As we mature in the Christian faith, we begin to see that there’s more than one component to salvation. This is what I love about Wesleyan Christianity- with prevenient grace, justification and sanctification, we acknowledge that salvation is an event and a process. More and more, in Methodism and in other branches of Christianity, people are really understanding the need to pursue holiness, both in thought and action.

But with that comes struggle– and those stubborn, besetting sins. Plenty of Christians have wanted to give up because they’ve hit a wall when struggling with sin. I’ve counseled fellow believers who seemingly can’t break a cycle of sin– and because of that, they feel as if Christianity isn’t “working” for them.

A turning point for me was when I realized that the battle with sin has more than one dimension. In other words, it’s not just about sin, it’s about struggle, too. The problem with thinking only in terms of sin vs. no sin is this: it gets discouraging, and the condition of the heart isn’t factored into the equation. Some of us have been thinking of sin in one dimension. Picture a number line from math class:

In our desire to become holy, the danger is to think in terms of this number line. Sin becomes something quantifiable in our minds, and in our zeal to become holy, we try to eradicate sin. (Picture someone running to the right on the number line.) The problem is, it’s too easy to become discouraged about the distance left to go or by setbacks that move us to the left on the number line. And even if we get rid of outward sin (which is easier to measure), our inward sin can become a source of grief. This number line can actually become a source of bondage.

So I added struggle as a second dimension when discussing sin, and I found that looking at sin as a plane instead of a line is a lot more encouraging. In simple terms, when giving advice to people who have become discouraged with their inability to overcome a certain sin, I tell them not to measure their faithfulness by sin only– because without considering the amount of struggle they’re experiencing, they’ll get an inaccurate picture of what’s really happening. Consider sin and struggle as the y-axis (vertical) and x-axis (horizontal) respectively in a plane from geometry class:

When we think in these terms, our battle with particular sins can be divided into 4 parts, or quadrants. Quadrant 1 (green) is where you are if you aren’t committing a certain sin and you aren’t even struggling with it. This is the place we all want to be, but it’s not always easy to get there. Quadrant 2 (yellow) is the next best place to find yourself. You’re in this quadrant if you aren’t committing a sin, but you’re being seriously tempted on some level. Quadrant 3 (blue) is where you are when you’re giving in to a sin, but you’re struggling with the fact that you’re sinning. This is where its easiest to feel defeated, and it’s spiritually the most exhausting quadrant to be in.  Quadrant 4 (red) is a dangerous place to be. In this quadrant, you’re sinning and you’ve gotten cold about it and don’t really care anymore. There is no struggle, so it’s often a comfortable place to be, but it’s dangerous nonetheless. The peace experienced in Quadrant 4 is a false peace, because what it usually means is that you’ve tuned out the Holy Spirit and you aren’t experiencing (or recognizing) conviction any longer. Quadrant 4 isn’t irreversible, but it’s hard to know that you’re there, so without others interceding on your behalf and God intervening, it’s easy to stay there indefinitely. That’s what makes it dangerous.

I’ve counseled teenagers and young adults who have been down on themselves for giving in to sin. The fact that they care enough to stress about it means they’re in quadrant 3. I always tell them that they would rather be sinning and struggling with their sin than sinning and not struggling, because not struggling is a sign that they’ve probably given up. With that encouragement, I challenge them to move up to the next level– but to understand that the struggle probably isn’t going to go away anytime soon. Getting rid of sin is much easier than getting rid of sin and struggle simultaneously. Tackle one giant at a time.

Most of the people I’ve encouraged are either in quadrant 2 (yellow) or 3 (blue). They may or may not be sinning, but they’re definitely struggling, and they just want the struggle to go away. The only way to get rid of the struggle is to achieve victory or to surrender. Surrendering is always easier than achieving victory. If your priority becomes getting rid of struggle instead of getting rid of sin, you’re going to live a defeated Christian life. On the other hand, if you accept struggle as normal for Christians and set your sights on the next quadrant up (instead of getting discouraged because Quadrant 1 seems so far away) you’ll find peace. The trick is discovering that there can be peace in the midst of struggle.

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