The devil longs to control you! But, the good news is that he cannot! He cannot control a single thing that you do! However (and this is a big however), he knows how controlling sin can be and he tries his best (by means of his deceitful trickery) to lure you into the trappings of sinful pleasures, knowing that once you’re in there it is hard to get out.
Sin is dangerously addictive! When one engages in ongoing sin, Jesus said that person “is a slave of sin” (John 8:34), “for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved” (2 Pet. 2:19). While Satan cannot control you himself, sin can and does, to the point that it can reign…“reign in your mortal body” (Rom. 6:12). And, you know, that when our lives are “mastered” by sin (cf. 1 Cor. 6:12), there are dire consequences that follow. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Gal. 6:7-8; cf. 5:19-21). To argue away from or against any of this is to “be deceived.” So, what can a person do who is enslaved to sin…addicted to a fleshly vice?
Remember that you’re not on your own! Christian, remember that God “is for you” and “not against you” (Rom. 8:31). Christian, remember that God “set the members…in the body” and “composed the body” (1 Cor. 12:18-24), so that “the members should have the same care for one another” (12:25-26). You have God and your church family on your side!
Remember that you’re not your own! Christian, it may be hard to see sometimes, but remember that you belong to God…your body belongs to God. Christian, remember that you were bought at a very steep price—what better motivation is there than the blood of Jesus (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Christian, remember that you are different and you are to be different/holy (1 Pet. 1:13; 2 Cor. 7:1). Therefore, glorify God in what belongs to Him!
Remember that you can’t make it on your own! What if sin is reigning in your mortal body? What if you are enslaved to it? Christian, remember that you’ll never successfully overcome on your own! Christian, remember you cannot do all things on your own, but you “can do all things through Christ who strengthens” (Phil. 4:13). Christian, remember that you are to be and you can be an “instrument of righteousness” in the hand of God (Rom. 6:13). How much righteousness can you accomplish on your own? None (Rom. 3:10)! But, Christian, remember that because of and through Jesus you can be forgiven and become “the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). What a thought!
Remember that Jesus is more powerful than any sin!