Killing SinSample

Permission to Hate!

What would it be like for you to beat sin? To get a win over that one area of your life that keeps holding every part of you down?

Sin does not need to define you nor consume you. Sin is exhausting, especially when you’re battling in secret, and you see no way to get a win. You can’t hide it, deny it, or play with it another day. You have to kill sin, and this is not some term unique to me. God invented the idea of dealing with sin by putting it to death. God’s Word indicates that dealing with sin is like a bloody battle—something has to die (Col. 3:5; Rom. 6:11-12).

Hate is not commonly seen as a virtue, but it needs to be. Hating sin helps us deal a blow to corruption in our own lives. Romans 12:9 tells us to hate or “abhor what is evil.” Hate is the precursor to “hold fast to what is good” (v. 9). Without the hating of evil and sin, we diminish our ability to love. For us to “let love be genuine” (v.9), we need to hate some things deeply.

Knowing exactly what you’re hating is critical. The biblical term “sin” is derived from the word hamartia in Greek or the word hata in Hebrew, which are archery or spear-throwing terms for “to miss the mark” or “flawed.” Someone “hamartia-ed” when they did not hit the middle of a target. Cultivating distaste for anything in our life that’s missing the mark is virtuous.

Bring to mind the ugliest sins that have a hold of you right now. When I say bring your worst, I’m not hedging on the “dark sins,” “familial sins,” or “lifelong sins.” Bring them all: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, coveting, pornography, alcohol, prescription drugs, pot, deceit, sensuality, racism, envy, slander, food, spiritual pride, gossip, bitterness, rudeness, boastfulness, and a slew more.

Instead of winking at sin, ignoring it, or dumbing it down, hate it. We don’t like holding on to what we hate, so give it a go and hate away.

Now let me tell you where we’re going with these painful sins from here. We’ll cover three biblical weapons for killing sin in the next three days. Wield them with spiritual enthusiasm, and I’m fully confident that the sin that has you by the throat today will be under God’s foot tomorrow.

STRATEGY FOR BATTLE:

HATE IT- Have a prayer talk with God or write Him a letter:

● Tell Him how much you hate your sin and how it’s affecting your life.

● Tell Him that as much as you hate your sin, you need His help to hate it even more.