I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Romans 7:15 (NIV)
Picture a person who struggles with a compulsive addiction—gambling, pornography, alcohol, drugs, etc. This person knows that he needs help, and so he comes to church.
You may be saying, “I’m that person!” If this is you, the greatest need in your life right now is not for you to stop gambling, or drinking, or watching pornography, or taking drugs. The greatest need in your life right now is for you to come in faith and repentance to Jesus and place your life in His hands.
Tell Christ that you are a compulsive sinner. Tell Him you have no hope of being accepted by God without him. Put your trust in Him. Believe in Him. He died on the cross to reconcile sinners to God. Ask Him to do that for you. He lives so that those who come to Him should no longer live for themselves. Ask Him to give you His Spirit so that you will live for His glory.
As you confess your sin to Christ, He will forgive you and cleanse you. It is Jesus who invites you. He will receive you. He will give you new life. Come to Christ today. Then you will be in a position to mortify your sins.
When people try to deal with compulsive sins without coming to Christ, they may see the destruction that is happening in their own lives. They may get in a group. They may even see some progress. But once they begin to make progress, they no longer feel their need of Christ. And the problem is that they end up further away from Jesus than when they started.
John Owen says that when a person tries to change their behavior without Jesus, it is “like the beating of an enemy in an open field and driving him into an impregnable castle.”
Is your sin obvious to you today? Don’t beat it back. Use the fact that it is now out in the open to drive you to Jesus.