When was the last time you found yourself entangled in a particular sin? No matter how hard you tried, you could not seem to get untangled from it. Well, I have some good news to share with you. There is a path to freedom but first let’s consider the deadly stranglehold produced by deliberate sin.
The Apostle Peter wrote, “A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him” (2 Peter 2:19). You can either get dragged around by your sinful choices or be led by the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:16-18). Which of those two options best describes your spiritual life over the past several months?
God’s Word declares: “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:13-15).
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Evil desires drag people away from God’s will for their life. And there is no question that the enslaving power of deliberate sin hinders a believer from walking closely with Jesus in a spirit of humility, gentleness and obedience.
For example, King David was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). And yet even David’s fellowship with God was decimated for a period of time in the destructive vortex of sexual lust and premeditated sin (see 2 Samuel 11 & 12). We can actually become so engrossed in our sin that we ignore God, at least temporarily, as we push Him to the back of our mind, as evidenced by King David.
But David bemoaned the nauseating effect of his premeditated sins: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin’” (Psalm 32:3-5).
The most miserable people on the planet are born again people who are deliberately sinning against God’s Word and their conscience. King David is a prime example. And while there were serious consequences to the king’s reckless and wicked behavior, the Lord was gracious and merciful to forgive David and restore their close fellowship with one another.
The only path to freedom is to confess your sins to God, repent of them, and rely upon the blood of Jesus to cleanse your soul. There is no other path to victory. And once your deliverance is secured, it will be crucial for you to maintain constant vigilance lest the enemy of your soul gain a foothold in your life all over again (see Ephesians 4:26-27). The devil will most assuredly continue tempting you to give in to that sin “just one more time,” in spite of how that stranglehold had become the bane of your existence.
The devil is highly skilled at tempting you to take just one little nibble of sin at a time. In this way, Satan inches closer to placing you in spiritual bondage. The devil’s devious strategy involves small, seemingly innocuous steps in the wrong direction.
Has Satan been whispering his lies in your direction? “A little sin never hurt anyone. Go ahead. You deserve a break. After all, you’ve had more than your share of disappointments lately. And it’s not fair that you should be deprived of your desires, even if those desires are somewhat questionable. Hey, nobody’s perfect, right?”
And the moment we take a small bite of that “imperfect” desire, we instantly develop a taste for more of the same. Such is the nature of sinful desires. The more we feed the monster of sin, the larger it grows within our heart and the more devastation it causes in our relationship with the Lord.
While God’s Law certainly lays out those things the Lord forbids, there is something even more powerful than the Law. I am referring of course to the Gospel (see John 3:16) and to the grace that God gives to every believer in Jesus. You see, “The grace of God that brings salvation … teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12).
The Apostle John wrote to believers: “The anointing you received from God remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit – just as it has taught you, remain in Him” (1 John 2:27).
Followers of Christ experience God’s peace when we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, whereas followers of Christ foolishly dabble with spiritual darkness and “grieve the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30) whenever we give in to the sinful desires of our old nature. Author Jerry Bridges wrote, “We must pray constantly for God’s enabling grace to say no to temptation, while choosing to take all practical steps to avoid known areas of temptation and flee from those that surprise us.”
Jesus told His disciples, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). And so again I ask you: When was the last time you found yourself entangled in a particular sin? What did you do about it? And what has God’s grace been teaching you lately about how to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions?
God’s loving directive for every follower of Christ is straightforward: “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
