Freedom From Addiction - Turn Away From Sin

Last week I pointed out two sins that we are guilty of when we turn to something other than God to satisfy our needs. We also looked at the Bible's answer to those sins. This week we'll take a look at one of those two answers: turning away from sin.

Ezekiel 33:14-15 - And if I say to the wicked man, 'You will surely die,' but he then turns away from his sin and does what is just and right -- if he gives back what he took in pledge for a loan, returns what he has stolen, follows the decrees that give life, and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die.

When we live a life of habitual sin, God offers us a way out. The Bible simply states it as "turn away from your sin." I know, I can hear you saying that it's not that simple, not that easy. I recognize that as well, and I think that's why the Bible presents the two sins and two solutions from last week together in many places, because they need to go hand in hand in order to succeed. However, this week we're only looking at this one piece, so be patient. This is only a starting point.

There are actions that you can take to begin moving towards a habit of turning away from sin. For example, Matthew 18:7-9 directs us to cut off those things that are a source of our sin. This may mean taking steps to cause permanent changes in your life that will help prevent you from finding yourself in a situation that you know will lead you to sin once again. This might mean giving up various forms of entertainment. This might mean avoiding travel past certain locations. This might mean giving up "friends" who lead you into doing things you really don't want to do.

The trick to discovering what needs to be cut out of your life is to watch for patterns. See what kinds of events, actions, or places form a trigger that ends up starting you down the path towards sinning once again. These triggers are different for every person. You will need to honestly examine your own life. Then once you have discovered what is a trigger for you, take steps to put a barrier in place to prevent yourself from following that path towards sin.

Taking these kinds of steps is often difficult and painful. Particularly during the early part of the process we still find ourselves desiring our sin more than we desire the freedom that God can provide. We need to make these changes with the expectation that the changes will be permanent in our lives. We have to recognize that what may not be a problem for someone else is something that we must avoid at all costs because the end result for us is that very thing we are trying to avoid.

This week, start watching for trigger patterns in your life, and begin finding ways that you can prevent that trigger from occurring. Next week we'll take a look at the second part of what we need to do to find freedom... turning to God.