Obtaining Victory Over Sin - NetBibleStudy.com

Victory Over Sin 60His agony in Gethsemane is well documented, as His soul was troubled tothe point of death (Matthew 26:38). Emotionally, He shrank from the “cup” thatHe was about to drink – and asked if it were possible that the cup might passfrom Him. All these emotional upheavals took place in the God-Man, the Onewho lived a perfectly sinless life.Now it is true that most depression is the result of sin. It may be our ownsin, or the sin of another person against us, and can be most severe if we haveconcealed the real cause of it --- even from our self. Depression usuallyoriginates in self-pity, bitterness or guilt.See lesson on, “Depression, it’s cause and cure”There are those who have seen counselor after counselor and still couldnot seem to cope with intense periods of depression. The problem can often betraced that, despite the counseling – (if they withhold important informationthat deals with sin) – they can’t seem to get relief, or any help. However, whenthey admit their sin, confess it, and accept God’s forgiveness – depression lefts.Self-pity, hostility, and warped values have the same effect. This is why those whothink they have emotional problems often discover that their problems are notreally emotional. Indeed, their emotions are working only too well. Theiremotional struggles are often symptomatic of unresolved guilt from sin thatthey have been unwilling to face. Only when the axe is put to the tree does thefruit of sin wither.However, there are times when we may experience emotional turbulencethat may not be related to any particular sin. The cause may be physiological, orperhaps Satan is trying to disrupt our fellowship with God. At any rate, thispoint deeds emphasis: We do not need to experience a steady stream of peaceful,serene emotional feelings to walk with God!Emotions fluctuate. They are perhaps only little more dependable than theweather. Today we feel great, tonight we can’t sleep, and tomorrow life seemsdemanding. Those moments provide a crucial test of whether we have learnedto walk by faith or if we are still dependent on emotional sight. Personally, I’mglad that my acceptance before God is unrelated to the way we feel.3. A THIRD CONSEQUENCE OF LIVING BY FEELINGS IS THAT WEDEVELOP THE SIN OF PROCRASTINATIONLet’s say that it’s time to visit a friend in the hospital, write a letter, or dosome chores around the house. We know what we ought to do, but for somemysterious reason we can’t seem to get started. We will, putter around, watchtelevision; in short we procrastinate. Why?There may be several reasons for this. We may feel frustrated because thework seems overwhelming; or we may feel inferior, unable to do the job as wellas someone else. So we sit around, waiting for the magic moment when we“feel” like doing the job, when suddenly everything will fall into place. But, veryoften, those magic moments never arrive, and our responsibilities never go