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Why We Sin & How We Change
Though sin often brings immediate pleasure, it gives no lasting joy. — R.C. Sproul
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we didn’t sin anymore? We all do things we shouldn’t do, but we don’t have to live bound by sin. Before we learn how to bring about change in our lives, we need to understand why we keep committing the sins we do.
Why do we keep sinning?
Part of the answer is what we discussed in day one. All humans are born with a sinful nature. Our flesh is strong and self-serving, and it wants what it wants. We’re susceptible to temptation and in turn, it’s likely we’ll sin. We have desires and appetites that want to be fed. So when temptation strikes, our flesh has such a difficult time saying no because it’s weak. The Apostle Paul wrote that he doesn’t understand why he does what he does—that he literally hated doing the things he did—but he kept doing them. And the things he wanted to do? He didn’t do them!
In such moments of weakness, our spiritual enemy is near. He tries to convince us that what we’re doing is okay. You can be assured that if he is talking, lies are spewing. But even with the enemy’s influence around us, it’s unwise to blame our choices on him and his forces of evil. Yes, we live in a world where there is a spiritual battle going on, but he isn’t stronger than us. With God in us, we have the power to conquer any temptation or force that comes against us.
How do we stop sinning?
The good news is we can improve in this area and not allow sin to hold us hostage. We have to choose things to strengthen us in order to overcome temptation and spiritual battles. We have to evaluate the kinds of situations we are putting ourselves in. We have to be mindful of the people we spend the most time with, and recognize that the things we watch and listen to also influence us. Could the situations and people in our lives contribute to our poor choices that lead us down sinful paths? We have to be honest with ourselves if we ever want to find freedom.
The more we say yes to the things of God, the less we will succumb to sin. We won’t ever be perfect, but we can make choices and then trust God to carry us through the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in. He guarantees His strength to us in all things. Let’s take Him up on that promise.
Reflect
- Think about that sin you listed from day one. When do you find yourself making this choice? Who or what is around you? What is a step you can take to find freedom from this?
About this Plan
Everyone makes mistakes. But most people don’t like to call their mistakes “sins,” even though that’s what they are. In this Plan, we’ll learn what sin is, why we do it, and how we can choose to live differently. We can stand on the hope that no matter what we’ve done in our lives, there is no sin we can commit that God won’t forgive.
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