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Part of growing into a mature Christian is the continued confession of sin as defined by the Bible and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, to both God and others affected by our sin. But in the individualistic society in which we live, people don’t always confess their sin as they should. In fact, if they fall away from having their daily quiet time with God, and the things that would remind them of their sin, it can be months or even years since they have confessed sin and been forgiven by God.
When this happens, the habitual sins which they find they are constantly repeating become even bigger than they originally thought, because they deceive themselves into accepting lies about the sin. In fact, they will even, hypocritically, post Christian memes on social media pointed at other people for the things they themselves are doing, and feel justified when they do it.
If you find yourself stuck in habitual sin that you can’t seem to break from, is it possible you are believing lies about that sin that is causing a foothold enabling it to stay in your life? The enemy's lies entice sin to remain, creating a hindrance between ourselves and our closeness with God. Here are five lies sin tells you:
1. It's No Big Deal -- When we first commit a sin, such as lying, our conscience informs us that we have made the wrong decision. We feel guilt and shame, among other emotions. That is, until we lie again. If we continue to commit the act, we deceive ourselves by telling ourselves it’s no big deal. We may even minimize those lies into what are called white lies, which society sees as less than lies yet they are not.
But the reality is lying is just as bad as any other sin. It causes us to distort the truth about a situation, ourselves or others. It also causes people not to trust us if we get caught. It is a big deal which must be confessed to God. Then we are called to confess it to at least another. That is why every growing Christian needs to have a spiritually mature accountability partner with whom they can talk to and confess their sin to. This person can help them with the work of confession and repentance so they can move past this particular sin.
2. No One Will Find Out -- Secrets are not always a bad thing. Matthew 6:4 says, "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." In the garden, God told Adam all about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, before He made Eve. But in a later chapter, we quickly realized Adam told Eve all about it as well so Eve was in the know. Does that mean God kept a secret from Eve? No, He knew Adam had shared it. Secrets are bad only if the nature of them is rooted in sin.
Keeping a sinful secret, however, can be detrimental to a healthy spiritual life. In chapter three of Genesis, God gives Adam and Eve the opportunity to confess their sin before Him. Although they didn’t take responsibility for their sin and instead blamed each other, God still wants us to openly speak to Him about our sin. As we confess our sin to God and to others, it offers us the opportunity to be forgiven and to take responsibility for our actions.
It is necessary for every person to have someone they can talk to about their sin. By confessing it outwardly, the bondage with which Satan holds us and the shame that comes with it can be broken when we confess our sins openly.
3. God Can't Forgive This -- Some sins, even in our minds, are so severe we think God can’t possibly forgive us. For example, if the sin is habitual, like some form of lust, (pornography, for example), we realize that sin not only deals with lust but also with adultery, especially if the person looking at it is married. Matthew 5:28 says, "anyone who even looks lustfully at another woman has committed adultery in his heart."
But there is no sin God can’t forgive. By Jesus' death on the cross, He covered over every sin we have committed or will commit. We can be assured God forgives us when we confess our sin and repent of our behavior. But sometimes the person we can’t forgive is ourselves. This is especially true with known habitual sin. We struggle with the process of forgiving ourselves for the difficult and habitual sins we have committed. Don’t believe the lie that you can’t stop doing what you’re doing. With God’s help anything is possible.
4. It’s Not As Big As Other People's Sin -- In Galatians 6:4-5, Paul encourages the church to restore someone gently, especially if they are in sin. He then continues, "Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load."
It’s easy to get into the trap of comparison and allow pride to enter your heart. One of the sneakiest sins we commit is pride because it’s so easy to go unchecked. We then compare our sin to the person who needs to be restored, and believe we are better people because our sin, in our own eyes, is not as bad as theirs. But again, we deceive ourselves into thinking certain sins are worse than others.
All sin separates us from the love of God. All sin needs to be confessed and forgiven. All sinful behaviors must be repented before freedom can be achieved. The next time you hear of someone else's sin, don’t be quick to allow pride to enter your heart. Show gentleness and humility, helping that person and praying for them so that they can achieve the same freedom you have come to know.
5. I Can't Stop -- When we are entangled in sin, and repeat the same behavior again, it becomes more difficult to break free. We can easily lie to ourselves and say we don’t have the willpower to be able to stop this. But willpower is not the key to freedom, only Jesus is.
When we lie to ourselves and tell ourselves we cannot stop, we put God in a box. We underestimate His power and presence in our lives. If Jesus can raise people from the dead, then He can certainly help stop a sin from dominating our lives, if we want to stop the sin. A good place to start is to confess your sin to God and to a person as well. Tell them you need help to stop. Through a renewed reading of the word, prayer and constant accountability, freedom is possible. It may be hard at first and you may even stumble, but don’t give up. All freedom is possible to those who trust and believe.
We live in a society where people don’t want to be judged for their sin. Therefore, it entices us even more to conceal our sin, and thereby allow it to become a stronghold in our lives. But through open confession, prayer, reading the word and renewing our minds it can be overcome. Reliance on Jesus is key. When we rely on Jesus and trust Him to remove the sin, we can experience freedom in ways we never have before.
Trust Him in this today.
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Finding Faith is written by area pastors. This week's column comes from Rev. Don Grant of Hillview Wesleyan Church, Flemington.