What’s the Difference Between struggling with sin and Living in Sin?

In the last post, we talked extensively about the dangers of living in sin. While at it, we also mentioned the issue of struggling with sin from time to time.

Understandably, this might have left some in limbo wondering if theirs is a case of living in sin or struggling with sin.

If you were, then this is for you. We’ll be distinguishing between the two states to comfort the afflicted and further afflict the comfortable in sin.

Let’s give it a go.

An analogy might help. If a cat falls into the mud, it tends to get up quickly and clean itself. On the other hand, if a pig falls into the mud, it wallows in it. It will roll in the muddy pool as it snorts away in excitement. It is at home.

Struggling With Sin

A believer struggling with sin will behave like a cat. Whenever they sin, they repent quickly and get back on track. Sin bothers them so much that they cannot linger in it a second longer.

They don’t enjoy sinning, it’s a struggle.  

And the struggle is real. Like Paul, they will tell you somehow they find themselves not doing the good they want to do instead doing the evil they don’t want to do (Romans 7:14-25).

Though they work hard to feed the Spirit and starve the flesh (i.e. the sinful nature), at times the flesh wins and they succumb to sin. But they don’t wallow in sin. They repent quickly and seek restoration.

The hallmark of a believer struggling with sin is that they push back against sin. They are not comfortable with sin.

If they detect a pattern of sin, they actively seek help. Whether it is confessing to another believer (James 5:16), praying fervently for deliverance, removing triggers, being accountable, or studying and meditating on God’s Word (Psalm 119:9-11), you name it, they will do anything in their power to break loose from sin’s hold.  

Sin bothers them so much that they cannot sit pretty. Though they occasionally fall into sin, they hate it.

Even when it comes to habitual sins, they are not willing accomplices in the devil’s camp.

That is, they have not surrendered to sin and given themselves over as instruments of wickedness (Romans 6:12-13). Rather, they are struggling to stand out as instruments of righteousness.

Over time, the effort pays off as they find themselves sinning less and less.   

Living in Sin

Not so Christians living in sin. Like the pig in the mud, they are at home in sin. Sin doesn’t bother them that much, so they don’t mind staying in it longer. Although they may feel guilty here and there, they enjoy sinning.

In fact, they find new ways of sinning to spice up the experience.

Being comfortable in sin i.e. increasingly feeling less guilty over sins one is indulging in is a sure mark of a believer living in sin.

A progressive believer is constantly at war against the flesh. Yes, they sin but they don’t practice sin. However, when a believer lives in sin, the battle between the Spirit and flesh dies away with the flesh emerging the victor. Sin stops being a struggle and becomes a habit.

With continued suppression of the conscience, one slowly but surely loses sensitivity to God hence growing more comfortable with sin.

It goes without saying, such a Christian won’t seek help. What bothers them is how they can continue sinning without getting caught, now that they want to continue enjoying the benefits of Christianity without commensurate accountability or responsibility.  

Then self-deception sets in. If God does not mete judgment instantly, one may begin to imagine He is condoning the sinful acts or does not care fanning further disobedience.

Look at Samson. He broke one Nazarite vow after another perhaps imagining he is getting away with it. We all know of his disastrous end.

That needs not to be your story. Sin has but one end –death and destruction (Romans 6:23). Mend your ways while you still have the time and opportunity (Isaiah 55:6).

It boils down to how badly you want out. While the believer struggling with sin does everything in their power to get out of sin, the one living in sin is comfortable in it.

The latter is not God’s way.

Sin is not bad because it is forbidden, it is forbidden because it is bad. If you are comfortable in sin, then it calls your Christianity into question.

Final Charge

Having come to this point, it should be crystal clear if you are living in sin or simply struggling with sin.

If you are struggling with a given sin (and that includes all believers), my earnest prayer is that God honors your resolve and grants you victory over the sin(s). He promises to rescue the wretched people we are from the power of sin and eventually from the presence of sin (Romans 7:24-25). So, keep fighting.

If you are living in sin, I pray that this will be a wake-up call. A call that will prick your dying or dead conscience back to life. Once more may you feel the conviction and turn to God in repentance. All is not lost. There’s hope.

Tim Keller says it all.

The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.

Tim Keller

If you are not dead He’s not done. There is hope for you. God loves you so much and is waiting for you to change course. Make your way back home.