Harassing sins and agitating passions must be defeated

Stalking sins and agitating passion paralyze God’s people

Harassing sins and agitating passions paralyze the Body of Christ and prevent it from fulfilling its true purpose and destiny on earth. For the most part, she has been oblivious to the reality that it is the little foxes that spoil the vine (Song of Solomon 2:15). It is not unusual for those who believe they are serving God with all their heart and soul to miss the mark of God’s high calling in Christ. This is most often because they have indulged in stalking sins and agitating passions.

In 2 Peter 1: 3-4 we read that “God’s divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him.” In addition, he says: “He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them we can participate in the divine nature and escape the moral decadence of this world.”

This world is morally bankrupt and blatantly indulges in the most corrupt and horrible acts of perversion and violence in the history of the world. When you consider the corruption in today’s world that leads not only to bad desires, but also to bad actions, these are promises that must be claimed and deeply considered in meditation and prayer.

This day of moral decay demands that we hold on to the rope of God’s Word as if it were our only hope of survival. It really would not be an exaggeration to say that God’s Word is indeed the greatest hope this generation has for survival and victory in a morally corrupt world.

We must consider the sins and passions of God’s people

When considering the pervasive level of filth and corruption in the world, few would think that the sins and passions of God’s people would come close to the sins of those who are spreading or participating in this level of crime and evil. We would not expect a born-again Christian finance officer to be embezzling money from the company that employs him. Nor would we ever believe that Christians would engage in prostitution or sell young women as sex slaves. It is doubtful that a Christian will roam the streets at night looking for a car to steal and sell for money to maintain his growing and enduring addiction to crack.

While all Christians are tempted by their adversary the devil to go beyond the expected limits of justice, most Christians would flee from temptation. Some may have come this far. If so, the depth of your commitment to Christ and His Word must be questioned and closely examined.

True Christians should not be expected to be holy. There is an expectation that they will be tempted and seduced by the devil into engaging in illicit behavior. Most will resist these devilish seductions. The little foxes that finally catch them are the sins of their flesh. Your heavenly calling and commitment are generally sabotaged by your sins and agitating passions.

For the sake of clarity, a stalking sin is anything that moves us toward our own carnal inclinations and leads us away from God’s calling and purposes for our lives. To name a few, some are given to gluttony, others to sexual passions, others watch television or play video games incessantly, and others can waste hours and hours a day on the Internet or on social networks. The list, of course, is endless.

Most have no idea that there is something wrong with what they do. In fact, by world standards, their besetting sins and agitating passions are legal and everyone is involved with them. Why should they abstain from these pleasures in their lives?

I suppose nothing would be inherently wrong with most of these activities if not done excessively. The problem arises if their indulgence leads them away from their call to fully follow Christ. The litmus test of whether a stalking sin or stirring passion can be considered a threat to God’s calling on a person’s life is this: Can they drop everything and exclusively follow Christ? If the answer is no, then they are really caught up in their own sins and passions. His heart is divided and his commitment is weak. Your indulgence in these self-centered passions is too demanding. Despite your best efforts and God’s saving grace, these sins seem to defy all efforts to overcome them. That is if the will to overcome them is there. These problems often have deep roots in the soul and can cause a lot of pain at the heart level.

Understand that a committed Christian doesn’t have to be a monk. Nor should you be a junk food addict, a chronic gamer, a holy drinker, or a media junkie. The Scriptures demand that we be more anxious to assure ourselves (to ratify, to strengthen, to make firm) our calling and election; because if you do this, you will never stumble or fall (2 Peter 1:10).

A Presbyterian minister in the early 1900s, TL Cuyler, described the gravity of the sins and passions of the soul thus: “A Christian is never safe, never strong, never faithful to Christ, unless he constantly seizes of every sinful and selfish passion, and forcing him into unconditional surrender. ” The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27, “I slap my body and make it a slave.” Both men describe an act of violent exercise of moral force in order to overcome and force their besetting sins and agitating passions into submission.

The demands of Scripture for a saint to remain pure from moral corruption and the dangers of stalking sins and agitating passions have been emphasized up to this point in this writing. In Philippians 2:12 we read that we are to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.” We must not forget that the New Testament freed us from the requirements of the law. In fact, “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there is righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 10: 4). Therefore, while we must realize that we must take decisive action to free ourselves from our besetting sins and passions, we must also understand that we are not alone in the effort.

Christ came to free us from the sins and passions of our flesh

Our Heavenly Father knew from the beginning of time that freedom and freedom from these besetting sins and stirring passions cannot be achieved with our own efforts. That is why he sent Jesus to lay down his life on the cross so that we could be free from our grasp of these sins of the soul.

If while reading this article you have felt the Spirit gently nudge you or if you have been overwhelmed by the need to get out of a debilitating sin that you have nurtured for too long, it is time to do something about it. My next article will address the practical steps you can take to help you find freedom from the things that paralyze your walk with Christ.

From the spiritual perspective, to begin your search for freedom from your sins and passions of your soul, you must surrender your efforts to God in prayer. Confess your helplessness to free yourself from these sins and passions. Confess your inability to master these sins in your life. Recognize your desire to walk with Him in spirit and in truth. Come to Him with a sincere heart. He will never reject a repentant sinner who comes to Him asking for mercy to be released.