How can I overcome sin in my Christian life?
The Bible presents different resources to help us overcome our sinfulness. In this life, we will never be perfectly victorious over sin (1 John 1: 8), but that must be our goal. With God's help, and following the principles of His word, we can progressively overcome sin and become more and more like Christ.
The first resource the Bible mentions to help us overcome sin is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift that God has given us to be victorious in Christian living. In Galatians 5: 16-25, God makes a contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. In that passage, we are called to walk in the Spirit. All believers already possess the Holy Spirit, but this passage tells us that we need to walk in the Spirit, leaving under our control our will. This means that we should put into practice what the Holy Spirit leads us to do in our lives, instead of following the desires of the flesh.
The difference that the Holy Spirit can make in the life of the believer is demonstrated in the life of Peter, who before being filled with the Holy Spirit, denied Jesus three times, having said before that he would follow Christ to death. Once filled with the Spirit, Peter spoke of the Savior to the Jews at Pentecost in a strong and open way.
One walks in the Spirit trying not to quench the Spirit (as he says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19) and rather seek to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5: 18-21). How is one filled with the Holy Spirit? First, it is God's choice as it was in the Old Testament. God chose specific individuals to carry out a work He wanted them to do and filled them with His Spirit (Genesis 41:38; Exodus 31: 3; Numbers 24: 2; 1 Samuel 10:10). In Ephesians 5: 18-21 and Colossians 3:16, there is evidence that God chooses to fill those who are being filled with the Word of God. So that brings us to our next resource.
(2) The Word of God, the Bible, in 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 says that God has given us His Word to equip us for every good work. This teaches us how to live and what to believe, reveals us when we have chosen wrong paths, helps us to return to the right path, and helps us stay on that path. As Hebrews 4:12 tells us, the Word is alive and effective, and capable of penetrating our hearts, to tear out the deepest problems that humanly speaking cannot be overcome. The psalmist talks about this power that can change lives in Psalm 119. Joshua was told that the key to success in defeating his enemies was not to forget this resource, but rather to meditate on the Word day and night, so that I could obey her. He did it, even though what God commanded him made no military sense, and this was the key to his victory in his struggle to obtain the promised land.
The Bible is a resource that we often treat lightly. We give proof of this by taking our Bibles to church, or reading the daily devotional or a daily chapter, but we fail to memorize it, to meditate on it or to apply it to our lives; we fail to confess the sins he reveals to us or worship God for the gifts he reveals to have given us. We often become anorexic or bulimic when it comes to the Bible. By feeding on the Word, we aspire enough to keep ourselves alive spiritually (but we never ingest enough to be healthy and prosperous Christians); or we often feed ourselves, but we never meditate long enough to obtain spiritual nutrition from it.
If you have not made a habit of studying and meditating on the Word of God, it is important that you already begin to do so. I also suggest you start a diary. Have a habit not to leave the Word of God until you have written something that benefits you. Some write prayers that they make to God, asking him to help them change in the areas in which He has spoken to them. The Bible is the tool that the Spirit uses in our lives (Ephesians 6:17), an indispensable and primordial part of the armor God gives us, to fight our spiritual battles (Ephesians 6: 12-18).
The first resource the Bible mentions to help us overcome sin is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift that God has given us to be victorious in Christian living. In Galatians 5: 16-25, God makes a contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. In that passage, we are called to walk in the Spirit. All believers already possess the Holy Spirit, but this passage tells us that we need to walk in the Spirit, leaving under our control our will. This means that we should put into practice what the Holy Spirit leads us to do in our lives, instead of following the desires of the flesh.The difference that the Holy Spirit can make in the life of the believer is demonstrated in the life of Peter, who before being filled with the Holy Spirit, denied Jesus three times, having said before that he would follow Christ to death. Once filled with the Spirit, Peter spoke of the Savior to the Jews at Pentecost in a strong and open way.
One walks in the Spirit trying not to quench the Spirit (as he says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19) and rather seek to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5: 18-21). How is one filled with the Holy Spirit? First, it is God's choice as it was in the Old Testament. God chose specific individuals to carry out a work He wanted them to do and filled them with His Spirit (Genesis 41:38; Exodus 31: 3; Numbers 24: 2; 1 Samuel 10:10). In Ephesians 5: 18-21 and Colossians 3:16, there is evidence that God chooses to fill those who are being filled with the Word of God. So that brings us to our next resource.
(2) The Word of God, the Bible, in 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 says that God has given us His Word to equip us for every good work. This teaches us how to live and what to believe, reveals us when we have chosen wrong paths, helps us to return to the right path, and helps us stay on that path. As Hebrews 4:12 tells us, the Word is alive and effective, and capable of penetrating our hearts, to tear out the deepest problems that humanly speaking cannot be overcome. The psalmist talks about this power that can change lives in Psalm 119. Joshua was told that the key to success in defeating his enemies was not to forget this resource, but rather to meditate on the Word day and night, so that I could obey her. He did it, even though what God commanded him made no military sense, and this was the key to his victory in his struggle to obtain the promised land.
The Bible is a resource that we often treat lightly. We give proof of this by taking our Bibles to church, or reading the daily devotional or a daily chapter, but we fail to memorize it, to meditate on it or to apply it to our lives; we fail to confess the sins he reveals to us or worship God for the gifts he reveals to have given us. We often become anorexic or bulimic when it comes to the Bible. By feeding on the Word, we aspire enough to keep ourselves alive spiritually (but we never ingest enough to be healthy and prosperous Christians); or we often feed ourselves, but we never meditate long enough to obtain spiritual nutrition from it.
If you have not made a habit of studying and meditating on the Word of God, it is important that you already begin to do so. I also suggest you start a diary. Have a habit not to leave the Word of God until you have written something that benefits you. Some write prayers that they make to God, asking him to help them change in the areas in which He has spoken to them. The Bible is the tool that the Spirit uses in our lives (Ephesians 6:17), an indispensable and primordial part of the armor God gives us, to fight our spiritual battles (Ephesians 6: 12-18).
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