Ask Your Preacher - Archives
“Find A New Habit”
Categories: CONQUERING SIN, GOD, RELATIONSHIPS, SELFI’m so torn up inside! Why can’t I stop sinning? I really do try, and I succeed for a while, but then I fall right back into it. I feel as if I’m slowly escaping this sin, but I still feel burdened by it, and I’m scared God will stop forgiving me. I know it says in the Bible that God’s grace is endless, and that’s the only thing that leads me to succeed when I do. I refuse to give up, and feel I am slowly winning the battle, but when I fall, I feel soooooo terrible. Any advice?Sincerely,
Repetitive Sinner
Dear Repetitive Sinner,
When a sin becomes so entrenched in your life that you are enslaved to it (Jhn 8:34), you are dealing with an addiction. Addictions are formed by habits, and habits are formed by repeatedly making the same choices. James describes this process in Jas 1:13-15. All sins begin with a mental decision. If you want to remove an addiction, isolate the choices that are putting you in the position to commit that sin. If you change the environment and circumstances that lead you to a sin, you change the future playing field. One of the easiest ways to do this is to let someone else know about your struggle (Jas 5:16). There is strength in numbers (Eccl 4:12), and exposing a sin takes its power away (Jhn 3:20).
