Spiritual Detox: Cleansing by Changing of the Mind

Have you noticed how we can classify sins … big sins, little sins … but God doesn’t do that! To Him all sins … are sins! They are acts of transgression against Him … and furthermore, we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. So what does this mean? Is there life after sin?

Hello everyone and welcome to Strengthen Your Walk and our Spiritual Detoxing Boot camp … I’m Kim Crabill.

Watch Spiritual Detox with Kim Crabill

As we read about and recognize where we need to detox, I wonder how many of us are beginning to prioritize by what we consider the “size” of the sin?

Maybe you’re familiar with the psalmist David, a man who was not only the apple of God’s eye (Psalm 17:8) – but also known as a “big” sinner. In the 11^th chapter of 2 Samuel, we see his sin began “innocently” enough, as he saw a married woman and lusted after her. That glimpse spiraled down into deceit, adultery, and even murder.

Another Old Testament hero, Hezekiah, also found favor with God (2 Chronicles 31:20). But this king of Judah fell into sin when pride motivated him into parading his treasures before the Babylonians (2 Chronicles 32: 25-26). His sin was not as visible as David’s nor do as many people remember it. But does that make Hezekiah’s sin “smaller” than David’s?

They both sinned … like we all will. 1 John 1:8 says “if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” But here’s the good news: the Bible tells us that both men repented, and both were restored.

So, what is the principle we are to see here?
Holiness begins in the heart.
To be holy, we must see a detoxing of all unholiness – big and small!

Jerry Bridges, author of Respectable Sins, says the motivation for his book came from “a growing conviction that conservative evangelicals may have become so preoccupied with some of the major sins of society that we have lost sight of the need to deal with our own more acceptable sins.”

Have we conditioned ourselves to think that some “sins” are more acceptable than others? Is it OK to overlook those things that no one will even know about? Let’s compare this carnal thinking to the thoughts and truth of God:

• Unnoticed and unaddressed sin tends to corrupt other parts of us (Psalm 38: 1-11).
• Unaddressed sin separates us from an intimate relationship with God (Isaiah 59:2).
• It stunts our spiritual growth (Galatians 5:7).
• It evolves into bigger sins (the story of David in 2 Samuel).
• It isolates us (Genesis 3:6-10).
• It hurts our witness (Matthew 7:5).

With each of these statements, did your heart feel heavier and heavier?

Sin is a heavy weight. As believers, we’re heartbroken when we’ve disappointed or grieved our Heavenly Father – and it weighs us down. Too many of us are walking around like that today … grieving because of sins … but that is not what God wants for us.

From His great love He invites us unto Himself …

Come … he says … Come to me and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). We rest as we “repent.”

REPENT … that’s the third “R” in our Detox Plan. Repent means to take all that sin makes you feel … condemned, silenced, worthless … and run to Jesus. It’s accepting His forgiveness and love and promise of restoration …

Is there life after sin! Yes, my friend … because of Jesus there is not only life but a life of abundance to be lived.

Until next time, READ the scriptures you’ve heard me mention today. As you RECOGNIZE sins — whether large or small — take them to Jesus with a repentant heart. He promises in 1 John 1:9 to forgive and purify us from all unrighteousness. To be forgiven … purified … restored … will surely Strengthen Your Walk.

Watch Now!