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Jan 19, 2026 06:00am

The Sin We Refuse to Let Go Of

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“It’s not that we don’t love God. It’s that we don’t hate our sin.”

The first time I heard this, I was shocked. I had never heard anything truer than that statement.

We are all driven by our “flesh,” by our sinful desires. But when we put our faith in Christ, we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. From that moment on, the Spirit is at war with our flesh, transforming us from the inside out.

But what are we not willing to let go of? What are we clinging to? What sins do we try to justify?

Paul talked about this ongoing battle.

Galatians 5:16–26
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

In this battle, who is the strongest? Our flesh or the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is more powerful! Do you believe that? Our flesh is weak. And often, we take the easy way out. We say, “just this once” or “this is the last time, I promise.” We give in because we are not being led by the Spirit of God. We’re still holding tightly to whatever sin we don’t want to let go of.

Someone dear to me once said, “Listen, I pray, I love Jesus, and I do good, but I’m not giving this up.” And it broke my heart.

Because the picture in my mind was that those “little” things we don’t want to give up are the very things that nailed our Savior to the cross.

And I do this too.

How then can we change? We can’t leave these bodies. We are going to remain in them until we pass away or until the Lord returns. And to that, I pray—Lord, come quickly! But until He does, God has given us everything we need in order to live obedient lives to Him, lives controlled by the Spirit.

John 14:26
“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

Psalm 143:10
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.”

If you want to know what someone says, you should listen to their words, right? If we want to know how to follow the Lord, why then are we not studying His Word? If you want God to speak to you, it’s hard to hear Him when you never open His Word.

When was the last time you spent time reading His Word?

Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

This is how powerful the Word of God is, and dare I say, it’s one of the reasons we don’t study it.

We’re scared of the truth.

We don’t want to be offended.

We don’t want to let go of that sin.

If Jesus is to be Lord of our life, it has to be complete surrender. And there, we will experience a greater love than we’ve ever known before.

It’s a daily surrender. It’s a moment-by-moment opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to shine and overcome our sinful flesh.

Want to know more about following Jesus and surrendering to His will? Go to follow.Lifeword.org or follow.lifeword.org/spanish.

Heavenly Father, you know every detail about me. Nothing is hidden from You. You know my thoughts and my desires—both good and bad. Every day I struggle with the flesh. But through Your Spirit, I can overcome it. Holy Spirit, my daily prayer is for You to shine through me. Let me be fruitful and respond in love. Fill me with joy and peace. Help me show patience, gentleness, and goodness to others. Let me be filled with faith and rely fully on You. May kindness drive out spite and anger, and may You have full control over me. Jesus, my prayer is less of me and more of You. Lead me, Lord. And when the flesh is weak, when I feel like giving in, draw me to Your Word. Remind me of Your precious love for me and the sacrifice You made on my behalf. Thank You, Lord, for the grace You show me when I fail. Thank You for picking me up and placing my feet back on the path with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.