“Why Am I Still Struggling With Sin As a Believer?”
Romans 3:23 is arguably one of the most quoted Scriptures from the Bible. It states, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” The law was God’s glorious standard, and it sadly exposed how sinful we are as a people.
God already knew we were going to sin so He provided a means of making us right with Him. Romans 3:25-26 highlights, “For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood…for He was looking ahead...God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.”
Knowing this information, it saddens me when people use Romans 3:23 to justify their sinful practices and shortcomings when the Apostle Paul was merely highlighting the innate human condition that requires God’s grace.
We did nothing to deserve God’s grace and God requires so little on our part. He just wants our faith. Romans 3:31 states, “In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.”
Why does God care about our faith so much? Well, we need a biblical understanding of faith. Hebrews 11:1 points out, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
The reason why we as believers tend to start struggling with sin is that our faith tends to deteriorate over time as the stresses of life set in. The distractions take our spiritual eyes off of Jesus and we put our natural eyes on what we can see.
Faith is the core of our walk with Christ and God wants us to understand how much He loves. Faith is important because the God’s plan for your life is better than anything that we could ever come up with for our own life. And if you haven’t noticed already, when you try to control your own life and it doesn’t tend to have the best results.
The other reason why faith is important is because we are ambassadors of Christ. Whether you know it or not, you represent the Kingdom of God. People are looking at your actions and some are even curious to see if what they say about God is true.
I heard a pastor recently state that biblical faith means, “There is observable evidence in your actions that leads people to believe that you believe in what God said.”
Is there observable evidence in your actions that would lead people to believe that you believe in what God said? If not, then the root of your struggle with sin is truly your faith. But, don’t give up. Every day you’re alive is another day to improve in the area of faith.
Here are 3 questions you should ask yourself to figure out how to improve.
1.) Do I Know What God Says?
The first part of Hebrews 11:1 points out there there should be something hoped for as a part of our faith. How can you know what to look forward to if you don’t know what God’s Word says? God’s promises are what we have to look forward to in this life and in heaven. The reason why some believers may struggle is because they don’t know enough of God’s promises and have nothing to cling on to when the enemy tries to steal, kill, and destroy aspect of your life.
Start Here:
Read the Bible - Find a translation you can understand and start off small by reading the Book John or Acts.
Reduce Media Consumption - The biggest distraction in this generation is media consumptions. There are so many voices distracting people from God’s voice. Get clear by reducing social media usage or limiting the amount of streaming you do on a regular basis.
Writing Down Thoughts And Questions - We have so many thoughts and ideas. It is important to capture it on paper. Sometimes when we capture it on paper we can better discern if it is a message or thought from God versus ourselves.
2.) Do You Believe in What God Said?
Once you figure out what God said, it is important to determine whether you believe it or not. Test and trials will come to prove whether you believe it, in fact. If it is in your best interest hide God’s Word in your heart by memorizing Scriptures that support you in each type of situation in life such as fear, grief, accomplishments, trials, tribulations, etc.
3.) Do My Actions Line Up With My Faith and Belief In God?
Actions are going to speak louder than words. If you find that your actions do not align with Bible truths or with the faith that you say you have in Jesus Christ, then this is an area that needs work. Thankfully and consequently, God will send tests in the areas in your life that needs the most work. So, do not be surprised if you repeated encounter circumstances where different people or the specific person trigger you. Do not be surprised if your have an event that challenges your faith. These are opportunities to show yourself approved.