Paul Washer - Ongoing Sin

how does a Christian deal with ongoing sin well first of all we need to understand that if a person is a Christian their heart has been regenerated they've been made alive they've been given a new heart and also the Holy Spirit dwells within them so a Christian is going to experience changes Transformations they are going to grow in Conformity to Christ yet at the same time we will never be free from sin on this side of Heaven I want us to look at first John and chapter one and John says verse 8 if we say

that we have no sin we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in US um one of the things that is so evident about someone who is a Christian it's not that they're sinless but that they recognize sin in their life And when they see that sin they confess it a lot of times we don't see how extraordinary that actually is we live in a world that is sinning constantly against God and yet so few people recognize their sin take responsibility for their sin confess their sin mourn over their sin so when you see

a person who has professed faith in Christ doing these types of things it is evident that they truly have come to know him you see a Christian will sin less but they will not be without sin but when they do sin it will cause sorrow in their heart it will lead them to repentance and the confession of that sin he says if we say that we have no sin we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in US there are so many times when I will preach in a church and this very same thing

will happen every time maybe I'll preach in a church about sin or about the necessity of being holy and sometimes the spirit of God will be working and and many people will be broken over their sin and what seems to be so unusual is this the people who are usually the most Godly sincere and devoted in the church are the ones most broken over their sin while those who show little signs or evidences of having been born again sit there as though they had no sin at all and what we're seeing is the working of

the spirit of God in God's people and the lack of that working in people who profess faith in Christ but really do not know him now he says this in verse 9 if we confess our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness when the believer sins the believer should confess that sin turn away from it and ask for forgiveness now what is confession confession literally in the Greek is is a word omologeo and literally it means to speak the same thing so if I am

a Christian and I study the word of God and reading the Bible one day the Lord convicts me of sin or let's say that a brother in Christ who dearly loves me sees that I'm not walking as I ought to be and he speaks to me about my sin and I know it's from God he's using the Scripture it really is true I have sinned when God tells me through the word of God or through the instruction of another believer or some other way when God tells me that I have sinned when he speaks to

me you have sinned Paul you were impatient confession is not just to say I'm sorry confession is to speak the same thing when God says Paul you've been impatient confession is when I say Lord I agree with you with regard to my sin you say I've been impatient you are right I have been impatient that's confession and then asking for forgiveness forgive me for my impatience now so we see here that even though a Believer is going to be transformed and continue transforming even a believer will experience change and Conformity to Christ we will still

have to deal with sin in our lives hopefully it'll be a lot less as we grow but it will be there and we have to deal with it and we deal with it through Brokenness and confession recognizing that What God Says About Us is true and confessing it now let me take you to another text that is very very important very important um in Psalms 119 11 David says your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you how can we grow in Conformity to Christ how can we sin less

one of the essential essential things we need is here in verse 11 the word of God look what he says your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you now if you're listening to this let me ask you a question how much time do you spend in the word of God how much time do you spend reading the word of God studying the word of God memorizing the word of God meditating on the word of God most people when they hear this question they kind of bow their head and

acknowledge not enough some even almost not at all this is one of the reasons why that we have so little power over sin is because we spend so little time in the word of God you know you can't miss breakfast without starting to get hungry you miss lunch you're starting to feel weak you miss lunch and supper and breakfast you mean you you miss meals all day and by the next day you're probably even going to feel sick well that is a physical illustration of a spiritual reality you need the word of God sometimes people

come to me and they act like you know growing is this great mystery that no one can solve how can we grow and then I ask them this question well how much time do you spend in the word of God and their answer is usually it can't be that simple show me some trick or some key to spiritual growth and I said I'm trying to you need to spend time in the word of God now look what he says again your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you now

let's change it a little your word I have not treasured in my heart so that I might sin against you do you see it works both ways if you're going to neglect your study of scripture the memorization and meditation of scripture then you're opening your life to less and less Conformity into more and more sin now when I talk about the Bible and studying the Bible how should you do it well I don't have the only way to do it but let me tell you something that's very important most people jump back and forth they

read one portion in one book and then maybe another chapter in another book and they go from here to there and they never really understand the counsel of God they never really see the big picture I would recommend that if you've never read the New Testament start in the Book of Matthew and read all the way through to the Book of Revelation and do that several times and then go to the Old Testament start in Genesis and read all the way through to Revelation and spend the rest of your life in that life discipline whether

it's three four five or fifteen chapters a day the important thing is that you're reading through the Bible systematically and you're beginning to see how all the pieces fit together you're beginning to see the big picture of God and the big picture with regard to God's salvation and God's will very very important now I want us to go to the Book of James for a moment and I want to show you something that is often overlooked but it's been very helpful for me in my life in chapter one you know James is is is talking

about trials and then after he's talking about trials James comes down and he says this verse 13. let no one say when he is tempted I am being tempted by God for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself does not tempt anyone when I'm being tempted to do something I need to realize first of all this is not from God and this is not according to God's Will and this is not conformed to God's character I need to see sin for what it really is something that stands in opposition to everything that God

is and everything that he desires this is not just some little mistake this is hostility it's enmity it's fighting against God and God's purposes in my life and so I need to recognize sin for what it is it's not coming from God and when when I'm living in this world and maybe a person asks me to do something or there's a possibility to do something over here and I I consider it in the light of scripture and I realize it's not something God would want me to do I need to recognize this is not from

God I am a child of God and I should have nothing to do with it there is nothing we have no Fellowship no no truce no Unity with Darkness with sin with the Devil and so recognize when Temptation comes it's not from God and it needs to be rejected now verse 14 it says but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust now when a Temptation comes and it enters into your mind do this or look here that's not sin that's a Temptation that's not sin it becomes sin

when you give into it when you give yourself over to it when you devote yourself to it when you deliver yourself to do that very thing that's when it becomes sin but when it first enters into your mind look at that no that's not temptation but here's what you need to understand you can't play around with temptation you can't play around with sin it will grab you and it will grab you quickly if you're out working in the fields in India or Pakistan and there is a big Cobra and you've got a machete in your

hand and all of a sudden that Cobra Rises up you you don't have you can't sit there and talk to it you can't reason with it it's going to strike in a matter of a second or two you've got to take off its head or you've got to flee you've got to get out of there you can't play around with it how many children do we know at least in in around that have been around me in my lifetime that have sat there and played around with poisonous snakes having a good time and then all

of a sudden they get too close they get too careless and what happens the snake strikes when you see the Temptation when it appears don't play with it don't meditate on it don't think about it kill it get away from it flee from it we're told to flee from certain sins you see do you remember when when Cain was angry he was very very angry and God said to him sin is waiting at the door and its desire is to have you you need to realize something sin is like a wild animal and when it

approaches it wants you it wants to devour you it wants to destroy you the Bible says the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour so don't play with this cut it off immediately and here's another thing that's very important about Sin don't go to places where sin is easy you know sometimes I've had to deal with men who have been converted out of alcoholism and they say what are some of the things I should do I said don't go back to the places where you used to frequent don't run with the

same guys and Don't Go Near those taverns and places where you used to drink physically stay away from them this is very important on the internet and other things never put yourself in a position where you can be alone with temptation build guards around you to protect yourself you've got to realize how weak you are and how strong the devil is and how strong sin and its lust can be now it says in verse 15 then when lust has conceived it gives birth to sin and When sin is accomplished it brings forth death another thing

that you need to realize about Sin it's deadly you say well I'm a Christian okay you're a Christian it's still deadly how many Christian homes have I seen destroyed by sin how many Christian Ministries are no more because of sin how many men who have been used mightily of God to do great things and then they fall into sin and it un it undoes everything that was good before sin is deadly it's monstrous you need to fear it you need to run from it now verse 16 this is the important part in dealing with temptation

do not be deceived my beloved Brethren every good thing given every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of Lights with whom there is no variation or sifting shifting Shadow now what else should you recognize when Temptation comes do not be deceived about the goodness of God you see in the garden that's one of the first things that the devil did when the devil was tempting Eve he tried to make her believe that God wasn't good that God had prohibited her from eating from all the trees of the garden that wasn't true

and so the devil will basically always get you to think well God's not going to help you here God's not going to meet this need and so you need to succumb to this temptation I'm offering you something because God won't offer you anything and you need to realize when Temptation comes I'm not going to grab a hold of it why because God is good and he's got something better for me especially I tell this to young men who are who are not married I say you know you have these Temptations these opportunities to commit immoralities

and fornications and other things and they're very very strong to to look at things on the internet very very strong and very very evil and very very damaging to the soul but when those Temptations appear what should you do recognize that God is good that he has a plan he has a plan even to fulfill those physical desires you have he has a righteous plan and the devil is offering you a counterfeit plan and when you see that counterfeit plan you need to reject it because it is not the best thing for your life it

is not a good thing for your life you need to wait because God has promised to give you good that's where I find some of my greatest strength against sin is recognizing the goodness and the kindness of God that whatever Temptation comes it is a counterfeit of the goodness of God it's like a beautiful Apple maybe on the outside but it's full of poison on the inside but everything God gives is good on the outside and the inside it is good through and through so those are some of the ways in which we deal with

temptation but but come on now use some wisdom here if you're awake 16 hours a day You're In This World Behind Enemy Lines 16 hours a day do you see that you're hearing the world you're being influenced by the world if you do not spend time in the word of God copious amounts of time if you do not spend time in prayer if you do not spend time in the good Fellowship of a sound church with other believers you're not going to be able to overcome and don't go out there looking for some TV evangelist

to touch your life and give you power don't look for some silly gimmick that's not going to help you with sin what do you need you need to study the word of God you need to pray for strength you need to be in the fellowship of a very strong local church under Elders that care about your soul and under Elders that are preaching the exposition of God's word that's what you need all right well God bless you