Please read and meditate upon Romans 6 to get a Biblical
perspective and solution for the problem of sin in a Christian Believer’s life.
The solution is not merely praying and resisting, it is in preventing Satan and
his angels from getting a foothold in any manner in our lives. To this end,
God’s Word the Bible provides us the required guidance. Remember, Satan can
neither compel nor make us sin, he can only tempt and seduce us to commit sin; but
to act according to that temptation or seduction and commit an act of sin is
ultimately our choice and action. Even for the very first sin, committed in the
Garden of Eden, the same held true; and for every sin of commission committed
by any person anywhere on earth it still holds true just as well. The Lord
Jesus said: “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can
defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that
defile a man.” “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from
within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an
evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within
and defile a man” (Mark 7: 15, 20-23). And therein lies the problem and its
solution – what we allow to enter and to dwell within our hearts and our minds,
and then what it makes us to do. Nothing can enter in on its own; we not only have
to allow it to enter, but also take the required steps for it to enter and stay
within us.
The way to counter to this tendency of allowing the base and
sinful things of the world into our lives has been given to us by the Holy
Spirit, for our help and guidance through the Apostle Paul, in his epistle to
the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let
your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally,
brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things
are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things
are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy--meditate on these things. The things which you learned and
received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with
you” (Philippians 4: 4-9).
In other words, what we need to do to overcome the tendency
to sin, (stating in the same chronological sequence as given above), is as
follows:
·
Always have an attitude of praise and worship
towards the Lord – at all times, for all things. This will keep your mind
focused on the continual presence of the Lord with you, as well as keep you
from entertaining sinful thoughts. Remember, before it manifests in works and
deeds, it all starts in the mind, in thoughts! (James 1:14-16). Keep your mind,
thoughts, and heart from harboring sinful things and the problem is quenched at
its very point of inception. The subsequent points tell us how to achieve this.
·
Exhibit your ‘gentleness’ to all; i.e. actively witness
for the Lord to the world about your faith through your life. It will be
difficult for you to say one thing publicly and then go and do another, more
so, if you make it a habit to keep on witnessing in some way or the other, time
and again. Your witnessing about your faith and Lord is a God ordained means of
overcoming Satan (Revelation 12:11), for it will keep you motivated to practice
what you preach.
·
Shun anxiety, have faith, and be thankful to God
for everything – even the seemingly problematic and painful, or the non-understandable
ones too. Satan cannot draw away a person attached and dependent upon God; he
can only sow seeds of doubt in you if you distance yourself from the Lord and
His Word. Satan came to Eve when she was near the forbidden fruit, and created
a doubt in her mind against God. Had she not been near the forbidden fruit, he
could not have succeeded in his attempts, since she wouldn’t have had the
chance to mull over and put to test what he was saying. Her entertaining doubts
and showing a lack of faith in the provisions of God is what did her in. Similarly,
whenever we doubt God and His intentions about our welfare, entertain ideas of
being able to achieve better on our own, or feel drawn to try out what God has
forbidden, we then lay ourselves open to Satan’s devices and deviousness (2 Corinthians
2:11). So stay away from those things, people, time, opportunities, and
situations etc. which will draw you away from God and tempt, induce or
challenge you to sin. Simultaneously, stay in the company of Christian
Believers, stay attached to God’s Word, stay active in Christian work and
responsibilities, and stay involved in things – physical and mental, that
promote a healthy Christian life and witness.
·
Fill your mind and heart with all Biblical
things; meditate upon them, listen to or read the Bible as often as you can to
keep your mind from wandering to evil things (Colossians 3:15-17). Use your
free time to listen to gospel and Christian songs and hymns. Take up a prayer
list, and pray for people in whatever time you have at hand. Ask some Christian
friend(s) to help you and be with you, to talk with you, to keep you occupied
in a worthy manner, so that you simply don’t have the time to think about, let
alone indulge in anything inappropriate or sinful. You in turn can do the same
for somebody else who may be struggling with a similar problem, and the two of
you can together lift yourselves out of this problem (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).
·
Take time to read the biographies and stories of
great men of God, and learn from their struggles to reach where they did, and
achieve what they could. Use them as role models and emulate their ways to
overcome sin and temptations, since they too had to struggle against Satan’s
ploys in their journey to the greatness they could achieve.
It would also be very helpful if for some time you can put
away your laptop/desktop/mobile phone etc. so that you cannot be drawn to use
them inappropriately, till the bad habits, desires and tendencies are broken
and overcome. You can use a phone with a small screen and a very low memory and
processor, only as a means of communication and conversation, but unable to
play any games or display any graphics on it. Similarly, if you really do have
to use the laptop/computer, do so in the presence of family members or some
other responsible people whose presence will ensure that you do not indulge in
the prurient.
In short, prevent and ensure Satan from having a toe-hold in
your life, keep in constant touch with God through prayer, worship, meditating upon
portions from the Bible, and fellowshipping with other Christians; then Satan
will not be able to draw you away from God into anything lustful or sinful.
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