Root sins speak of something that is the “root” or "foundation" of all other sins which can manifest in a believer’s life. A root sin is similar to the root of a weed which causes the weed to grow back again after it has been chopped off on the surface. If a believer does not deal with the root sin then all of the surface sins will spout again repeatedly with endless cycles of repenting and falling back into the same old sins again and again.

Example of a Root Sin

I know of a woman who was raised in a large family during the US depression and being the youngest of the family she was always crying out for attention and saying, “What about me?” as everyone was competing for the food or other resources of the family with so many mouths to feed. Her mean German father would tell her to stop whining or he would really give her something to cry about!

She would also receive old ragged clothing that has passed several times through other older siblings before she got them. She was made fun of in school by other children who called her “old feed sacks” because of the poor fitting and ragged clothing she was forced to wear.

This woman grew up into adult life with an intense desire to receive human sympathy and pity. As soon as her own children were old enough to be manipulated, she would do whatever she could to glean sympathy and pity from them and if they did not give her what she wanted then she would become abusive toward them. The home was filled with turmoil and strife and tension as this woman was constantly manipulating others while she sought to serve her idol of lust for human sympathy and pity.

See the lesson called "Idols of the Heart" for more details.

In the lesson called “Idols of the Heart” this example of the same woman was given whose root sin of lust for human sympathy and pity became an idol. A idol is something that is served by that person in everything that they do as they manipulate and control others to serve their own idol.

An idol is something that is served and worshiped just like a pagan bowing down to a block of wood or a stone carving or cast image and praying to that idol and serving that idol. The idols of the heart are like this because those who worship idols will serve that idol in every way imaginable!

The subject of this lesson is about root sins but it is related to idolatry as well because those who have idols in the heart are those who have a root sin which they are serving and all other sins that manifest are related to this one root sin.

This woman in my example had a root sin of lust for human sympathy and pity but it manifested in many different ways so as to govern her actions along a specific line of prescribed behavior.

If this same woman had a family gathering for holidays like Christmas or Thanksgiving then she would again be seeking to serve her idol of lust for human sympathy and pity. Instead of the family gathering being a time of fellowship and seeing adult children once or twice a year, it became focused only on this woman gleaning human sympathy and pity for herself. She would solicit this human sympathy and pity by telling how hard she had worked in preparing for the event and this was a request for everyone to gather around her and pet her like a cat and tell her how hard she had worked. Her eldest daughter was logical in thinking however and suggested that instead of eating at home they should just all go out to eat and thus save this woman from all of the labor of cooking that she was complaining about.

But it was interesting that this woman blew up and spoke cutting words to her own daughter as if to put her to silence by saying, “If you are going to just come home and cause strife in the family then maybe you should not come home anymore!” But the eldest daughter was not causing any strife at all but it was this woman herself who was causing all of the strife and disorder in the home as she served this root sin (or idol) of her heart! In fact, this woman did not want to hear any solutions to relieve her of all of the work she was complaining about. She was complaining as a means of soliciting human sympathy and pity!

Everything she did was designed to manipulate people to feed her idol of lust for human sympathy and pity. But this idol was a root sin so if the sins of this woman’s heart could be illustrated by a root of a weed then the main tap-root would be this sin of lust for human sympathy and pity that she was serving since her childhood.

But out of this main sin (or tap root of sin) there was many sins or minor roots protruding from it.

1. If she made a wedding dress for a bride, she did not miss any opportunity for soliciting human sympathy and pity for her work. She would purposely show up to the wedding still working on final touches just so that everyone would give her all of the attention for what she did to sew this dress. Thus, the good deed of sewing a wedding dress for a bride was polluted by this lust for human sympathy and pity.

2. She would fish for compliments by saying things like mentioning the size of her nose so that other might say, “No that is not true and there is nothing wrong with your nose!” Thus, she could get some attention for that as well. But again, the root sin in her heart was a lust for human sympathy and pity and she missed no opportunity to serve this idol in her heart.

3. She would put on a facade designed to portray herself as the most sacrificial person seeking to prompt people to refer to as a dear and sweet person. But anything she did good for others was always polluted by this root sin of trying to solicit human sympathy and pity.

4. If she was at a gathering of Christian ladies, she would miss no opportunity to solicit human sympathy and pity from them. Even her prayer requests were all engineered around serving this idol of her heart.

The fact remains that everything she did or said was all polluted by the root sin of lust for human sympathy and pity. Thus, she manipulated and used others in order to serve this idol of her heart and this was a major source of disorder and strife in her own home with her own family and it polluted every relationship she had outside of the home as well. All of this offense with others and the polluting of normally good deeds was all affected by the root sin that dwelt within this woman’s heart.

All of the visible sins of this woman (continually came to the surface and manifested in her poor behavior). But these sins were all minor roots that came from the root sin of lust for human sympathy and pity.

This can also be compared to how a weed can grow back again after it is chopped off. The same types of sins repeated manifested in different ways and means but they were all related to the root sin of lust for human sympathy and pity that she was serving in her heart!

Normally she was not a good house keeper and things were generally a mess in her house and she did not cook special food unless visitors were coming. If hired men were present at harvest time then the house would be immaculate and she would make special baked goods and premium coffee but such things were not made if company was not coming. All of the facade of being a "super-wife" was only to solicit the praise of these visitors who all said that they wished their wives would treat them so good! Yet she did not treat her own family members this good and if company was not coming, they were generally left to fend for themselves!

Again, this sin was manifested like a weed that keeps growing back. In numerous ways these sins would appear but they were all related to the root sin of lust for human sympathy or pity or even just the lust for human attention and praise in general.

If someone was to do a study of her life and behavior, they would see a pattern developing because everything this woman did and said was all centered around gleaning human sympathy or pity (or even attention) from humans. It governed her entire life so this could most certainly be called a “root-sin” because it was sin from which all other “sins” sprouted up from her life continually and habitually!

She would buy and store nice clothing until every storage space and closet in the house was filled with excessive amounts of clothing that was far more than she could ever wear. When she was rebuked for this behavior, she would show false repentance and dispose of the excess clothing. But soon after every closet and storage space would be again filled with more clothing because this was a compulsive behavior for her. The root cause was this lust for human sympathy and pity and attention of humans as she wanted them to think well of her and her appearance. But buying more clothing than she could ever possibly wear was a compulsive behavior that manifested like weeds that grow back after they are chopped off. As long as the root remains then the weeds will always grow back again.

This woman is an example of someone who has a root sin in their hearts. She was saved and grew profusely after salvation but when God tried to deal with this idol (or root sin) she refused to give it up. She was willing to be ten-times more zealous in all other Christian activities but she did not want to give up this idol of lust for human sympathy and pity that she was serving all of her life!

Believers typically can bring excess baggage of roots sins with them from their past lives as former unbelievers just as this woman had this root sin follow her from her childhood and into adult life and it remained with her even after she was saved.

A time will come however when God will begin to deal with root sins and if the believer does not repent but insists on embracing such sins this can eventually lead to their own damnation. This activity of resisting God from touching their idols can go on for many decades because God is patient with them and waits for them to repent.

Genesis 6:3 (NKJV)-M

³ And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with [humans] forever…

This scripture says that the Spirit of God will not strive with humans forever which also means that a time will come when the Spirit of God will depart from those believers who continue to resist him for many decades by refusing to repent of and forsake idols (or root sins) in their lives.

Other Root Sins

1 Timothy 6:10 (NKJV)

¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

This verse gives attention to the idea that there are indeed root sins that lead to the practice of other related sins. A root sin is the root of all kinds of related evil just as a man who has the love of money will also be full of covetousness which is a lust for things that is abnormal and can drive them toward perdition. They also have pride in wanting human attention for the possessions that they own. This root sin of love of money has many branch sins related to it and it drives the compulsive behavior of those who are poisoned by the love of money.

1 John 2:15-16 (NASB)

¹⁵ Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

These scriptures mention that there are branches of sin that sprout from the same tap root of love of money. The lust of the flesh speaks of the craving of humans to obtain possessions at any cost. The lust of the eyes is the source of craving as they see things that they want. The boastful pride of life is bragging about their possessions trying to obtain value in the eyes of other humans by the possessions that they own.

It would seem that these branch sins could be synonymous with one another because they are all so closely related that it seems they are all speaking of the same thing. Just like the roots of a weed which have many branch roots coming out of the main tap root and the minor hair-roots that are all intertwined (like a glob of hair) so these sins all seem to be related to one another and are not readily distinguished from one another.

It is enough to know that there is a root sin of love of money and all other sins evident in the lives of the defiled by love of money will be manifest in their compulsive behavior.

Believers often carry such sins with them into their new live with Christ after salvation. After they are saved and given time to grow then the Holy Spirit will begin to deal with these root sins and require the believer to repent of and forsake them. If they persist however and resist the Holy Spirit for decades by refusing to repent then they could become like King Saul who was abandoned by the Lord for his disobedience.

1 Samuel 16:14 (NASB)

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him.

Once the Spirit of God departs from an unbeliever that is the time that they cross the line of perdition and can no longer be saved again.

Hebrews 6:6 (NASB)

⁶ and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

This scripture speaks of those who were once saved but they fell away from the Lord after a time of long and persistent disobedience. Again, the Holy Spirit will not strive with humans forever. He is patient and may deal with them for decades about unrepentant sin but eventually (if they persist in rebellion) the Holy Spirit will depart from them because he will not strive with them forever!

See the lesson “Christians In Hell” for more details.

A person poisoned by the love of money will lust for possessions and things and then when they obtain them, they will be proud as if they are better than those who do not have them. Thus, the root sin of love of money will have not only branch sins but a whole glob of hair-roots coming out of it so that it is an impossible mess of sin all combined and intertwined together!

This is not an easy thing to overcome (even for a believer) because these type of roots sins often control a person for their entire lifetime. But the stakes are high because if they do not overcome, they will be rejected by the Holy Spirit and cross the line of perdition (like King Saul) and suffer eternal damnation.

The believer must overcome all root sins at all costs because if they do not, they will suffer unspeakable damnation for all eternity!

Gambling is another branch sin that comes out of the root sin of love of money. Gambling is involved with a great deal of self-deception as people imagine they can obtain money for free without working for it or saving it. They also imagine that everyone will give them respect when they are a winner but this is nothing but flattery of those who want to fleece them of their earnings. Casinos will even allow suckers to win only to hook them and after that these suckers will spend everything that they have in trying to relive the winning streak they once experienced. They may even wear the same clothing or “lucky hat” hoping to recreate the same winning streak they once experienced.

I know of a man who lost everything including his house to gambling. He was constantly imaging that he would have one more “big-win” and did not stop pouring his money out until he was broke and homeless and had nothing. It was the root sin of love of money and desire for pride of life (falsely imagining people would respect him when he became a winner). But this is largely self-deception and the only winner is the casino that is set up to fleece these fools of their money! The compulsive behavior of a gambler is related to the root sin of love of money.

Ephesians 2:1-3 (NKJV)

¹ And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

Unbelievers are in bondage to sin and spend all their time trying to gratify the craving of their sinful nature. When they become saved, they are no longer in bondage to slavery of sin but old habits and root sins can remain and they will have to learn to overcome them as believers.

Sexual sins can also be related to the desire to have some deep inner need met for human love and affection. All children need to have love and affection of a mother when they are in their formative years because if they are neglected, they may end up with bondage to sin in adult life as they seek to fulfill voids in their lives in an unrighteous manner.

A believer has to surrender such voids to God and ask the Lord to fulfill them and satisfy them. They have to employ their own human freewill to resist these sins and refuse to allow these sins to dominate them as believers.

The sin nature is still evident in the believer after salvation but as a believer they can employ God’s grace to overcome past sins and vices that once held them in bondage as unbelievers in the world.

The Lord is in the business of cleaning people up and setting them free from sin but believers have to employ their human freewill in this process of sanctification to allow the Holy Spirit to clean them up.

Habitual sins will manifest repeatedly like weeds that grow back from a tap root. The believer will have to know and understand their weaknesses and learn to manage them to avoid temptation. They have to resist when the temptation for old habits manifests. If they will resist and ask God for grace to overcome, they can say NO to compulsive desires. When the say NO and refuse to gratify these evil desires then these desires will grow weaker and lose their hold over them. But if they indulge them the desires will be revived again and they will be stuck back into the mire again!

Therefore, the believer must use their human freewill to resist temptation and ask God for the grace to overcome. If they will do this then the power of sin will lose its control over their lives and they can overcome it and walk in freedom.

But if they love the sin and refuse to repent of it and play games instead of repenting they will be in danger of going to hell with that root sin that has become and idol in their lives. The root sin becomes an idol after the person had made a decision to continue to serve that idol even after they become a believer and after the Holy Spirit has been convicting them of this unrepentant sin.

Playing games involves the typical behavior of trying to buy God off by being ten-times more zealous about other things hoping God will leave their idol alone. It is the refusal to repent of a certain root sin (that they love) which makes this root sin into an idol which they serve every day of their lives!

Hebrews 13:4 (CJB)

⁴ Marriage is honorable in every respect; and, in particular, sex within marriage is pure. But God will indeed punish fornicators and adulterers.

God provides marriage for humans to experience satisfaction from sex in a righteous manner but all types of sex outside of a marriage between a man and his wife are condemned by God as sin. God will punish the fornicators and adulterers and those who commit any type of sexual immorality outside of marriage between a man and a woman who are married to one another.

Sex within marriage is pure in God’s sight but when a person is saved who was formerly been living in sexual immorality in the world then they may have some remaining bondage that must be overcome. Again, this can be a struggle but the stakes are high and they can lose everything and go to hell if they do not overcome sexual immorality. They must determine they will not engage in any type of sex outside of sex within marriage with their own spouse.

Satan works to tempt people had previously been in bondage to immorality and often the temptation will come if they have bad relations with their spouse. Believers should not be ignorant of the devil’s schemes and be on guard in this area so they will not be tempted. They are to keep a good relationship with their spouse and not let the sun go down on bad feelings without making up after a fight with their spouse. They have to close the door to the enemy or they can be tempted to fall into immorality if they do not maintain good relations with their own spouse.

Can a Christian have a Demon?

The answer is yes, because if a believer willfully submits to a demon who is tempting them to sin, then they can actually give the demon right to dwell within them and control them. This starts when a believer uses his human freewill in a bad way to submit to and yield to sin.

This type of bondage can go down further into sin and eventually lead to demon possession. This happens when a believer does not use their human freewill to say 'NO" to the temptation and by continually yielding to it (without repentance) they will eventually become hopelessly ensnared in satanic bondage!

Pornography is in fact much more than just looking at some color photographs in a magazine or images on a computer screen. Pornography can lead to demon control and eventually to demon possession. When a believer willfully (and passively) looks at porn it in fact gives the devil right in their lives because they are dabbling in the world of the satanic. There are demon powers of defilement attached to pornography and these can cause even a believer to become ensnared. Believers must be aware of the risk and determine never to passively drift into watching porn (even when they are alone and no humans see them).

Ephesians 4:27 (NASB)-M

²⁷ and do not give the devil an foothold of opportunity.

The believer is not to give the devil a "foothold" of opportunity and this most certainly can be applied to passively dabbling with "pornography" which gives the devil a foothold of opportunity to bring a believer into satanic bondage to sin. Viewing porn gives the devil a license to bring the believer into bondage so porn should not be taken lightly and the danger poses should be recognized. It is not a harmless pastime but rather a pathway of bondage that leads to hell!

Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Without holiness no one will see the Lord so this is another reason why the believer has to guard themselves from pornography because no one can look at porn and be holy in God's sight and thus they will ban themselves from heaven if they persist in this behavior.

A Believer is a New Creation

A believer is set free from sin and is a new creature inside.

See the lesson “New Creation Born of God” for more details.

Even though a believer is set free from sin they still possess a human freewill and if they use this freewill to dabble in sin then it gives the devil free right to ensnare them in bondage. Believers must be aware of this fact because they can become ensnared into bondage of sin if they passively look at pornography or indulge in any type of sin in casual manner. The devil has legions of demons whose only job it is to tempt people to sin and ensnare them into hell.

2 Corinthians 2:11 (CJB)

¹¹ so that we will not be taken advantage of by the Adversary — for we are quite aware of his schemes!

The believer is not to be ignorant of the devil’s schemes but instead know how he operates. The devil uses human freewill against them by tempting them to sin and when they use their human freewill to engage in sin then this gives the devil authority to ensnare them into bondage. This also applies to believers who willfully engage in sin and become ensnared to do the will of Satan.

2 Timothy 2:26 (NASB)

²⁶ and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

Even believers can become ensnared by the devil and held captive to do his satanic will which will result in their eternal damnation (if they do not come to their senses and repent and use their human freewill to resist the temptation and set themselves free from sin.)

An Illustration of Satanic Bondage

There is an illustration of the boy who helped a construction company hang a bridge over a great gorge. The boy used a kite to fly a string over the gorge to the men on the other side. They then died a cord to the string and pulled the cord over using the string. Then they used the cord to tie onto a rope and pulled the rope over using the cord. Then they tied a steel cable on the rope and used the rope to pull the steel cable over. Eventually they had the giant-sized steel cables across the gorge that they needed to hang the bridge. All this started with the small string and progressed to large unbreakable steel cables. This can be used to illustrate how the bondage of Satan works in tempting people to deeper levels of sin. If they do not say "NO" to lesser temptations (like the kite string) they will eventually end up in terrible bondage like being tied with giant steel unbreakable cables in bondage to sin). They will then need deliverance and restoration to be set free. Without it they will be taken to hell.

There are many Christians who have dabbled in sin and became hopelessly entangled it in. Sin is deceitful and deceives people to falsely believe that they can enjoy themselves and then set themselves free. This is a lie of the devil designed to send believers to hell!

See the poem called “The Eagle” which illustrates bondage to sin.

Sin of Unbelief

Matthew 13:57-58 (NIV)

⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor."

⁵⁸ And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

The people of the hometown of Jesus were too familiar with him so that Jesus could not do many miracles in that place because of their great unbelief. Unbelief is actually a sin in the sight of God and will keep believers poisoned by it from entering the kingdom of God.

Unbelief is the stubborn refusal to believe when humans exercise their human freewill to choose not to believe. This unbelief can limit God from working in their lives and if they do not repent of it, they can end up in hell.

Hebrews 3:18-19 (NKJV)

¹⁸ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

The Israelites at the border of the Promised Land did not enter because of their stubborn refusal to believe God. They instead repeated all of the lying imaginations inserted into their minds by Satan and eventually they crossed the perdition line and were condemned by God. They all died in the wilderness without entering the Promised Land and they ended up in hell when they died.

That is a warning to believers not to engage in unbelief or repeat satanic thoughts of unbelief which can result in sending them to hell. These Israelites did not acknowledge all the good that the Lord had done for them with the miracles in Egypt, the Red Sea, the daily manna, the pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day. They persisted in unbelief and it was a stubborn and willful refusal to believe God and this is what caused their damnation!

Numbers 14:11 (CJB)-M

The Lord said to Moses, “How much longer is this people going to treat me with contempt? How much longer will they not trust me, especially considering all the signs I have performed among them?

These people treated the Lord with contempt when they stubbornly refused to believe God even after they had seen all of the great miracles God preformed when bringing them out of bondage in Egypt.

Exodus 14:11-12 (NIV)

¹¹ They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

¹² Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"

This is an example of the people speaking out satanic thoughts that the devil inserted into their minds. Satan is an evil genius and knows that he has no power to send people to hell but he can tempt them to speak against God and thus they will send themselves to hell. The devil was able to send all of the adult men over age 19 to hell simply by tempting them to speak out the satanic thoughts that he had inserted into their minds! These people completely ignored what God had already done for them and focused only on the demonic imaginations of failure they saw and cursed themselves to hell as a result!

They progressed to unbelief continually by their hardened hearts that refused to acknowledge that God was working among them. By the time the ten spies returned with the evil report, these wicked people were more than ready to go totally and completely into unbelief. They grasped the excuse to say that it was impossible to enter the Promised Land and it would be better to return to slavery in Egypt!

It was total and willful rebellion against God and God’s ability to give them possession of the land. The chose not to believe and chose not to consider all that God had done for them already.

Romans 10:17 (CJB)-M

¹⁷ So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through a word proclaimed about the Messiah.

A believer’s faith can grow by levels according to their experience with God. As they have good and positive experiences with God’s deliverance and God’s provision in their lives then their capacity to believe can also grow. They can learn to overcome the doubts that Satan inserts into their minds to limit them.

The children of Israel had numerous examples of God’s provision and God’s deliverance since the time that they left Egypt. This was more than enough for them to base their faith upon and to acknowledge that God was alive and real and operating among them.

Hebrews 3:18-19 (NKJV)

¹⁸ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Most believers would never see so much evidence in their lifetime as the manifestations of God on behalf of the Israelites when he brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand! But this did not serve to cause the people to move deeper in faith. They had a rebellious heart and they continually grumbled and complained against both God and Moses who led them. They progressed from doubts to unbelief and became hardened in heart as well. They eventually even rebelled against God and even refused to try to enter the Promised Land and judged God as incapable of giving the land to them. This is an example of hardened and willful unbelief.

Mark 9:23 (NKJV)

²³ Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."

Jesus said that all things are possible for those who believe. To believe means to believe what God has said is true and then act accordingly. A believer must make a willful decision to believe (and then act accordingly).

Unbelief is the exact opposite because it is a willful decision and stubborn refusal to believe. The Israelites exercised their own freewill to refuse to believe God. Therefore, God could not bring them into the Promised Land because they refused to even go forward by faith and trust that God would take care of them. This type of unbelief is a spiritual sin against God!

Revelation 21:8 (NKJV)

⁸ But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

The first two types of humans (at the top of the list) to be thrown into the lake of fire are the cowardly and the unbelieving. The cowardly and the unbelieving are those who refuse to believe God because of fear.

Matthew 25:24-30 (NIV)

²⁴ "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

²⁶ "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?

²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ "'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.

²⁹ For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

The wicked and lazy servant buried his talent and did nothing with it because he was afraid of taking risk. But life on earth is full of risk and humans are tested while living on earth because the earth is a proving ground for them which can qualify them for positions in heaven. A believer only has to go forward in faith and God can do the rest and help them.

Joshua 1:8-9 (NASB)

⁸ "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

God told Joshua to be strong and courageous and go forward without hesitation then God could do wonders. If Joshua had not been strong and courageous and did not even try then God could have done nothing for him. Joshua was to meditate on the word of God day and night to renew his mind to see the ability of God and not look at natural circumstances.

Psalm 78:41 (NKJV)

⁴¹ Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.

The first two sins against God are being cowardly and having unbelief and these limit God from working in the lives of his people. The unbelieving Israelites limited God from working on their behalf because of their stubborn refusal to believe. This is what caused them to be rejected and sent to hell.

Application

This teaching about root sins is applied by the fact that all of these sins have a root. In agriculture if only the top of a weed is chopped off then it can grow back again. The root remains in the soil so therefore it will always return unless the roots are killed. Round-up herbicide kills weeds down into the roots to provide lasting kill-effect for this reason and the same principle also applies to sins.

Outward sin is only the fruit of the root sin that resides in the heart of a believer. If the believer will identify the root cause of their sins then they can deal with that root cause and experience victory over all of the sins in their lives. Rather than dealing only with symptoms the believer can deal with the root sin and stop the problem completely.

Once the root sin is identified they can take steps to employ their human freewill to refuse to yield to that sin any longer. That will cause the sin to grow weak and eventually loose all power over them.

But if the believer indulges that sin again it will revive in all of his power to bring them into bondage again. It can only be overcome by denying the sin the right to express itself. When that is done the sin will grow weaker and weaker until the believer gains full victory over it.

The believer however should guard themselves in this area even after they gain victory and know that this is an area of weakness. If the devil can tempt them to return to old sin again, they can end up being in deeper bondage than before they are set free from it. Knowing their own weakness is important so that a believer will be on guard in that area and do everything to avoid ever falling into that old temptation again.

Once they are free the devil will tempt them to dabble with it again knowing that they can easily be ensnared so deeply the second time that they will not be able to recover and thus the devil can still take them to hell using this old bondage.

A believer who is set free from sin and has overcome old sin should never under any circumstances ever dabble with it or passively pet their old sin or it can bring them back into inescapable bondage that is much worse than what they had previously been in bondage to before they were set free.