7 Things to do when Dealing with Sin
Jerry Bridges (1929–2016) was an American author, speaker, and staff member of The Navigators. While Bridges is most well known for his writings, including The Pursuit of Holiness, those who knew him best remember a life of humble, consistent service to the Lord and others.
In Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins we Tolerate, Bridges offers 7 helps for dealing with sin.
Regardless of how much we grow, we never get beyond our constant need of the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
We should always address our sin in the context of the gospel. … As we struggle to put to death our subtle sins, we must always keep in mind this twofold truth: Our sins are forgiven and we are accepted as righteous before God because of both the sinless life and sin-bearing death of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no greater motivation for dealing with sin in our lives than the realization of these two glorious truths of the gospel.
We must learn to rely on the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Remember, it is by the Spirit that we put to death the sins in our lives…We tend to forget this and resort to our own willpower. It’s what I call one of our “default settings.” Regardless of how much we grow, however, we never get beyond our constant need of the enabling power of the Holy Spirit…
While depending on the Holy Spirit, we must at the same time recognize our responsibility to diligently pursue all practical steps for dealing with our sins.
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (psalm 119:11).
4. We must identify specific areas of sins…Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see if there is a pattern of sin in your life. This, of course, requires humble attitude and a willingness to face that sin.
5. We should bring to bear specific applicable Scriptures to each of our subtle sins. These Scriptures should be memorized, reflected on, and prayed over as we ask God to use them to enable us to deal with those sins. The psalmist wrote, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (119:11). To store up means to lay aside for future need.
Two are better than one.
6. We should cultivate the practice of prayer over the sins we tolerate…Prayers regarding our subtle sins should be of two types. First, we should pray over them in a planned, consistent manner, probably in our daily private time with God. Second, we should pray short, spontaneous prayers for the help of the Holy Spirit each time we encounter situations that might trigger on of our sins.
7. We should involve one or more other believers with us in our struggles against our subtle sins. This, of course, should be a mutual relationship as we seek to exhort, encourage, and pray for one another. The Scripture tells us that “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10). We need the mutual vulnerability with and accountability to one another, as well as the praying for one another and encouraging one another, if we want to make progress in dealing with sin.