Breaking the Bondage

You've had this “sin habit” forever.  You know it’s against God and what He teaches but you just can’t seem to beat it. Maybe it’s your mouth. You hear a good/bad story and you have to pass it on... or maybe it’s lying.  Maybe your problem is being involved in sexual sin outside of marriage or maybe your anger has control over you.  Whatever the problem is, you’re in bondage and you can’t seem to free yourself.

So, you’ve finally given up.  You’ve chalked it up to, “It’s just me.”  “It’s how I was born, so I guess I’ll just live with it.”  You may even make excuses or not even see it as sin. “It’s not gossip, it’s the truth” Or “I was just joking, I wasn’t really lying.”

It’s time to face the facts. It’s a sin. Agree with God that you have a problem and then let Him help you to face it. So can He? Can the same God who gave you an escape from Hell, help you escape from the bondage or sin? The short answer is YES!

Romans 6:11-14 says” Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Titus 2:11-12 says  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

So we must yield ourselves  to God and be His instrument. Let Him use us for good not evil, denying anything that is anti-God and promoting the world and its lusts.  If we are so absorbed in His agenda, and His Word, and what He wants for us, living with the Holy Spirit guiding us, we can and will break it.

The WILDS camp in North Carolina has a saying. “There are two choices on the shelf, pleasing God OR pleasing self. That is what it will come down to.  Either you will be a servant to God or a servant to your sin.

Romans 6:16-17 says “ Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

When Jesus conquered death, he freed you. You DON’T have to sin. You can choose not to.

So what are some practical ways that can help you to be reminded of God’s grace and relying on the Holy Spirit to RESIST your temptation?

1.    Prayer – Have a mindset of prayer. Talk to God, about EVERYTHING. Make him a vital part of your life.

2.    Scripture memorization. Meditate on and memorize scripture that has to do with your sin habit/ problem.

3.    Daily Walk – Have a time every day where you study and learn about and lean on God through His Word.

4.    Cut out – This is probably one of the hardest things to do, but cut out the people, places and things that help lead you to that temptation. This might just be temporary while you are fighting that temptation or it might be permanent.

Friend, THROUGH JESUS you have power over your sin. You don’t have to sin. You CAN break free. – Rejoicing in the Present