Obtaining Victory Over Sin - NetBibleStudy.com

Victory Over Sin 3Is it possible to be delivered from the “one-step forward and two-backward”routine? At times, the answer seems to be “No” - despite our sincere attempts atyielding our self to God. We retain certain weaknesses -- (“sins” is a more honest word)– until we conclude that we would simply have to live with them. After all, we decide –“no one is perfect!”However, when we are honest with our self we realize that our failures are nocredit to Christ, who won the victory over all sin – and sins – by His death andresurrection. And, after all, Christ Jesus did promise that we could be “free indeed.”Hallelujah -- God’s Word gives a guide whereby the most persistent of sins canbe dislodged and we can be free from even the ones ingrained so deeply within thecrevices of our soul.Imagine a city that is constantly being attacked at a vulnerable point along one ofits walls. The enemy habitually exploits the same weakness – with startling success.Don’t you think that the inhabitants would rebuild the defective fortification inpreparation for the next assault? Yet countless Christians repeatedly succumb to thesame temptations without a constructive program for strengthening their defenses.They have accepted failure as a way of life, reasoning, “That’s just the way I am.”God has a different plan and He has given us a message of deliverance and hope.True, there are no easy miracles. Our success is neither instant nor automatic.Superficial answers and so-called easy solutions only lead to false expectations that, inturn, spawn disappointment and unbelief. Applying Biblical principles take time anddiscipline. However, study progress is possible. Even long-established and sinfulbehavior patterns can be replaced by wholesome attitudes and actions.God sent His Son down from heaven to deliver us from our besetting sins. Iwould like for us to consider a step-by-step route to the freedom Christ has providedfor “whosoever will.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lesson 1WHY TEMPTATION?Why are wrong desires so powerful? We can’t help but wonder -- when we arecrushed by guilt over a transgression of God’s Word – “Why can’t we trust our self?” Wedon’t want to live a defeated life. We promise our self that we wouldn’t do it again –but here we are again!These are honest questions that deserve an answer. Why is temptation soattractive, unrelenting, and powerful? Why doesn’t God adjust the degree of ourtemptations so that the scales would be tipped more generously in favor of holy living?