5 Ways to Avoid Sin
“How do I stop sinning?” “I keep doing things I know I shouldn’t do.” “I want to stop, but I don’t know how to do it?” “I’ve tried accountability groups, focusing on God’s commandments, going to church, and a number of other things, but I can’t seem to stop.”
Does this sound familiar? We know that there are certain things that are not good for us. We know that certain things are not God honoring. We don’t want to do those things, but we find ourselves doing them anyway. We try to learn about how to avoid sin, and we try what we hear in church or from others online; but it never seems to truly work.
Is there anything we can do? Or are we just poor old sinners who are saved by grace?
Here are 5 ways to avoid sin according to the Bible…
1. Know that you no longer have a sin nature
If you have placed your faith in Jesus for salvation, and therefore are in Christ, you no longer have a sin nature.
You used to. Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-3
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Before Christ, it was in your nature to sin. It was a part of who you were at the very core of your being. You can picture it this way in the diagram below.
But this is what Jesus came to fix. Through His finished work on the cross, he has defeated the power of sin and death and offers forgiveness to all who will receive it by faith.
But we don’t just receive forgiveness in that moment of faith. We receive the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), and we are regenerated, born again, and receive a new nature.
Peter says this in 2 Peter 1:3-4…
3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
You have a new nature. You are not who you once were. You died and have been raised up with Christ into someone new. You have His spiritual DNA at the core of your being.
Now, the diagram we looked at earlier, changes to this…
Now, you still have a flesh and will deal with indwelling sin in your body and your soul. Sometimes you will think about sinning. Sometimes you might feel like sinning. But that is different than nature. It’s no longer part of you at the core of your being, where you have a new nature.
In your new nature, you want to do good. You desire godly things because you are in union with God Himself, and He is supplying your new nature.
But, it’s not enough just to know it. Here’s the next thing you need to know about avoiding sin…
2. Count yourself dead to sin
In Romans 6, the apostle Paul goes on and on for the first 10 verses about how we died with Christ, have been resurrected with Christ, died to the power of sin in us, and then in verse 11, he says this…
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11)
The word “count” in this verse means to consider it to be true. In some places it is translated “reckon.” Paul is saying, “it is true, so actually consider it to be true in your life.”
You are dead to sin since you have a new nature, so believe it.
This is important, because as I mentioned earlier, you will sometimes still feel in your soul and body like sinning. At those times, you may start to believe that since you have those feelings about sinning you must still have a sin nature. It must still be a part of you. There must be something wrong with you.
But when you know the truth and count (reckon) it to be true of you, then you begin to walk in victory over sin. Why? Because we all live out of what we believe. Actions follow belief.
Believe that you are a saint. Believe that you have a new nature in Christ. And then you will act as the saint you already are. You will act out of your new nature.
Here’s the 3rd way to avoid sin.
3. Don’t focus on laws/rules
Have you ever been told not to do something? “Whatever you do, do not eat that piece of cake!” What happens? All you can think about is eating that piece of cake!
The apostle Paul talks about this being true with the law. In Romans 7, he writes about how through the law he learned that he was not supposed to covet. But then he says this in verse 8…
But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. (Romans 7:8)
Focusing on the law and what we are not supposed to do ignites the indwelling sin in our flesh (not nature) and produces thoughts, emotions, and desires to sin.
Paul says that the law was given not to keep us from sinning, but to reveal our sin to us and our need for a Savior (Galatians 3:19-25).
It does you no good to focus on what you are not supposed to be doing.
This is why for many people…accountability groups don’t work.
Most accountability groups focus what you are not supposed to be doing. Someone confronts you week after week and asks if you’ve committed certain sins. You don’t want to have to say yes, so you focus on not doing those sins they are going to ask you about. The problem is that all that does is make you want to do them more!
So, what do you do instead?
4. Focus on Christ
Rather than focus in not sinning, focus on Jesus, His power in you, and the new nature you have in Him.
Here is what we are told in Colossians 3, Hebrews 12, and 2 Corinthians 4…
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
(Colossians 3:1-2)
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
(2 Corinthians 4:18)
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
(Hebrews 12:1-2)
When you and I fix our eyes on Jesus, He will never lead us to sin. It’s impossible. He can’t sin.
If our minds are focused on Jesus, we’ll be focused on how He is working through us to express His life and produce fruit for the visible world to see.
Here is the final way to avoid sin.
5. Recognize the lie in temptation and replace it with truth
Sinning always starts with temptation. Satan is the one who tempts us to sin, and he is a liar (John 8:44) and a deceiver (Revelation 12:9).
His temptations are produced by putting lies in our heads to deceive us from the truth.
Satan lies to us and whispers, “This sin will give you something you are lacking in this moment. You feel like doing it because it is what is good for you. It will make you feel so alive.”
The truth is that Jesus is our life. The truth is that we have everything we need in Him. The truth is that sin is not what is good for us.
The more we focus on Jesus (step 4 above), the more we will recognize the lies from Satan. The more we will be able to replace those lies with His truths and live in victory over sin.
Does all of this mean that you’ll be perfect? No, of course not. But it does mean that you don’t have to live completely defeated. And if you do fail at some point and step into sin, his grace is there to meet you. Then you renew your mind to the truth of who you are in Christ, focus on Him, and keep going.
Jesus has already won the victory over sin and death. Live in the victory that He has purchased for you and that you have in union with Him.
