Three Ways to Overcome Sin and Temptation

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The New Testament provides three categories to help people think about and work through their temptations. Resolving debilitating short-term and life-long habits does not always happen the same way for all people. Not only are there different strokes for different folks, but there can be different strokes for each person depending on how a specific temptation causes them to stumble or stall. These three ways to overcome temptation and sin can overlap and intersect as you work through a recurring problem. Let’s take a look at each one.

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Amputation

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell
 (Matthew 5:30).

In this passage, Jesus is teaching us that if your eye sins against you, then you should pluck it out, or if your hand offends you, then you should cut it off and throw it away. He uses hyperbolic language that you should not take literally, as it would be profoundly tragic for anyone to make His words a literal mandate for mutilation. He uses “cut-off language” to show the severity of our habituations and how to think about and respond to sin patterns and problems. Sometimes, you should cut off things that tempt you to sin (2 Timothy 2:22). We’re talking about behavioral modification. What do you need to cut out of your life?

• Should you say “no” to food?
• Should you resist the temptation to shop?
• Should you turn off the television?
• Should you walk away from social media?
• Should you stop flirting with the opposite sex?
• Should you get up on time and go to bed on time?
• Should you put restrictions on your computer?

External habits and behaviors are in view in the language of Jesus. The cutting-off method can sometimes accomplish the instantaneous cessation of sin, though that is not always the case. In other situations, the battle is more intense and internal, where cutting the sin out of your life does not end the temptation. There is more work to do in the heart.

However, in a counterintuitive way, the ongoing temptation can be a measure of God’s kindness to you. The Lord may allow struggles in your life to help you draw closer to Him (2 Corinthians 1:8-9; 12:7-10). Perhaps reading the story of Joseph beginning in Genesis 37 would reveal how the Lord uses sin sinlessly to mature us in the faith. Regardless, we should consider the grace of amputation and how behavioral modification could be a great start to removing sin from our lives.

Mortification

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (Romans 8:13).

In Romans, Paul introduces another idea for overcoming sin problems, which speaks more to our hearts. He asks us to mortify the deeds of the body. In our modern Bible, it may read “to make dead” or “to put to death.” Mortification is different from cutting off behaviorally. Mortification suggests you may need another method to overcome sin—something deeper. Sometimes, you amputate the problem from your life, and other times, you mortify it. In some situations, you may do both. The mortification of sin reduces the vitality of something until it dies. It takes its strength away. I have illustrated this by using the “common cold” analogy.

I can wipe my child’s nose (amputation), and it will take away the manifestation of the problem while bringing external help, albeit limited. These behavioral practices will not address the root issue. The problem is deeper than external solutions. The disease is in the body. There needs to be an internal solution. Therefore, I give our child medicine that I trust will render dead the disease that is internally defiling her. I can tell our child to stop coughing, which would probably exasperate her. She cannot quit no matter how much fussing I do; it will take time. The mortification of sin is a matter of the heart. Here is a list of some of these types of sins:

• Lust for food.
• Bitterness toward someone who wronged you.
• Wrongly motivated by guilt.
• Afraid of what others think about you.
• Worry about making a poor decision.
• Regretting a wrong choice from the past.
• Anxious about how God views you.

Limitation

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1).

The Hebrew writer teaches us to lay aside any weight hindering us. He is not saying that a hindrance is a sin; it does not have to be a sin, but it can be a negative influence—something slowing us down. Sometimes, non-sin things can be sinful to someone, which is why you limit the practice of or participation in those activities. You may not be able to make a biblical case for it being a sin for all of your friends, but you must be self-aware and honest about how temptation grabs your heart, circumventing putting Christ on display in the most effective ways in your life. There are many illustrations of non-sin things that can be sinful to a unique individual. Television, technology, shopping, alcohol, friends, social media, and money are a few examples of non-sin things that can work against us, even to the point of our hearts leading us into sin.

It is important to have a comprehensive understanding of our temptations, weaknesses, and sin patterns so we can be vigilant in refraining from the things that keep the Lord’s glory from being reflected in our lives. We must think realistically about how and why we sin and the biblically informed methods that enable us to conquer the things that want to defeat us. Our efforts happen under, in, through, and by the empowering favor of God. We can defeat the enemy’s enticements and keep from his entanglements as we respond to the Lord’s practical mercy in our lives.

Call to Action

1. What are your struggles?
2. How do you fight the battle against sin?
3. Do you have clear sin categories? Do you call what you do sin when it is sinful, or do you round the corners of your sin by relabeling, redefining, or other minimizing tactics?
4. Have you permitted your friends to speak into your life?
5. Have you shared with them how you sin and how you are tempted to sin?
6. What does this quote mean to you? “The gospelized person is free. He has nothing to hide, nothing to protect, and nothing to fear. He radically battles sin in the context of a community of friends.”

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Rick Thomas

Rick launched the Life Over Coffee global training network in 2008 to bring hope and help for you and others by creating resources that spark conversations for transformation. His primary responsibilities are resource creation and leadership development, which he does through speaking, writing, podcasting, and educating.

In 1990 he earned a BA in Theology and, in 1991, a BS in Education. In 1993, he received his ordination into Christian ministry, and in 2000 he graduated with an MA in Counseling from The Master’s University. In 2006 he was recognized as a Fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).