make you feel better. Also, don't just excuse your sin. Deal with your sin by bringing it before the Lord; desperately pray for deliverance from it. Pray also for wisdom to know how to kill it and the courage to get help. The biggest failure on the part of Christians is the refusal to get help. We need accountability when it comes to sin. We need someone that will help us to change our behavior so we will not end up falling into temptation repeatedly. Satan wants nothing more than for you to keep your sin a secret. Jesus wants us to expose that sin, so we experience true repentance and life transformation. This is the only way we will truly find victory over besetting sins in our life. As you pray about this subject in your life, meditate on this verse: Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:11-13
For more on this topic I would suggest reading Killing Sin Habits by Stuart Scott.
