Getting Over Our Love Affair With Sin

Do you remember the last time you sinned? Do you remember the feelings and the sensations that captured you in that moment? Was it long ago or just yesterday? Chances are it was both, because sinning is something that often repeats itself. We find a thrill in the moment and it is not long before we are thrilling all over again. Such experiences permeate our person from head to toe; and often work deep within our hearts. Then out of the blue that same ugly sin shows up again proving we are its slave.

Think about this for a moment; even after Jesus heard our prayers of repentance and forgave us our sins and casting the memory of them as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12); we still remember how to sin and follow after destructive impulses. What that is actually telling us is forgiveness and repentance is only part of the solution. Luckily Paul the Apostle has a cure found at the Cross of Christ.

When we refer to the “Cross” we are talking about a foundation of Christianity which is based on every benefit delivered to us by the death of our Savior. If you are not familiar with the subject, a more detailed explanation can be found here /christian-news/2022/07/the-purpose-driven-death-5-2609358.html. But try if you will to capture this revelation in the interim; what Jesus did on the Cross acts like a big OFF SWITCH for wherever we remain stuck in the world. That amounts to Jesus not only paying the price for our sin, but also burying all our poor choices six feet under.

You see, Jesus wasn’t the only one that died that day, we died too. No, we didn’t die physically but rather Jesus took us into His own death so that we could know His life.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

What Paul is showing us is a way of escape from our old man and his fallen and sinful ways. But what is it about sin that owns us?

Two factors sum up every stronghold in our lives.

1. We choose to allow something of the world to entertain us and own us.
2. We allow a spiritual demonic presence to support our choices.

Now the demon factor is the result of how Adam and Eve once submitted to the Serpent in the Garden. In that exchange humanity came under the Serpent’s control, but also sealed an agreement between man and Devil. As long as man played around in the Devils domain it would be considered an act of worship. In turn the Devil has been obligated to reward mankind with added power and seduction.

You know those feelings we get when we sin; our human senses are being spiritually supercharged.

When it is the world that entertains and owns us it’s a matter of “free will” deciding our fate. In those moments we engage body, soul and spirit in a pursuit of the prize. Hence it is the mind that orchestrates a plan of attack and once we gain the object of desire we hold that experience up as sacred. In other words, we thought it, we captured it, we wear it and we reminisce about it every time we sin. From that day forward we are held captive in our minds and prone to repeating a sinful act.

Are you saying that the first experience is the place of sinful ownership?

It makes perfect sense; if we like something of the world, in remembrance of it, we make room for the experience within our heads. Sure we might try to perfect its ability to feed our flesh, but ultimately every sin has an anniversary date attached to it.

Now this is where things get interesting. We as humans compartmentalize everything within the mind. That means if I was to ask you about your work, the brain is going to access all work related files. You may even notice how you change in your demeanor when confronted by that work question. If a similar question is asked about home life; then that’s a different department in the brain and a different set of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual responses. Likewise If I asked you about a connection with a person, you will add to your composure a response that is either positive or negative. The same thing is true regarding sin in our lives. Depending on the sin we will respond with unique physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual markers. Paul the Apostle gives us a very good picture of his own compartmentalize struggle with sin. Listen to how he is speaking of himself as if he is two different people.

Romans 7; 15-19, 24. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am!

Renewing the Mind

Colossians 3:2-3 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

When we got saved we changed drastically, or at least we began to see great change start to take affect. Much of that change came about as we were introduced to the Holy Spirit who set a new standard within us. As a “new creation” we experienced a renewed mind and freedom from sinful and demonic control. But life often takes its toll on us and unless we hold on tightly to Jesus the world has a tendency to creep back in. For this reason we still need to gain the power of God to come to our rescue. In other words, we still need what Jesus did on the Cross to make a difference in our lives.

Romans 7:5-6 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Now Paul is speaking here about the power of the law to send us into a sinful tizzy. But the law we deal with the most is the one within our own heads. If we decide that certain worldly events should sustain us then that law of our noggins dictates what we will do in body, soul and spirit. I go into greater detail in the book, ”Lord I Want to Change”. The main reason for a more in depth discussion is because our minds have yielded over to some very complex agreements with the flesh, the world and the Devil. But for now we simply want to apply what we’ve learned within a simple request of God.

So how do we do this? In the same manner that we asked for salvation we also ask God for transformation. Here are a couple of verses that confirm it’s about trusting Him for renewal.

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

What we discover is by trusting God to do the work for us as well as in us the Holy Spirit supernaturally removes the sin behavior. He follows up by removing the offending spirit that we once invited on to our lives.

Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Even today there is no limit as to how many ways our lives can be changed at the Cross of Christ. If unwanted behavior remains stuck in the mind then there is opportunity for renewal in Jesus.

 Application

Jesus, I repent for having sinned against you (name it).

Based on what you did for me on the Cross I ask you to;

• Remove this sin that I set into motion so many years ago.
• I even ask you to take away it’s bad memories that have remained in my mind.
• And judge by the Cross the spiritual realm associated with this sin of my past.

Jesus, You are the resurrection power that now saves me and makes me new. 

If you want to look deeper into the subject then ask for the Book; Lord I Want to Change” It’s free in PDF version.

Lord I Want To Change!

Is It time for a change? The Christian life is not always an easy life. Though we are assured that all things have become new, “New life” may end up looking a lot like the old one. This is due to our inability to properly transition away from certain worldly influences. A growing number of our troubles include the weight of family dysfunction, years of social conditioning and any number of personal failures remaining a black mark on our record. All of these issues have a tendency to warp our sense of “self” and we walk through life emotionally crippled; yet Jesus has other plans for us. The Bible provides the Christian a “get out of jail free card”. Jesus offers us a simple and effective way of escape out from the trappings of a difficult past. If you have ever wondered whether there is more to the Christian life, then get ready to be encouraged, challenged, and set free in your walk of faith.

• For PDF Version – Send an E-mail message to [email protected] and in the “subject” heading abbreviate the title of the book.
• Lord I want to Change = Lwc