Simply Decide You Want to Stop Sinning

Make a decision to stop doing the things you know to be wrong.

Know that the very first command of Jesus in his public life [as recorded in Matthew 4:17] was to "Repent.” It literally means to turn your life around and go in a different direction [without the sin(s) of your past].

True repentance is a process that would commonly follow these steps:

· Be honest with yourself and determine what sin(s) need to be eliminated from your life

· Develop a “Godly sorrow” for your sin(s) [sorrow for what you did]

· Confess your sin(s) to God and ask for forgiveness

· Ask the Holy Spirit to help you make the needed changes from the inside out

· Go a different and better direction in your life

· Don't repeat your sin(s)

· Go forward constructively in your life without guilt and shame

John the Baptist’s role in life was to herald the coming of the Messiah [Jesus]. His best-known message to people as he preached in the wilderness was “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.” (Matthew 3:2) John was called “the Baptist” because his practice was to water-baptize those who responded to his message to confess and to sincerely repent of their sins.

John also taught a secondary message and warned that judgement was at hand. In Matthew 4:10 John said “Already the axe [of God’s judgement] is swinging toward the root of the trees, therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Remember that God judges sin and there are consequences of your sins. You do reap what you sow [good or bad]. The consequences of your sin(s) are not always immediate because God loves you and patiently gives you time to change [repent]. Know that the consequences of your sins can carry on to your family through generational curses to the third and fourth generations [Ex 5:6, Ex 20:5, Ex 34:9, Numbers 14:18 Deut. 5:9]. Your sins rarely affect just you.

For example: The sins of King David [sexual immorality, adultery and murder] opened up a spiritual doorway that allowed sexual sin and murder into the lives of his children with many negative consequences. You would do well to learn from these Biblical lessons about the impact of sin.

David’s first born son, Amnon, lusted after and raped his half sister Tamar. David’s third oldest son Absalom murdered Amnon in revenge for raping his sister. The child born from David’s and Bathsheba’s sexual immorality died shortly after birth. Later in David’s reign, Absalom tried to kill his father to take over his throne. Absalom led a great civil war that killed many thousands of people. David’s sins were costly and caused serious fatal consequences for thousands of people, even beyond his family.

There is some good news about repentance in David’s story. He and Bathsheba repented and were forgiven by God. After they were legitimately married, God blessed their union and they had a second son who lived and was named Soloman. Soloman became a great king, exceedingly rich and was chosen to build the Temple. Under Soloman’s reign there was great peace and prosperity in Judea.

Note: Many people are only “sorry” when they have to suffer the consequence(s) of their sins. [Much like a child who is only sorry they got caught rather than truly sorry for what they did]. We need to view our sins as “a stench in the nostrils of God” and be truly sorry for them [have a godly sorrow] prior to confessing them to God and asking for His forgiveness.

As Christians, we know that the sins of unbelievers are judged and lead to eternal hell and damnation. The greatest sin of an unbeliever is that they rejected the grace, mercy, forgiveness and salvation offered by Lord Jesus. First John 1:9 tells us “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins.” Know that the “unrepented sins” of the believer are also judged. You should make it a priority in your life to repent [stop conscious sinning] immediately, before it is too late and the consequences lead to destruction.

As a practical suggestion, list your top three sins and rank-order them. Write out your plan to purge them from your life. This plan would often include identifying the bad thoughts, words and behaviors you must eliminate and then determining the good thoughts, words and behaviors you should substitute. A Christian counselor might suggest you write down [document] on a sheet of paper each of your sins you have chosen work on. Once you have mastered that sin, rip that sheet up and throw it away to signify your victory over it and to receive God’s forgiveness. As you have successfully conquered [repented of] these first three sins, keep going on to the next three until you have repented of all conscious sin in your life.

We, as human beings, have a very limited ability to change anything in our lives. In Matthew 19:25 the disciples asked Jesus “who can be saved from the wrath of God?” In Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and replied, ”With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” God can set us free from the many sins in our lives [deadly addictions, degrading lifestyles, anger, violence, hatred, unforgiveness, judgmental, greed, adultery, lust, abortion, etc.] if we ask Him and allow Him. That is where our Helper, the Holy Spirit, comes in. He can change us from the inside out if we seek Him, surrender to Him and allow Him to work in our lives. Lasting true repentance requires your commitment plus the help of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you for taking your time to read this post. I value your feedback, so I hope you will take a moment to rate and comment on this material in the Comments Box directly below the Recent Posts section. If you like this material, please share it with friends. My purpose and goal are to help people "learn how to live a truly blessed life." My posts fall into four categories: 1) Spiritual Laws, 2) Christian Principles, Servant Leadership, and 4) Life Lessons. Thanks again for reading and blessings to you!