HOW TO ABSTAIN FROM SIN

How to abstain from sin

 

Some of us think when we become Christians we will hardly sin because we gave our life to Christ and our Lord will keep us from sinning.

 

That is not true but Jesus does mysterious take some desires away from us so we won't want to commit some sins. On the other hand He will let us linger in other sins to test our character. There will be many struggles to stay away from transgressions because the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. In fact the whole verse says, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26:4. Our job is to watch and pray.

 

We are in a spiritual warfare and our flesh is weak. If we are sitting in a chair an impure thought could come in our mind. What we do with it is up to us but the temptation in and of itself is not a sin. We can choose to entertain that thought but if we do we will transgress into sin.

 

This is easier said than done. When we became Christians the demons assigned to us are going to do everything in their power to keep us away from Jesus Christ. This is crucial because we have to know who our enemy is in order to fight the good fight for Jesus Christ.

 

Before we were Christians for the most part the minions of Satan did not have to worry about us because we were in sin and not children of God. When we came to know Jesus Christ in our hearts dark forces of hell lost you because we were taken out of their possession and into the salvation of Jesus Christ.

 

They will try and discourage us at every turn because that is their job. This is called spiritual warfare. This is the difficult part of the Christian life. The battle has just begun and they fight dirty. If humans know a good fight is never fair how much more the demons of hell?

 

Why does Satan want to throw roadblocks in our way as Christians? He does not want us to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. If we are always sinning our fellowship is hindered from truly knowing and loving Jesus Christ. God does not want this because He desires to use us for His glory. He has plans for His children who were saved through the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ to do his work while we are in this life.

 

This can not happen if we failed the grace of God. If we are walking in the flesh it is enmity to God. “ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” 1 John 2:16.

 

The above verse gives us a threefold summary of all the sins we can commit before God. Remember, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature;  old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2nd Corinthians 5:17.

 

Our attitudes and way of thinking have to change from what it was before we came to know the Lord. "(1) I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not confirmed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:1-2.

 

We can overcome all temptations but only through the power of Jesus Christ. We already discovered that our flesh is weak. Another verse that we may want to take a close look at is, “Let all bitterness and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.” Ephesians 4:31.

 

Any thinking person is going to come to the conclusion that this list of sins is going to cause us to fall into a lifestyle of transgressions before God and our conscience will be seared so bad that Jesus Christ will have to intervene with chastisement. It takes discipline and conviction to stay away from this foolishness so the devil won't get any kind of a foothold in our life.

 

Pride is the worst sin but If you are bitter let it go because harboring anything in our spirit will lead to contamination of the soul. If we keep this inside us it will only harm our emotions. If you are bitter let it go. What good will it do for God, people or us except that it will make us sick in so many different ways. Why would we speak evil of other people? We are Christians.

 

The world is going to do this but because they don't know Jesus Christ in their hearts that is the only fruit they can produce. We are called to a higher standard. We need to let Jesus Christ work through our spirit and walk in love. I know this is hard but pray for your enemies.

 

One person counted 129 sins in the Bible. I have no way to verify this number but transgressions can range from sexual to even feeling sorry for ourselves as strange as that may sound. “Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” Proverbs 4:15.

 

If we practice and apply this verse the temptation will not be there for us to fall into sin. Remember we are a new man in Jesus Christ (PRAISE THE LORD) and these things are of Satan. “Neither give place to the devil.” Ephesians 4:27.

Sometimes we do very well living for Jesus Christ and get the victory over our sins but our bad habits and vices happen when we least expect it and we fall into sin. Why? Because the flesh is weak and we did not take 1 Peter 5:8 serious enough and apply this truth to our lives for the victory we could have had in Jesus Christ. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversity the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8.

 

It is difficult to live the Christian life in a sinful and evil world but we are commanded in Scripture to press on to the glory and praise of Jesus Christ. God is testing our character to see if we will stay obedient to him.

 

He has plans for us on this earth and eternity but if we can't even do the basics (small things) then why should Jesus Christ put us in charge of the bigger things in the kingdom of God? If you were a boss would you apply this principle for your business?

 

Some Christians get upset when they sin against God but all believers in Jesus Christ should feel guilty. God is holy and we are supposed to be bothered and stricken by our transgression/transgressions because the Holy Spirit is tugging on our conscience and we failed our Father.

 

We should be broken because we sinned. If our conscience is seared we can pray to God that he will make our sensitivity to sin more clear and please go to God and allow Him to reveal our unknown sins to us so His love can work through us in an unhindered way through His Son Jesus Christ. Otherwise we will be stumbling all over our sin.

 

God knows our weakness when it comes to sin and is not harsh with us but He can be if it gets out of hand. He is not keeping tabs on us; however, He does know what they are and is working on us daily. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. God will forgive us but if we keep committing the same sin over and over again then our confession becomes a lie and that is a transgression before God.

 

If we are devoted to Jesus Christ with passion our conviction against sin will be serious and we won't take it lightly. The sinful desires we had will go away through the Person of Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus loves us very much and He forgives us through our repentance to Him. He then forgets our sin/sins and remembers them no more. Psalm 103:12. He does not hold anything against us when we engage in the biblical process of true confession to God through His Son Jesus Christ. We do not serve that kind of Father. He is merciful and full of grace to His children.

 

What I like about Jesus Christ is we can tell Him all things because he already knows everything about us but we can not forget to ask God for direction in our life. What good is opening up our heart without council from the Holy Spirit?

 

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2nd Timothy 2:15. 

 

Another way to abstain from sin is prayer. When we pray to God we are in direct communication with Him and he hears all our needs with our problems. Jesus will help us in our needs. Tell God that we desire the problem we are facing to be in the will of God for his glory.

 

We serve a good God. Let me just say that one more time. We serve such a good God. If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord please come to Him today/tonight because He cares for you so much. Accept Him into your heart and live your life the way God wants you to walk on earth.

 

He has a purpose for your life and eternity but the world is void of direction. In fact we are not guaranteed one more day. As far as our needs are concerned, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:19.

 

Many times we have heavy burdens that we can not bear and turn to sin for the short answer. We were never meant to take on such burdens because we were foolish to try in the first place. “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30. 

 

Being obedient to Jesus Christ is the most important thing we can do while we are here on earth because that is what we are going to be doing in heaven. He paid a horrible price for our sins. His love is what drove Him to die on the cross for us so we can have salvation through Him.

 

When we indulge in sins after everything Jesus went through for us He will not and can not look the other way on our transgressions before Him. This is why our sins have to be taken care of through repentance so He can restore fellowship back to us and we can walk with Him in His love." Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.

 

God Bless you,

Bob D.