If we have committed the same sin over and over, how do we get rid of it? And if we want to be faithful to God and try not to commit a sin, how do we avoid it?
Let us explore ways to overcome temptations.
Your relationship with God
First, God is wisdom, light, love, power, goodness, and is wholly desirable. He is all we ever wanted in a Person and His faithfulness endures forever. Don’t you want to personally know this God and be close to Him? The Bible refers to God as “God my exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4).
Don’t trade the pleasures of knowing God and being in an intimate relationship with Him for the pleasures of this world. If we do so, we cannot be in a good relationship with Him. Recurring sins become a wedge between God and us. Whatever entices us away from God cannot be compared with what God has for us instead.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)
Sin can lead to death
Jesus takes sin very seriously. He said playing with sin can lead to death.
“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Matthew 5:29-30)
Jesus knows that if we have a loose attitude toward sin, we could let sins entice us away from God so much so that we could miss heaven altogether. Sins can lead to addictions. Addictions can turn us away from God to the point that we prefer to satisfy our lustful desires rather than follow Jesus. If we let sin go out of hand, we could end up choosing lustful desires over Jesus and going into hell.
Yes, if we continually choose to sin instead of following God, we would lose our salvation.
“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27)
“For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” (Hebrews 6:7-8)
This is why Jesus always tells us to bear fruit (Luke 13:6-9). If sins take over our lives, we cannot bear fruit. If we can’t bear any fruit, then we end up being burned, missing heaven altogether.
Therefore, how can we say we love God if we keep doing the things that bring shame? So let’s repent and learn to stop the recurring sins, which are dangerous and which Jesus said can lead to death if we let them go out of hand.
Ask for forgiveness
It is NOT true that if we ever sin, we are going into hell. But it is true we should take sin seriously and not treat it light-heartedly.
God knows our weaknesses, and He tells us to ask for His forgiveness and repent. So If you have any sin in your life, ask God to forgive you. Jesus loves you, and He will forgive you when you ask Him.
In fact, Jesus taught us to ask for forgiveness everyday when He taught us how to pray in Luke 11:2-4. He taught us to say, “And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4).
“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)
Prerequisites to overcome temptations (Get rid of enticements)
In order to overcome temptation, we need to be in an environment where we are not constantly encouraged to sin. So we need to get rid of things that entice us away from God.
Go through your home and get rid of any idols that belong to you. If you have pornographic material, trash them and delete the digital copies as well. If you idolize celebrities, get rid of their pictures and other items related to them. If you idolize anyone or have put them on a high pedestal in your heart, take down their pictures and remove their things from view.
“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be consulted by them at all?…
Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Repent and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your abominations…” ‘ ” (Ezekiel 14:3,6)
So God hates idolatry and other abominations, He doesn’t want to talk to us about anything else until we have put away egregious sins. If we are asking Him for something and it seems like we are not getting through, we need to examine ourselves to see if we are committing any idolatries or sexual immoralities. We need to ask Him to help us turn away from these sins and deal with them as soon as possible.
Therefore, clean your home to get rid of anything that might cause you to go into temptation. Do not go to places that might tempt you. Do not be in the company of people who might pressure you into temptation.
“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.'” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
If you are likely to get angry, do not enter into debates with anyone, and walk away if you feel you are getting angry so you don’t burst out in wrath against anyone.
Steps to overcome temptations
Here are steps to overcome temptation.
Be prepared
- Pray everyday that you would not enter into the temptation, especially if you know you are weak in some area. Jesus told His disciples: “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
- Make up your mind to not sin. Resist sin to the point of shedding blood. “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin” (Hebrews 12:4). Do not treat sin light-heartedly.
- Do not listen to your feelings of the moment. For “the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick…” (Jeremiah 17:9). If you let your feelings/emotions associated with the temptation take over, you will make decisions based on them and easily enter into sin.
Do this:
- “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Resist, say no, fight the temptation, and use all your strength to come to a full stop. “Love the Lord your God…with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).
- Rely on God to help you during temptation and give you a way out. When you are tempted, pray for God to show you a way out of the temptation. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
If you fail at any time, ask for God’s forgiveness and keep doing the steps above. With your determination and God’s help, you will eventually succeed.
“Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart…” (Luke 18:1).
So don’t lose heart and keep praying and fighting against sin.
Read Matthew 5 and Luke 18 in the Bible.
Learn how to worship God and place Him first.