The Root of the Problem (Part 15): We’ve Made It a Habit

The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome

A habit is “a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition” (The American Heritage Dictionary). Anything can become a habit, even those things which are good.

Sadly, many have developed a habit of sin. They have sinned so often that they now do it without even thinking. This is a very dangerous condition. We cannot repent of sin unless we first see the sin that is in our lives. The occasional sin is easier to see. It stands out to us – not just because it is out of character for us to engage in a certain behavior, but because we have to make the conscious decision to ignore what we know to be right in order to do what is wrong.

Habitual sins are able to hide because we do not think about them. Our decision to commit them is often unconscious. This does not excuse the action. Sin is sin, no matter how much thought we put into it. But when sin becomes a normal part of our routine, not only will our habitual sins continue, but the door will be wide open for other sins to enter into our life.

In the days of Noah, God decided to destroy mankind (Genesis 6:7) – the ones who were made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). After God finished His Creation with Adam and Eve, He saw that everything He had made was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Yet by the time of Noah’s generation, mankind had provoked God to the point that He determined to wipe them off the face of the Earth. How could man reach this point in only a few generations?

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

Man had devolved into a state of such wickedness because this was all he thought about. Sin had become common and accepted. Despite the fact that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) and that God was patiently “waiting in the days of Noah” (1 Peter 3:20), no one outside of Noah’s family was willing to give up his wicked ways and turn back to God.

Thoughts lead to actions. If our thoughts are corrupt, our actions will eventually become corrupt as well. This happened with the population of Noah’s day. It also happened later with the people of Jerusalem.

‘Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? There were not even ashamed at all; they did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be cast down,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 6:15).

These were God’s chosen people. They had received the Law, yet they did not keep it. Sin had become so common for them that there was no longer any shame or remorse for violating God’s law. They could no longer blush. They were like those whom Paul described who were seared in their conscience.

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

The conscience is not intended to be one’s standard. We can sin while thinking that we are doing right. Paul lived in good conscience while persecuting the church (Acts 23:1). So we must not use the conscience as the basis of determining right and wrong in our lives.

The conscience is, however, meant to be a guide for us – not an infallible, personal, unique standard, but rather to serve as a warning for us. When we are tempted to sin, the conscience is there to remind us about right and wrong. If we sin, then afterward the conscience is there to cause guilt and shame because we have done something we know to be wrong. Of course, the only way this works is if the conscience is trained by the word of God (Hebrews 5:13-14). If it is trained properly, the conscience can be a valuable tool in overcoming and turning away from sin.

But if the conscience becomes seared, we are in trouble. When we no longer feel guilt for sin, that internal mechanism that should lead us to want to repent is gone. One’s conscience can be trained improperly through a false message. But for it to become seared and callous, it takes the habitual practice of that which the conscience knows to be wrong, thus overcoming the hesitance that precedes and the shame that follows sin.

This is why it is so important that we put away sin from our lives. The Hebrew writer tells us to “lay aside…the sin which so easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1). Sin will destroy us if we allow it to remain. The sins that become habits are the hardest to overcome because they are the easiest to overlook. We have learned how to do them without thinking.

To overcome habitual sin, we must follow Paul’s instruction: “Be careful how you walk” (Ephesians 5:15). Instead of thoughtlessly continuing the same behaviors and practices we engaged in previously, we should think about what we are doing. “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5), and we need to be sure we are testing yourself by the proper standard – the word of God.

If, after careful and honest examination, we find we are doing right, great. We should continue to do so and grow in Christ. But if there are changes that need to be made to conform to the image of Christ, then we need to make those changes right away. We need to break the habit of sin. Before we act, we should think about what we are about to do. Is it something that would be displeasing to God? Does it violate the instructions revealed to us in His word? If so, we must abstain from the evil practice.

It is not enough that we simply want to do right. We also need to notice when we sin so we can make corrections in our behavior. We should examine our lives; put away sin; follow the instructions of the Lord.

Summary

To overcome sin, you must break the sinful habits that you have conditioned your conscience to ignore. Make sure your conscience is trained by the word of God, rather than your sinful practices. Instead of thoughtlessly engaging in any practice, be careful how you walk. When you find sin in your life, remove it before it has a chance to become a habit.


This material is taken from the book, The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome, published by Gospel Armory, © 2010.


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