5 Ways to Strip Off the Sin That So Easily Trips Us Up
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Central Text:
Hebrews 12:1:
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.
Hello Dear Readers,
This post is about something that it really really important in a Christian’s life: how to deal with our weaknesses.
The truth is that we are not perfect.
Every single Christian has one or more areas of sin that they struggle with.
That one sin that no matter how much you try to avoid, you still have not figured out how to overcome it.
We all have faced this, I know I for sure have.
So what do we do about it?
Well in our central text we are instructed us to strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.
How do we strip off this sin?
Here are five ways to slowly but surely strip off that sin that easily trips us up.
It’s time to stop tripping over the same old rock.
1. Start Your Day with Biblical Affirmations
The first thing we must do in order to avoid sin to the best of our abilities is to be intentional.
This is something that many Christians may not think of, but we have to live each day, or rather each minute, with purpose.
Even if we have no intention of falling back into that sin, or we have not committed that sin a while, do not be fooled.
The Enemy we are dealing with knows our weaknesses all too well and he is very strategic in his method of tempting us.
This is why we need to start our day by declaring our victory over sin and all other evil with the Scriptures.
Honestly, we should do this anyways because it shows our dependence on God rather than our own selves.
Declaring God’s truth first thing in the morning sets the tone for your day and fills you with God’s strength to overcome whatever temptation you may face in your day.
There are two verses that I feel are great to declare over ourselves.
Romans 8:37
“ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
We are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ!
This means we are more than victorious over everything that we face.
If we win, shouldn’t we just simply be victorious?
How could we be more than victorious?
By having the victory before a situation even arises.
When we declare this verse over ourselves we are declaring victory over temptation before it even knocks on the door of our hearts.
Romans 12:1
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
This commandment by Paul is one that is so important!
Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), we have the responsibility of honoring God with our bodies.
Paul says that presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice for is our spiritual worship.
How do we present our bodies as living sacrifice?
By maintaining our holiness and being acceptable before God, just as Romans 12:1 says.
We maintain our holiness when we separate ourselves from worldly actions (sin).
We are acceptable before God when we make an effort to deny ourselves the desires of our flesh.
This why it is a sacrifice.
We are deciding to please God and serve Him by saying no to sin.
When we begin our day, let us purposely present our bodies to the Lord as a living sacrifice for His glory.
2. Pray At least 1 Hour Everyday
When Jesus found the disciples sleeping instead of praying on the mountain, Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 26:41
“And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
When Jesus asks Peter if he really could not even stay up and pray one hour with Jesus, Jesus pretty much established the minimum amount of time we should be praying a day as Christians.
Jesus also reveals one of the purposes of praying: to not enter into temptation.
Now, I know it may be hard for some to pray an entire hour straight.
The good news is that you can break this hour up during your day.
You can do half an hour in the morning and half an hour at night, or break it up however else you would like to.
Just make sure to at least pray an hour everyday.
Should I stop at one hour or prayer?
Absolutely not!
Maybe for now all you can do is 5 minutes, and even that with a struggle, but praying is like physical exercise: the more consistently you do it, the more stamina you build.
We all need to exercise our “prayer muscle” daily so that our prayer life can grow strong and steady.
3. Fight Temptation with Biblical Truths
Jesus gave us an example to follow in all things of life, including fighting temptation.
When Satan appeared before Jesus to tempt Him in the desert after His 40 days of fasting, Jesus used Scripture to defeat Satan’s attack.
“ And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:3-4, ESV)
This small part of Jesus’ encounter with Satan in the desert shows how Jesus used the Word of God to fight Satan’s temptation (full passage Matthew 4:1-11).
What’s interesting about the way Jesus used Scripture is that He used it according to the situation he was being tempted by.
Jesus was very hungry, He did fast for 40 days after all.
Could he turn the stones into bread? Yes!
Was He going to do what Satan told Him to do? No!
This is how we need to respond to temptation.
Using the appropriate Scripture to counter-attack the temptation that comes to our lives.
How do we do this?
Well in simple terms, if you don’t already know any verses or passages that deal with the sin that easily trip you up, google it!
In times like these Google is your friend.
Simply google “What does the Bible say about _____?”
You will find many results with lists of verses that talk about your problem.
I personally do this all the time when I want to learn more about a topic.
However, make sure that the site you go to contains verses from the Bible and not commentary.
We are looking for what does the Bible say about that topic, not what do other people say that the Bible says about that topic.
Another thing, make sure that when choosing a verse to use you read the chapter it is from so that you know the context of what that verse is referring to (so you don’t use the verse wrong lol).
1 Corinthians 10:13
” 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.”
This is the ultimate verse when it comes to dealing with temptation.
A clear declaration in the Word of God that there is no temptation stronger than us!
I know that when it comes to our areas of weaknesses the temptation may feel stronger that us.
But we don’t face anything that we cannot handle.
God always provides a way out.
So when facing the temptation of that sin that easily trips you up, remember God’s truth: that He is faithful and will always give you a way out.
In those moments it is up to us to decide that we are going to take that way out that God provides for us.
4. Flee!
2 Timothy 2:22
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
Yes! Don’t just walk away, flee!
Joseph, the son of Israel, did just this when his master’s (Potiphar) wife continuously tried to seduce him to sleep with her.
“ One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.”
Joseph ran away from this situation every time this woman asked him to sleep with her to the point where she aggressively took off his clothes.
Yet, Joseph ran away until the very end.
That is how we must resist temptation, by running away every time it shows up at our door.
I’m sure that in your areas of weaknesses, the temptation is just as persistent in your life as Potiphar’s wife was with Joseph.
You may feel like no matter how many times you’ve said no in an attempt to serve the Lord the best you can, the temptation of that sin just keeps coming back.
That’s definitely how it is in my life, annoying!
But who ever said that denying your flesh would be easy?
It all goes back to that one word: intentional.
Saying no to sin and temptation is a choice that you have to be fully aware of.
Always have in mind that temptation can strike at any time.
That is the only way to always be alert and be prepared to flee when it comes your way.
5. Set Yourself Up for Success
Now this one should be a given, but even I fail to do this sometimes.
Set yourself up for success against your weaknesses.
How do we do this?
By being aware about where we go and who we are around.
Where (Places):
If drinking alcohol is a person’s weakness, they should not hang out in a bar, even if it is to evangelize.
I know we may feel the need to tell those who are still in the same bondage that we were set free from about the life changing transformation God made in us.
But, there is a time and place for that and it is not at a place where you are surrounded by temptation.
Although this person may have good intentions, anything in that bar can trigger their “old self” to take control.
The smell of alcohol, the peer pressure of others, or the “good” memories with this person’s old drinking buddies can be triggers for this person to fall back into the sin of getting drunk.
Who (People you surround yourself with):
A lot of times, we do things we shouldn’t because of other people.
Specifically our friends or people we want to impress.
In this case we should take a moment to self-reflect.
Do you tend to fall more into your weakness when you are around certain people?
Do the people you surround yourself with support and encourage your walk with Christ?
Do they try to stop you from doing things you shouldn’t or give you advice on how to have a better walk with Christ?
Or, do these people encourage you and/or peer pressure you into doing things that are not acceptable before God?
When answering these questions you should be able to determine who is good company or not.
The Bible teaches us “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Cor. 15:33, ESV).
We have to be very mindful of who it is that we choose to be around.
Now I am not saying to completely cut off your friends or family who are not Christian (sometimes the bad influences might be Christians themselves)
What I mean is, set boundaries.
Make your position clear to those who you choose to be around when it is necessary and let them know that you follow God’s rules.
If they truly like you for who you are, they will respect that!
All in all
I hope these five methods help you like they have helped me.
Together, the power of our words, will power, prayer, and Scripture are enough to overcome the weaknesses you thought you could never defeat.
My advice is to use all these methods together.
Incorporate them into your daily routine.
Remember to be intentional about living your life to the best of your ability to please God.
No, your weaknesses will not disappear in one day.
But that is why we must run with endurance in the race that God has set before us (Heb. 12:1).
Moving Forward
If you liked this post and want to learn more information and strategies for Spiritual Growth through the Seven Areas of Spiritual Growth , join the RTK Newsletter below!
The next post coming up is one you will not want to miss!
Come back next week to read “When To Remove Yourself and Leave Someone In the Hands of God ”
Because of my pretty hectic schedule (School, Job, Church) I no longer set a specific date for my next post but it will be posted next week.
If you want to know exactly when sign up for the RTK Newsletter and I will email you every time I post.
While you wait for that,
Here’s a Question: What other strategies have you used to overcome your spiritual weaknesses?
Let me know in the comments below!
Until Next Time.
God Bless,
Ashley
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