What sin are you struggling with? The one that has you so entangled there seems to be no way out?

When you look in the mirror, who do you see?

Do you see a liar? Someone with an out of control temper? A gossip? A porn addict? A perfectionist? A worrier? A cheater?

I think some sins can be with us for so long that they just take up residence like an unwelcome house guest. We’d love to kick them out, in fact, we’ve tried, but they just won’t leave. Or if they do leave, they show up again in a few days.

When you give into your sin again…and again…and again, how do you feel?

Guilty? Ashamed? Unworthy? Angry with yourself? Depressed?

You probably tell yourself you’ll never do it again. And you tell God how sorry you are and ask for His forgiveness.

But then you do it again. And feel even worse, if that’s even possible.

So is there any hope of ever changing?

In Colossians 3:5, Paul says, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature…”

He then goes on to list those things that belong to our earthly nature. Things like sexual immorality, lust, evil desires, anger, lying, idolatry, etc.

Put to death. We’d like to do that, wouldn’t we? We’d love to put to death those sins that plague us day after day. Sometimes year after year.

How do we do it though? I mean, haven’t we already tried everything? We’ve read books. We’ve prayed. We’ve tried having accountability partners. We’ve done it all. But nothing has worked.

Take a look at that verse again. There’s a very important word that’s easy to miss. It’s the word, “therefore.”

Paul is saying that based on what I’ve just told you, “Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature…”

So what did he tell them prior to verse 5?

It would be very helpful to go back and read chapters 1 and 2, but let’s just look at those first four verses of chapter 3 for a moment. Here they are:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Paul reminds them that they have been raised with Christ. They are not who they used to be. They are not dirty, rotten sinners separated from God. No, they have been raised with Christ. They have new natures and new lives. Therefore, they are to set their hearts and minds on things above.

In other words, make it your goal to think about and desire God. Get to know Him better. Find out what pleases Him. Make it your goal to love and seek Him. Think about your ultimate home with Him in heaven. Look forward to it. Anticipate it. Get excited about it.

All of those things will require generous amounts of time in God’s word and time with like-minded friends. There is no substitute.

If we’re not setting our hearts and minds on things above, then our only other option is to set them on earthly things. Then we have no hope of putting to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature.

If you’ve been trying to put your sin to death, but it keeps coming back to life, then maybe it’s time to give more attention to re-setting your heart and mind. Make it your primary goal to know and love God. When you sin, don’t let that keep you from seeking Him. Press on toward your new primary goal. Don’t let Satan drown you shame.

Yes, we should do whatever we can to put our sin to death. But let’s also do all we can to set our hearts and minds on things above.