Live Free: 5 Ways to Defeat Sin and Embrace Life
How would you like to defeat sin in your life? Imagine how wonderful it would be to embrace your life while enjoying the freedom you have in Christ Jesus.
Paul wrote…
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin.
Romans 6:6
Let’s take it apart for a closer look.
5 Ways to Defeat Sin and Embrace Life
- Learn what God calls sin.
- Identify life’s temptations and your weaknesses.
- Plan ways to avoid the things that tempt you.
- Prayerfully ask God for help and trust His promises to give you His strength.
- Devote time to doing things that glorify God, things that bless you and others.
1. Learn what God calls sin.
Sin is any thought, attitude, or action that is contrary to God’s will and perfect love.
God summarized His commands as loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving your neighbor as you love yourself. Sin is failing to love God and people as He desires, actively or passively.
Solomon wrote…
Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.
Ecclesiastes 7:20
2. Identify life’s temptations and weaknesses.
Just looking at the Commandments, we know God gave us the following list of sins to avoid…
- Worshiping any other God.
- Idolatry.
- Misusing God’s name.
- Failing to Worship.
- Failing to honor our parents.
- Murder – (Jesus added hatred.)
- Adultery – (Jesus added lust.)
- Theft.
- Lying – Gossip.
- Coveting – Envy.
Then we need to add anything that fails to love like Jesus. Yes, we’re all sinners.
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Proverbs 28:13
3. Plan ways to avoid the things that tempt you.
If you and I know we are tempted by certain locations, forms of entertainment, beverages, people, situations, networks, ideas, etc. It’s time to turn away and avoid those things. The enemy knows he can use those temptations to influence and persuade us.
Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.
Matthew 26:41
4. Prayerfully ask God for help and trust His promises to give you His strength.
The good news … we have the Holy Spirit to help us. When we humbly pray and turn to Him for help, even in moments of temptation, He promises to give us strength and anything else we need.
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
1 Corinthians 10:13
5. Devote time to doing things that glorify God, things that bless you and others.
You and I were created for God’s plans and purposes. We were created for His glory. Life is not perfect, but when we TRUST and OBEY Him, we enjoy the blessings of peace, hope, and joy. We will enjoy the blessings of a new life given completely to God.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
Proverbs 3:5–6
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek His will in all you do,
and He will show you which path to take.
Let’s pray…
A Prayer to Defeat Sin and Embrace Life
Father God, I’m so sorry. I am a sinner. I want to trust and obey Your will in everything I think, say, and do, but I know I fall short. I have days when my mood and attitude are not what You want for me. And too often, I let my attitude determine my behavior.
I come in repentance and ask You to forgive me through Jesus’ loving sacrifice. Please help me defeat sin so that I can live the life my Savior died to give me.
I commit myself to spending time with You. I want to KNOW what You call sin, things that keep me from the abundant life You offer. Please help me look within myself and recognize those things that tempt me to live with selfishness, pride, and disobedience. Help me evaluate how I spend my time and interact with the people in my life to see my weaknesses.
I want to live Your plans and purposes. Please help me get the nutrition, rest, and exercise I need to plan my time wisely and glorify You with my whole life.
Make me the blessing You want me to be. Help me love as You desire. Help me defeat sin and embrace today. Each day is a gift, I pray to use it well, truly living with faith, hope, and joy. I pray all this in the name of my Savior, Jesus. Amen.
God is gracious. He wants so much more for us than dealing with sin’s pain and consequences. So, He promised to give us what we need to know His will and resist temptation.
Pause today and remember that the Father wants us to embrace and enjoy a full and blessed life. He wants us to enjoy the blessing of living the path He has prepared for us.
Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (MSG)
May you be blessed as you walk in the Spirit with Jesus today and always.
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Thank you for this soul lifting post Deb. I’d also add the biggest sin – wanting to live independent from God. Holding our will, thoughts and desires in a higher standing than His. When we become our own god. And I’d say, probably this is the hardest sin to overcome. I know that I struggled through my entire life giving up control over my life to the Lord, then yank it back immediately because I didn’t truly trust Him.
Your reference of the new life reminded me of an old revelation the Lord gifted me with – it always puzzled me what does it mean being born again…. Until one summer, a butterfly laid her eggs on my parsley. I delighted watching the caterpillars crawl around. Then came the day they turned into a crysalis – this was the first time I’ve ever seen it. They looked like dying as the shell developed over their body. Then it was silence. Like dead yet still alive. But then came the day the butterflies emerged and the revelation of being born again shook me to the core. Later on as I learned, the caterpillars literally die in the pupa and get rebuilt. It was a long time ago but the memory lives with me vividly. Seen several times the process since but the experience of that first time was life altering. As a reminder, I wear a butterfly necklace and pray for the same rebirth in my life.
I believe that’s the enemy’s favorite temptation … to convince us that our greatest goal is happiness. He invites us to put ourselves above everything and everyone else. That’s why we need the transforming power of God’s love. It’s beautiful that the Lord gave you the opportunity to watch the life transformation of His creation and apply it to His work in us spiritually. Thanks for sharing this with us. God bless you!
With the help of the Holy Spirit, may we all know what sin is and subsequently avoid it so that we might be right with God. Blessings, Deb!
Amen, Martha! When I count the junk that goes through my head, I know I need the Lord’s help to accomplish His will even though it’s my desire to obey. That may be what David meant when he wrote, “Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 God bless you!
I fall short in so many areas! Every day is a new day to begin again. Grateful I am for a loving and forgiving God. Obeying and living to do HIS WILL in my life is my daily goal. I love the book of Romans. So much wisdom and so much compassion expressed in this book.
Thank you for a wonderful reminder and list too, that can help me.
Thank you for being the YOU that You are too.
I pray that you have a safe and wonderful weekend my friend.
You are such a blessing, Sue! Your encouragement means so much! I love that Paul was so straight forward and to the point. He’s also the perfect example of God’s transforming power and love. We are blessed! God bless you, dear friend!