Text: Titus 2:11-13
INTRODCUTION
What is LUST?
Lust can be defined thus:
An uncontrolled, overmastering desire or
Desire willingly allowed to go beyond that which is lawful and legitimate e.g Amnon –IISam.13:1-2
Lust is sinful because it puts pleasure before pleasing God, and it places self-gratification before the good of others e.g David – IISam.11
The distinction between desire and lust
Desire – whether physical, mental, spiritual or sexual –were given by God to man at his creation and were wholly good (Gen.1:31; 1Tim.4:3, 4; Jas.1:17).
Sin, however, acting like a poison, mars all men’s desires, and left to itself would use them to increase the corruption that is in the world (IIPet.1:4).
Desire is necessary, for example, if appetite is to ensure that the body is fed (Matt.4:2), and if the human race is to be continued by procreation (Gen.3:16; Heb.13:4).
Our Lord Jesus Christ had an eager desire to eat the Passover with His disciples (luke 22:15), and Paul had a desire to depart and be with Christ (Phil.1:23) these desires were wholly commendable
Our desire, however, can so easily be set on evil things and then they become lusts (ICor.10:6).
Desire becomes lust when it object is unlawful (IISam.11:3,4; Ex.20:14).
Desire becomes lust when it gains control of us rather than our controlling it (IThess.4:5) – thus looking becomes covetousness (Josh.7:21), eating becomes gluttony (ISam.2:12-17), attraction leads to mental adultery (Matt.5:27,28), and burning sexual desires becomes immorality (IISam.11:2,4).
The sources of Lust
Desires –both good and bad – find their origin in our heart (Ps.37:4; Matt.15:19,20; Rom.1:24,29). (In Biblical language, the heart covers the whole inward life of a man; his thinking, feelings and will).
Lust is part of our nature as fallen men and women, and that nature may be described as being corrupt through deceitful lusts (Eph.4:22).
Lust springs from the passions of our mortal bodies which demand satisfaction in unlawful, and therefore sinful ways (Rom.6:12).
Lust finds its home in our flesh which pleads for the gratification of its desires (Rom.13:14;Gal.5:16).
Lust reflect the kinship of fallen men and women with the devil (John 8:44)
Lust is a manifestation of the sin which dwells in man and which controls him (Rom.7:7,8).
Lust’s characteristics and objectives
Lust is deceitful in that is promises happiness but it brings, in fact, misery (Eph.4:22).IISam.13
Lust show itself in uncontrolled passion (1Thess.4:5) leading to sexual immorality and sometimes pervasion (Rom.1:29;Jude 7).
Lust reveals itself in covetousness whether of money (Acts 20:23), possession (Ex.20:17), or another person’s body (Prov.6:25; Matt.5:28).
Lust’s pre-eminent stimulus is what comes to men and women through their eyes (I John 2:16); Eve, for example, was tempted by what she saw of tree in the midst of the garden (Gen.3:6), and Achan was tempted by what he saw among the spoils of the city of Jericho (Josh.7:21).
Lust finds itself stirred by what it sees, whether in the form of another person’s attractiveness (IISam.11:3,4;Job 31:1; Matt.5:28) or in terms of the pleasures of the world (Matt.4:8;Luk.8:14),
Lust can be stimulated by harmful friendships and bad company (IITim.2:22).
Lust keeps company with sins such as immoral behaviour, drunkenness, orgies, liquor consumption and idolatry (IPet.4:3).
Lust is linked often with filthiness, silly talk and levity (Eph.5:4).
Lust desires our surrender to it (IThess.4:5) through its strong enticements (Jas.1:14; Jude 16).
Lust listens only to what it want to hear (II Tim.4:3): men who follow after their own evil desires choose to scoff at all presentations of truth which might make them uncomfortable (IIPet.3:3).
Lust’s consequences.
Lust never stand still: once conceived it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown gives birth to death (Jas.1:15)
Lust dishonours the body (Rom.1:24; 1Cor.6:17-20).
Lust ruins the good things of life (IIPet.1:4).
Lust breeds inward conflicts and outward strife (Jas.4:1).
Lust chokes the influence of God’s word in the individual’s life (Mark 4:19).
Lust leads to transgression and offending one’s brother (IThess.4:5).
Lust makes us the world’s friend and God’s enemy (Jas.4:4): God demands our total obedience and love from the whole heart (Deut.6:5).
Lust brings upon itself the judgment of God (IThess.4:6): it merits God’s wrath (Col.3:6).
The antidote to lust
The only true antidote to lust is the grace of God that brings salvation and which teaches us to say “NO” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age while we await the return of Jesus Christ (Tit.2:11-13)
Realizing that the Lord Jesus gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness, and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own (Tit.2:14), prompts gratitude (Rom.12:1,2) and the desire to live for him and not for ourselves (IICor.5:15)
We say “No”, therefore, to worldly passions (Tit.2:12): we flee evil desires, if necessary, and pursue righteousness (IITim.2:22); we put off our old self with its wrong desires and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph.4:23,24).
We aim at living self-controlled lives (Tit.2:12): the godly man is not passionless, but controlled in his passions (Gal.5:23,24.)
We find strength for these things from knowing that they are God’s will (IThess.4:3; IPet.4:2f).
We find power for these things by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (Gal.5:16).
We find daily encouragement from God’s very great and precious promises to persevere in proving the reality of the antidote that His salvation provides against lust (Heb.13:21; IIPet.1:4)
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