Compass Check: What To Do About Sin

In confronting the problem of sin, there’s a big difference between recognizing it as the transgression of God’s law, along with our guilt and the resulting death penalty (1 John 3:4; Romans 6:23), and focusing on what to do about it.

What leads us into sin, and how can we recover?

Why Do We Sin?

Scripture explains that everyone has been influenced by Satan the devil, resulting in a corrupted nature hostile to God (Ephesians 2:2; Romans 8:7). This wayward nature aligns with the surrounding culture.

We’re told in 1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” There are fleshly or carnal lusts that lead us to sin. The lust of the eyes is akin to covetousness (wanting something you shouldn’t really have, like someone else’s possessions, friends, or life). The pride of life could be summarized as vanity, such as thinking so highly of ourselves that we can choose what is right or wrong, and don’t need God’s guidance.

You know better than I do the temptations you will face each day, whether that’s someone offering you drugs, the desire to look at pornography on your phone, or whatever it might be. You know what the temptations that lead to your sins are. You need to recognize where they come from and what they lead to. “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15). While Satan might be the one throwing the temptations out there (1 Thessalonians 3:5; 1 Peter 5:8), ultimately it is our choice to succumb.

Can Sin Be Prevented?

So, if we understand sin is so bad, and it’s ultimately on us to decide whether we sin or not, why not just avoid it in the first place? That might sound like a far-fetched, unrealistic goal, but it’s actually a good place to start.

No, you won’t succeed in overcoming every temptation to sin you might face, but think of it like a ping pong game. If you’re playing someone more experienced and skilled, does that mean when the ball is served you should just stand there and watch it go by? Of course not! You should at least try to return the serve. Likewise, we need to keep trying to resist sin.

One way to do that is to strengthen ourselves spiritually through prayer. In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus Christ tells us: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

Evil in this sense means human and carnal, as compared to spiritual and perfect, as God is. The point Jesus is making is that if we ask God for good things, like help with avoiding sin, He is glad to help.

Bible study is another way to help us avoid the sickness of sin. You know you should honor your parents, right? You probably know you can find the command for that in Exodus 20. But do you know why you should do it? Obviously, it’s a command from God, but consider what the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6:1-3: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’”

Sure, we all know the short form “Honor your mother and father,” but Paul points out that the command is actually worded more specifically than that. He cites Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16 in more detail, pointing to further reason we should keep this command. It’s not just out of obligation that we obey, but out of respect and love that we show honor to parents. It’s those kinds of details we can easily forget if we don’t regularly open our Bibles to read and study Scripture.

Recovery from Sin

Try as we might, we all do sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Sometimes we know better and sometimes we are ignorant, and the consequences might vary. But in either case, we sin. The question we need to answer once we inevitably sin is: What now?

Jesus Christ instructed a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11). There was no doubt she was guilty. The law of Moses said she should be stoned to death. But what would Jesus say? That was the question the scribes and Pharisees who brought her before Him tried to trap Him with (verses 3-6). His answer wasn’t to support this group of hypocrites in a mockery of justice. Rather, He told her to “go and sin no more.”

Did she deserve death? Yes. Do we deserve death? Yes. But that is not what God the Father and Jesus Christ want for us. What They want is that we change our habits and stop sinning. We are reminded of this in Peter’s writings as well: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The Father and Jesus’ ultimate goal is not our death, but our repentance and a change from the ways that led us to sin.

An Incredible Promise

Repentance is a key part of recovering from sin. It’s something we must do after we have sinned. “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Repentance is more than just saying, “My bad” or “I’m sorry.” It’s a change in your mindset that says, “I’m not okay with doing sinful things, and I want to stop.”

Paul wrote to people who had made such change: “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter” (2 Corinthians 7:10-11).

Feeling bad because you got caught is not enough. Feeling bad and not ever wanting to do it again—that is what repentance is and what God desires. It’s with that mindset God can work to develop holy, righteous character in us.

That’s our part—what we must do about sin. The exciting part is that there is one more step. A step that God takes, as stated in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is one of my personal favorite scriptures in the Bible. What an amazing promise and gift from our awesome God!

Everyone does indeed fall short of the glory of God in sinning. Scripture says so, and your own personal experience no doubt supports that. The main question is, how can we stop and do what’s right?

The next time you find yourself dealing with sin, take time in prayer to repent, ask God for help to understand why you sinned and what you need to do to change. Then take a moment to rejoice, knowing your God is faithful to forgive and will provide the help you need!