Wallowing in sin speaks of a believer who was once set free from sin but then returned to that sin again out of their own freewill and came back into bondage to it again. Such a person is like a dog returning to their own vomit again or a hog that was washed returning to wallowing in the mud.

2 Peter 2:21-22 (NIV)

²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

²² Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

I heard several testimonies of people who were set free from bondage to sin and to addictions. One was a man who was helplessly addicted to nicotine and the other had a food addiction. Both of these people were saved and God set them free from their bondage instantly. Suddenly they were both free from the craving and addictions and the smoker was able to stop smoking and the obese man lost a lot of weight and become normal in size again.

But in both of these cases those who were once set free returned to the same bondage again. The smoker was curious why he did not crave cigarettes anymore and so picked one up and tried it again after he had been set free for a long time. But this resulted in the bondage coming back upon him again. The same thing also happened to the obese man who again went back to gluttony (eating far more than he needed even when he was not hungry)! As a result he was again ensnared in bondage to over-eating and gained back all the weight he had previously lost.

Isaiah 55:6 (NASB)

⁶ Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.

To seek the Lord while he may be found speaks of the time of grace that is present for a believer to overcome sin. Seeking the Lord while he may be found also implies that a time will come when he will not be found. A believer has to come to God when he is still able to do so.

Genesis 6:3 (NIV2011)

³ Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

Humans previously lived to be hundreds of years old but the longer they lived the more they turned away from God and they more they sinned. So God shortened their lifespan down to only 120-years. But even this brief time frame was too long and humans continued to sin.

Psalm 90:10 (HCSB)

¹⁰ Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.

By the time of David the human lifespan was shortened again down to only 70-80 years. This short life-span creates an urgency for humans to get right with God before it is too late.

Genesis 6:3 (NIV)

³ Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever. . .

This scripture can also have application to the fact that the Holy Spirit will not deal with a believer regarding unrepentant sin forever. There is a time and a season when God's grace is present to overcome sin but if the person stubbornly uses their human freewill to continue to engage in sin (even while the grace is present for them to overcome) then they can pass by their time of grace and be left in bondage to that sin for the rest of their lives.

Isaiah 55:6 (NASB)

⁶ Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.

Calling upon the Lord while he is near speaks of accepting the opportunity when God's grace is present to overcome sin. God's grace is his divine power and when the grace is present then a person can have God's divine power to overcome sin rather than struggling by using their own human self-effort.

The grace of God is available for believers to overcome all types of vices and sin of every kind. If they will utilize God's grace (when it is available to them) then they can be set free from controlling habits and all forms of sin by God's ability rather than continuing to struggle in their own human limited ability.

This grace of God can also be used to overcome negative thoughts or offense against others. The children of Israel were not able to enter the Promised Land because they were given over to negative thoughts. It was these thoughts that sent them all to hell because they refused to believe God but instead mediated on satanic imaginations of failure. When God's grace is present, a believer can put away negative thoughts which may have previously plagued them all of their lives.

Overcoming Offense

Also offense is meditating on what others may have done to them or thinking about a perceived wrong. It can be something as simple as a tiny injustice but they can meditate on it and carry offense and this can send them to hell if they do not repent of it. God judges humans based on their relationship with others so they cannot afford to carry any offense.

Mark 11:26 (NASB)

²⁶ ["But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."]

If a believer refuses to forgive someone whom they perceive has done them wrong then they will in fact cut themselves off from God's forgiveness. God will not forgive their transgressions if they do not freely forgive other humans for any type of trespass against them (either real or perceived offenses).

See the link "Sin of Unforgiveness" for more details.

When God's grace is present for them to overcome negative thoughts or offense or any other type of sin they must utilize that grace otherwise they will be abandoned by God and given over to their sin which will in the end send them to hell.

Therefore it is of vital importance to utilize the grace of God when it is available to them. When the grace is present they can use that grace to overcome all types of sin. But if they passively indulge in sin (even while God's grace is present) they are in great danger of being abandoned by the Holy Spirit and given over to their unrepentant sin. Then they will be drug off to their own destruction by that sin which they will have no more power over.

See the link "Eagle Poem" for more details.

2 Peter 2:21-22 (NIV)

²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

²² Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

The scriptures above apply to believers who have known the way of righteousness and were set free from sin by believing in Jesus the Messiah. But after being saved these same people turned their back on the sacred command what was passed on to them. So they become like a dog that returns to his own vomit again or a sow that was washed returning to wallowing in the mud of sin.

Believers cannot ignore the fact that they have been given a human freewill and they are expected to use that freewill to serve the Lord. They utilized that human freewill to accept Jesus and be saved but they also must utilize their human freewill to forsake all sin and repent of it and yield to the Holy Spirit when his grace is present for them to overcome sin.

See the link "Christians in Hell" for more details.

Human life on earth is a brief 70-80 years so this is a short time to get themselves cleaned up and ready for heaven. Life on earth is like running a marathon race where they are in need of endurance in order to finish their race on earth and qualify for heaven.

2 Timothy 2:5 (NIV)

⁵ Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.

The rules are simple in that the believer is required to overcome sin by utilizing the grace of God (when that grace is available to them).

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV)

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Apostle Paul was able to remain faithful to God to the end of his race on earth and he won the crown of righteousness as a reward for keeping the faith. All believers are to keep the faith until they finish their race on earth and utilize their human freewill to decide to appropriate God's grace to overcome all sin.

See the link "Salvation's Race" for more details.

Every believer is required to grow up and mature spiritually and eventually God will deal with them about putting away sins that they have carried for decades. It is those who overcome sin by utilizing God's grace who will finish their race and obtain eternal life.

See the link "Overcoming Christian" for more details.

When God's grace is available for a believer then they will have supernatural power to overcome sin and bondage and addictions. But if they ignore God's grace and proceed to continue forward in their sin then that grace will be withdrawn from them and they will be left in their bondage. If they have no more grace (power of God to overcome) then they will end up being like a fly caught in a spiderweb which is powerless to escape and their end will be eternal destruction.

Every believer can overcome sin because God gives grace to do so. When the grace is present they are to utilize this grace and walk in the freedom God has given to them. Never should they return to old sin again once they have been set free because they are in great danger of being abandoned to that sin and could face eternal damnation as a result.