As a Christian, how does one rid themselves of a particular sin?

Question

It is something I struggle with and I would like to be 'loosened' from it. I wouldn't call it an addiction, because it's not something that I deal with every day, but it is still nonetheless a sin, in thought and in action.

Do I have to share this issue with someone, or can I keep it between me and God? I am too embarrassed to go forward in public...of course knowing that God knows is the ultimate embarrassment.

Would love to hear some input on this from a Christlike perspective - thanks in advance for your help.

Answer 1

Here is a passage of scripture that may help- it helped me when I was struggling with something too

Colossians 3-PUT TO DEATH, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.


We can pray about our sin all we want but we must literally put it to death- or as my Pastor said- KILL IT- and put on the righteousness of Christ. He will give us the desire, and the strength and grace to get rid of it, but we must really do it- praying with no action will not get your sin behind you. I am passionate about praying so don't take me wrong here, but we are responsible for killing whatever is not of God. If you can email me and want to "talk" more please do,

Answer 2

You need to pray about it. God has promised you the grace and the strength that you need to overcome this problem. But, the bible also says that you must have faith and not doubt. After that- you need to practice Colossians 3- the "put off put on" passage. Make a chart where you detail the sinful behaviour and then figure out what the opposite behaviour would be. "Put on" that behavior as you "put off" the old one. For example, if stealing is an issue, you put off stealing and put on Giving. Try to be as specific as you can so that you have something to shoot for. Then start "shooting". You will fall on your face, but you need to confess, repent and keep going. All the strength you need is available by the grace of God. You cannot go forward relying on your own strength. You must call on the holy spirit for the power you need. BUT at some point you will also have to use your free will to choose not to sin, even when you want to. Think of it this way- you have to drag a car up a hill by a rope. You are not strong enough- you will never get there on your own. God wants you to start pulling- he will come behind you and push. You will have to take the first step. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I don't think a Christian could promote this kind of view. AA has a statement that once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic, and you are never cured, just learning to resist and cope. I disagree with this. Everytime you are tempted to do something wrong, that does NOT imply that you are that person. An alcoholic can be totally set free from God, and for a Christian to say that a person can NOT be set free from their sins simply does not understand all that Christ's sacrifice bought for us. In other words, applying this to your question, a person is NOT a homosexual if he does not practice it if he is resisting temptation and saying "NO!" to sin. Furthermore, everyone who ever has a sip of beer or wine is NOT an alcoholic, and there is no such thing as a "latent alcoholic" you either IS, or you AIN'T. The same is true with homosexuality. Furthermore, I can fall into a sin, but that doesn't make me a sinner. I need to ask God to forgive me and get up and wipe my feet off (proverbially speaking). That is true of ANY kind of sin. If a Christian falls to a temptation, "we have an advocate with the Father", and "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." So, if being tempted to follow homosexual interests makes a person a homosexual, then using that same logic, if a person is tempted to have a beer or a glass of wine (with their dinner, for instance), the implication is that this person is a raging alcoholic! That's nonsense! He doesn't have to go to AA and "come out of the closet" as an alcoholic! I believe these homosexual claims are full of rubbish and worse. I believe they belong in the toilet and flushed away with the rest of the filth! It's total garbage, and I believe they want any excuse they can find to justify their behavior, even to the point of changing the definitions and pointing fingers at others so they don't look or feel so bad about their own life choices. (I trust my illustrations using alcohol makes sense.)

Answer 4

If you feel like it would help you to overcome this sin by sharing it with a trusted confident, then do that, however, it is unnecessary.

I struggled with a certain sin for a few weeks, a terrible sin, and I felt terrible, but then I started setting my life up so that it was more difficult to commit that sin. Eventually, with God's help, I overcame it.

Of course, I struggle with other sins, like snapping at my children, but I am working on that too.

Ask for forgiveness EVERY time. It will really help you to keep the lines of communication open between you and Christ.

Don't let the devil guilt you into staying away from God.

Answer 5

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

In Hebrews it says that CHrist is our mediator. So we only need to go to Him and He will forgive us.

Even Paul experienced the frustration of the sin nature. Read Romans 7 and take heart that even a man like Paul struggled just thesame as the rest of us!

I do think that it can help to confide in a mature Christian who can pray with you, counsel you and encourage you. But this is entirely up to you.

God bless and I am praying for your unspoken need.

Answer 6

Go to the Lord in prayer, Some where you can speak out loud and confess , Your Sin...The minute you ask forgiveness you have been for given, The reason we sometimes still fill the guilt and shame is because We don't forgive and forget OUR Self's.....God bless you and that is why he died own the Cross so you can be forgiven...

Answer 7

Sin is an outdated concept. The whole Christian idea that there's some cosmic list of rules that you must follow is nonsense. So, any answer by a Christian will just fall short of reality.

Instead, recognize that you are a human trying to live among other humans. There is a value to the people around you, so you should treat them with value. That way, you aren't constantly beating yourself up about not being able to follow impossible rules. You, instead, just work on how you fit in society and how you would like others to consider you.

You'll find that this leads to a much more consistent and beneficial morality than any list a Christian can come up with. There is a whole lot less of the emotional manipulation that religions impose on people. It is unfortunate that the emotion of guilt is used as such a devastating weapon to control people.

Answer 8

Accountability partners are way helpful in situations like this. If you don't have one get one. What they do is, they relate to the problem more often than not, they pray for you, and give you helpful advice if they have any.

For Christians it is good that we struggle with sin, it shows that our conscience is alive and is a good sign that we are saved. It is when we don't have problems with sin that indicates that we aren't in the battle against it and may not be saved. So believe me it is very important to get an accountability partner and share your problems with them.

I hop that helps.

Answer 9

Pray to God asking Him for help, and talk to someone you trust that knows God. As a Christian, if you trust in Jesus Christ and recognize Him as your Savior, He will forgive you of your sins. God Bless You!

Answer 10

Confession,admitting that you are a sinner and that this sin is a sin,repentance, receiving absolution,doing loving acts of repentance to heal anyone you have hurt by your sin,staying away from situations that tempt you to do that sin again,praying with humility and trusting God that he will help you by grace to persevere in the state of Grace.