HOW TO FIGHT SIN AND TEMPTATION
This method of sanctification is called the New Covenant model of sanctification. It is called that because it is built upon the theological truths of the New Covenant. The New Covenant believer receives the Holy Spirit and New Heart at conversion. The desire of this new heart is to love and obey God. The Holy Spirit guides us in making these desires a reality in our life. While our old sinful nature remains (see Rom. 6-8) our deepest desire is to obey God.
Many may resist this truth, quoting verses like Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”. However, this verse speaks of the old heart, not the new heart that has been received at conversion by New Covenant believers. There is a fundamental shift between the heart of someone under the Old Covenant, and someone under the New Covenant. For the person under the New Covenant, obedience to God’s commands is what will make us most deeply happy. This model gives you a helpful process to work through when fighting temptation to sin.
Key Scriptures:
Ezekiel 36:26-27 - And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 - Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Romans 6:17-18 - But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
1 John 5:2-3 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
The New Covenant Model
STEP 1 – LEARN THE WILL OF GOD BY READING HIS WORD
• In some sin issues just learning something is sin is enough to stop. This is how swearing worked for me.
• BUT IF TEMPTATION PERSISTS…
STEP 2 - STOP YOURSELF WHEN TEMPTED
STEP 3- THINK ABOUT WHATS GOING TO MAKE YOU MOST DEEPLY HAPPY
a. We want to think of the positive effects of obedience
b. We want to think of the consequences of disobedience
THIS MUST BE DONE IN COMMUNITY TO WORK! YOU NEED HELP! Our sinful nature is strong, and the desires of our new heart (that most deeply desires to love and obey God) can be clouded by our sinful desires. We need the help of other believers, who will speak grace into our lives, to obey God.
STEP 4: CHOOSE WHAT WILL MAKE YOU MOST HAPPY
STEP 5: DECLARE PRE-EMPTIVE WAR ON YOUR SIN
You need to be proactive in making war on your sin. Here are the four most helpful steps to doing this.
1. Pray (every day that God would keep you safe from temptation and help you obey. Beg the Holy Spirit to lead you powerfully.)
2. Preach the gospel to yourself
• Remind yourself of the gospel and learn to preach it against your specific temptations. See last week’s handout for help on this.
3. Create distractions (or escapes)
• When you are tempted know what you will do (make a plan) to get your mind off the temptation.
4. Be in a small group and spiritual growth/accountability relationship
• You have to be in community, it’s a command from God so don’t make excuses. Create questions for yourself with another person in SG and ask them weekly
• Check out the spiritual growth questions / accountability questions on the blog for help. (www.at-the-cross-ministry.blogspot.com)
5. Do good
• Eph. 2:8-10
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