Struggling With Sin

When it comes to sin, we Christians are harder on each other than non-Christians are on us. We hold ourselves to this unattainable expectation. We often refer to certain scripture, such as, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength”. Philippians 4:13 NIV, or like the King James Version that says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me”. This scripture is not in any way a remedy for us in receiving perfection on our mortal bodies. If we follow this mode of thinking it is only proof of our lack of understanding of God’s word. As far as I know Christians are the only people who actually struggle with sin. Non-Christians, for the most part, have no need to struggle with sin since they believe there is something they can do about it themselves. Only the Christian believes that he, or she, is in need of a Savior. With that said, let’s look at the dilemma we find ourselves in concerning sin.

The Apostle Paul talks about being in the flesh throughout his writings. He isn’t talking about our physical nature as such, or about physical passions and desires, but about a way of life, an orientation of life (lifestyle), and one that is lived apart from God’s purposes for us.

The Ephesians are told that they have been made alive, released from the ‘passions of [the] flesh’. The passage goes on to describe the ‘passions of [the] flesh’ as “desires of body and mind” Ephesians 2:1-3. This then defines the religious use of the term flesh, which for Paul included what in Greek thought was understood as the highest part of the human being, the mind.

Again, Paul speaks of being captive to sin, something that some of us Christians refuse to even consider. Captive to sin, me? Don’t be ridiculous, I’m a Christian! Do you say that about yourself? Don’t be fooled; unless we solidify our relationship with Jesus Christ and study so we can rightly divide the word of truth, we are vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy.

Paul, speaking to Christians at Corinth said, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall”. I Corinthians 10:12

Paul is giving us a stark warning of being over confident in our position in Christ. He is telling us not to let our guard down, but be vigilant always.

The Apostle Peter follows this same vein of teaching in his second letter. Getting too relaxed and laid back was not just a problem for the first century Christians, but for us as well in the twenty first (21^st) century. This is what Peter had to say about being captive to sin by way of ignorant and unstable people who distort the truth: “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position”. 2 Peter 3:15-17 NIV

DO NOT BE A CAPTIVE OF SIN!