Ronnie (not his real name) is an alcoholic. As hard as he tried, nothing seemed effective in bringing his drinking problem under control. Then he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Knowing that, as a Christian, he needed to give up his old lifestyle, he sincerely repented and asked the Lord to help him overcome his addiction. His prayer was answered and Ronnie stopped drinking! His entire life began to improve. Grateful for the things God had done for him, Ronnie freely witnessed to others about the grace and power of Jesus Christ. He began with an excellent start - but then he made a dangerous mistake.
Ronnie decided that the best way to reach his non-Christian friends with the Gospel was to meet them on their home territory. He began to go regulary to all his old hangouts (bars, of course!), so his former drinking buddies could see for themselves how much he had changed. His friends did not understand why he wouldn't give in and have a beer with them. They pressured him mercilessly. Ronnie remained strong for several weeks, but he begain to rationalize, "It can't hurt to have just one beer as long as I don't get drunk. I'm sure God wouldn't mind." One compromise led quickly to the next, and soon Ronnie was trapped again in his previous drunken condition.
"What happened?" Ronnie wondered, "I thought God would protect me and give me power to overcome temptation. I was serving Him faithfully, taking His message to my friends so that they could get their lives together - now I'm back where I started. I feel terrible about being so hypocritical. But where was God's help during this time?"
Where was God all that time? Right there! He was beside Ronnie every moment, and His Will pertaining to drunkenness was clearly stated in the Bible Ronnie was carrying around. But he stopped looking to God for help in conquering his drinking habit, and so he stumbled. The key to victory over sinful habits is plainly given in the Word of God. Tragically, Ronnie didn't seek it out.
A familiar story? Sinful habit come in many forms. It can be drug addiction, smoking addiction, pornography addiction, adultery, fornication, uncleanness and lewdness and they are all the works of the flesh (Galations 5:19 - 21). Does this mean Ronnie wasn't born again? No, it means that he stopped too soon. Like those who receive Jesus as Savior and never take another step, Ronnie stopped in his tracks and tried to live off the strength of one experience. The sad fact is that many new believers, as well as many old-timers in Christ, have never learned to overcome their habitual sins.
Laying aside every weigh (encumbrance)
The writer of Hebrews said: "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The phrase, "A cloud of witnesses" refers to those "heroes of faith"mentioned in Hebrews 11. They have borne testimony of the Truth. In fact not all these witnesses are mentioned. The number is so great that they seem to be a cloud. They are like spectators in a vast arena, watch us progress in the course of faith.
2. As applied to the Christian, the phrase, "Let us lay aside every weight" means that we should remove all which would obstruct our progress in the Christian course. Thus it is fair to apply it to whatever would be an impediment in our effort to win the crown of life. These weights or encumbrances are not the same for all Christians. They can be pride, vanity, worldliness, violent temper, corrupt imagination, hard and insensible heart and improper and unholy attachment.
3. The phrase, "The sin which so easily ensnares us" means that because it is so easy to go back to our former conduct, we sin against God when we give in to temptation. The sin that ensnares us (catch us off guard) can be pride, selfish ambition or other similar sins that unbelievers indulge in.
4. The Christian lif is a race of endurance (or perseverance) that is set before us. We are to run the race without allowing ourselves to be hindered by any obstruction. We need to focus upon Jesus, the source of our faith, at all time or we will not succeed.
Notice that like many other born-again Christians, Ronnie failed to lay aside every encumbrance in his walk with God.
Victory over sinful habits
"Habits" can be defined as learned patterns of behavior that can either be helpful or destructive. They develop as we respond to something physically, mentally, or emotionally a number of times. When we form habits, we lock ourselves into certain response patterns that tend to resist change. Most research suggests that the brain never really forgets a habit, although it may drop out of dominance through lack of use or by being replaced by a stronger one.
We must admit that sinful habits are difficult to ovecome because, after awhile, we begin to perform these behaviours authomaticlly, with little preceding thought. I have noticeed that unless I become angry at a particular habit that is holding me bondage, I have a difficult time shaking loose from it. When we become angry at our sin, we are motivated to channel our attention in one direction - solving the problem.
The psalmist said: "I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall never cling to me" (Ps. 101:3).
The writer of Hebrews said: "You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions" (Heb. 1:9, emphasis added).
"Loving righteousness and hate lawlessness and wickedness" is the key to victory over sinful habits. Although it may take time to form new habit patterns to replace the old ones, by uniting our will with God's Will, the Holy Spirit is free to work in our heart to bring forth the desired change.
We need to agree with Paul when he says: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).
Therefore no one can hide behind the "I can't help it" excuse!
Our union with Christ
The apostle Paul said many things that lead to our union with Christ:
We have put off the "old man" and put on the "new man"
Paul said: "... that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteous and holiness" (Eph. 4:22 - 24, emphasis added).
The "old man" refers to our basic nature (outside of Christ) that is bend toward selfishness, covetousness, arrogance and the like. The imagery that Paul was using in the above verses was taken from putting on or taking off a garment. But he was not speaking of a superficial change in a believer's life or a so-called conversion experience that is external only. The aorist tense of the origianl Greek suggests a permanent laying aside of the old garment - never to be worn again!
Thus, Paul was challenging the Ephesian Church to become permanently severed from the dominion of sin by actively "putting on" the qualities of Christ, which he described as a new self. As long as they hung onto their old way of life instead of relinquishing it to Jesus, they would continue to fall prey to their own lusts of deceit (Eph. 4:22). Paul exhorts them to diligently pursue the only avenue that would lead to victory - making a "clean break" from the corrupt nature that held them captive.
We are crucified with Christ
Paul said: "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in Glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleaness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:3 - 5).
In Galations, Paul continued along this line: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ live in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).
These verse make it clear that God's goal goes beyond just improving our outward appearance; He desires to do a work of transfomation deep within us. Many people are struggling to gain a sense of consistency in their Christian experience and to escape the paralyzing effects of their past. They fail to realize the sufficiency of Christ's work on our behalf. And they fail to live in an ongoing awareness of the crucifizion of our old selves with Him. The cross of Christ not only provides cleansing for your sins and my sins, but it is also the means for us to gain freedom from the ungodly domination of our sinful nature.
We are in Christ Jesus
Paul said: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30, emphasis adde).
The term, "in Christ Jesus" fills the New Testament and is particularly prevalent in Paul's writings. By placing our faith in Jesus, we become "united with" or "identified with" His work on our behalf - "He who is joined to the Lord become one spirit with Him" (1 Cor. 6:17).
Therefore, when Jesus died on the cross, we who are one with Him also died. In other works, our old selves, spiritually speaking, were nailed to the cross, and by this great act, God delivered us from the very power of sin. He struck a deathblow to our old nature by crucifying it in the eternal sacrifice of Christ.
But that is not all the our Lord has done for us. When Christ was raised from the dead, we too were raised to "newness of life," having had His resurrection life imparted to us (Romans 6:4; Col. 2:12). We have been given a new nature that not only wants to do God's Will, but is fully capable of doing it (2 Cor. 5:17; 1 John 3:1 - 10)! The death to our old nature has allowed for the replacement of our human frailty with the power of Christ's dynamic life! By living out of what we are "in Him," we have the capacity to turn away from sinful temptations and walk in all that God wants for our lives.
Our problem is that we often remain oblivious to His guidance and fail to trust in His sovereignty over all the circumstances we encounter. Yet there is no obstacle too great, no situation too big for us who are in Christ to handle. He, who has all the power and authority in the universe, has made it available to us in the mighty infilling of the Holy Spirit. Upon His ascension, jesus baptized His disciples in the Holy Spirit, and this divine enabling is still vital for our Christian lives today (Acts 1:4 - 8; 2:38, 39).
Recognizing the completeness of Christ's work and its implications for our lives is very important, but the Word of God takes us on step further:
Paul said: "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:1). The moment -by-moment influence of the Spirit helps us to "catch ourselves" when temptation to sin arrives, and give us the strength to overcome it.
True Biblical repentance
God has called us to walk in a clear conscience before Him. This means that as soon as we recognize that we have erred in our thoughts and actions, we must confess our sin to God and repent from all that is unpleasing to Him (1 John 1:9, 10). True Biblical repentance always leads to the assurance that we have no existing barriers between ourselves and God. It is accompanied by the joy of restored relationship, the joy of the prodigal son coming back to the Father's waiting arms (Luke 15:11 - 32). Repentance is more than a one-time event upon our conversion to Christ - it is an ongoing activity that needs to occur whenever we become aware that we have sinned.
Therefore, when the Holy Spirit speaks to us and our conscience informs us that we have erred, we must make a decision. We can either repent and obey the Lord and receive the joy of knowning His complete acceptance. Or, we can give the Devil an opportunity to gain a foothold in our lives (Eph. 4:27). Like Ronnie, some Christians foolishly flirt with temptation by getting as close to it as they can without "really sinning" - according to their own fleshly judgment. They are asking for trouble!
Paul warns us: "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" (Romans 13:14).
If we are honest with ourselves, we are usually aware of the areas in our lives that are the most vulnerable to sin. When we determine that we have an Achilles heel in some area, we can then take preventive measures, carefully guarding the entrance-way of our heart from wrong influences. Our conscience, renewed by the truth of God's Word, can be an invaluable help to us, since it alerts us to improper motives and attitudes even before they are expressed in outward sin.
Perhaps you, like Ronnie, are struggling today in your Christian experience. You may have come to Jesus with a distorted understanding of of what the Gospel is all about. This could be the reason you are not currently experiencing the abundant life that Jesus promised (John 10:10). The good news of the Gospel is that we can come to Christ and die to those things that have held us in bondage - sin, self-righteousness, and the evil world system!
Coming to Christ means an end to life on our terms. It means complete surrender of ourselves to Him! Through relying on His Spirit, we can say "no" to sin in our lives. We are delivered from constant guilt and frustration over uncontrolled thoughts and actions. The tyranny of sinning and sinning again will come to a decisive end and we become free of the encumbrances that hinder our Christian growth. We learn to live victory!
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