Obtaining Victory Over Sin - NetBibleStudy.com

Victory Over Sin 264.John was a man with an explosive temper. Sharp words would pour out of hismouth, uncontrollably, shattering his wife’s self-confidence and affection. He overdisciplinedhis children, usually in a fit of anger. As a Christian, he knew better andeven decided to change. Once, after a particularly sharp exchange with his wife, heput his fist through the wall. Humiliated and guilt-ridden, he asked God fordeliverance from his tempter. Vowing to change did not help; neither did hispraying. Months later he gave up, saying, “I can’t help myself. That’s just the way I am.”What went wrong in each of these cases? All of these people were Christians – allprayed to be delivered – yet all ended up more discouraged than when they beganseeing help from God. The easy answer would be to say, “They weren’t sincere – if theywere, God would have helped them.” However, they were sincere in their praying, in somecases, they even wept! Sincerity in itself doesn’t guarantee deliverance.One reason why these people reverted back to their old behavior patterns is thatthey misunderstood the full extent of their problem! True, they wanted victory, but theydidn’t understand how or why God would bring it about. They wanted to overcome aspecific habit – for their own benefit. They wanted to be free of the symptoms of theirproblem, but did not want a thorough examination that would reveal deeper problemsin their lives that they were unwilling to face. The habits themselves were like the tip ofan iceberg. --- Let’s take a look at each of these cases again!First, George wanted to break his illicit relationship because he felt guilty; and1.he lived in constant fear of being discovered. He sought God’s assistance tosave his marriage and, above all, his reputation. This is understandable; we certainlycan identify with such motivation. But his life needed other adjustments, as well.To begin with, his marriage was in disarray before the affair began. He had a hottemper and begun to deeply wound his wife’s spirit soon after their marriage. Hisproud, self-righteous spirit had strained his relationship with his two children. He wasselfish, spending his free time fixing racecars. He lived as if his family was aninconvenience.What was God’s concern for this man? Did God want him to stop this forbiddenrelationship? Of course, but God wanted much more than that. God wanted him tohumble himself, to ask for forgiveness of his wife and children, to reorganize hispriorities. Attitudes had to be confessed, pride had to be broken, and selfishness had tobe faced head-on. More importantly, God desired to become Number One in his life.But George wasn’t concerned about such drastic treatment. To put it into perspective –-“God wanted to give him a whole housecleaning, but George wanted only the dirt swept from hisfront steps.”2.What about Ken? He wanted to quit smoking. He was a Christian, but he livedonly on the fringes of spiritual commitment. His children had never heard him