How to Break the Unending Cycle of Sin

You must have already encountered a sin in your life where you felt the weakest? Something you don’t want to get involved into but you can’t seem to get out from its grips? Be encouraged brother/sister in Christ, you are not alone.

Paul says in Romans 7 verse 15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” And continues on in verse 18 saying, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”

Special thanks to Charles Stanley who continues to inspire me in his book “Winning the War Within”

One of the chapters talked about the root of evil. As Christians, we know there are different roots for the varying natures of sin. There is pride, selfishness, greed, ungodliness and the list goes on. In this book, Mr. Stanley tells us that having the wrong source of significance or security can be a cause of  the cycle of your sin and mine.

Let’s start by reflecting what sin has a cycle in your life. For exemplifying purposes, let’s say the lack of self-control in the words you say. You’re the type who when hurt, tells your offender his/her faults on why you did a particular thing (tosses blame). Or you may be the one who raises his/her voice in order to prove a point to tell a person you’re certain about something and you’re right about it; Without consideration whether you’re hurting others.

In my previous article, I explained why your so-called personality is not an excuse for this behavior. Nothing is an excuse for our choice to act the way we do. But going deeper, have you ever asked yourself why? Is it because in your household, this was how anger was dealt? Or may it be because you feel more superior (smart, good) each time you win an argument?

The point is you fall into the same sin over and over again because you have the wrong concept of where your source of security and significance should be. We tend to create our own ‘world of fear’ where we get so conscious of what people will think or say about us when _____. In our example, your lack self-control of what words to say when you fear someone’s getting ahead in your particular niche, when he/she could not give you what you want and when things don’t turn out as you have wanted it.

Tonight, think about this sin and instead of feeling guilty, resolve to pull-out its roots from your heart. Charles Stanley posed a few questions to renew our mind with whom our true security and significance rests:

1. Who is ultimately in control of all that goes on in the world today?
2. Who sent His Son to die for you?
3. Who promised He would never leave you?
4. Who has given you eternal identity based upon His work?
5. With whom, then, does your true security rest?