Our Sin Cycle

Recently, one of my daily devotionals dealt with this subject of our sin cycle.  Mr. Tiegreen mentioned the instructions on a shampoo bottle.  I don’t know if shampoo bottles still have directions on the side that says “Wash, rinse, repeat” – but I remember when they used to.  So, the cycle we go through is that our hair gets dirty then we wash, rinse, repeat – after that, our hair is clean.

What about how we live our lives?  None of us are perfect, so consequently, we sin – we get “dirty” and need to be cleansed from that sin.  As Christians our likely cycle is sin, confess, repeat.  It shouldn’t be that way.  Once we realize we’ve sinned and confessed, because of God’s forgiveness, we’re then clean – there shouldn’t be any repeating.  But, because we are imperfect, changing our thoughts and way of living can be a difficult thing to accomplish.  So the tendency can be to repeat those sins.  

Thankfully we have a God that is a forgiving God so that if we confess, He will forgive us – and forgive us and forgive us.      

“We know the cycle isn’t over simply because our sin is forgiven.  We’re familiar enough with ourselves to realize that unless the source of the sin is dealt with, it will come up again and again.” *

1 John 1:5-10 (TLB) says: “5 This is the message God has given us to pass on to you: that God is Light and in him is no darkness at all. 6 So if we say we are his friends but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying. 7 But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar, for he says we have sinned.”

So what’s the key to stopping our sin cycle – sin, confess, repeat?  How do we get to the place where we sin, then confess, then live as we should?  I believe the answer lies in what the above verse 7 has to say.  We need to live in the light of God’s presence and have fellowship with each other – THEN the blood of Jesus cleanses us.  If we abide in Him in a closer fellowship, then we can be transformed and live as He desires for us to live.

That closeness will help the Holy Spirit give us a check in our spirit when we are about to say or  do something that we shouldn’t.  That’s why every morning when I pray I ask God to take every one of my thoughts captive so that it doesn’t become a word or an action that is sinful.  Since I’ve faithfully started praying that way, I do notice at times how some thought doesn’t come out of my mouth, or I don’t act on something that crosses my mind.  Have I been 100% successful?  Not hardly!  But I do believe I’ve gotten better and hope that each day I can improve and be transformed.

“God is zealous about our inner transformation, and in His mercy He is also very  patient about it.  But His only solution for repeated cycles of sin is to insert Himself thoroughly into the process.  For our new nature to actually function as a new nature, we need to submit the deepest core of our being to His work.  Don’t be satisfied with simple confessions.  Invite Him to radically change you from within.  Because He is faithful and just, He will.” * 

The desire to break our sin cycle needs to be strong enough to lean into God’s fellowship and know the cleansing power of Jesus’ shed blood.

Written by Karran Martin – November 25, 2023

[All bold emphasis is mine]

*Quotes by Chris Tiegreen