Fighting Sin: Name the Sins

If we want to learn how to fight sin, we first have to be sure of God’s grace applied to us. Nowhere is the compassion of God demonstrated more clearly than in the cross of Christ.

Pondering the cross reminds a believing sinner of three vital truths which equip him to battle his flesh. We will consider the first today and the others in future posts.

1. We are sinners. The cross forces us to admit our failure to please God. If we were already fully obedient, there would have been no need for Christ to be crucified in our place. Our sin put Him there. We are sinners. Pretending that we’re not that bad only works against us. It’s easier to fight sin when we admit there is sin to fight.

More specifically, we must admit there is real, actual wickedness to fight. Christians are typically quick to confess sin, but less quick to confess sins. It is easy, relieving even, to say, “I am not perfect.” But it is very hard to say, “I am bitter and angry” or “I am selfish” or “I am not content with the job God has given me” or “I am really unkind when I speak to others” or “I would much rather watch a football game than study the Bible” or “My greatest desire is to have a lot of money” or “I would do anything to make someone like me” or “I just can’t keep my eyes (or mind) off of that woman’s body.” But what is the point of trying to overcome evil if we don’t identify what evil we are trying to overcome? A hunter can’t aim at elk, but he can aim at that elk. Looking to the cross helps. When we consider the incomparable suffering the Savior experienced in our place, we must not be satisfied to think that He took sin in the abstract. No, He suffered for my hatred, my lust, my greed, my selfishness, my temper, my faithlessness, and all the rest of my actual offenses against God. Those sins and more continue to be the things that I need to overcome.

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