THE STRUGGLE OF SIN | Northstar Church

“Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:28-3.

I just committed a sin. It doesn’t matter what it was. It does matter that I knew it was wrong; I tried not to do it, and did it anyway. What was wrong with me that I couldn’t stop myself from doing evil? And how did I get from a place of wanting to obey God to doing the very thing He hates?

It wasn’t the first time I’ve sinned and asked those questions, and it sure won’t be the last. Those questions pop up when we feel stuck in a cycle of sin, seemingly unable to break a pattern that we tried to break over a period of time. It brings Romans 7:18-19 to memory: ”And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.”

Ever since Eve gave in to temptation, sin has been a part of human nature. We all sin every single day. However, God is forgiving of all sins, big or small, because He loves us and wants to save us from all things evil and all of our sin. Whether it is lying, cheating, stealing, or anything else, God views all sin the same. Sin breaks His heart and separates us from Him. So God made a way for us to be restored to a relationship with Him. Jesus paid the penalty for sin through His substitutionary death. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again, proving that God accepted His payment for sin. Jesus was punished for our sins so that we could be forgiven and escape the punishment of sin.

Jesus offers forgiveness for sins to those who sincerely ask for it. This forgiveness is rooted in God’s grace and mercy so no matter what you do, you can be forgiven. God wants to forgive you and love you. He wants to have a relationship with you. “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” – 1 John 1:9

We therefore need to learn not to underestimate the seriousness of sin; instead, we must watch out for its subtleties and insinuations. To fight against sin, we must come to understand its addictive and enslaving power. We make a grave mistake if we think that we are the ones who can overcome sin’s indwelling power. On our own, we are powerless to fight sin. Our only option is to surrender to the One who can. Our ability to achieve total victory over sin will never come in this life. But it will come. It will come because Christ will return.

As Christians, we can live in hope — hope that God’s grace is sufficient for our fight against sin, hope that the Spirit is renewing us and restoring our ability to fight sin day by day, and finally, hope that we will one day be remade entirely. It is Christ’s ability that is behind each of those hopes. He conquered sin and death to rescue us. He sent His Spirit to redeem us. And He will return again to restore us fully.

Discussion Questions:

What is your definition of sin? How does it differ from a mistake or error in judgment?
How does sin impact our relationship with God and with others?
What can you do better in your struggle with sin?