How to Overcome Sinful Passions | Ep. 92
Season 5, Episode 1 Show Notes of The Raised & Redeemed Podcast
How to Overcome Sinful Passions and Grow in Christian Virtue
We hear a lot today about spiritual warfare—how to cast out demons and rebuke the enemy. But what if the real battle isn’t just about resisting evil… but becoming holy?
That’s the journey we’re diving into this season on The Raised & Redeemed Podcast. In this series, we’re looking not just at the darkness we’re called to fight—but at the light we’re called to become. We're focusing on what it really means to overcome sinful passions and cultivate the virtues that make us more like Christ.
My Inspiration for This Season
During Great Lent this year, I picked up a book that truly wrecked me—in the best way possible.
Thirty Steps to Heaven by Fr. Vassilios Papavassiliou is a layperson’s guide to the spiritual classic The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus. Originally written for monks striving for theosis (union with God), its wisdom is deeply relevant for anyone seeking to grow in holiness.
On the cover is a famous icon: monks climbing a ladder toward Christ, while angels support them and demons try to drag them down. It's a powerful image of the spiritual battle we all face daily—in our thoughts, our habits, our hearts.
The Real Spiritual Battle
So often, we reduce spiritual warfare to dramatic deliverance moments. But as Jesus says in Matthew 12:43–45, when a demon is cast out, it seeks to return—and if the house is still empty, it brings seven more with it.
Which means the question isn’t just:
“Have I been delivered?”
But rather:
“What am I now filling that space with?”
“Am I obeying Christ?”
”Am I cultivating virtue?”
”Am I giving the enemy any foothold by staying enslaved to my passions?”
This season, we’re tackling those questions one by one—looking at the passions that keep us bound, and the virtues that set us free.
What Are the Passions?
In the 4th century, St. Evagrius of Pontus identified eight evil thoughts that lie at the root of all sin:
Gluttony
Lust (Fornication)
Avarice (Love of money)
Dejection (Sadness)
Anger
Acedia (Spiritual laziness)
Vainglory
Pride
These were later adapted into the Seven Deadly Sins in the West. But in Orthodox Christianity, the understanding is a bit different.
“God neither caused nor created evil... We have taken natural attributes of our own and turned them into passions. For instance, the seed which we have for the sake of procreating children is abused by us for the sake of fornication. Nature has provided us with anger as something to be turned against the serpent, but we have used it against our neighbor. We have a natural urge to excel in virtue, but instead we compete in evil. Nature stirs within us a desire for glory, but that glory is of a heavenly kind. It is natural for us to be arrogant—against the demons. Joy is ours by nature, but it should be joy on account of the Lord and for the sake of doing good to our neighbor. Nature has given us resentment, but that ought to be against the enemies of our souls. We have a natural desire for food, but not surely for profligacy.”
— St. John Climacus
In other words, the passions are not evil by nature. They’re disordered forms of good—twisted uses of God-given desires. Anger, for example, is meant to be directed at the serpent, not our neighbor. A desire for glory is meant to be aimed at heaven, not the approval of man.
From Sin to Sanctification
The goal isn’t just to avoid sin—it’s to transfigure these distorted desires into holy ones.
That’s why Orthodox spirituality puts such a strong emphasis on repentance, fasting, confession, and participation in the sacraments. It’s not legalism. It’s healing.
As St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5:
“We take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.”
That’s the real spiritual warfare.
Not just resisting the devil—but being transformed into the likeness of Christ.
A Personal Word
Even four years into my walk with Christ, I still have moments where the passions of my past knock at the door. But I stand firm in the fight—not because I’m strong, but because I know the One who is.
When I came out of the New Age, substance abuse, and sexual sin, I didn’t just need deliverance—I needed replacement. I used to fill every empty space with something harmful. So now I fight to fill them with what is holy and healing: Scripture, sacraments, Christian community, and the presence of God.
As St. Paisios of Mount Athos said:
“If we don’t fill our mind with prayer, it will fill itself with anxieties, worries, temptation, resentment, and unwelcome memories.”
What to Expect This Season
Each episode this season will walk through one or more of the Thirty Steps to Heaven, paired with real-life reflections, Orthodox insight, and practical application.
We’ll wrestle with the passions. We’ll study the virtues. And we’ll walk together, step by step, up the spiritual ladder toward Christ.
I hope you’ll join me. And if this resonates with you, please:
✅ Subscribe to the podcast
✅ Leave a review to help others find it
✅ Share it with a friend who’s climbing, too
Coming Up Next:
🎧 Episode 2: The First 7 Steps to Spiritual Freedom (Steps 1-7)
What does it mean to take the first step on the Ladder of Divine Ascent?
As St. John Climacus reminds us:
“Not everyone can achieve dispassion, but all can be saved… Falling and getting up again—this is what repentance and Christian devotion are all about.”
Let’s climb, together.
