Practicing and stumbling.

Do we really ever conquer sin while we are still in this body? I don't know. There have been many discussions about this.

Some verses seem to say it's possible.

Matt 5:48; "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
John 8:11; She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."
1Jn 3:9; No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
2Pet 3:14; Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,
Prov 13:6; Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness subverts the sinner.
Php 3:15; Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;
John 5:14; Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you."

The Bible even says some people were blameless and perfect.

Gen 6:9; These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.
Gen 17:1; Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless.
Job 1:1; There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.
Job 1:8; The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil."
Job 2:3; The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil.
Psa 37:18; The LORD knows the days of the blameless, And their inheritance will be forever.
Luke 1:5; In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
Luke 1:6; They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

On the other hand there are verses like...

1Jn 1:8; If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Some people say, this means we never stop sinning, others say we were sinners before we got saved.
I myself have not reached this sinless state yet if it is possible, but I strive toward it.

I can relate with Paul here.

Php 3:9; and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
Php 3:10; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
Php 3:11; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Php 3:12; Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13; Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
Php 3:14; I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

So then, if we can never stop sinning, what's the point? How can anyone be saved? Well, there is always grace, mercy and forgiveness, that covers just about everything.
But I have noticed a word in the Bible. "practicing". The Bible talks quite a bit about practicing.

Matt 7:21; "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Matt 7:22; "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
Matt 7:23; "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

It says here that Jesus will tell people who "practice" lawlessness ( sin, iniquity ) to depart from Him.

Rom 1:26; For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,
Rom 1:27; and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
Rom 1:28; And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
Rom 1:29; being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,
Rom 1:30; slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31; without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;
Rom 1:32; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

There is quite a list here, from homosexuality to being unmerciful. But it says those who "practice" these things are worthy of death.

Rom 2:2; And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.

Now, I don't know about you, but this gives me hope. It doesn't say if you've ever sinned you're lost. Many of us stumble sometimes.

Prov 24:16; For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.

But there is a big difference between stumbling sometimes, and willfully practicing sin. When you practice something, you do it over and over and over again. As frequently as possible, many
times you do this to get better at it. Some of us have gotten very good at sinning over the years, we've had a lot of practice.

Gal 5:19; Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
Gal 5:20; idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
Gal 5:21; envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

It doesn't say if you've ever sinned all hope is lost, it says if you continue to practice these things, then you are in trouble. So quit practicing, repent.

Eph 4:17; So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
Eph 4:18; being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
Eph 4:19; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
1Jn 1:6; If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;

The Bible also says we can practice good and righteous things.

Php 4:9; The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
1Tim 5:4; but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God.
Heb 5:14; But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
2Pet 1:10; Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
1Jn 3:10; By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

So then, it's OK if we aren't perfect. It's OK if we stumble sometimes. But what are you practicing? What are you trying to get better at?

Heb 10:26; For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

Some people have bad habits. Some of us hang around the wrong people.

1Cor 15:33; Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

Maybe you've had a problem with alcohol over the years. Quit going to bars, quit going to liquor stores.
Maybe you've had a problem with lust and pornography over the years. Quit being alone on the internet. Get rid of your computer if it isn't absolutely neccessary.
Quit watching risqué movies and shows with bikini models. Don't tempt yourself.

An old comic I read in the paper many years ago illustrated this pretty good. A woman says she is going to go for a drive.
In the next picture she says, I'm going for a drive, but I won't go to the store.
In the 3rd picture she says, I'll drive by the store, but I won't go in.
Then she says, I'll go in, but I won't buy anything.
She says, I'll buy some things, but I won't buy any candy. ( aha, the real reason is revealed )
In the last picture, her face is covered with chocolate.

This is how sin is. None of us wake up in the morning thinking today I'm going to go sin in someway. ( If you are thinking that way, you need to examine your faith )
But temptation is sneaky. Satan knows your habits, and your weaknesses. He can't read your mind, but he's watched you enough times to figure you out.
Don't drive past that bar. Don't turn on that computer. You may have to change some habits, maybe even change some friends.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and hoping for different results.
As long as you keep doing the same things, going the same places, and hanging out with the same people... nothing is going to change.
Go for a walk, drive to the park. Go to that Wednesday night Bible study for a change. Break old habits, make new habits.

Tear down old strongholds.

Eph 6:11; Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
Eph 6:12; For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Eph 6:13; Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

Start praying, start reading your Bible, start hanging around well-established Christians. Quit avoiding God and start seeking Him with all your heart.

Jas 1:12; Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Jas 1:13; Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
Jas 1:14; But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
Jas 1:15; Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
Jas 1:16; Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

Make no mistake, you will be tested. Maybe you were able to go 2 or 3 months without doing that thing that entangles you.
Maybe you think you're over it now. But temptation will come around again. It'll keep coming back until you beat it.

Heb 12:1; Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2Pet 2:19; promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.
2Pet 2:20; For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
2Pet 2:21; For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.

Rom 6:16; Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

What are you going to practice today? Make a change. Go to the spiritual gym for a change. Get in shape.