Can a Christian Struggle with HABITUAL SIN? | ask Theocast

The Normal Christian Struggle with Sin

If you've been struggling with the same sin for years, you probably have asked this question, am I still a Christian? Stay tuned. Hi, I'm John Moffitt. I'm the pastor of Grace Reformed Church and host of Theocast, and this is Ask Theocast, where we answer your questions from a Reformed and pastoral perspective.

This is definitely a question that, as a pastor, I get a lot, and at Theocast, we definitely receive this a lot. And the reason is people struggle with sin. Let's be frank. I'm just gonna say this from the very beginning of the video.

God expects you to sin. Now, stop, I'm not a heretic.

That is scriptural.

First John and Confession of Sin

First John, when John wrote this letter, his first letter, he specifically wrote that so that no one would say that they don't struggle with sin. First John 1 .8 says if you do not have sin, you're a liar.

So I think it's safe to say that God expects those who live in a sinful world, who are born into bodies, who struggle with sin, they're going to sin. The question is do we remain in our sin and what do we do about our sin, which is the very next verse, First John 1 .9.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So here is a question that I need to ask you. Who is the one being faithful, you or Christ?

And the answer to that, according to John, is that Christ is the one who is faithful because he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The question then becomes, well then, can I just do the same sin every single day or whatever it is that you're struggling with and then just at the end of it ask God to forgive me?

Well, that would be a very miserable life. If you want to try that, I do not recommend it. And Paul even talks about presuming upon the grace of God that we should not do that. A true genuine believer does not like their sin.

The confusion is this, the difference between those who struggle with your sin and those who don't think it's sin, that's a difference. If someone says, I can do X, Y, and Z, that the Bible says is clearly wrong and it's not offensive to God, it's not a violation of God's word, then most likely you may not be a believer.

And you can put whatever sin that you want in there, whether it be sexual or crimes or whatever. But if you look at your life and you say, man, I know what I'm doing is wrong, or the temptation, this constant temptation, some of you may not be giving into the sin, but that temptation, that gnaws at you every single day.

The Flesh and the Spirit in Galatians 5

And you ask this question, well, I've been saved for so long, how is it that I'm still struggling with the same sin or the desire for the sin? And this is why, because you are yet a saved, you're saved by Christ.

You are what's called a saint, but you have not been relieved from your body of death yet. So you have the capacity to say no to sin, but it still wins and it still gnaws at you. Let me read to you real quick from Paul in Galatians chapter six.

I'm sorry, Galatians chapter five, he says this, for the desire, this is 517, for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things that you want to do.

So Paul describes this battle that goes on. And at times the battle with the spirit, we win, we overcome the flesh and we don't obey our flesh. But he goes on just a few verses later to describe those who might fall into the flesh, who don't battle it well, who give in.

And he says to them, chapter six, verse one, brothers, if any of you is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in the spirit of gentleness, keeping watch on yourselves, lest you too be tempted.

Bear you one another burdens and fulfill the law of Christ. So he describes those who actually do fall into sin. And he doesn't say how often, like you get one fall or you get five or you get 10. Most believers don't want to struggle with their sin.

So the question is, how is it that we do struggle? I will also say there are times where believers give in to their sin. And this is where it's helpful from scripture. And to summarize this, I'm going to read from our confession which is the 1699 Lenebaptist Confession, chapter five, which is on the providence of God and point five says this.

Providence, Temptation, and the 1699 Lenebaptist Confession

The perfectly wise, righteous and gracious God often allows his children for a time. Now listen, his children, okay? We're acknowledging these are believers. For a time to experience a variety of temptations and sinfulness of their own hearts.

He does this to chastise them for their former sins or to make them aware of the hidden strength of the corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts so that they may be humbled. He also does this to lead them to a closer and more constant dependence on him, to sustain them, to make them more cautious about all future circumstances that may lead to sin.

So yeah, I do believe that Christians can struggle with the same sin and mightily and deeply and unfortunately grossly. And God uses this to make us aware of the power of our flesh and the way in which our flesh could draw us away.

I take a lot of comfort in Paul when he says in Romans seven that the things that he doesn't want to do, he keeps doing. And the things that he does need to do, he's not doing them. And he says, who will save us from this body of death?

And he says, thanks be to Christ. And he points us to our hope in Christ and the resurrection. I would also encourage you that a lot of times Christians struggle with their sins by themselves. You're not designed to do that.

The way that the body is to function, as Paul says here in Galatians 6, 1, is that when one of us is trapped in sin, those who are spiritual or those who can see it and with gentleness and love and kindness that we come and we confront them and we bring them out.

So if you're watching this video and you feel trapped in your sin, you've been struggling with the same sin, or maybe you're not giving in, but it's that temptation that's just gnawing on you, a biblical right church that is using the word of God correctly is designed to help and encourage you.

Confession, Hebrews, and Hope in Christ

This is why James says to confess our sins to one another because that way they won't have control over us. But yes, for the rest of your life, you will struggle with sin. For the rest of your life, you will not conquer temptation.

That doesn't give you the right to give into it, but God has given us a means, he says in Hebrews, to boldly run into his presence, and he says, ask for two things, grace and mercy, mercy for your sins and grace for your faith.

So my encouragement to you is if you are trusting in Christ to be the one that cleanses you, if you're trusting in Christ to be the one that is representing you, meaning that it's not your good works, it's his, if by faith you're trusting in him, you're a believer.

And at the same time, you hate your sin and yet you're struggling with it and at times you give into it, don't be deceived. Don't let someone question your salvation. Believe 1 John 1 .8, you're going to sin.

Trust in Galatians 5 .17 when it says that the spirit's going to war against the flesh. Look to Paul and he says that he too battles his own flesh and go to a good local church that's gonna care for you as you struggle with this sin, a church that will bear your burden that you don't have to carry this alone anymore.

If you wanna know more about this, we have a couple of resources in the notes below. We have a free ebook for you. It's called Faith Versus Faithfulness and it's gonna really explain to you a little bit more about this battle and the struggle and it's free for you.

You can get it down in our notes below. If you have a follow-up question or an idea for a video, please leave us a comment down below and we'd be more than happy to answer that for you. Man, if this video was helpful for you, hit that like button for us, subscribe, and make sure you hit the notification bell next to it that way you can see when our next video is coming out.

Thanks for taking the time to watch this video. Clearly, I'm done. See you next time.