Dealing With Lust

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Thursday February 5, 2009

1 Corinthians 6:15-20 (NIV)
15. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16. Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."
17. But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20. you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Sexual lust is something that every person deals with in some way, at one time or another. The most comforting thing for a Christian to know, when dealing with lust issues, is that Paul wrote the above verses in a letter to CHRISTIANS!

Yes, Christians are tempted in the same way as everyone else! We are tempted in the ways that are "common to man":

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
No temptation has seized you except WHAT IS COMMON TO MAN. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

When you are tempted, God is the one who provides a way OUT of it! The temptation is not coming from, or caused by, God:

James 1:13,14 (NIV)
13. When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14. but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

The source of sinful lusts is satan, and they are his most powerful weapons against Christians. I know of a few Christian ministries that have been destroyed by sinful lusts, and I'm sure you know of some too.

But God gives us a very simple way to combat this weapon of the enemy: FLEE FROM IT!!! In 1 Corinthians 6:18 (above), Paul told us, "Flee from sexual immorality." (I didn't say it was EASY, I said it was SIMPLE!)

Why would God tell us to FLEE from something satanic, when Christians have authority OVER satan??? In fact, the Bible tells us that if we RESIST the devil, HE will flee from US!!!

James 4:7 (NIV)
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Yes, if you resist the devil, he will flee from you! But God knows that sexual lust causes a unique situation to happen-- something that doesn't happen with most "sinful actions"-- so He tells us that, instead of resisting it, we MUST flee from it!

So why does sexual lust cause a "unique situation"? What IS this unique situation that sexual lust causes??

Sex is a gift that was given to men and women by God. God created sex. He created male and female organs to act and react in a certain way. The way those organs act and react is not wrong: God MADE them that way!

God created sex as a way of expressing LOVE. And God IS LOVE!

1 John 4:8 (NIV)
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

That means LOVE is a very good thing; since God defines Himself with it, and associates Himself directly with it.
Since sex is the natural way for two people in a covenent relationship to EXPRESS love to eachother, that also means SEX is a very good thing!

So the conflict arises when a married man or a married woman gets to know someone else of the opposite sex (besides their spouse), and starts to LOVE that person. Loving that person isn't wrong. There arises the conflict. It is not wrong to love someone of the opposite sex, but it IS wrong to be unfaithful to your spouse!

What if a man and his spouse just had an argument? (It happens to everyone, right?) What if in that moment of weakness, when he needs to feel better about himself, he finds himself alone with a person that he would be tempted to express love to?

THAT is why God tells us to FLEE from sexual immorality! FAITHFULNESS is an attribute of God:

1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)
God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, IS FAITHFUL.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV)
But the Lord IS FAITHFUL, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22,23 (NIV)
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, FAITHFULNESS, 23. gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

God REWARDS Faithfulness!

Matthew 24:45,46 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
45. "Who then is the FAITHFUL and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46. It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns."

Matthew 25:21 (NIV)
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and FAITHFUL servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

Love and faithfulness are 2 attributes of God, and they are attributes He wants each of US to exhibit:

Proverbs 3:3 (NIV)
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

Sexual immorality is a situation that can possibly bring these two attributes into DIRECT conflict with eachother. God wants us to love one another, but He also wants us to be FAITHFUL to Him and to eachother in our relationships.

When we get saved, we enter into a covenant relationship with God. When we get married, we enter into a covenant relationship with our spouse that REFLECTS the covenant relationship we have with God! Therefore, commiting adultery is the same as turning away from God, and worshipping a false god! It is breaking a covenant established by God.

If you HAVE been unfaithful to your spouse in the past, thank God for His mercy!! God will let you start over, and begin living in His faithfulness!!

PRAYER
Thank You, Father, for Your amazing and unending love for me. Thank You for all the wonderful gifts you have given to me and to all of mankind. Help me to reflect Your love and Your faithfulness to the world around me.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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