Sin is addictive (John 8:34). It is difficult to put off (Romans 7). However, we can kill sin. Here is a two step process that I have used to kill my sin and cultivate godly desires in my heart. If you are struggling with a particular sin please read this blog.

1. Killing sin by understanding the will

The secret to defeating besetting sins is actually quite simple. However, in order to understand how to defeat sin we must understand something about the will of man. In Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards he explains that we act in accordance with our greatest desires. In other words, we do whatever we most desire to do. For instance, suppose I am given the option to eat ice cream or not. My decision to eat the ice cream is going to be based on my desires. If I desire to lose weight more than I desire the immediate gratification of eating the ice cream then I won’t eat the ice cream. Now often these 1 for 1 decisions are difficult. More often than not, my desire to eat the ice cream will be stronger, so I do it. However, more often than not there are more than just two conflicting desires. In other words, there are multiple motivations which clash with one another to determine what my decision will be. So, let’s take the ice cream example again. Let’s say on one hand that I have a strong desire to eat the ice cream but on the other hand if I eat the ice cream I won’t lose weight, if I eat the ice cream I will continue to be out of shape, if I eat the ice cream my wife may not find me as attractive because I continue to gain weight, if I eat the ice cream I won’t be able to play ball with my son when he is 18 because I will be too out of shape. So, we see how the one desire conflicts with the multiple desires. If the multiple desires outweigh the one desire then I will choose not to eat the ice cream. Now, replace the ice cream with sin. If your greatest desire is to experience the pleasure of sin then you are going to fall to it. So, in order to defeat the sin, it is imperative that you pile up as many motivations that conflict with that desire as you can. Let’s say that your particular sin is cussing. Perhaps, it would be wise to create a list of reasons why that particular sin is harmful. In doing so, you will be adding weight to the other side of the balance beam and can shift your will into more greatly desiring to not use filthy language. This list can consist of things such as: when you cuss it doesn’t glorify God (Colossians 3:5), when you cuss in front of others it brings a reproach to Christ (2 Samuel 12:14), when you cuss it makes you look ignorant, when you cuss you don’t feel as strong of a connection with Christ. Look at this list each day, reinforce the desires which oppose that particular sin. If your desire not to sin outweighs your desire to sin then you will stop sinning. I am not saying you will be perfect, however, I am saying that we can defeat our particular sins through the freedom we have found in Christ (John 8:36). Continuing on, not only should we make a list of motivations not to sin to look at daily, we should also give ourselves some accountability which adds another motivation to the list (James 5:16). Continuing with the cussing example, let’s say that everytime you cuss in front of someone you force yourself to go to them and say “I am sorry for using that sort of language, I sinned against God and didn’t give you a good example of Christian behavior.” Wouldn’t that be an embarrassing thing to have to do? Now, your reasons to sin not only include the things written on your list but it now includes avoiding embarrassment. This may be a superficial reason but it can help. Furthermore, by having wise Christian accountability you can be strengthened in your walk with Christ through the advice you receive from them. (James 5:16, Proverbs 12:15). You can also have someone check in with you daily or weekly. Once again you have added weight to the motivation not to sin because you don’t want to embarrass yourself further by admitting to another that you have sinned. Eventually all of this is going to add up and your desire not to sin is going to heavily outweigh your desire to sin. However, because some of these reasons are superficial this is only partial obedience which Jesus calls hypocrisy. We don’t want to be hypocrites (Matthew 23:25). If our desire not to sin is only based on our fear of repercussions then we are missing the point.

2. Joy in Christ:

Our primary motivation for holiness should not be fear of repercussions. Our primary motivation for holiness is joy in Christ (Psalm 34:8). This is the final and most important step. Fall more in love with Christ. Memorize Psalm 16:11 which says "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Do you truly believe that in God's presence there is fullness of joy? If you do then seek His presence. This passage does not only speak about being overjoyed by God's presence in eternity. The joy that flows from the presence of God can be experienced now. Theologically speaking His presence is always near. First, because He is omnipresent and second, because He indwells you in the Person of the Holy Spirit. However, we are still required to seek Him in order to experience His presence. He is there but to experience Him you must seek Him. It is like being in the room with your wife. She is there but in order to truly experience her then you must engage her and seek her. So, if you want to experience true joy then seek God. If you seek Him with all your heart then He will be found (Jeremiah 29:13). It is hard work. Prayer and devotional time in the word doesn't come easy. But if you truly believe that in His presence is fullness of joy then you will do the hard work that leads to it. At God's right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Christ is at the right hand of the Father. He is who you must seek. Seek to know Christ. Learn about Him. Experience Him. Jesus isn't some Zeus figure ready to zap you at a moment's notice. He is Gentle and lowly of heart (Matthew 11:29). He is kind, gracious, and merciful (Psalm 86:15, Hebrews 2:14, James 5:11). He is compassionate and caring (Psalm 78:38). He sympathizes with our weakness (Hebrews 4:15). Learn of Him. Experience Him and experience true pleasure which sin promises but can never give. Isaiah 55:1-2 says “ 1 Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food." We all thirst for satisfaction. We were created that way. However, we were not designed to have our thirst satisfied by the polluted waters of the world. We were created to have our thirst quenched by our Creator. Or, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism question 1 puts it: we were created to love God and enjoy Him forever. The fountain of living water which is freely offered is found in Christ (John 4:10-11, 7:38, and Revelation 7:17). Why drink from the waters of sin which only cause more thirst? They promise satisfaction but every sip leaves you craving for more. On the other hand, the water that Christ gives will leave you truly satisfied because you were created to find your fulfillment in the Author of life. Just as we thirst for satisfaction we also hunger for fulfillment. We often hunger for fulfillment and like fools we try to feed on moldy maggot infested bread when the Bread of life offers us His hand (John 6;35, 48, 51). Stop trading treasure for trash! Christ is your satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy. I promise, when you truly find joy in Christ then the infinite weight of the joy found in Him will outweigh the weight of the desire to sin. Finally, some sins are so deep rooted that a time of serious cutting off must occur (Matthew 5:29-30). We mustn't make any provision to fulfill the desires of the flesh (Romans 13:14). Anything that may cause us to stumble must be cast aside in order that even if we want to commit a particular sin we have no ability to gratify that desire. For instance, if your particular sin is porn then you need to make sure that you have absolutely zero access to the internet. Or if your particular sin is drugs then you may need to be in a rehab for awhile. Sin always affects our brain chemistry in some capacity. When we sin habitually we rewire our brain to rely heavily upon that sin for pleasure (John 8:34). The sin of addiction does this the most and we need a time of 100 percent abstinence in order to rewire our brain. To illustrate: addiction winds up our brain like a ball of yarn and we need time away from it in order for it to be unwound. Furthermore, we must renew our mind through God's word in order to further unwind that ball of yarn (Romans 12:2).

 In conclusion, this two step process can be summed up as so: 1. Kill sin (Romans 8:12-14). This is done by making no provision to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, reinforcing repercussions for sin, and making our desire to obey outweigh our desire to sin. 2. Partake of the means of Grace. Renew our mind through God's word, prayer, and fellowship with other believers resulting in our love for Christ being our primary motivation for obedience.

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