Some sins come out of our lives easier, and others seem to hang on to us longer. Do you need to be free from a particularly tough sin? The solution lies within your love.

We don’t need a theological class at a Bible institute to teach us that this or that action is a sin. When we have truly given our life to Christ, we feel discomfort as soon as we fall. In the first years of our Christian life, we are slowly transformed into better people. But some bad habits are harder to break. If you have had to ask God for forgiveness a hundred times for the same sin, you are not the only one.

The reason why some sins seem tougher than others resides in our hearts. God cannot deliver us from what we love. “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9 NKJV). When we are Christians, we talk a lot about love, about being kind to those around us. So much so that sometimes we forget that we must also hate! We must hate sin, and abhor it to be delivered from it.

Sins are tempting because they give pleasure! Gluttony is hard to resist because our taste buds are celebrating! Sex is inviting because orgasm is pleasurable, even when we’re not married. If sex was painful and disgusting until the moment of marriage, it would be much easier to keep our vows of chastity before the wedding!

So how do you give up something fun? By loving God more than these vices. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15 NKJV). If we realize that our sin nailed Christ to the cross; if we are so in love with Christ that we do not want to make Him suffer by going back to our bad habits, we will have victory over those sins. “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24 NKJV).

Take the example of a man who would have cheated on his wife. If he asks his wife for forgiveness because he doesn’t want to pay for a divorce or because he’s afraid of losing his position in the church. What will his apology be worth? If he asks for forgiveness because he is broken inside for doing so much harm to his wife and children. His repentance will be much more sincere. If he apologizes, but keeps dreaming about his adventure and remembers how fun it was, his request for forgiveness will not change his life: he will certainly fall back into the same vice. “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15 NKJV).

To be delivered from sin, one must love Christ more than the pleasure that sin can bring. In fact, this sin has to become horrible in our eyes, that we regard it as an abomination because we see how much it hurts our relationship with Christ. It is only when we hate sin and get more attached to God than anything else, that we can truly walk in holiness.