Have you ever wondered why some sins prove to be more challenging to overcome than others?

I bet you know what I’m talking about here. You’re a ‘good’ person and would never harm anyone or do anything to hurt a person, like assault or murder them; but my goodness...that ‘lust’ thing you have in your heart can be overwhelming at times. And when you least expect it – like in church of all places it hits you. Why does your mind get filled with those kind of thoughts and images so often that seem to linger and stir up all kinds of...’feelings’? (Might ask yourself about your ‘viewing habits’ when it comes to movies and TV, etc.)

And ‘No’, you are not prone to being a drug addict or alcoholic where some foreign substance takes over you and controls your life; but that tongue of yours...sure can get you into trouble more often than not. If it’s not gossip and back-biting that trips you up, then it’s that sarcastic edge it has which can cut people down in a heartbeat.

So you don’t rape women or children nor have ever felt inclined to do so; but those anger issues that reside within you can sure get the best of you at times. And the repair damage you have to do after you blow up is starting to take a toll on you. You know this is not the way a ‘Christian’ should act or behave. And do we dare call out all those little ‘petty’ things, like the little foxes that spoil the vine that can so easily beset us? (Heb. 12:1 2 Cot. 7:1)

Let’s be honest here...how many times do you have to go down to an altar to cry and beg God to forgive you once again for ‘acting out’ that way and promise Him you will ‘do better next time’?

Then there are those areas of sin that have been embedded in you for so long that you don’t even recognize them as ‘sin’ anymore, since you don’t feel any conviction when you fall into it or hear someone preach on that particular sin, because surely...you don’t have a problem with ‘pride’ or being a ‘racists’ or ________(fill in the blank).

I remember years ago being in the grocery store with my wife and while she had wandered off to finish up some shopping, I became fixated looking at a beer display there in the center aisle. There had been a time when alcohol could not be sold in the county I lived in so it was rather different to see it readily available after laws were changed. I began to ask myself what it was about alcohol that had proven to be so addictive and destructive in countless lives of people and why were so many people unable to control their intake of it. I’ll be honest with you...I could sit down and drink a single beer or glass of wine and it not even phase me nor compel me to keep drinking more. What is in some people that they can’t ‘find the brakes’ when it comes to drinking?

Then my eyes fell on the next display there in the store and it was a ‘mountain’ of Oreos; and instantly...I ‘got it’. ;- ) Perhaps for you it would be a can of Pringles. I think you know what I’m talking about here. It’s usually the ‘other person’s sin’ that stands out that is ‘worse than your sin’ that we all see, right? We have this funny way of minimizing areas of fault or weakness in our own lives, sort of like what those Pharisees did when they ‘prayed with themselves’ thanking God they were ‘not like those really bad sinners’ like extortioners and adulterers, etc. (Luke 18:10-12)

So which ‘sins’ exactly ...is God more tolerant of and tends to ‘look the other way’ and extend grace to you for? I mean, if we are going to be honest here, we do tend to justify, make excuse for, and even dismiss those ‘pet sins’ of ours as we remind ourself that ‘nobody is perfect, even Christians...but we are forgiven’, right? And if I may ask the question in another way, how much ‘sin’ will God allow to remain in your heart and all be well with your soul? I mean, we would probably all agree that if only 50% of your heart is turned towards God but the other half still is bound by or entangled in various ‘sins’, that might be a problem, right? Whoever ‘passed a test’ with a ‘50%’ unless it was a wicked ‘curve’ the instructor graded on? But 80% pure...is not bad, yes? And a 90? My goodness...you are nearly there. Or so thought the rich young ruler who only lacked ‘one thing from being perfect’; and where did that get him? (Luke 18:22-23)

Then, to complicate matters when having such discussions, we tend to thrown in the ‘saved’ factor as a diversion, as in - ‘are we still saved’ even though we continue to struggle with various sins? Which is why I like to redirect back to the more pressing question of ‘are we abiding in Jesus’ as He instructed us to do (John 15:1-8)... because IF...we are truly abiding in Him- guess what we have ceased from doing? Sinning. (1 John 3:6,9; 1 Pet. 4:1-2; Rom. 6:1-7)

When we are confronted with the truth of God’s word and it doesn’t really ‘fit’ with the way we believe and/or live out in our lives, then we have to come up with clever phrases or smart sounding labels to refute such heresy, like “watch out for folks who start teaching that ‘sinless perfection’ stuff”.

So going back to the original question I asked at the start here, as to why some sins prove to be more challenging to overcome than others...may I offer up two possible answers for your consideration? The first one would be that what a person is truly battling with and failing repeatedly to overcome is an ‘entity’ that is more powerful and stronger than them. I’m just going to call it what it is – it’s a spirit, or stronghold that has found a place in a person’s life; possibly something they were actually born with due to previous ‘sins of the forefathers’ or even existing ‘curses’ (Eph. 2:1-3). I will also say here that a person who fits in this category would probably sit up and take notice to this because they know already that what has taken control of them is much stronger than them and simply telling them to ‘just say no’ ain’t working. If that is you...I have some good news for you...just hang with me here. ;- )

The other answer to that question may step on some toes, but so be it. It’s possible you just love that sin more...than you love God (John 3:19-21). Because Jesus said IF...we love Him, we will do what He says. (John 14:15). And it still is imperative that we “love God with ALL our heart, soul, and mind...”. (Luke 10:27-28)

Now whether you are captive to sin, seemingly unable to break free from it, or if you just love that sin and refuse to turn from it, you are still in a hot mess because sin (or those who practice it) is not going to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 7:23; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Eph. 5:5) It doesn’t matter how long you have been a faithful church member. God is no longer ‘winking at ignorance but commands all men to repent’. (Acts 17:30). And if we are going to continue to argue that we are incapable of overcoming all sin by the power of Jesus’ name, then we are no better off than that group of people Paul pointed out as examples in 1 Cor. 10:4-11. They refused to believe that God could conquer those ‘giants’ on the land, a.k.a. the ‘Canaanite nations’ that they were told to go in and overthrow and drive out. (Num. 13-14). That’s the same groups we were looking at the other day in Exodus 23.

These are the ones that God told the people His Angel would lead them to go conquer and overthrow completely...and if they did, things would go well for them. But if not, well, it would not be good at all. But He made it very clear that they would need to follow the One who was going to accomplish this. You can read vs. 27-33 for more insight as to how this was going to be done. And please note vs. 29-23 as he specifies that this important point: They would not all be removed at one time but ‘little by little’ and it would not all be accomplished in the first year in this new land.

Another important point which would be shared later with the next generation who did go in to take possession of the land was the fact these people were ‘greater and mightier’ than them. Why is this significant? Because it reminds us that we don’t overcome these things in our own strength and power; Hence the reason we need to be sure we are ‘following’ Him. I’m not saying all ‘sin’ that people struggle with or are bound by has a ‘demonic’ element to it. But I am certain the case could be made from scripture there is much more to this scenario than most of us have ever been taught or would dare to believe. (Eph. 2:1-3; 6:12)

What the doctrines of men have taught us have most people working at ‘dialing it down’ or ‘doing it less’ along with ‘trying harder to be better’. That...my friends is a ‘form of godliness that denies the power’ readily available for whosever calls on the name of the Lord. (2 Tim. 3:5). It is the ‘truth that sets us free from sin’ (John 8:32-36). We don’t have to cover it up, disguise it, pretend it doesn’t exist, or just work harder at suppressing it. We can be free from it and free indeed...and once and for all. That is the power of this gospel that Jesus and Paul and the others came preaching. (Rom. 1:16). But it would be a grave mistake to think this can happen for you if you are not fully committed to surrendering your whole heart to Him and His leadership. (Rom. 8:14; Luke 6:46)

Which means you have to follow Him. Those are the ones whom He ‘knows’. (John 10:27)