“The struggle is real!” The struggle with sin is real also but not necessary. I have said and often hear “I’m still struggling with (insert immoral issue here)”. I have been delivered from this thought and would like to help you too.
Stop struggling and RUN!
Imagine you owed money to an angry killer. You would not find them on the street and “struggle” with them, you would RUN!!! Sin is an angry killer and you owe your life to it.
There are reasons you struggle with sin. You may still be struggling because you have not allowed Christ to make you new. Sometimes we try to make ourselves new with all kinds of ambitions and fail. You may still be struggling because you have refused to let go of your past sin. Your struggle with sin isn’t your sin holding on to you. Your struggle with sin is you holding on to your sin. It is a matter of life and death. More specifically it is a matter of eternal life and eternal death. Let go and stop struggling.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7 about a “Sin Nature” that exist within every human being and causes us to be a slave to sin. Romans 7:17 NIV “As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.” After reading that verse we begin to feel vindicated in our STRUGGLE especially when we read on in Rom 7:21-25
Romans 7:21-25 NIV “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful natured a slave to the law of sin.”
Romans chapter eight begins with the conclusion of the Paul’s thought and really gave me hope when I read it. Romans 8:1-2 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
I’m not arguing the struggle you may be having with (fill in the blank) is real. I’m stating the struggle is not necessary. You can live in victory over any struggle and no longer be subject to it. When I at 15 received Christ and had to learn to overcome struggles in my life there were two verses that helped me and gave me direction. They are:
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
#1. I am no longer subject to the sin I had allowed to control my life.
Hebrews 12:1 (NLT) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us”
#2. I had things that I changed and did away with.
It’s time for you to make some sacrifices and strip off some weights.
If for instance you struggle with pornography you would be wise to avoid any chance of encountering it.
If you struggle with foul language your vocabulary is not the issue as much as your temper. Anger is not ok. Rage is not ok. Learning to be open and honest and get over some things that in the grand scheme really don’t matter will help you in life and eternity.
If you struggle with drugs you will need to end some relationships. If you struggle with drinking you will need to avoid bars and some BBQs.
If you struggle with hate and condemnation, you need to do some reflecting on the value that God has seen in you. God gave His one and only Son for your soul and the soul of everyone else in the world.
If your struggle is adultery stop flirting, texting, or even being alone with others.
The struggle is real but not necessary. The solution is real but not easy. The victory is real but not free, thank God we didn’t have to pay for it!
Remember #1. You are no longer subject to the sin you had allowed to control your life. #2. You have some things that you have to change and do away with. The struggle with sin is not necessary. You have been made NEW and you are FREE.