It is vital for us to remain sensitive to sin. God’s work in sanctifying us is one of the ways in which we can remain assured of his saving work in our lives. This is why, in 2 Peter, we are told to continue to work hard to grow spiritually: “make every effort to supplement your faith…” and, “…be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall” (2 Peter 1:5, 10). Continue to check yourself. Be vigorous in your fight against sin. 

Dear Pastor: I’m becoming more and more frustrated in my pursuit of holiness. It seems as if the more I want to follow Christ the more I see the depths of my sin. I think I’m growing but I also feel like I’m more sinful. Am I backsliding? Or is this normal?

Thank you for sending this. It is an excellent question. You are not alone in wondering this. I have been asked this question many times before, and I’ve often asked myself the question throughout the years of my Christian life. Thankfully, the Bible gives us clear teaching on this and our Westminster Standards speak to it with clarity as well.

Feeling a greater sense of sin is often something that accompanies greater sanctification. Have you ever sat in a room that you thought was clean, only to see that the air is filled with dust as the sunlight comes in directly through the windows? Our lives can be that way. The more we expose our hearts to the light of God’s word, the more we see the darkness and dirt in our own lives. The more we see Christ, the more our own failures are exposed. 

The struggle with the sin that remains will be an ongoing, lifelong battle. Our confession speaks of this struggle as “…a continual and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting agains the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh” (WCF XIII:2). The apostle Paul speaks about this irreconcilable war vividly in Romans 7, when he writes, “For I do not do the good that I want, but the evil I want is what I keep on doing” (Rom 7:19). The apostle John writes, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). 

We must never turn a blind eye to sin, and must never give it quarter. While the Bible is clear about our ongoing war with sin in this life, it is equally clear that growing in godliness and good works is non-negotiable for Christians.

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