The Bible deals with sin from cover to cover. In fact you do not have to go further than the third chapter to get a vivid description of the first sin. Move another three chapters, and you will see how sin has spread to the entire world!

Now look in the mirror. What do you see? Be honest. Is there sin in your life? No one (except God) knows better than you. What are you going to do about it? Here are some suggestions:

1. Aware of Sin
What is Sin? The Bible tells us in 1 John 3:4 that "sin is the transgression of the law". Paul struggled with this in Romans 7:7-9 where he writes, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died."

What does sin do? Make no mistake about it, sin erects a wall between you and God. It cuts off all blessings and sustenance from above. Isaiah 59:2
declares, "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."

What is the result of Sin? Romans 6:23 tells us in no uncertain terms, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

2. Beware of Sin
Do not go through life like an ostrich with your head buried in the sand. All mankind has sinned. We commit sin every day - by doing bad things as well
as by not doing good things (James 4:17). The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

3. Careful of Sin
Search your heart like the Psalmist of old in Psalms 139:23, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts." Is there a secret sin? Perhaps an evil thought?

Every sin goes through various stages. James 1:14-15 describes this process in this way: "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

4. Declare Your Sin by confession
Not only do we have the tendency to hide our sins, like David, often we commit sins which we do not deem to be wrong. As David was a man after
God's own heart, he constantly examined himself as he did in Psalms 19:13,14 "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression."

5. Enter into God's presence
To seek complete cleansing of our sins, like the prodigal son of Luke 15, we must leave the pigsty and return to our Father's house where we belong. In Psalms 51:11, David prayed, "Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me."
The only way to deal with sin is to rid of it completely.

It is not good enough to get rid of the virus of sin. We need to fill the vacuum left by the devil with God's presence. Jesus tells in Luke chapter 11 of a man who was cleansed of an evil spirit, but did nothing. So verse 26 tells us, "Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first."

6. Fight the good fight
When we have decided to deal with the sin in our life, let us get back into the Christian race by making it our goal not to sin. Mark 14:38, "Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak."

7. Grow in good works
Cleansing of sin and bearing fruits of repentance go hand in hand. It is not enough merely to confess our sins; we need to follow through with godly sorrow and not the sorrow of the world (i.e. to feel sorry only because we were caught in wrongdoing). Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 7:10, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."
 

Conclusion: Harden not Your hearts
Brethren, do not harden your hearts when dealing with sin. 1 Timothy 4:2 talks about Christians who have had their conscience seared with a hot iron because of sin. Do it today. Do not go to bed with the devil (Ephesians 4:26, 27).