Question: As a Believer, why do I still struggle to repent of certain sins?

Answer: Believers must recognize that as they struggle to repent, they are actually fighting a spiritual battle against Satan. Know that Satan does not want you to repent of your sins. Instead, he wants to keep you in bondage to him. But, Praise God! Our Heavenly Father is far more powerful than Satan will ever be. You must fight back by praying to God for His Holy Spirit to give you all the strength and guidance you need to repent of your sins!

Remember to stay strong by regularly reading God’s Word, The Holy Bible. It helps to remind yourself what God has to say about the need to repent of our sins: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)

Jesus told of the need to repent. For example, in Revelation 3:19, Jesus told the Laodiceans, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” Similarly, in Acts 17:30-31 the Apostle Paul says, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man (Jesus) whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Of course, in addition to reading God’s Word about repentance, you must also truly desire in your heart to want to turn from your sinful ways. You must want to stop desiring your old sinful lifestyle. This change is well described in Colossians chapter 3. Here the Apostle Paul reminds us that we need to “put off the old man,” participating in evil desires such as fornication, wrath, blasphemy, filthy language, and other sinful behavior.

He goes on to say that we must “put on the new man,” showing such things as kindness, humility, and forgiving one another. We must “put on love” (v. 14). “And let the peace of God rule in your heart…and be thankful.” (v. 15)

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual sons, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (v. 16)

While we are never going to be perfect in this life, God’s word tells us how we can continue to grow in our Christian walk. The Scriptures tell us that in order to resist sin we should: have a sincere heart to want to change to please God, read His Word regularly, pray for help from the Holy Spirit, and stay away from those things that we know will tempt us.

God loves us and hears our prayers. He is faithful to provide us with the help we need to live to please Him. Stay strong in the Lord!