Besetting sins and stirring passion paralyze God’s people

Besetting sins and stirring 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 Songs 2:15). It is not uncommon 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 more often because they have given in to the sins that beset them and the passions that agitate them.

In 2 Peter 1:3-4 we read that “The divine power of God has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him.” It further says: “He has given us his great and precious promises, so that through them we may partake of the divine nature and escape the moral decadence of this world.”

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

This day of moral decline demands that we cling to the lifeline of God’s Word as if it were our only hope of survival. It really would not be an exaggeration to say that the Word of God is, in fact, the best 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 widespread 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 propagating or participating in this level of crime and wickedness. We would not expect a born again Christian finance officer to embezzle money from the company that employs him. Nor would we ever believe that Christians would be involved in prostitution or selling young women into sexual slavery. It is doubtful that a Christian would wander the streets at night looking for a car to steal and sell for money to support his lingering and growing 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 gone as 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 saints. There is an expectation that they will be tempted and seduced by the devil into engaging in unlawful behavior. Most will resist these devilish seductions. The little foxes that finally catch them are the sins of their flesh. Their heavenly calling and commitment are often sabotaged by their besetting sins and agitating passions.

For the purposes of clarity, a besetting sin is anything that moves us toward our own carnal inclinations and away from God’s calling and purposes for our lives. To mention 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 of the 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 the world’s standards, their besetting sins and stirring 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 they weren’t done excessively. The problem arises if their indulgence takes them away from their call to fully follow Christ. The litmus test of whether a besetting sin or a stirring passion can be considered a threat to God’s calling on a person’s life is this: Can they leave everything behind and follow Christ exclusively? If the answer is no, then they really are 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 there is the will to overcome them. These problems often have deep roots in the soul and can cause a lot of pain at the level of the heart.

Understand that a committed Christian does not have to be a monk. He also must not be a junk food addict, a chronic gambler, a drinking saint or a media junkie. Scripture requires that we be very anxious to secure (ratify, strengthen, make firm) our calling and election; for 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 seriousness of sin and the passions of the soul this way: “A Christian is never sure, never strong, never true to Christ unless he is constantly seizing every sinful and selfish passion, and forcing him into unconditional surrender.” The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27: “I beat my body and put it in bondage.” Both men describe an act of violent exercise of moral force to overcome and compel their besetting sins and stirring passions into submission.

The Scriptural demands that a saint be kept pure from moral corruption and the dangers of besetting sins and stirring up the passions have been emphasized up to this point in this writing. In Philippians 2:12 we read that we are to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” We must not forget that the New Testament freed us from the demands of the law. In fact, “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be justice 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 our agitating 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 besetting passions cannot be achieved by our own efforts. That is why he sent Jesus to give his life on the cross so that we could be freed from the clutches of these sins of the soul.

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

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