Page 16 - Overcoming Addiction

I John 3:9
Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him;
and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

This seems like a very cut and dried statement. Some ministers use this
verse to tell their congregation that if they are sinning it is proof that they have
not been born of God and are therefore not members of the body of Christ. A
perusal of Scripture will reveal that this is simply not true. Men and women do
not cease struggling with sinful desires when they are born again of the Spirit of
Christ. Nor do they always walk in victory over sin. The apostle Paul in writing to
the churches spoke much on the need to rule over the sin within our being. He
even testified the following regarding himself.

I Corinthians 9:27
I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached
to others, I myself should be disqualified.

No, the desire to sin, and the passions and appetites of the flesh, do not go
away when a person comes to Christ. They must still be faced, but God has given
us a way through Christ to walk victoriously over these things. In his letter to the
church in Galatia, Paul gives us this further insight into our struggle.

Galatians 5:16-17
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the
flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another...

It is obvious from these words that becoming a Christian does not bring an
end to our struggle with evil desires that reside in our flesh. But it does provide
all that is necessary to begin walking victoriously over these evil appetites. Failing
to overcome the desires of the flesh does not imply that a person is not a
Christian. It simply reveals that they have not yet become spiritually mature.
They are still fleshly in some area, or areas, of their life.
There was a city called Corinth that was a part of the Roman Empire in the
days of the early church. The apostles Paul and Apollos both preached there. A
large number of the citizens of this city came to faith in Christ, and experienced
spiritual birth. This was a very wicked city, filled with idols and sensuality. The
pagan temples employed prostitutes to engage in sexual activity with the devotees
of the various gods and goddesses.
The apostle Paul had to strongly rebuke the members of this church because
they had been united to Christ, but had not separated themselves from the lusts
and desires of the flesh. Some Christians were still going to these pagan temples
and having sexual relations with prostitutes. The apostle admonished them in the
following way.