How can I overcome my sinful addictions – Part 5

“Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?” John 8:46

The third reason why we are hindered from overcoming our addictions is because of our STUBBORN UNBELIEF (John 8: 45-47). Like their father, the devil, these unbelieving Jews lived in a world of lies and falsehood. Jesus said to them, “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.” (John 8:45). These men would rather believe a lie, rather than the truth that Jesus spoke. They had believed the devil’s lies so long that when Jesus tells them the truth, they did not believe Him because His teaching did not line up with their belief system. Here lies the battle: truth versus lies. The only way you can begin to overcome your addictions is to start believing the truth – about Christ, yourself, and your bondage to sin.

Jesus asks them, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46a). “If you can find anything that I have done wrong, anything in all my thirty-three years on earth; if there is one of you who can stand up and say, ‘You cheated me, you stole from me, you lied to me, you deceived me, you lived for your own self, you took away what belonged to another,’ that would utterly demolish My claim to have come from God.” He pauses for an answer, but no one says anything. Their silence implied that Jesus was sinless. 

So Christ asks, “And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?” (John 8:46b). “If you can find no sin in Me, then I must be speaking the truth, so why do you refuse to believe in Me? A sinless Man should be believed!” Jesus has stripped away the veil that has hidden their hearts from themselves. He has revealed them, not as good and decent men who were free before God, but as slaves, bound with habits they could not break, slaves to sin, desperately needing the work of a Redeemer. Yet they stubbornly refuse to believe in Christ.

So He states the case plainly. “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” (John 8:47). They rejected Christ’s message because they have no relationship with God.

This reminds me of some of the victims of hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the United States back in August of 2005. When rescuers came to their flooded homes, they shot at them instead of trusting them to save them from drowning. They refused their help. Are we any different? We can be so entrapped by sin, unable to break those sinful habits, yet when Christ offers us His help to overcome them, we shoot at Him as if we would rather die in our sin than be saved by someone else.

This brings us back to what Jesus said in John 8:31b-32: “31b If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” That is the only way out. To all victims of Satan’s lies Jesus offers the priceless gift of freedom. Only Jesus Christ can deliver us from bondage to sin. We do not have the power in ourselves to overcome sin. Only Christ can free us from sin’s control. Will we think, believe and act on the truth or will we think, believe, and act on a lie? The choice is ours. Choosing the truth will lead to freedom from bondage to sin and an abundant life. Choosing a lie will lead to more bondage and destruction.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we come to You as prisoners of our own making. All of us are slaves to sin. It may be anger, lust, worry, alcohol, drugs, self-abuse, gossip, pornography, cell phones, or work. You know our addictions and only You can set us free. Empower us to know, believe, and act on Your truth so that we may be all that You intended us to be for Your glory. In Your name I pray. Amen.