Christians are free from sin’s rule, but not from its attempts to regain control. The battle that exists inside all of us, between sin and the new nature, will continue until we get to Heaven. This fact, however, is not a bleak one. The Bible tells us that Jesus rendered sin powerless at the cross. Being in Christ, we are not obligated to submit to sin’s dictates and desires. We can, by the Holy Spirit, make the right choices and take the proper actions to keep sin from regaining control of our thoughts, actions, and words. Here are five practical ways we can do this:

1. LOOK TO CHRIST AND HIS CROSS

The scene of God’s holy, incarnate Son suffering and dying on the cross is a shocking and horrific one. He became our sin and satisfied God’s wrath in order to rescue and redeem us from sin’s rule over us. This motivates us to love God and hate sin and to choose pleasing God over disobeying Him.

2. MAINTAIN A CLEAR AND CORRECT VIEW OF GOD

In Genesis 39, Joseph refused to commit sexual sin on this basis: “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9) How we think about God impacts how we think about sin. Seeing God as being, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” causes us to admit, “Woe is me,” and to regard sin as “unclean” (Isaiah 6).

3. DEVOTE YOURSELF TO GOD’S WORD

This includes reading it. Thinking about it. Obeying it. Psalm 119:11 tells us this, “I have stored your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” God uses His word to wash us and to make us clean (John 17:17; Ephesians 5:25-27). This is His work in us called sanctification; He is transforming us into the likeness of Jesus. By immersing ourselves in God’s word, we experience its purifying effect and sin-overcoming power.

4. BE DILIGENT IN PRAYER

In Matthew 26:41 Jesus told His followers, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Prayer is our offensive weapon against sin. It is a devastating blow against it; for this reason, it’s so hard to do. Jesus said, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” When it comes to prayer, we need to have a wartime mindset. We cannot afford to wait until we feel like praying before we pray; it has to happen consistently and continually. When temptations come, the first 10 seconds will generally determine the outcome. In this window of time, pray. In doing this, God provides the help and power we need to resist it.

5. CONFESS YOUR SINS TO GOD ON A REGULAR BASIS

Confession is the admission of our sins against God. In doing this, two things happen: First, God forgives us. This is affirmed in 1 John 1:9. Second, God renews in us a right attitude toward sin. In confessing our sins, we see the truth again that sin is evil, offensive, unclean, destructive, and full of hatred towards God. With this renewed understanding, we will reaffirm our love for God and refortify our defenses against sin.

In closing, I’d like to remind you of this message of the Gospel: Christ has set you free from sin’s rule. Daily live in this reality.

(For more on this subject, read Romans 6 and 8).

The seed of every sin known to man is in my heart.
Robert Murray McCheyne

The Holy Spirit never enters a man, then lets him live like the world.
A.W. Tozer

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me, and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the paths of everlasting life.
Psalm 139:23-24

Psalm 123 begins like Psalm 121 with both songwriters looking up. However, this psalm focuses not on foreboding mountains, but on the Lord “Who dwells in the heavens,” with a perfect perspective.

What if we could see our life path from God’s perspective? We’d understand every confusing twist in the road, every frustrating delay, and His reason for choosing our particular traveling companions.

We can wish all we want. The truth is, our heavenly Father wisely allows us to see through a foggy glass now, so we’ll learn to trust Him with each step and every change of direction.

In 1998 my wife, Joy, and I were lost in London, England at rush hour, trying to reach the city of Ashford. Facing the embarrassing truth that I was lost, I finally did something decidedly unmanly and demeaning. I asked for directions. The truck driver I approached uttered just two beautiful words, “Follow me!” then led us through lanes, alleys and boulevards, turning north, south, east and west for thirty minutes. Finally we came to the M20 onramp heading toward Ashford. Our “savior” just pointed and shouted, “There ya go, mate!” We had no choice but to trust this stranger on our wild ride that day. We were at the mercy of this kind Samaritan. We were lost.

Psalm 123 is that kind of confession from a humble servant who has stumbled into some deep, dark trouble. This is a cry for MERCY.

That word “mercy” is found four times in these fifteen Psalms, three of which are here in Psalm 123. Safe to say this psalmist is responding to God’s detailed search of his soul, at the early stages of his long walk toward the “celestial city.”

What brought this traveler to his knees? Look at verses 3-4.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.
Psalm 123:3-4

The problem was sin; contempt, scorn and pride, all qualities of the arrogant man who makes a nasty habit of looking down on others in order to vaunt himself to a perch of superiority.

He’s like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable (Luke 18:10-14) who said, “I thank You, God, that I’m not a sinner like everyone else,” while the remorseful IRS agent prayed, “Be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.”

The man who believed all he needed was to “get out of Dodge” and his life would be bright and promising, has discovered he’d carried with him the spoiled culture he thought he’d left behind. He had lived long enough in Meshech and Kedar to adopt at least some of the ungodly attitudes and actions of the “locals.”

I imagine this pilgrim stopping for a rest, taking a deep breath, then noticing a distinct foul aroma in the air. He sniffs a couple times, studying the familiar odor before he says out loud, “Something around here smells like Meshech and Kedar.” Then reality hits. It’s him…in him and on him! Having “marinated” in the violent, deceitful culture of that compromised land for so long, he had become like the very place and people from which he was trying to escape. The problem was “assimilation.”

He also confesses the extent of the encroaching darkness. Apparently it was pervasive. He says, “We are exceedingly filled with scorn…contempt.” Yes, it’s bad, but God had graciously diagnosed the dangerous disease before it resulted in total ruin.

You see, the truth about the proximity of evil in the world is not just that it’s all AROUND us, it is also IN us. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all failed in our quest for perfection. McCheyne was right, I do carry the seed, the potential for any and all sin, within me. But Tozer was right as well. God refuses to abandon us to live like the world, now that His Spirit has enlivened or “resurrected” us. Yahweh is in us and for us.

We are always in danger of becoming like our cultural environment. We are daily confronted by the dominant values of our region, whether they be violence, deceit, pride, racism or hedonism. Unless we consciously resist our toxic culture, it will seep in and pollute the core of our hearts.

You see, the truth about the proximity of evil in the world is not just that it’s all AROUND us, it is also IN us. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all failed in our quest for perfection.

What do we do when we discover this invasion; realizing we’ve become worldly trained and tainted by ungodly traits of our neighborhoods? We would be wise to follow the steps of this Psalm 123 hiker.

• Look up to the Yahweh who sees the whole scene perfectly
• Identify our compromise, give it its true name
• Confess our sin. Say, “I did this, Lord.”
• Ask for mercy

Speaking of mercy, when Jesus heard a crucified thief begging for mercy, crying out with one of his last weak breaths, “Remember me when You come into Your kingdom,” Jesus promised him he would be home with Him in paradise before the day was over. THAT’S MERCY! You can be just as assured as that condemned thief that your cry of “Mercy, mercy, mercy” will be heard and rewarded with abundant, saving grace. God is faithful to forgive the humble confessor (1John 1:9). He “delights to show mercy” (Micah 7:18).

This is one of the most common and critical crossroads. We will not make continued progress without humility, repentance and daily mega doses of mercy.

This is also one of the hardest ascents in our journey; admitting we’re lost, still in need of mercy. But just do it. Let God search your heart. Let Him forgive you. Let Him clear the air. Let Him lead you along the paths of everlasting life. Leave the past in the past. Press forward.