The Bible's "How To" For Ceasing Sin

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9


"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7


"Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." 2 Timothy 2:22

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

"and do not give the devil a foothold" Ephesians 4:27

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Galatians 5:16

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:7-8


"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." Jude 1:24&25

I know what you are thinking, "That's alot of verses to cover!". The reason I have used so many verses here is because I believe that this strand of verses help us understand how it is actually possible to overcome sin in our lives. I believe in some Christian circles it is taught that we cannot help but sin all of the time. While it is true that we stumble, the Bible separates this sin from the sin of gross misconduct. When we sin it should genuinely be a blindsiding event, not something we heartily give ourselves to, the Bible speaks against this kind of revelry. The Bible says that the wicked are the ones who enjoy sin and give hearty approval to others that do the same things. I have heard people say that some Christians have their "pet sins", and this should not be. If this is our mentality, don't think you should receive anything from the Lord in prayer! No wonder we come up with doctrines that say the gifts are not operable anymore! If we wouldn't grieve the Spirit and begin to fear the Lord again, I believe we will see things that will blow our minds! In the words of pastor Timothy Davis I quote, "The first miracle Jesus performed was He did not sin." Jesus is the one who said "Go and sin no more lest something worse befall you". Now those words of Jesus do not sound like a "sin everyday" attitude.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness". This verse in 1 John is not a verse in theory. Sometimes we look at Christ's sacrifice as "in theory" and not an active support against our battle with sin. This verse not only says He will forgive us our sins, but also that He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness! Ok, this is great! But now you may ask, "how do I actively confess?". The answer lies in 1 John 1:7, which says if WE WALK IN THE LIGHT AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT THEN...THEN...THEN...THEN! THE BLOOD OF JESUS CLEANSES US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS! I put alot of emphasis on "THEN" on purpose. See we want it backwards sometimes, we want the feeling before we act, and Jesus commands different (see devotional, "But I Want You To Go First!"). This is a very insightful truth, you reap what you sow! Sow into the Spirit (walk in the light as He is in the light) and you will what? Reap eternal life! Sow into the flesh (retain "pet sins") and then what? You will reap corruption! See it can either be a beautiful helpful cycle, or it can be a vicious cycle that works against us, you will reap what you sow! Have you ever met someone that it just seems like everything is going peachy in their walk with Christ? That may not be an accident. The reason you are still struggling with the sin could be because you are not ceasing to sin and you are continually giving the devil a foothold, and the other person is not. You see, when we give Satan a foothold, that sin becomes harder and harder to overcome! Why? Because those that sow into the flesh will reap what? Corruption! Do you see this beautiful truth? What is everlasting life? To know the Father. Sin separates us from God correct? It fractures our relationship with Him! So if we want to reap eternal life a.k.a. reap knowing Him intimately now, we must begin to cease from sin! Now let's talk about the "How?"

2 Timothy 2:22 says, "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."
We have Paul telling Timothy to flee the lusts of the flesh and not only to flee but to pursue righteousness! Why? Again! Because he that sows unto the flesh will reap corruption (a worse struggle with their sin that will take them farther down) but he that sows to the Spirit (pursues righteousness, faith, charity, peace) will reap eternal life! And eternal life is what again? To intimately know the Father! So we need to pursue good Godly relationships, we need to be zealous for good works! We need to plug into our churches and give ourselves to the Lord Jesus' work! Build up don't tear down! When you purpose in your heart to genuinely please the Lord by ceasing to sin is when you will get the spiritual resource to actually begin stopping it.

Now what all of the previous acts do for us is enable us to get in the Spirit! Galatians 5:16 says, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." See that! If you walk in the Spirit YOU WILL NOT FULFILL THE LUSTS OF THE FLESH! But why? (lol ;)) Because he that sows into the Spirit will reap what? Eternal life! The blood of Jesus to literally cleanse us from our immediate, present sin, not my sinfulness in theory! When we sow into the Spirit, the Spirit is not grieved and we receive all the resource we need to beat up on the enemy. (see devotional entitled "Rhema Resistance") But when we sow into the flesh or a.k.a. give Satan a foothold, now the sin has become stronger and greater and we begin to be deceived to the point where we believe it cannot be overcome. I want to tell you right now that that's a lie from the pit of hell to keep you from receiving what God has for you! I have heard people blame God for their sinful condition, and it is simply not true! Understand what I am about to say, please! Even when you begin to cease from sin, it could seem difficult at first. The reason being is found in the verse 2 Timothy 3:12, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." That persecution is given by the enemy because the last thing he needs is another enlightened person making his job harder than it has to be. And also remember that we may have sown corruption for years, and at times, that harvest still must surface. Just as King David reaped the sword never leaving his home, so we can reap things here on earth that are flat out unpleasant. But do not, I repeat, DO NOT lose heart even when things do not seem right! Why? Because the Bible says in Galatians 6:9, "for in due time you will REAP A HARVEST IF YOU DO NOT GROW WEARY!"

Now for probably one of the most beautiful, glorifying verses of our PRECIOUS LORD AND SAVIOR! "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." Jude 1:24&25 Wonderful! We are not bound because our Savior is fully capable of keeping us from stumbling! When we appropriate His truths and abide in Him, we reap the spiritual resource to keep us from falling. Why? (I am drilling this because I need it as much as you brothers and sisters!) Because when we sow into the Spirit we reap knowing Him better, eternal life! But when we sow into the flesh, we reap a foothold from Satan, which translates to corruption. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." He has provided a way of escape everytime! Just make sure you do not go far enough in entertaining the sin that you make that verse to appear to be a lie, because it is not! If the Word of God is not working for us, it is not that it is powerless, it is that we are not appropriating it correctly! I hope this has been a blessing to you all! Jesus wants to present us with joy and blameless! Isn't our Savior so beautiful, He gave us the comforter so we would not be powerless! Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Sincerely, your fellow laborer
Chris Goff