While there are certainly many factors that are used to explain sin in our lives, and while we can build a case that these theories certainly contribute to the struggle we have with sin. We must understand that the true reason for our sin grows out of our sinful hearts. To overcome that battle I must recognize my actions as inappropriate (sinful) and confess them before the Lord (1 John 1:9). I must fight off the temptation to excuse my sinful behavior, because: 1. That is just the way I am 2. My parents or environment makes me this way. 3. I am a victim of my circumstances or environment 4. The devil MADE me do it. I need to take responsibility for y life and actions, and do not allow myself to choose sinful behavior, justifying it because it is not my fault. Remember Jesus said in Matthew 15:19-20 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man,…..” I do what I do, because I want what I want. I am not defined by my past, nor must I allow the past to cause me … READ MORE

Why do I sin? Our culture says that one of the reasons that I sin is because I am a victim of my past. The events of our past cause us to be who we are. If you are struggling with those thoughts today, I would encourage you to take time to read Genesis Chapters 37-50 and focus on the concluding statement from Joseph in Genesis 50:20. If anyone has a reason for being bitter and resentful, it is Joseph, but instead of allowing those events to “cause” him to become bitter, he allowed them to enable him to become better!. Events must never define who we are, or what we can become. Our relationship with God must do that. We must never minimize the cost of trauma in our lives, But we must remain focused on the plan of God in molding us into the image of Christ. We read in Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I don not count myself to have arrived; But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. … READ MORE

As we continue to think about how our culture explains away inappropriate behavior, another explanation is that our parents or society is responsible for our sinful behavior. We often excuse our behavior, by saying, ” did what I did, because of what you did. Fore example: I would never have gotten angry with you if you would not have broken the vase. This leads us to the question, do faulty relationships or bad environments CAUSE me to sin? Proverbs 13:20 reminds us that “The one who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.” While those we walk with affect the choices we make, they do not CAUSE us to behave sinfully. It is not what actually happens between people that creates sinful behavior, it is the way we perceive that relationship and the way we emotionally respond to that perception. “Perception” and “response” are the two key words here. In all relationships, we perceive the other party as having a certain attitude toward us, and we respond to the other party according to our own perceptions of that attitude. In other words, people don’t respond emotionally to what is real, only to … READ MORE