I recently discovered the most amazing scripture on freedom from sin in the book of 1 Peter. You know those times when a scripture just leaps off the page and you think, “Why have I never seen that before?” Over the past 3 months the Holy Spirit has been opening this verse up to me and shown me that there are 4 steps to total victory over sin. I am so excited to be sharing this scripture and the 4 steps with you. I hope you are ready to live as free as God created you to be!

Here are the 4 steps to victory over sin:

  1. The PROMISE of freedom you must know.
  2. The PERSPECTIVE you must arm yourself with.
  3. The PLACE you must come to before you can get free.
  4. The PLAN you must develop if you want to be successful.

  1. PROMISE.

There is an amazing promise to us of victory over sin in 1 Peter 4:1-6.

See if you can spot the verse I’m talking about:

  • 1 Peter 4:1-6  “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.”

Did you see it? It’s verse one. “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin”.

This may be a short scripture but it is pure power!

There are three parts to it we need to understand.

The first part: “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh”. We have to understand what it means that “Christ suffered in the flesh”. It simply means that His flesh suffered death. On the Cross Christ’s flesh died.

The second part tells us that because Christ died in the flesh we should “arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.” What thinking? The realisation that our flesh has also suffered death on the Cross with Christ. This is a knowing that our flesh, along with all its appetites and desires for sin, has lost control of us because we have died with Christ on the Cross. This happened the moment we believed in Jesus and were born again.

And thirdly, anyone who arms themselves with a thinking that they have “suffered in the flesh” consequently “has ceased from sin”.

This actually is about taking control over your flesh because you realise that you have control over your flesh!

When you realise that your flesh does not have control over you because it has died together with Christ, this is when you can take control back over it, and if you do that, you are done with sin!

The essence of verse 1 could be summed up like this: “Once you take control of your flesh, you are done with sin!”

So what is the key here?

  1. PERSPECTIVE.

The right perspective will literally weaponize your thinking to take control of your flesh.

  • “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,”

Romans 6:1-13 elaborates on this truth that arms us to take control over our flesh. It shows us how Christ suffered death in the flesh, how we suffered death in the flesh with Him and how if we believe this then we can rule over our flesh.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (NIV)

Ok Ryan, so I know this and believe it, yet I still sin. What’s it going to take for me to freakin overcome sin?!!!

  1. PLACE.

You have to come to a certain place in your mind before you will stop sinning. I’m talking about the place where you are sick and tired of being controlled by sin and have finally decided that you are “done with sin”.

You will never overcome sin until you come to that place where YOU ARE DONE with being a slave to sin! I mean absolutely done!

  • 1 Peter 4:3 “For you have already spent enough time doing what unbelievers love to do—living in debauchery, sensuality, partying, drunkenness, wild drinking parties, and the worship of demons.” (TPT).
  • Romans 7:15-19 “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

Are you DONE with being a slave to your flesh?

  • Are you done with wanting to live for God but always getting pulled back into sinful habits that you can’t seem to break?
  • Are you done with being enslaved, imprisoned, bound and controlled by sin?
  • Are you done with doing the things you don’t want to do and not being able to do the things you want to do because the things you don’t want to do have more control over you?

Are you done with being a slave to:

  • Pornography, masturbation, adultery, sexual immorality, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, nicotine, partying, gambling, excessive eating, excessive spending, excessive laziness, steeling, lying, swearing, jealousy, fear, anger, rage, insecurity, unforgiveness, gossiping, selfishness, doubt, guilt, shame, condemnation, legalism, works, pride and whatever else is your struggle?

If you have truly come to this place where you are done with sin, then you are ready for the next step. You can’t miss this next step. It is so important because it brings this all together. If you want to have success at getting victory over sin you have to have a…

  1.  PLAN.

Did you ever try build a house without a plan? Or go after a career without a plan? Ever attempted to compete in a highly competitive event without a training plan or a game plan? Ever travelled to an unfamiliar destination without a travel plan? Don’t leave your success up to chance.

The reason why so many believers don’t success in victory over sin is not because they don’t know the truth, or have the right way of thinking, or have decided they are done with sin. It’s because they don’t do this final step. True dominion for me, only came when I did this final step. And trust me, it’s awesome! And it’s actually quite easy. I’m going to show you how.

The best plan for you is the one you come up with. No one can come up with yours because you know what will work for you and what won’t. Don’t do someone else’s plan. Do your plan. What I’m going to do now is give you some suggestions that will help you develop your own plan.

So here are my suggestions:

  1. Make that quality decision.

Decide that you are done with sin and now is the time where you are going to take control back over your flesh. There is something very powerful about making a quality decision about this.

  1. Set a date, work towards it, then execute it.

Unless God gives you a supernatural miracle that breaks your particular habit, you are going to have to endure a period of time of resisting the cravings and breaking the habit/addiction. And here’s the plan:

  • Set a date: This is going to be the big day that you quit. Perhaps call it “The Big Day”. This will tell your mind that you mean business. Don’t make it straight away though. Give yourself some time to build up to it with a few practise runs first. (I’ll explain this next).

For me the best time to make a lifestyle change is the 1st January, but if that is too far away choose another date. Perhaps something significant to you like a birthday or an anniversary. But something that’s about 2-4 weeks away. Then…

  • Work towards it: Before the Big Day, practise having a few fasts for 24-48 hours. Fasting is resistance training! It’s powerful because you’re practising bringing your body and mind under the control of your spirit. Decide what you are going to cut out. I’d suggest:
    • Certain foods like sugar, junk food, or even all foods and alcohol).
    • Entertainment and social media.
    • Whatever it is that you struggle with ie porn, maturbation, drugs, nicotine, swearing etc.

This is a short enough period that you can endure the cravings. During which spend time in prayer and worship. Then after the fast enjoy the stuff again. (Obviously I’m not saying go and enjoy sin, but if you find you struggle with it again once you get off the fast, that’s ok, you have a plan that you are working towards.) Now, do this kind of fast a few times before the official “Big Day”. If you do that then by the time the Big Day comes around, your body and mind have already started getting used to obeying your spirit, and you would have built up an ability to resist and say no.

  • Execute: When the Big Day arrives, just go for it and quit all those sins, habits, addictions, enslavements and anything you are done with. Push through any cravings and keep going!

Here is where this plan really starts to work:

The more time you put between your Big Day and your current day the more powerful you will feel. Every day you resist will feel like a gain. As the gains begin to add up it will build a momentum in you of feeling powerful. This feeling of power comes from having control over sin and it is an amazing feeling of winning and victory. It actually begins to feel better than any sins or habit that tempts you. The more momentum of power you build up, the less you are going to want to give all that power away for some cheap quick fix. Plus the more momentum you gain, the more it will motivate you to keep going. It’s really just getting past the initial few weeks and then it gets easier, and the feeling of power you experience then is far greater than what that sin had to offer!

  1. Find healthy alternatives for stress.

I’m convinced that most bad habits, behaviours and addictions that we develop actually start out as coping mechanisms for stress and feeling unfulfilled in life. They are our quick fixes to correct poor emotional and physical management of ourselves. Instead of having to use unhealthy options to correct the build up of stress in your emotions and body, rather use healthy alternatives to prevent the build up of stress and to invest in your emotions and body. If you do this, then the desire or need for unhealthy options will dramatically diminish. This would be something to start in the lead up to the Big Day.

Healthy alternative ideas:

  • Sports, gym, hobbies, swimming, fishing, running, social clubs, fun activities like jet-ski, climbing, skydiving, surfing, boxing. Whatever is fun, active and refreshing to you.

So I hope you are ready to give this a try. It is totally doable for you and I believe you can do it! If you didn’t quite catch it all, perhaps go back and re-read it slowly. When you catch it, I promise you it will lead you into victory!

Hey I would also love to hear from you. Feel free to leave questions, comments or any feedback on this article in the comment section below, or contact me via my Facebook page or email info@newnatureministries.org

God bless you, and may His peace fill you in every way.
– Ryan Rufus.

 

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Other posts you may find helpful:

Overcoming pornography

Developing a plan for purity

How to feel good about yourself

Overcoming a spirit of discouragement

Walking in the Spirit Covenant. (Listen)

Walking by your reborn spirit. (Listen)

Walking in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. (Listen)

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