Romans 8:3
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”
One battle that every Christian battles is the battle over sin. It doesn't matter who you are, how long you have been saved or what position you hold in a church; you are going to have a daily battle with sin. For anyone to say otherwise is simply a lie. 1 John 1:8 clearly shows that everyone battles sin when it says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
However, we are not powerless in this battle. We have the example of Jesus Christ in how to overcome sin in the flesh. It is interesting that Jesus didn't join a program to overcome sin. I truly believe we often overthink the battle over sin. In the verse above, God gives us a clear pattern to follow if we are going to overcome sin.
First, you must lay down your robes to overcome sin. When Jesus came to Earth, He laid down His robes of deity to take on the robes of flesh, and He completely understood that He was in the flesh. Of course, Jesus had no sin, but He still had to overcome the temptation to sin. This understanding of knowing that He was in the flesh was the first step in conquering sin. You will never overcome sin until you realize that you are flesh and that you are weak in the flesh. In other words, your title or status among the brethren has no bearing over sin. Sin doesn't bow down to your status. You must forget your status and realize that you are flesh and that you are weak in the flesh. Without coming to this understanding, you will continue to lose the battle over sin.
Second, you must realize Who you are serving. Jesus understood that He was commissioned and sent by God to die for the sins of man. If you are going to overcome sin, you must realize that you are commissioned by God to do His will. Your commission should be of more importance to you than the pleasure of sin. Until you realize the significance of this commission, you will continue to struggle with sin. Fulfilling your commission by God must be your preeminent goal. It becomes much easier to overcome sin when you realize the magnitude of your commission.
Third, you MUST condemn sin. It says in the verse above that Jesus“condemned sin in the flesh.” I believe this is where most Christians fail in overcoming sin. We have never condemned sin. You will never overcome your battle over sin until sin becomes so ugly that you condemn it. Sin has become too attractive to many Christians. When you condemn something, you will realize how ugly and terrible it is. The only reason you continue to struggle with any sin is because the sin you struggle with has never been condemned; that sin still has an attractiveness to you. Friend, every sin is wrong! You cannot and will not have victory over sin until you condemn it. Call it what it is. See it as it is. When sin becomes ugly and the most disgusting thing you’ve ever seen is when you will begin to have victory over your sin.
Finally, you must continually yield to the Spirit of God to have victory over sin. When you condemn sin, you will find it easy to yield to the Spirit of God. Overcoming sin is truly not as difficult as we make it. You can live the victorious Christian life and conquer sin if these four steps are followed.