FCOC The Fundamentals of Sin - Lust

02/12/2023

Gen 3:6 "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.""

Before that act, things were going well. GOD interacted with Adam and Eve while they lived in the most beautiful place in the world.

Unfortunately, by taking the fruit from the forbidden tree, Eve opened the door to sin. She and her husband unintentionally changed the course of the world and how GOD was to relate with HIS creation. They welcomed three essential factors of sin:

· The lust of the flesh,

· lust of the eyes and

· the prideful desire to acquire wisdom apart from GOD.

All three of these can be called fundamentals or foundations of sin which often is the source of temptation among other things. This was summarized in 1 John 2:16 “For all the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the FATHER.”

It all started with disobedience to GOD’s literal Word.

In Genesis 2:16–17 GOD gave humanity a commandment. This command consisted of what you are free to do and what you are not free to do.

· 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Their disobedience introduced sin and more specifically, lust. Lust is a sin that goes back to our deepest need and desire – love. You see lust is a distortion of the highest good and purpose of life, which is love.

LUST is usually intense or unbridled evil desires. Although it is usually referred to sensual desires, lusts can be demonstrated in much more of our life such as money, or power. It can take such mundane forms as the lust for food (see gluttony) as distinct from the need for food or attention. We use words such as crave but it means the same an unhealthy appeal.

LUST in New Testament uses the Greek word “Epithumia”

· Means longing for unlawful, evil & intense sensual desire connected with adultery, & fornication.

· Referred to as sinful desire AKA as "fleshly,“ & "worldly, “will of man”

· Contrast: “Spiritual" “Heavenly," &“Will of God," Lust manifests itself through the eye, flesh and pride of life.

The bible warns us about Lust. A few passages;

Proverbs 6:25

· “25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.”

Matthew 5:28

· “28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

So what is the big deal…what can lust do to me?

1 Peter 2:11

· “11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

· Lusts wars against the soul…in other words it conflicts with our purpose which is to please GOD

·Lust can prevent you from loving GOD and His way of life

· Lust can inhibit or spiritual growth in Christ.

· Lust can redirect our focus from spiritual life to a life centered on self-centeredness and worldliness

· Lust of the eyes and flesh can lead to other sins such as adultery, covetousness and sensuality.

Behaviors such as pornography can germinate from lust.

· Think about the numbers of careers and lives changed because supervisors, community leaders and clergy leaders decided to indulge in pornography.

· This can impact family and friends relationships also.

· What is pride of life? The pride of life is the sin of being arrogant or boastful about what one has or has achieved. It is also a sin of seeing others as inferior on account of achievements, or personality, or status. Lording yourself over others because of your position, achievement, riches, etc. It can also be power obtained by unlawful means.

A simple definition of pride of life is anything that is self-abasement and not giving glory to GOD

There are several examples in the bible of those who displayed pride of life:

Luke 18:9-14 The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

· 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like

other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar

One day he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and when he saw the magnificence of the city of Babylon, he was moved, out of pride and arrogance, Nebuchadnezzar said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty (Daniel 4:30 ESV)?” Then, seeing that Nebuchadnezzar did not give glory to Him, but prides himself with his accomplishments, God dealt with Nebuchadnezzar for his pride – his pride of life – by turning him into a beast to humble him.

What shall we do?

We should run!

2 Timothy 2:22

· 22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Run from lust

· Recognize it’s sting and it’s detriment

· These youthful lusts stubbornly cling to our heals. We can’t shake these passions since they are so deeply entrenched in our DNA.

· This might mean mentally fleeing: bouncing our thoughts away from lustful imaginations.

· This might mean visually fleeing: bouncing our eyes away from lustful images.

· This might mean physically fleeing: walking (or running) away from tempting situations.

We must run toward a new passion.

· We are to “pursue,” that is, eagerly and swiftly run toward Christlikeness.

· Righteousness (real integrity, a passion for justice, and a life pleasing to God)

· Faith (strong and welcome conviction and trust in God)

· Love (benevolent affection toward God and others)

· Peace (tranquility in the heart and harmony with God and others)

· We are to run hard after these things each day knowing these character qualities are how we were created to live. We pursue these things knowing it is our destiny to live this way.

We must also run with our brothers and sisters with the same vision

· Running with others involves a certain level of intentionality. It is not enough to simply know others around us are on the same journey because they profess the Christian faith. We must have real running companions, those who actually help us flee youthful passions and pursue a Christlike heart.

Finally, we should encourage each other to follow instructions in Titus 2:12

· “11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,”

· Say “No” to ungodly living and worldly lust

· Say “Yes” to Godliness

· Say “Yes” to honesty.

· Say “Yes” to humble lives.

· Say “Yes” to living in the footsteps of Jesus as a servant.

· Say “Yes” to eternal life.

Surrender our lives unconditionally to Jesus Christ and allow Him to be the architect of our being.

Allow Him and the Holy Spirit to purge such thoughts and actions from our souls.