How To Have Victory Over Any Sin
Seven Biblical Keys
The scriptures give believers clear directions on how to have victory over all sin. Below is a summary of God's solution that Jesus Christ lived for us, for He was tempted in all ways like us, yet without sin. (Heb.4:15)
1. We must believe and trust that a life of victory over sin is possible:
A. God's will for you is a life of victory over sin like that of Jesus Christ. This life of victory over sin is the best thing for us. Satan has convinced us that God is a spoil sport. He has convinced us that sin is fun and harmless. Heb.11:25 tells us that there is a "passing pleasure" in sin, but the Bible also tells us that sin results in guilt, pain (Ps.32; 38:1-8) and death (Rom.6:23).
You must be convinced in your heart that sin is not good and God's plan of holiness is the best life for you. You must be convinced that ANY sin is the the worst possible thing that can come upon you, worse than any physical disease. Most of us fear getting AIDS more than if we sinned. You must be convinced that YOUR sin is far more serious and deadly than AIDS. You can live with AIDS and go to heaven, but you can't live in sin and go to heaven.
B. God loves you as much as He loved His Son, Jesus Christ (Jn.17:23) and therefore will not with hold ANY good thing to accomplish the process of holiness in your life.
"O taste and see that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man that takes refuge in Him. O Fear the Lord you His saints; for to those who fear Him, there is NO want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord shall NOT be in want of ANY good thing." (Ps.34:8-10)
You must be convinced in your mind and heart that "no temptation or trial has overtaken you, but such as is common to man; and GOD IS FAITHFUL, who will NOT allow you to be tempted or tried beyond what you are able, but with the temptation WILL provide a way of escape also, that you may be ABLE to endure it." (I Cor.10:13) To see many other promises of victory.
C. If you believe and trust that God will give you victory over all your sin, then praise Him NOW for the victory He will certainly give you. Give Him thanks from a heart that is rejoicing in the goodness of God and His Faithfulness.
"Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that gives thanks to His name." (Heb.13:15)
"Rejoice ALWAYS, pray without ceasing, IN EVERYTHING give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (I Thes.5:16-18)
2. We must desire victory over sin GREATLY and therefore must ask God for it passionately and continually!
We must desire with our whole heart to be free from sin. God does not play games. He knows if we are serious or not. Our heart must cry out like the apostle Paul - "Who shall deliver me from this sin?"
If we don't really desire what God wants, ask Him to give this desire to you. Then seek to love God with all your heart. How? By getting to know God. To know God is to love God. That's why Jesus said "this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God..." (Jn.17:3) Remember, only a new love can replace an old love.
God only honors persistence in prayer. The only two parables on prayer both deal with persistence. (Lk.11:5-13; 18:1-8) That's why Jesus said:
"Keep asking and it shall be given to you, keep seeking and you shall find, keep knocking and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who keeps asking receives, and he who keeps seeking finds, and to him who keeps knocking, it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask for a loaf, shall give him a stone. Or if he ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him?" (Mt.7:7-11)
3. We must see our need for and desire the Grace of God to overcome any and all sin.
A. The ONLY way to have victory over sin is through the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal.5:16). The Holy Spirit also called the "Spirit of grace" (Heb.10:29) is the conduit by which the grace of God comes into our life. As we repent (turn) from all sin, die to self by saying no to our will and instead doing the will of God, diligently obeying the teaching of His Word and following the life and example of Christ, we are then filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph.5:18-20; Col.3:16)
B. Grace is the spiritual power of God necessary for all believers to do anything that God requires (2 Cor.12:9) Grace and truth came only thru Jesus Christ. (Jn.1:17) Jesus and the Holy Spirit, are our helpers (Jn.14:16) and both are the source of grace.
Why MUST we have the grace of God in our life? We can't do ANYTHING that God requires without it. The clearest proof of this is the history of the nation of Israel. They didn't have the grace of God and they tried to please God and failed and tried again and failed again over and over again, thus proving that they needed something else to give them victory over sin. They had the law, but that wasn't enough for victory.
Here is the plain truth: We sin because we don't have the Grace of God in our life to empower us to overcome sin.
4. We must have the grace of God in our life to overcome sin. I believe HERE is where Christianity has missed the boat and as a whole, most Christians have no consistent victory over sin. How do we receive the Grace of God?
First, we must define what the grace of God is.
The common definition of the grace of God is - The unmerited favor of God. Yes, that is true to some extent, God is gracious to all His creation, but this definition falls short of what the Bible tells us specifically about the grace of God as it applies to our daily life and victory over sin.
Grace is the spiritual power of God given to us through Jesus Christ (Jn.1:16-17; Rom.1:5) to enable us to do EVERYTHING God commands, to have victory in EVERY situation.
Paul said as he was being buffeted by a messanger of Satan with a "thorn in the flesh" (2 Cor.12:7-10) that -
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power (dynamis) is perfected in weakness (fraility)." (2 Cor.12:9)
The Grace of God is the power (or literally dynamite) of God in the believers life.
By the way, how do we know this grace of God is designed and given specifically to help us (all true disciples of our Lord) in our time of need?
"Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the THRONE of GRACE, that we may receive mercy and find GRACE to help in time of need." (Heb.4:16)
Also notice in the context of 2 Cor.12:7, Paul mentions twice that God allowed this "thorn in the flesh" to keep him from exalting (esteeming) himself.
So here is the key to receiving the GRACE and POWER of God to overcome EVERY obstacle in your life.
"God is opposed to the PROUD, but gives His grace to the HUMBLE." (Jam.4:6-7; I Pet.5:5-6)
Paul ONLY received the grace of God when he did not exalt and esteem himself. Paul knew how important it was to humble himself, for he would only boast about his weakness, that the power of God (grace) may dwell in me. (v.9)
The scriptures clearly tell us that God is a jealous God and will not share His rightful glory with any created being (Ex.34:14; Is.42:8). A proud person seeks to take the glory away from God and place it on them self or something else.
Romans says - "For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks..." (1:21) and "all have sinned and failed the glory of God." (3:23) (Exegeses Bible)
Therefore, man needs the salvation and GRACE of God because he is both a sinner and proud and seeks not to give glory to God in His life and in everything.
Pride starts in the heart and thoughts of man. (Lk.1:51) and is evident in whom they exalt, esteem and honor.
"EVERYONE who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord" (Pr.16:5)
"The pride of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be abased; And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day." (Is.2:17)
"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth I hate." (Pr.8:13)
Please note, that Christ was the ONLY person to EVER have total victory over sin. He was also the ONLY person to not just walk in the fear of the Lord, but to DELIGHT in the fear of the Lord from birth (Is.11:3), thereby hating pride and humbling self. Because He humbled Himself, He had the grace of God upon Himself from birth (Lk.2:40). That's also why God was pleased with Him BEFORE He started His ministry years. (Mt.4:17)
KEY - God ONLY gives His grace to the humble, to those who ONLY exalt and esteem God and NEVER exalt or esteem self in ANY way.
"Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives His grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all you care upon Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour." (I Pet.5:5-7 and Jam.4:6)
Notice both passages speak about receiving the grace of God to overcome Satan. We CANNOT have victory over sin, Satan or self if we don't have the grace of God. We CANNOT have the grace of God if we are in the least bit proud, arrogant, haughty, lifted up, looking down on others, etc.
KEY - The surest way to know whether you are under grace, is to see if you have victory over sin. If you have no victory over sin, then you are not under grace (Rom.6:14) If you are not under grace, then you haven't humbled yourself (I Pet.5:5-6). For everyone who humbles self receives grace (spiritual power) to have victory over sin.
5. We must humble our self like Christ humbled Himself.
So, how do you humble your self?
a. By following the perfect example of Christ. Study His life in the gospels. Look carefully how He viewed others, how He viewed Himself, how He responded to others and their comments or actions.
b. To be humble means to see yourself and lower yourself to the level of a beggar. Matt 5:3 says, "Blessed are the poor (literally beggars) in spirit, for theirs only is the kingdom of heaven." Do you see yourself as a beggar? Do you see that in you is NOTHING good apart from the work in Christ in us? Do you come to God with nothing, asking every moment for His help, His strength, His grace to please Him?
c. To be humble means to see yourself and lower yourself to the level of a slave. Christ said he "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mt.20:28) Do you diligently seek to joyfully serve others, not expecting any thanks or anything in return? If you are actually treated by others as a lowly slave, does that bother you? Do you seek to do your work to be seen or noticed by men, or do you wish to remain anonymous? A good slave in Jesus' day would attempt do their work without being seen or noticed.
d. To be humble means to see yourself as Christ saw Himself. Christ called himself the Son of Man. That meant that Christ was saying he was a common man. Even though Jesus was God, He NEVER looked down on others or made others feel small or insignificant. Do you seek to raise yourself above others, in status, honor, or others eyes? If you are unnoticed as a nobody, does that bother you?
More on pride and humility.
6. We must learn to die to self and say NO to self always. If we humble self daily, then we receive the Grace of God, then we can say NO to our desires and our self will.
"Therefore, since Christ also suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lust (desire) of men, but for the will of God." (I Pet.4:1-2)
These verses give us the key. To suffer in the flesh is to deny our desires, our will. When we do what we want, we have pleasure. When we say NO to what we want and do ONLY what God wants, we cease from sin and live to do the will of God.
Jesus talked about this more often than ANY other single topic:
"I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." (Jn.5:30; 4:34; 6:38; 12:24; Jn.18:11)
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." (Lk.9:23; 14:27; Mt.10:38; 16:24; Mrk.8:34)
To deny self is to say NO to your desires and will. To take up your cross is to die to yourself, to die to your desires, your will and your way. The cross only meant one thing in Jesus day. It was the most horrible way to die, reserved only for the worst criminals. It was horribly painful because it was designed to be a slow agonizingly torturous way to die.
Our fight to over come sin in us will also be slow and painful. Why? Because we are so very selfish, self centered and full of pride. Something that is so dominant in us, will be difficult to remove and replace. But THANKS be to God, who has provide EVERYTHING we need to be VICTORIOUS through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.
We are to take up our cross daily, because victory will come only as we faithfully, each day die to our self, so that the life of Christ can live in and through us.
"I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith/trust in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself up for me." (Gal.2:20)
7. We must PUT OFF sin and PUT ON the godly attitudes and behavior. God always shows us and provides the TOTAL solution to sin. That solution involves two essential elements. The first is to "put off" the sinful habit. The second is to "put on" the godly habit.
This principle is seen clearly in Eph.4:22-32:
v.22 - PUT OFF the old self, v.24 - PUT ON the new self
v.25 - PUT OFF - falsehood, lying, giving false impressions, etc., instead PUT ON - speaking truth
v.26 - PUT OFF - sinful anger and giving the devil an opportunity, instead PUT ON - using the emotions of anger to solve the problems God's way.
v.28 - PUT OFF - stealing, instead PUT ON - doing good and giving to others.
v.29 - PUT OFF - unwholesome words, instead PUT ON - edifying speech that gives grace to the hearer.
v.30 - PUT OFF - grieving the Holy Spirit, instead PUT ON - (Implied- obeying & pleasing the Holy Spirit.)
v.31 - PUT OFF - ALL bitterness, all wrath, all anger, all clamor, all slander, all malice, instead PUT ON (v.32) - kindness, tender-heartedness and forgiveness.
We are to put off our sin and put on Christlikeness. He never lied, stole, spoke an unkind word, got sinfully angry, was never bitter, never argued and never was proud or arrogant.
Why didn't he sin even once? Because He was filled with the Grace of God from birth (Lk.2:40) and He delighted in hating pride and humbling Himself. (Is.11:3)
WARNING - If we only PUT OFF the sin and don't PUT ON godliness, we will end up being worse than when we first started. Mt.12:43-45 talks of one unclean spirit being kicked out of his home, but coming back later with seven other evil spirits to inhabit the house because the house was left empty once the evil spirit was kicked out. This shows by principle that once we PUT OFF sin, we MUST continually PUT ON godliness or SEVERE backsliding will occur.
How do we put off sin and put on Christlikeness?
a. Humble yourself and ask for Grace at the throne of grace when you feel yourself beginning to yield to temptation. Ask for help before you sin, not just after you've sinned.
b. In humility, ask moment by moment for grace so you to resist Satan and temptation.
c. Be aware of those times and circumstances when you've had a habit of yielding to temptation and AVOID those if possible. For example, if you have a problem with internet pornography, AVOID ALL times that you are by yourself and on the internet.
d. Memorize His promises of victory like:
Rom.6:11 - "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Rom.6:14 - "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under GRACE."
Heb.4:16 - "Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need."
I Cor.10:13 - "No temptation or trial has overtaken you, but such as is common to man; and GOD IS FAITHFUL, who will NOT allow you to be tempted or tried beyond what you are able, but with the temptation WILL provide a way of escape also, that you may be ABLE to endure it."
To see many other promises of victory.
e. Recognize the selfishness that is rooted and rules in our heart and habits. In Philippians 2:21, Paul said of his workers except Timothy, that "all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus."
So we must humbly seek by the grace of God to have a servants heart that is free from any shred of pride. We must learn to recognize our pride even in serving others. If we are proud of our humility, we are doomed. If we are proud of the service we have done, or look down on others for not serving as we do, we are displeasing to our Lord.
Pray, that God would show you and I any shred of pride, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives His grace to the humble.
Let him who has an ear, hear.