Over the next few weeks I’ll be adding excerpts from my upcoming book, Getting Up.
“It’s interesting and almost comical when I hear the term “fall into sin.” It’s as if were running along in the middle of broad daylight and out of nowhere a huge hole just appears and we just fall right into it. Another term I find kind of funny is “I struggle with this sin.” No we don’t. If we struggled with it there would be an indication of a fight. I watch a lot of mixed martial arts and there’s a lot of wrestling and Brazilian ju jitsu involved. The thing I’ve noticed during this kind of grappling is that these guys are in a fight; they are in a struggle. When they go back to their corners they are tired, sweaty, usually bloody, their faces look all beat up, and sometimes they’re limping or can barely move at all! They’ve been in a struggle, a real fight.
Let’s ask a couple questions:
- Is that what we look like after we have sinned?
- Do we look like we’ve been in a struggle?
Usually not. Usually temptation comes knocking and we don’t even put up a fight. It’s as if we step in the ring, tap out immediately, and submit to sin before the fight bell even rings! I know this from my own experience that anytime I actually put up a fight and resist temptation it goes away.
James 4:7 NKJV
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
So there’s a tidbit… tell me what you think.
I love how you addressed the idea of struggling with sin. You are right – most times we don’t struggle with it, we willfully give in.
Thanks for the comment Jason. That’s been my experience and thanks for reading!
You’re welcome man – and it has been my experience, too. I’ve recognized in myself that I sometimes use the phrase “struggled with sin” because it makes it sound like it was just too hard to overcome. Puts the blame on something (or someone) else and not on me. I’m learning to take more ownership of what I do and call sin what it is – sin.
I have been seriously praying about this issue
and this blog and Jason’s post is an answer to it….you know I have been learning a lot about how overcoming sin and I honestly I have gotten lazy ..I learned some different things…but I know God wanted me to “press in” and chase my name…
and had not been really doing that as I should( with all effort)
like really putting all effort to enter that rest…
anyway I have been thinking I know God doesn’t want us to sins but I don’t want to do it in vain by trying to overcome sin in through the flesh ,fleshly efforts , but by his Holy Spirit
Romans 8:12-13
so pretty much that is my question how to resist sin though his spirit not not through the flesh
there is a verse in one of the letter so Peter where he says to resist Him,standing in the faith so that’s an answer..
Do you understand what I mean?
For me it Hebrews 4:11
any way Thanks so much for the blog and thanks Jason Vang for you honesty which encourages me to be honest with myself …it can be hard but a necessary step to be able to make a step in the right direct
Great question! My thoughts on that… regardless of “how” you resist temptation, its done through and by the Spirit. The bible is clear that there is no good thing in us except Jesus ( http://bible.us/Jer17.9.NIV )…. without the Spirit of God it’s all flesh. There’s no way the flesh would resist the flesh. If there is resistance against sin, it’s by the Spirit. Hope that helps.
interesting….