I have touched on this subject in a previous post, but due to the responses I’ve received, I feel the need to expand on it some. It seems there are a number of people who have and are going through this and are searching for help on the internet. Due to the guilt and feelings of defeat and discouragement that come with this situation, it is hard to share with anyone else. How do I know this? I know it by the searches that are being done on the internet. What makes it harder to share with someone else are the problems that come from sharing with others and even with those who we might believe are born-again believers instead of the love and empathy that should be there. We live in a world of judgment and degrees placed on sin. Sin is simply missing the mark. How many of us miss the mark every day? Habitual Sin!

What is habitual sin? It is simply a sin that has become a habit and is hard to break. What kind of sin is it? It really doesn’t matter, it is still sin. It is just the fact that some sin is more embarrassing than others and some is more shunned than others. Now, if you go to a hospital with an ailment, illness or injury, they usually try to fix it no matter what has happened, but if you go to just any church with one of those embarrassing sins, they might make it more embarrassing and kick you out. Why do we do this? The church should be a place of healing, but in some places it is more a clique or place of prestige. In these cases, Jesus took corrective measures when He stood up to the teachers in the Synagogue. He said that they worried more about the approval of man than the word of the Lord.

If you need help, you need help. I am so sad that we can’t trust one another as believers anymore. I do know that there are those who do reach out to others without judgment and I am so grateful. It is just that they are usually overwhelmed because they are so few. This is why I write. I know it is from a distance, but this is all I have. Jesus asked me to do this, so here I am. This is why I built this site. I trust that He writes through me with every word I type. You are worth it. I don’t care where you are on this planet, you are not alone. Jesus loves you so much.

I like the comment that James wrote about Habitual Sin in my previous post. “I know that this sin . . . has made me recognize my incredible need for humility and my incredible need for our Savior Jesus Christ.” I have been through some bad things in my life. I wish they would have never happened, but the things I learned far outweighed the pain I endured. How do we know that we have need of a Savior unless we are saved by Him? How do we know of His power, love and mercy unless we need it? How do we know the depths of His love until we are in the depths of despair? Jesus said, “to those who are forgiven much, love much.” Paul stated some amazing words that have meant so much to me and I still keep them before me. Paul said, in Philippians 3:10-14, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

In Habitual Sin 1, I talked about finding the root, if necessary. If there is something there, like unforgiveness, we need to deal with it. The root needs to be destroyed. If there is also a spirit of darkness attached, say for instance, a spirit of lust, it needs to be separated from us. One of the things that gives habitual sin its power is the fact that the enemy keeps putting it back in our faces. He says things like, “you’ll never overcome. God doesn’t love you anymore, etc.” I know. I’ve been there.

Let’s look at what Paul was saying. He wants to know the power of the Lord’s resurrection. The resurrection power of the Lord that raised Him from the dead. This is an awesome power, but Paul doesn’t stop there because he found a key. What is a key? It unlocks doors and sets people free. So Paul goes on and says these ominous words. I have heard people quote and desire the power part but then they stop short. The next part is sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Why does He do this? There is an order here. Jesus didn’t experience the power of resurrection without suffering first. Do we think we can skip this? He learned obedience by what He suffered. Hebrews 5:8-9 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him . . .

Now, let’s go back to where we were. One thing Paul was stating in Philippians was the fact that he was forgetting what was behind. What does the enemy want us to do? He wants us to remember the past and all our failures. If we sin, let’s ask Jesus for forgiveness and keep going on. If it happens again, let’s ask Him for forgiveness and keep going on. When He forgives us, it never happened. It is removed as far as the east is from the west. If the Lord forgets, who are we to beat ourselves over and over again with it. All this does is magnify the sin and its hold on us instead of putting it in its true light. The next thing Paul chose to do was to keep his eyes and mind in a forward position. He kept pressing on toward the goal to win the prize. He knew there was no power in looking back. In fact, looking back only gives power to the enemy, rather he looked to the only One who could help him, Jesus. Our past is history. It is done and we can’t change it. The only thing we can change is the moment we are in. Jesus always referred to Himself as I Am. He didn’t say I Will Be, or I Was with the exception of when He was making the statement that He is eternal. When He walked the earth He lived in the present.

This is so rich and so deep that I can’t seem to do it justice in just these few words. I pray that as you read all of this, He will open your Spirit to hear what He is telling you personally. It is a privilege to walk in the fellowship of His sufferings. It is something to experience the power of sin and the powerlessness of who we are. We have no recourse within ourselves to overcome. We become aware of His power as He reaches down and pulls us out of the pit. We become aware of His love as He gently pulls us close to Himself and hugs us. We become aware of His mercy as He saves us from the sentence that we so rightfully deserve. We experience His grace when He proves to us that it is sufficient. We don’t think we can make it, but by this marvelous grace we can.

Now that we have covered a little more of this subject, let’s look at some of the different types of habitual sin: gluttony, alcoholism, lust, greed, smoking, drug abuse, homosexuality, physical abuse, mental abuse, child abuse, addictions in general, gambling, adultery, fornication, bouts of depression, murder, etc. There are a lot more, but I wanted to list these to get us thinking. All of these things can keep us in bondage, but Jesus came to set us free. Keep your eyes on the AUTHOR and FINISHER or our faith. Notice that He begins it and He will also finish it. This is our covenant with Him. It is the same as with Abraham. He makes a covenant with us and then He fulfills it. All we have to do is agree with Him. It is that simple. It was never about us doing it ourselves. That is the LIE! It was always about grace, from the beginning of the Bible to the end. It is all about Him. This is something to shout about. Glory!

I so hope this helps you as much as it has me writing it. I know who I am without Him and I know who I am with Him. I wish I could reach out and hug you and let you feel His love. I wish I could walk with you every day and encourage you. I feel so limited, but I hope that somehow you have received something to empower you to overcome. There is an end to the power of sin. There is a day it will lose its hold. In the meantime, keep your eyes on Him and experience everything He has for you. He is building your faith and showing you Who He is. This is what He is saying to you. “I Am! I Am with you! If you hear my voice today, come to Me. Come and experience My love. I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Joseph