Practical Advice for Battles with Sin and Temptation

Christian, you are at war. This is true whether you want it to be or not. You’re under attack by an enemy which seeks to damage your relationship with God; isolate you from other believers; bring sickness and suffering into your life; ruin, or at least damage, your ministry and service for God; hurt others through you; and destroy, or at least severely harm, your soul. Your enemy is the sinful desires of your flesh, allied with temptations from the world and the devil. In other words, your enemy is temptation and sin.

At one level this post is based on a sermon I preached last week. But at a deeper level, it is based on God’s Word and on my own life long struggle against my own sin, as well as seeking to help other believers in their struggle. What follows is practical advice. The advice here is meant to help you when you are in the heat of battle with “the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1). This advice is also meant to help you in your long-term effort to grow in Christlikeness. Before giving a list of twelve specific, practical strategies, a brief word about what the Peter calls “the passions of the flesh” is in order.

While it’s true that we are tempted by the world and by the devil, the Bible seems to focus most on the problem of our own sinful desires. These desires come from our “flesh,” which refers to our own bodies, minds, and ways of thinking. Sinful desires may begin as good, God given desires. However, these desires have been distorted and twisted so that they lead us to seek fulfillment in ways that are contrary to God’s will and thus harmful to ourselves and others. Some examples:

* It’s not wrong to desire safety, but this desire can be twisted into cowardice which keeps us from taking risks and facing danger in service to God and others.

* We rightly want provision and resources to care for ourselves, our families, others, and to carry out God’s work. But this desire is often severely distorted into greed, materialism, and selfishness.

* God wired us to desire intimacy and pleasure. This can include sexual intimacy with one’s spouse. But these desires are often warped into lust and sexual immorality of many kinds.

* God designed us to eat and it’s ok to want to enjoy good meals. But this desire can be, and often is, distorted so that it becomes gluttony and leads us to harm our own bodies.

*  It’s not wrong to want relief from stress. But this right desire can turn deadly when we seek that relief from alcohol, drugs, nicotine, or other substance abuse.

There are many other human desires which have an initially valid purpose which can become twisted into temptation and sin. Evil desires can be transformed and replaced with godly desires as we grow in Christ. But we must not expect that this side of glory we will be completely free from wrong desires. We must ready ourselves in Christ for lifelong battle. There will never be a time in our current, fallen bodies that we can always just do what we feel like doing. We need to take these words to heart:

Are you ready to fight? Here are twelve practical ways to fight against sin and temptation:

1.  Be on guard, especially in weak areas.

Be sober-minded, be alert.

Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion,

looking for anyone he can devour.

(1 Peter 5:8 CSB17)

The Bible warns us repeatedly to be on guard. Part of being on guard is being aware of your weak areas. What has led to you stumble in the past? We each have certain areas of temptations which easily ensnare us. Knowing what these are and thinking about specific things which have led to our disobedience and sin in the past will help us stay alert.

2.  Flee!

Flee from youthful passions,

and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,

along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

(2 Timothy 2:22 CSB17)

Put some distance between you and temptation. The Bible does not encourage us to hang out right on the edge of disobedience and disaster. Stay far away from places, situations, and/or people which are tempting to you. As you flee from temptation, run towards righteousness by seeking out people and activities which encourage holiness and purity.

3.  Get rid of whatever causes you to sin.

And if your right hand causes you to sin,

 cut it off and throw it away.

For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body

than for your whole body to go into hell.

(Matthew 5:30 CSB17)

We all know what Jesus didn’t mean. He didn’t mean we should literally cut off our hand. But more importantly, we need to know and put into practice what He did mean. What he meant is that if something is causing you to sin, get rid of it. This principle once led me to literally throw away our TV set and we have not owned a TV for over 20 years. Do you need to throw away your TV? If it’s causing you to sin, yes. Jesus gave drastic examples, mentioning our right eye and our right hand, to motivate us to get rid of things that are really hard to get rid of. There are many types of things this might apply to. It could even apply to a relationship with someone if that person influences you to sin. Sin is terrible. Treat things that cause you to stumble like you would treat an item coated in a terrible, infectious disease. Get rid of it!

4. Seek and take the way of escape.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.

God is faithful,

and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,

but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape,

that you may be able to endure it.

(1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV)

This one is very relevant when you are in the heat of the battle. You realize that you are considering sin. You are contemplating doing something that is not pleasing to God. You are close to disobeying Him. When you get to this point, stop, go somewhere and get down on your knees (literally, if possible), and ask God what your way of escape is. Don’t get up until two things have happened. 1.) You have discovered a way of escape. 2.) Asking God’s help, you have determined to take the way of escape.

The way of escape may be many different types of things. It may be as simple as opening and reading your Bible. It may involve going somewhere. The Lord may prompt you to call a Christian friend. Perhaps listening to some edifying Christian music will do the trick.

Sometimes you take the way of escape and the temptation returns. Don’t give in. Pray and escape again. If you give in it will only make things worse. With God’s help, keep fighting. Believe God’s promise. You don’t have to sin. There is a way of escape.

5. Be Devoted to Prayer

Stay awake and pray,

so that you won't enter into temptation.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

(Matthew 26:41 CSB17)

Of course we should pray in the midst of the battle, but here I’m thinking more about daily prayer that prepares us in advance for battles and even, by God’s grace, spares us from some battles before they  start (or perhaps it would be more precise to say, some battles are won in prayer before the enemy even gets close). All Christians are called to be devoted to prayer (Colossians 4:2).

Here’s a practical tip which has helped my prayer life. First, it’s very helpful to have a set time (like shortly after you get up) when you pray each day. Then, I find it helpful to use a watch (if you have a digital one you can use the stopwatch mode) and to set a minimum goal for how long I will pray. Often, I blurt out requests about things I’m worried about and people I care about. That’s a good thing to do. But I sometimes feel like I’ve been praying for a long time and when I look at my watch it’s only been six minutes! Then I slow down and often I feel the more powerful parts of my prayer time come near the end, or even when I keep going past my minimum goal. If you’re not used to praying more than quick prayers, you might want to look at this post and the videos it contains on how the Lord’s Prayer can guide energize your prayer life.

6. Read books on holiness and overcoming sin.

Without guidance, a people will fall,

but with many counselors there is deliverance.

(Proverbs 11:14 CSB17)

There are two types of books on overcoming sin which are very useful. First, there are books which provide biblical principles and encouragement for pursuing holiness in all areas of life. A good example is The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. Second, there are books which address specific areas of temptation and sin. I doubt there is an area of sin which does not have good Christian books written specifically to help people obey God in that area. Search and find a good book for areas where you struggle. A good book for one of the most common temptations which men struggle with is Every Man’s Battle by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker.

7. Read and meditate on God’s Word.

I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you.

(Ps. 119:11 ESV)

God’s Word is a massive defense against sin. But it only works well if we store it up in our hearts. How do we do this? Any prayerful, humble, believing interaction with God’s Word will help. This includes reading, studying, memorizing, discussing, and/or meditating on it. But it doesn’t happen magically. It takes time and effort.

8. Resist the Devil.

Therefore, submit to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

(Jas. 4:7 CSB17)

In a sense, all the other methods could fall under submitting to God and resisting the devil. Here, I just want to add one simple, practical way to put this into practice. When feeling tempted, of course we should pray to God, asking Him for strength to obey and to show us a way of escape. Sometimes I find it useful to also say out loud something like “In Jesus Name, Satan leave me alone.” This isn’t a magic, easy way to immediately defeat all temptation. But I find that sometimes it really does help. If done in humble dependence on God and based on our relationship with Christ, it certainly won’t hurt!

9. Remember the possible consequences of sin and disobedience.

. . . through the fear of the LORD evil is avoided.

(Proverbs 16:6b NIV)

Here is a good way to define how the fear of the Lord works:

The fear of the Lord is an appropriate feeling of fear we experience when we are tempted to sin and we remember that God brings painful consequences into our lives when we sin.  This fear should never cause us to avoid God.  This fear should motivate us to avoid sin. (from my previous post: Why is there so much sexual abuse?)

When tempted to sin it helps to think about all the possible consequences which God may bring or allow in our lives if we sin. It may even help to write down a list of these consequences related to a specific area of sin you struggle with. We don’t know what specific consequences will follow any given sin. But in general, keep in mind these categories:

* Our sin hurts our relationship with God.

* Sin often leads to more sin and to more serious sin.

* Our sin, even secret sins, does not only hurt us. It hurts other people, and the people most likely to be harmed are the people closest to us.

* Sin can cause us to be less available for God to use for ministry and good works.

* Sin can lead to sickness and even death.

* Our sin can hurt the gospel and make Christianity and even our Lord look bad, as we are His representative.

* In ways which are hard to define, sin may give demonic forces more access to harass and oppress us. (See this post where demonic oppression due to sin is discussed.)

* Our sin may be revealed to other people in a way which brings shame and loss to us.

If we clearly think about the consequences of sin, we should never sin. Sin is never worth it. Never.

10. Don’t fight alone.

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.

For if either falls, his companion can lift him up;

but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.

(Eccl. 4:9 CSB17)

In general, Christianity is meant to be a group effort, a team event, and a family affair. We are not meant to struggle and fight by ourselves. If you are having difficulty breaking free from a sinful habit, God may want to help you through other Christians. Consider seeking help from one or more of these sources:

* A mature, godly Christian friend

* A pastor

* A professional Christian counselor

* A Christian group like Celebrate Recovery

11.  Pray with fasting.

Jehoshaphat was afraid,

and he resolved to seek the LORD.

Then he proclaimed a fast for all Judah

(2 Chronicles 20:3 CSB17)

When faced with an enemy he could never defeat by his own strength, Jehoshaphat called for a time of prayer with fasting. If you find yourself overwhelmed by a sin that you can’t seem to get free from, in addition to the strategies above, consider a time of prayer with fasting. God has graciously helped myself and many other believers through this means.

12. Remember God’s grace and get back up after you fall.

Though a righteous person falls seven times,

he will get up,

but the wicked will stumble into ruin.

(Proverbs 24:16 CSB17)

Even those believers who are closest to God and who are on guard against sin with all the strategies listed above sometimes stumble. As Piper explains in this video, it simply is not God’s way to set us completely free from sin in this life. This should never be used as an excuse to sin. But in our struggle, we do need to remember God’s amazing grace. God does not hate you after you disobey Him. He still loves you. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentation 3:23). Like David, we can call out to God even after terrible sin and find grace and mercy (see this post on Psalm 51). Don’t give up. With God’s help and mercy, get back up and get back in the fight.

Conclusion

The battle for purity and holiness in our lives isn’t easy. We have fierce enemies in the world, the devil, and our own evil desires. But we also have hope. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is on our side. He will strengthen us. Yet, He also calls us to be active in this fight. I pray that God will encourage you in your own battle. As we grow closer to God, sin’s attraction will grow less. The battle is worth it.

This post will only help you if you actually put into practice some of the strategies in it. For this reason, at the bottom of the post, I’ve included a checklist which is a summary of the twelve strategies listed above. Where appropriate I’ve left blank spots for you to fill in specific ways in which you feel like the Lord is leading you to use these strategies. I’m including this list in two forms: a photo of the list and the list in regular text. Feel free to copy it, print it out, modify it, and share it as you feel led.

Also, here are two related blog posts which may encourage you:

Stop Sinning

A Stronger Attraction than Sin

My Prayer: Lord, by your grace cleanse us from our sins. And please strengthen each person who is reading this to fight the good fight and stand firm and grow in holiness. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Action Sheet for Pursuing Holiness

and Getting Rid of Sin!

1. Be on guard, know your weak areas and causes of stumbling.

My weak area(s): _________________________________________

2. Flee! Avoid situations, things, and places which lead to sin.

I need to avoid:  _________________________________________

3. Get rid of whatever trips you up. ______________________________

4. Seek and take the way of escape. (1 Cor 10:13)

5. Pray and keep praying!

6. Read books on holiness and overcoming sin. General books and/or specific sin related books.  I will read: ____________________________

7. Store up God’s Word in your heart.

8. Resist the devil.

9. Fear God. Remember the possible consequences of my sin.

10.  Don’t fight alone. I will seek help from:

___________________________________________________

11. Pray with fasting.  ____________________________________

12.  When you stumble, remember God’s grace and get back up!

Notes and Applications:

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

May the grace and peace of God be with you

and may He strengthen you as you pursue holiness!

Same action sheet in a jpeg photo format:

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .