Killing Sin by Karl Clauson

Conquer the One Thing That Is Defeating You

The following excerpt is from our founder Karl Clauson’s new book Killing Sin.

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The sin in our lives is paradoxical. We’ve become desensitized to sin and yet continually suffer defeat from it. We’ve underestimated sin’s consequences, trivialized sin’s seriousness, and underinvested in the war against our sin. The sin-shame-repent-repeat madness cycle is not what you have to live with. Your sin can be conquered by hating it, attacking it, and killing it—in God’s power.

It’s easy to feel paralyzed by the notion that some things will never change. I’ve known seasons of the sin-shame-repent-repeat cycle of madness. But God can break this cycle. Some sins accelerate physical death while others silently rot our souls, but all sin steals, kills, and destroys (see John 10:10).

Having pastored for many years, I understand that all genuine disciples of Christ have times when they feel defeated and derailed in their discipleship journey. They can’t seem to overcome a debilitating sin, an ungodly habit, or a destructive pattern learned from their family of origin. And they feel hopeless about it. If this is true for you, I want you to know this is a shared experience. But God offers hope for you today and a way out.

I have seen the truths in this book radically change my life and the lives of many, and they can change yours too. This book will give you a renewed passion for living. It will help you get honest about what is killing you right now. It will show you how to gain the spiritual power needed to conquer “the one thing” and then go on to conquer other sins.

The topic of this book raises some important questions. Let me answer them now.

• Why “one thing”? Trying to tackle everything that needs to change in our lives can be overwhelming and paralyzing. But conquering that one thing can cause other things to topple. All biblical characters struggled with sin, but many battled a particular sin that wreaked havoc. Getting one significant victory through Christ will give you confidence and clarity for other victories.

• Isn’t growing with God a lifelong process? Lifelong spiritual growth is a privilege of every disciple of Jesus, but it doesn’t happen without a fight. Growth is inhibited by sin. Our communication with God can be cut off when sin gets a stronghold (Ps. 66:18). Breaking strongholds of ungodly habits, destructive patterns, and debilitating sin releases us to grow again (2 Cor. 10:4).

• If I overcome that one thing, what level of freedom should I expect in this life? We’ll never experience total freedom from sin in this life. But the goal is living and running for “the race set before us”—for the same prize of joy that motivated Jesus (Heb. 12:1–2). And to run this race well, we must “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely” (v. 1). If you desire to follow Jesus and take hold of God’s promises, you will face adversaries, just as Jesus did. Your battle with sin and evil will go on. This side of heaven, we will never be without sin or a spiritual enemy who wants to trap us in his deception (see John 16:33).

Maybe the most critical question is, “Why can I not seem to break free from my sin?” The feelings of shame, frustration, and defeat are palpable. I’ve seen a recurring pattern that sets us up for failure: we fully trust God alone to save our souls and rely on ourselves to change our lives. This book will help you stop trusting in yourself to achieve what you are powerless to do.

Since you picked up this book, I’m guessing you are one of the few unwilling to make excuses for what’s holding you back and keeping you down. You want to win. You’re unwilling to make any more excuses, and you’re done pointing fingers. You’re tired of getting kicked in the gut when you know God promises so much more.

You’re dying to live, to finally conquer and kill “the one thing” so you can be lifted, healed, and restored—fully alive in Christ. Every fiber of you aches to distance yourself from something holding you back. Not for a day or a week but sustained conquest—to walk on in freedom and victory—taking hold of God’s promises. You dare to believe that nothing is impossible for God.

So, here’s where we’re going. Like a great symphonic orchestra, there are spiritual movements that capture the heart and lead us to a grand finale—victory over sin! The three spiritual movements I’ll be taking you through are as follows:

• Getting Honest: Let’s peel back everything that keeps you from seeing yourself as you are. This will lead to the breakthrough of identifying, owning, and hating sin. The most remarkable men and women I know are champions of getting honest with themselves and God.

• Becoming Powerful: You may have settled for too little—an impotent, sterile relationship with God. Your discovery of where power is born, how power flows, and what happens when power moves will revolutionize your view of God and empower you to kill sin and take hold of God’s promises.

• Killing Sin: We’ve been told not to let sin control us but struggle with how to prevent it practically. The strategies for confessing, attacking, and blocking sin will give you tools to finally conquer what’s been killing you. No longer will you need to live with the shame of being defeated by the very thing you hate.

Your “one thing,” if left to grow and fester, will eat your soul and negatively impact those closest to you. Addiction, gossip, hoarding, laziness, lying, and overeating are just a few of the things that need to be conquered for our sake and others. But here’s the crazy thing I’ve seen: a spiritual domino effect will occur. If you conquer “the one thing,” your soul will be restored, you’ll gain confidence for inevitable future battles, and you’ll spur others on around you. In my experience, a flywheel effect occurs—victory breeds more victory.

Conquering your “one thing” is not out of reach. God is eager and able to radically change your life by breaking your cycles of sin and conquering the things that have seemingly defeated you. When this happens, you’ll feel like you found a freshwater stream after walking through a desert.

So, let’s get started. Let God fill you up with holy anticipation. But let’s first get honest about what’s below the surface and capture a grand vision of how God can do what seems impossible. Then we’ll learn how to conquer that one thing defeating us!

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You can purchase your copy of Karl’s new book, Killing Sin: Conquer the One Thing That Is Defeating You, right here.