By Steve A. Hamilton

Introduction: I have a confession to make. From time to time I eat to much. As a result, I’m overweight. I’m overweight because I like to eat. Now, I tell myself its not that bad. Sure my clothes are a little tighter but everyone puts on a little weight as they age and I’m not as heavy as others my age. However, no matter how I look at it, I have a bad habit.

Some of you have noticed it too. I suspect most of you, being kind, don’t say anything about it. Others have gently asked, “Are you putting on a little weight?” No one wants to come out and just say what is needed to be said, “Steve, you should stop overeating, change your diet and habits and lose those pounds.” (Except my wife. <bg> )

Sure, I know I should not eat as much and I also know the things I like the best are not necessarily good for me. I just need to change my bad habits. Yet, I resist such change and I make excuses for my weight.

The point I wish to make is this. Many people deal with sin like I have dealt with my weight. We treat sinful practices as just another bad habit. Sinful practices like smoking, drinking, cursing, missing services, not studying our Bibles, and not working for the Lord.

I. When sinful practices become bad habits, we make excuses.

    A. We will minimize sin. We think it is not as bad as it really is. This is the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:12-13). I suspect Judas convinced himself that his sin wasn’t that bad but in the end he killed himself and lost his soul.

    B. We dismiss sin by measuring our sin against others. We say, “I’m not as bad as that guy and he claims to be a Christian.” Paul says such comparisons are not wise (2 Cor. 10:12).

    C. We might even admit we like the sin to much. There is pleasure in sin but it is only temporary (Heb. 11:24-25). In the end, we will pay for it.

    D. We might think we lack the will power to refrain from sinning. We tell ourselves, we can’t help it. Yet, we know we can help it with the Lord’s help (Phil. 4:13). God does not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist (1 Cor. 10:13).

II. Christians are to put off old deeds (including sinfully bad habits).

    A. Allowing sin to become a bad habit is to enslave oneself to sin (Rom. 6:6).

    B. Our former conduct should not be what characterizes us (Eph. 4:20-24).

    C. Whether our bad habit is lying or missing services, we are to put off those old sinful practices (Col. 3:9-10). “Put off the old man with his deeds.” Those are our bad and sinful habits!

III. The danger of sinful practices that become bad habits.

    A. It will rub off on the church (1 Cor. 5:6-8).

        1. A little yeast will cause all of the dough to rise. In other words, members in the church will adopt sinfully bad habits because they will mimic someone’s sinfully bad habit.

        2. The solution is to remove the OLD yeast.

        3. The old yeast is defined as malice and wickedness (bad habits).

        4. Replace the old yeast with sincerity and truth. In other words, if you are sincere and truthful with yourself you would not allow yourself to be drawn into bad habits of sin.

    B. God has put us together in the church (1 Cor. 12:18). This begs the questions:

        1. Will the Lord allow us to grow as a church if we can’t care for (correct) those whom we have? (1 Cor. 12:25) Maybe we aren’t growing because we won’t warn each other of our sins.

        2. Does God expect us to hold each other to the same standards which God is going to judge us all by? (Heb 10:24-25)

IV. Seek the things above (Col. 3:1-4). Put away all sinfully bad habits (Col. 3:5-10).

Conclusion: Someone needs to tell those who are in sin that they need to stop sinning. They need to change their habits and desires. They need to repent. If we truly love them, we will seek to get them to do something about their sin.

There is no good reason for me to be overweight. There is no good reason for you to be in sin. If sin is a bad habit, don’t try to rationalize it, minimize it or explain it away. Rather, confess it, repent of it and seek God’s forgiveness.

If you are caught up in the sinful habits of smoking, drinking, cursing, missing services, not studying or not working for the Lord, you need to come forward and repent because, odds are, we already know about your bad habit.