Getting to the root of sin means finding the underlying issue with your relationship with God that you are trying to replace with sin. When we are satisfied in our relationship with God, we have no reason to engage in sin because we are filled up with Him. When we aren’t filled with Him we will look for something to fill up the empty space.

John Piper speaks to this by making the point that the best way to receive the fullest satisfaction is the joy we can receive from Jesus. By fully embracing this joy, we don’t have a need for sin. This is better than just trying to do better; it is a by-product of letting Jesus embrace us. Indeed, of trying to glorify God through good deeds, Piper states, “God Is Most Glorified in Us When We Are Most Satisfied in Him.”

The root of sin is the enemy trying to position you into a place you are most vulnerable to give into this temptation. This paraphrase from Taylor Welch, speaks to this beautifully, “The enemy will not tempt you with something that cannot work. He will try to position you first.” Don’t let the enemy position you incorrectly.

Why Find the Root of Sin Instead of Just Working on the Obvious Sin?

Sin, when the root is still alive, will always come back either in the same way later or in a new part of your life. As John Ortberg puts in his book Water-Walking, “Don’t think it is ever enough just to run away from sin. Sin is a pretty dogged pursuer. Sooner or later, you have to turn and face the pain that makes the temptation so attractive. Sooner or later, you have to run to God.”

How to Find the Root of Sin

We often think of the final sin things like “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, and orgies” – Galatians 5:19-21. However, there is something under that sin that is leading to it. This is most likely a relational rift with God in some way. It could also be that you aren’t taking God up on His promises in the Bible, or that you are not applying or miss understanding something in the Bible.

Essentially, you are using sin to distract yourself from that underlying issue. While you may be able to stop sinning in one area for a time, if you don’t deal with the underlying problem, you will start sinning in another area. Think about what you are trying to distract yourself from.

Examples of Relational Rifts With God:

• Loneliness: You don’t believe God is near to you or that he cares for you
• Stress / Overwhelment: You don’t believe Jesus will care for your burdens or you aren’t yoking to Jesus and His light burden. (Matthew 11:28-30)
• Doubt or Unbelief: You don’t fully trust God’s promises or His character.
• Unforgiveness / Bitterness: You hold on to anger or resentment towards someone, including yourself.
• Insecurity: You don’t believe what God says about you in that you are beautifully and wonderfully made.
• Pride / Self Reliance: You believe you are better than others or that you don’t need God’s help.
• Fear: You are afraid of what the future holds or of what others might think of you.
• Worldliness: You are more focused on the things of this world than on the things of God.
• Lesson to Learn: God is trying to teach you something that you aren’t applying, or maybe there is something you need to share with others like Jonah, but you aren’t.

There are countless other examples of what could get in the way of your relationship with God. For example, neglecting to believe in the grace God offers can create a distance, as does allowing boredom or lack of entertainment to dictate your mood and actions. Similarly, being entangled in unhealthy relationship dynamics can significantly disrupt your connection with God, and failing to properly steward your time and resources can lead to feelings of guilt or unworthiness. Each of these instances acts as a barrier, shifting your focus away from God and towards fleeting, worldly distractions. Please feel free to share what others may come to mind for you in the comments below.

The Root of All Sin is Idolatry

All of these relational rifts with God boil down to idolatry because you put that sin, something, or someone else before God in your life.

Layered Roots

The final root that needs to be pulled out is always going to be something with your relationship with God, but there could be a root that is in between that and the sin. For example, the more obvious root could be unforgiveness towards a person, but the bigger thing is not truly grasping the grace extending to you, which should motivate you to forgive others.

Root of Sin is a Rut in the Mind

Neural pathways are how thoughts connect and are the path of least resistance from one thing to another. God created this to help us, but when bad positioning leads us to a negative cycle, we create a cycle or root that leads us to sin. In Craig Groschel’s book, Winning The War in Your Mind, he states, “Unless we decide to break the pattern, our lives will continue moving in the wrong direction. In a circle that never goes anywhere. It’s normal, Easy. The same old rut.”

How to Pull Our the Root

Once you understand what the underlying issues are, find one core Bible verse to fight that wrong position the enemy has moved you into and reposition yourself to take the high ground. Of course, finding extra verses can help, but I suggest starting with one that you can memorize and be ready to use at a moment’s notice.

Related Article: Key Bible Verses for Overcoming Lust

Make it So Bad Seeds Can’t Grow

In Matthew 13:3-8, Jesus speaks to seed falling on different types of soil where it can grow with different levels of success. In this case, the seed is the word of God and we want it to grow, but I think we can reverse this as well. If we don’t allow sinful seeds to grow by making sure those fall on concrete or something else that doesn’t allow growth, then that seed can’t lead us into temptation.

Reflection Questions to Recognize the Root of Sin in Your Life:

1. What are ways you think you can recognize sinful roots or bad positioning in your life?
   • What you were doing before you noticed the temptation and frame of mind you are in that time frame
2. What recurring patterns of sin do you identify in your life currently and throughout your spiritual development?
   • Consider the examples of relational rifts with God, and the concept of idolatry discussed above.
3. Based on those common patterns, what do you think the underlying issue or root of sin may be for you?
4. What actions do you give into that get you into bad positioning?
   • A few common next steps could be:
     1. Getting the fundamentals right first (daily bible reading, spending time with God, involvement in the local church)
     2. Find targeted scriptures to attach the bad positioning 
     3. Write your own declarations targeting at your underlying cause of sin
5. How can you pull out the root instead of just trying to manage with the sin?
6. What practices can you put in place to help you remove this wrong thinking and replace it with God’s truth?

The Value of Accountability

Now that you have a better idea the area you need to target and work in, don’t forget to bring people around you. Having accountability through other believers is one of the best ways to grow in any aspect of sanctification. Learn more about effective christian accountability here.