Avoiding Sinful Habits

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It is crucial for Christians to avoid sinful habits. God offers us grace, forgiveness, and restoration—but sin has a cost and can cause lasting damage to our bodies, our minds, and our relationships.

Before I came to Christ, my life was full of destructive habits. I struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and other sins for most of my adult life. When I surrendered my life to Christ, God gave me a new nature—but that didn’t mean all my old habits disappeared instantly. In those early years, I caused a lot of unnecessary harm to myself and my family because I let these habits keep a foothold in my life.

Following Jesus didn’t remove the consequences of my past mistakes or the temptation to make new mistakes. God gives us grace, but He doesn’t promise a problem-free life. In fact, Jesus said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.”[1] His promise is that He will never leave or forsake us in the midst of them.[2]

I eventually decided I would go to any lengths to overcome addiction, and God used the ministry of Adult and Teen Challenge to change me from the inside out. There, I found grace, discipleship, accountability, structure, and support. And by God’s grace, I am still married to my best friend and we have a beautiful son. I am a pastor and author, and God has blessed me with the honor of being an Adult and Teen Challenge program manager for the last seven years.

Overcoming sinful habits—or avoiding them in the first place—takes intentional choices. We have to fix our hearts and minds on building godly habits so we can be free of the old patterns that cause pain and diminish the glory of God in our lives. The apostle Paul wrote, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”[3] Anyone who has received salvation is a new creation through Christ, but it is up to us to renew our minds through Bible study, disciplined prayer, and active participation in the local church. 

We must be vigilant as we fight against sin, remembering that when we stumble—and we will—God will forgive us if we repent. Most people who stay enslaved to destructive habits underestimate two important things: (1) the control these sins have in their lives and (2) the power of God to overcome them. When we face our sins head-on in the authority of the Holy Spirit, we can decide to no longer make room for habitual sin and instead walk in the holiness and freedom God intended.