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07052017HelpICantStopSinningDonRuhl
Help! I Can’t Stop Sinning!
Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • May 10, In the year of our Lord, 2017
Prelude:
- What have you done to overcome sin?
- [My experience with anger as I learned to operate a backhoe]
- The struggle against sin is the greatest battle in which we engage.
- Paul spoke for all of us when he wrote of the war within us – Rom 7.7–25
- How do we come to know sin?
- We know sin when the Law tells us what we should not do.
- See also Romans 3.19–20
- How does sin show its evil nature?
- It uses what God meant for our life against us,
- working death in us.
- Is there anything wrong with the Law or any part of God’s word?
- No, because it is holy, just, and good.
- We are the ones who are carnal.
- Describe the war within us that Paul mentions.
- How are we delivered from the law of sin and the wretchedness of our bodies?
- Why do we need to know this information?
Persuasion:
- Know the Danger of Sin
- This might seem obvious,
- after all the person who says, “Help! I can’t stop sinning,”
- knows that something bad comes from continual sin.
- However, a person may not know the full details of his or her sin.
- Reminder ourselves often of the danger of sin
- will help toward keeping us away from sin.
- The more you know
- the more likely you will be to kill the desire, and
- the more likely you will do the right thing instead.
- Can someone see the undesirable nature of sin, but
- perhaps not recognize it as sin,
- they just see something that harms, yet
- does not necessarily do what the Bible says about sin?
- We need to know everything about it, including its dangers.
- What are the dangers of sin?
- It will run your life – Rom 6.11–21; Gen 4.7
- It will destroy your life – Rom 6.21–23
- It will condemn you – Rom 7
- It will send you to hell:
- Gal 5.19–21
- Rev 21.27
- Rev 22.15
- We will see the dangers of sin,
- if see life with the eye of the Spirit,
- not the eye of the flesh or of the world.
- We must stop ignoring what we already know.
- In most cases, we already know what we need to know, but
- we intentionally ignore it when temptation arrives.
- What is happening in that moment?
- The desire or love for sin is defeating the love for righteousness.
- This might seem obvious,
- You Have to Want to Stop Sinning
- That might seem obvious, but
- there is a reason we keep sinning:
- we like it.
- Hebrews 11.24–26 speaks of the decision of Moses
- to turn his back on the pleasures of sin.
- Do we not think that there is pleasure, wisdom, and good times
- associated with sin?
- Remember the thought process of Eve
- as she considered the temptation of Satan.
- See Genesis 3.4–6
- Yes, we need to know of
- grace,
- the Holy Spirit, and
- the other things that the Lord gives to save us from sin, but
- the Holy Spirit detailed sin in the Scriptures for a reason.
- Why did He give us all the information that we needed on sin?
- While the Lord, the Spirit, and all of heaven helps us,
- the Lord also wants us to help ourselves,
- He wants us to desire to cease sin,
- He wants us to desire to do righteousness,
- He wants us to do what we can.
- Where does sin begin?
- Sin begins in the heart.
- Matthew 15.15–20
- Mark 7.17–23
- Matthew 6.19–21
- Romans 12.1–2
- If you see it as a disease,
- your desire to quit will not be as strong.
- Recognize the process of temptation.
- James 1.12–18
- Why did the Spirit have James put that in the Bible?
- That might seem obvious, but
- Meditate on the Scriptures Daily
- If you want to learn to do something, to whom do you go?
- If you cannot understand how a machine works, what should you consult?
- The Lord is our
- Counselor
- Trainer
- Teacher
- Master
- How and through what does He
- counsel us,
- train us,
- teach us, and
- rule over us?
- If sin begins in the heart,
- we cannot think on it.
- James 1.21 teaches us to push out sin
- by the word and
- by replacing sin with the word.
- When we meditate on the word, what is that doing to us?
- Joshua 1.7–8
- Psalm 1
- How often does evil assault you?
- How often does temptation come your way?
- How much persuasion exists to turn you from holiness to evil?
- Should we not counter that incessant attack on our souls with an endless fight in return?
- If evil fights us constantly, how often should we think on God’s word?
- If you want to learn to do something, to whom do you go?
- Pray Relentlessly
- My first experience with the power of prayer against sin
- happened when I was learning to operate a backhoe, and then
- when I started going on jobs.
- I wanted to do the job right, and
- I did not want to cost my stepfather more money than necessary.
- When things went wrong, I became angry.
- Therefore, I started praying regularly about my anger.
- The praying did not only happen after I had sinned, but
- constantly throughout the day:
- When I gave thanks for my food,
- When I prayed for other things,
- Driving from the job back to the yard,
- whenever I found any time to pray,
- I spoke to God.
- For what shall we pray?
- Matthew 6.13
- Matthew 26.41
- Psalm 125.3
- Psalm 141.3–4
- Why do we need to pray without ceasing about this matter?
- My first experience with the power of prayer against sin
- Do Not Think Constantly of Overcoming the Sin
- Philippians 4.7–8
- Romans 8.5–9
- For example, if you wanted to quit eating donuts everyday,
- making that decision is good, but then
- you cannot keep telling yourself that you are going to quit eating donuts.
- Why?
- Because you are still thinking about eating donuts.
- Then you will eat donuts.
- So it is with whatever sin we want to quit.
- However, you may want to take Romans 6 and
- substitute the word “sin” with your sin.
- That will show you why you should not commit that sin.
- Do Not Tempt Yourself
- Romans 13.11–14
- Go back to my donut illustration.
- If you want to quit eating donuts,
- should you go hang out with your friends at the donut shop?
- Remember that the Judgment Approaches Rapidly
- Knowing that the Lord shall judge all our deeds and words.
- Do you want to give an account of your sin?
- Ecclesiastes 12.13–14
- Matthew 12.36–37
- Romans 2.6
- Romans 14.12
- Second Corinthians 5.9–10
- VIII.Focus on Jesus
- Remember His temptations in the wilderness.
- Remember His struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane.
- You are called a “Christian” for a reason.
- He is your Master.
- He is your Teacher.
- He is your Trainer.
- Learn from Him.
- We want to cease sinning, and the best thing to do then is to imitate and learn from the only person who has ever lived into adulthood who never sinned.
- Look for the Way of Escape
- First Corinthians 10.13
- Remember How God Has Forgiven You
- John 8.11
- Grace
Got something to say? Go for it!