As a jail chaplain, one statement that I’ve perhaps heard most frequently from inmates is, “This is the last time I’m coming here, chaplain. I know what I need to do when I get out of here. I got this!” This kind of thinking reflects a belief that a person can have victory over sin by simply changing their tactics, trying harder, getting new friends, attending church, etc. These things have some value, don’t get me wrong, but this can be a mindset that reflects a false view of ourselves. Perhaps you’ve heard people like Oprah Winfrey say things like, “You can do it! You just need to be the best YOU that you can be. You’ve got it within yourself to change.” When it comes to having victory over sin, this type of thinking is a lie from Satan.
This essay is going to expose a common sin that we too often embrace; the sin of self-discipline. Let me be clear that self-discipline has its place in our lives. For example, if you want to lose weight, a key is self-discipline. Or, if you want to balance your budget…self-discipline. However, if you want to have victory over sin, you CAN NOT do this through self-discipline! If self-discipline was a pathway to overcoming sin, then Jesus would have said what Oprah said. Jesus would have not come to this earth to die in our place, He’d have just sent prophets to say, “Try harder…you got this…you can do it on your own!”
The Bible has a unique message regarding victory over sin, and it may sound like self-discipline, but it’s not. It’s called self-control. Self-control is a “fruit of the Spirit”. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” “Fruit” here means evidence, or demonstration, that the Holy Spirit is governing your life. The key here is deciding if you or God will be governing your life. Will it be you, by your power of self-discipline? Or, will it be the Holy Spirit, providing you with the self-control that one needs to overcome sin?
Here’s an illustration that demonstrates the difference between self-discipline and self-control. An airplane full of people lands at a busy airport. One man, a Christian man, gets off the plane and walks through the busy terminal. He notices a news and magazine stand. On the magazine rack his eye catches a pornographic magazine. He pauses and thinks to himself, “I’d love to buy that magazine and head into the bathroom right now and fantasize over every sexy image! That lady on the cover looks so hot…I’d love to get my hands all over her! But, I know it’s wrong and the Bible says not to, so I’d better not.” This man doesn’t pick up the magazine and instead he keeps on walking. Next, another Christian man gets off the plane and as he wanders through the terminal he passes the same magazine stand and notices the same pornographic magazine for sale. He immediately thinks to himself, “Ugh! I can’t believe they sell that stuff here. I remember a time in my life when I would have stopped and considered buying that. I can’t believe I used to look at that stuff! Sure, a small part of me is tempted, but I’m so glad that today my heart’s desire is to honor the Lord and my wife.” The man continued walking without giving any thought to picking up the magazine.
So, what’s the difference in the two Christian men’s responses to the pornographic magazine? They both rejected picking it up. However, the difference is the desires of their hearts. The first man desired the magazine greatly, but simply denied himself of what his heart really wanted. His self-discipline worked this time, so far as he didn’t pick up the magazine, but how about the next time? Maybe next time he’s not in such a hurry, or maybe next time the magazine is at a friend’s house and he doesn’t have to buy it. The bottom line is eventually, under his own power, he’s going to relapse and sin will conquer him once more. The second man was not governed by his own self-discipline, but was governed by the Holy Spirit. His heart had a different response as the self-control of the Holy Spirit was being demonstrated. His heart didn’t desire the magazine, but not because he no longer had sexual desires, but due to the Lord having redirected his desires to be satisfied in their proper context. Victory was much easier as his heart and mind were in tune with the Spirit’s.
We will have victory over sin only when we first acknowledge our inadequacy to conquer sin. We must submit ourselves the Lord for the forgiveness of our sins, and then chose to daily let His Spirit govern our lives. Day after day when we let the Spirit lead us, we become more like Jesus, and that means our heart changes. He redirects our focus, our passions, our desires, and our interests. If you’re struggling with repeat sin in your life, one question you might ask yourself is, “Why does my heart desire this so much?”