What is Sin and How to Overcome

What Is Sin—and How Do We Overcome It?

Short answer: Sin is choosing our own way instead of God’s—living by self-will rather than seeking and obeying His will. We overcome sin by repentance and abiding in Jesus: an ongoing, living relationship of prayer, listening, and obedience in which His Spirit changes our desires and empowers our actions.


1) How Jesus Defines Sin

For Jesus, sin is first a heart problem that shows up in our words and actions. He teaches that defilement proceeds from the inside out: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts… theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:18–19). What matters is not comparison with other people, but doing the Father’s will (Matthew 7:21).

Jesus Himself modeled perfect dependence: “The Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing” (John 5:19; cf. John 12:49–50). Choosing “a good thing” without seeking God is still self-rule. If even Jesus refused self-directed good, how much more should we?

Illustration: Volunteering where we decide may look noble, but if the Father had a different assignment—even a brief, Spirit-prompted encounter—our self-chosen “good” misses His good. Sin is not only doing wrong; it can even be doing “right” without God.


2) The Deep Roots of Sin: Greed, Fear, and Unbelief

  • Greed / Self-centeredness: Jesus warns, “Be on your guard against all covetousness” (Luke 12:15), and “You cannot serve God and Mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Greed simply puts self at the center—soil where every other sin grows.
  • Fear / Cowardice: Jesus rebukes fearful unbelief, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40). In Revelation, He warns that the “cowardly” and “unbelieving” will not inherit the Kingdom (Revelation 21:8).
  • Unbelief: When the disciples failed to cast out a demon, Jesus said it was “because of your little faith” and called the generation “faithless” (Matthew 17:17–20). The issue wasn’t effort, but trust.

3) What Sin Looks Like in Daily Life (from Jesus’ Teaching)

  • Doing “good” without God’s leading (Matthew 7:22–23).
  • Anger and contempt (Matthew 5:21–22).
  • Lust and refusing to cut off causes of stumbling (Matthew 5:27–30).
  • Leaving relationships unreconciled (Matthew 5:23–24).
  • Religious show instead of secret devotion (Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18).
  • Serving money and anxious self-reliance (Matthew 6:24–34; cf. Luke 12:22–34).
  • Refusing mercy and forgiveness (Matthew 6:14–15; 18:21–35).
  • Silence or shame about Jesus (Matthew 10:32–33; Luke 9:26).

4) How Jesus Says We Overcome Sin

A) Repent and Believe

“Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:14–15). Repentance isn’t just regret; it is turning from self-rule to do the Father’s will (Matthew 7:24–27).

B) Abide in Jesus—Live in Prayerful Union

“Abide in Me, and I in you… apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4–5). Prayer is a relationship, not a technique (Matthew 6:6–13). Listening and obeying flows from abiding (John 5:19; John 10:27). Some “mountains” only move through a life immersed in prayer (Mark 9:29; Matthew 17:19–21).

C) Seek the Father’s Will First

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Before deciding “what good to do,” ask and wait. Alignment comes before action.

D) Obey Jesus’ Concrete Teachings

  • Reconcile quickly (Matthew 5:23–24).
  • Cut off sources of sin (Matthew 5:29–30).
  • Practice secret generosity, prayer, fasting (Matthew 6:1–18).
  • Forgive everyone (Matthew 6:14–15).
  • Love enemies (Matthew 5:43–48; Luke 6:27–36).
  • Let your “Yes” be “Yes” (Matthew 5:33–37).
  • Do to others what you would have them do to you (Matthew 7:12).

E) Rely on the Holy Spirit Jesus Gives

Jesus promises the Spirit to be with and in us, to teach and guide into truth (John 14:16–18; John 16:13). Victory over sin is not self-improvement but Spirit-empowered transformation as we stay near Jesus.


5) Note on Cowardice, Weak Faith, and Abiding (Expanded)

Cowardice is what faith looks like when it fails under pressure. In the Gospels Jesus exposes fear as the opposite of faith (“Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” — Mark 4:40), and in Revelation He warns the “cowardly” and “unbelieving” (Revelation 21:8).

Why does faith fail? Because it has become weak and disconnected—what Jesus calls “little faith” (Matthew 17:20): faith that is not rooted in an ongoing, living relationship with God.

What fixes this? Abiding. A here-and-there devotional life won’t stand in the storm; Jesus calls us to a continuous, growing, day-by-day communion (“Abide in Me… apart from Me you can do nothing” — John 15:4–5). This is what He means by mustard-seed faith (Matthew 17:20): not big feelings, but a living seed that, because it is truly alive in Him, grows strong and endures. Over time, abiding turns weak faith into courageous trust.

Peter’s story proves it: he feared and denied Jesus (cowardice), yet Jesus prayed for him and restored him (Luke 22:31–32; John 21:15–19). The cure wasn’t bravado—it was returning to Jesus and abiding in love and obedience.


6) When Faith Feels Powerless: Why Some Mountains Don’t Move

In Matthew 17:14–21 and Mark 9:14–29, the disciples fail to cast out a demon. Jesus names the problem (“faithless,” “little faith”) and the remedy (“this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer”). The issue isn’t louder effort but relational dependence. Even “mustard-seed” faith moves mountains when it is alive and aligned with God.


7) The Apostolic Witness (from the Twelve)

  • Peter: “As obedient children… be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:14–16). “He Himself bore our sins on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24).
  • John: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive… Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked” (1 John 1:9; 2:1–6).
  • Jesus to John (Revelation): Overcomers inherit; the cowardly and unbelieving do not (Revelation 21:7–8).

8) A Simple Rule of Life (Practice)

  • Daily: Secret prayer (Matthew 6:6); pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13) slowly; listen (John 10:27); obey one specific nudge—especially reconciliation or forgiveness (Matthew 5:23–24; 6:14–15).
  • Weekly: Secret fasting (Matthew 6:16–18); secret generosity (Matthew 6:1–4); confession to God, and to the person you wronged when needed.
  • When afraid or pressured: Confess Jesus openly (Matthew 10:32–33); pray, then act in love (Luke 6:27–36). Remember: cowardice is unbelief in disguise—abide and step forward.

“If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:31–32


9) Summary

  • Sin = self-rule: choosing without God and trusting self over the Father.
  • Root = greed (self at the center) and fear/cowardice (unbelief).
  • Cure = repent, abide in Jesus, seek the Father’s will, and obey Jesus’ concrete teachings.
  • Power = the Holy Spirit, as we remain in living relationship with Jesus.
  • Result = genuine righteousness—not performance, but His life in us.

Watch related teachings from Jesus on YouTube – The Kingdom Jesus Taught