Finding Victory Over Lust Through Faith:
Putting to Death the Ugly Power of Sin and
Bringing to Life the Graces And Beauty of God
By Eric Schumacher
We, as Christians, all deal with a common problem: sin. All Christians
have indwelling sin. In fact, 1 John 1:8 tells us "if we say that we have
no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is no in us." If you
come struggling with sin, do not think it a mark that you are unsaved.
Remember what was said last night, "The issue is that we resolve to fight,
not that we succeed flawlessly." An evidence of your justifying faith is
that you have resolved to fight sin.
We must fight sin. If we don't, it will destroy us. We are called to
"lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles
us..."(Hebrews 12:1) Notice that this verse says 'encumbrance, and sin...'
It makes a distinction between the two. Therefore we shouldn't only ask
the question "Is it a sin?" but also "Does it encumber me?" TV, video
games, etc. are not sins in themselves, but if they encumber us then we are
to lay them aside. My goal is to look at how we do that, specifically in
regards to the area of sexual lust. Bear in mind these tools and this
strategy is not limited to lust, but applies to any and all sin.
Sexual lust is by far one of the most powerful and binding sins faced.
Our first step in battle is to understand our enemy. We must understand
where sin's power source is, so that we can sever it at its root. It
matters not how large or thick or old a tree is, it will wither, die, and
fall if its roots are cut off. The same is true with lust.
The power lust has is in its false promise; the false pr
omise of
satisfaction. The chief weapon of sin is the lie that it will make our
future happier. When some sexual image or desire invades our mind it tries
to persuade us we will be more satisfied by pursuing it than by pursuing
God. Or it tells us that if we satisfy the desire it will go away and our
struggle will go away. It is a lie!
We must fight fire with fire. If lust's chief weapon is its promise to
satisfy us more than God, then our chief weapon in battling sin is God's
promise that He will make our future happiest. Victory involves seeing the
lie of sin and the truth of God.
There are two steps in this process. The first is to put to death lust by
the Spirit by bringing to mind scriptural teachings of the ugliness,
deceit, and consequences of sin. We should ponder the danger and
horrifying ends of lust. Second, we are to bring to life the graces of
God. This is done by calling to mind God's promises to satisfy and
comparing them to sin and then trusting that God is better.
Let's look closer at our first step then: killing lust. The Apostle Paul
says "if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you
will live."(Romans 8:13) John Owen outlines three reasons we must draw on
the power of the Holy Spirit in this fight against sin.
The first is that He gives grace. The Holy Spirit kills sin "by causing
our hearts to abound in grace and the fruits that are contrary to the fruit
of the flesh". By giving us the fruits of the Spirit "He causes us to
grow, thrive, flourish, and abound in those graces which are contrary,
opposite, and destructive to all the fruits of the flesh, and to the quiet
thriving of indwelling sin itself.
The second way the Holy Spirit kills sin is 'by a real physical efficiency
[an actual effect] on the root and habit of sin, for the weakening,
destroying, and taking it away. He is called, in Isaiah 4:4, a "Spirit of
judgment and burning", really consuming and destroying our lusts.' The
Holy Spirit removes our heart of stone and His fire burns up the roots of
lust.
The third way is that He 'brings the cross of Christ into the heart of a
sinner by faith, and gives us communion with Christ in His death, and
fellowship in His sufferings.' The Holy Spirit brings us to Christ for
forgiveness and freedom by which we will have victory.
This raises a question: If the killing of lust is the work of the Holy
Spirit alone, then how is it we are commanded to do it? If only the Spirit
of God can do it, shouldn't it be left only to Him? We must understand the
Holy Spirit works in us and brings about all our good works, Godly desires,
and to preserve our obedience. He does not work against us or without us,
but instead He works in us and with us. So then we should strive to make
our desires holy and to walk blamelessly in the Spirit. We should depend
on the Spirit in our battle, especially His sword. The sword of the Holy
Spirit is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). The Spirit uses God's word to
kill sin and increase faith through hearing the Word of Christ.(Romans
10:17)
So, let us look closer at God's word and see how we can kill sin
specifically by bringing to mind how ugly it is. First let's look at
Proverbs 5:15-17: "Drink water from your own cistern, and fresh water from
your own well. Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water
in the street? Let them be yours alone, and not for strangers with you."
It is a command to be sexually satisfied in your wife alone. You are to
drink fresh water from your own well, from your own wife. Why? Because
you wouldn't want your streams of water to 'be dispersed abroad' or to run
in the streets. Verse 17 says they are for you alone; your wife is for you
and only for you. No man of right character would take any pleasure in
knowing his wife has been sexually dispersed abroad to many other men. No
man should take any joy in that his wife has sexually 'ran in the streets'
with other men, either before marriage or during. [Now here let me briefly
address this topic. A great 'epidemic of engagement' seems to be sweeping
our campus. One cannot help but assume that in this day and age some are
in this very situation now and there are some who will find themselves in
it. You have found that the one you are to marry has had sexual relations,
perhaps one time or perhaps with many. This will possibly be a cause of
great pain and bitterness. Something that was to be yours was given away
in sin. You have a legitimate jealousy because the allegiance that was
yours as a husband has been shared with another man. However, forgive
freely and fight the temptation to be bitter, as you would also fight lust.
Remember that Christ has called lust in the heart the same as adultery.
There is not a man alive that has not lusted and therefor has not committed
adultery in his heart. Or, you yourself may have been involved in impure
sexual relations. As a Christian you have been forgiven this and you are
called to also forgive freely, as you have been forgiven. Your bitterness
and anger finds its roots in the fact that you have been sinned against and
justice calls for that sin to be punished. God tells us vengeance is His
and He will repay each according to His deeds. He tells us in Proverbs 6
that no one who touches his neighbors wife will go unpunished. We have
assurance that this sin, either on the cross or in hell, will have the
wrath it is due poured out on it. We should forgive and pray for hearts to
forgive and then be gracious and forgiving.] If you would hate it for this
to be true of your 'waters', of your wife, then don't let this be true of
your wife's waters, you!!! Protect them, preserve them, and keep them for
her alone.
Imagine what pain and hurt it brings the young woman who's future husband
sits down with her one day and confesses to her his past sexual impurity
(and you must! In being sexually impure, you have sinned against your wife
in a great, great way and forgiveness must be sought. Don't skirt
repentance and confession by saying your wife couldn't handle it or forgive
you. Forgiveness is an aspect of love that must be present in marriage.
If you don't believe your wife has love that will forgive you this sin then
what grounds have you to stand on that she has love to forgive you anything
or to remain faithful). Imagine how cheated she feels to learn her husband
has shared with another woman what was hers alone. And then someday, years
down the road, he finds her weeping. As he probes to find out why, she
explains it's because she cannot help but think of some other woman lying
in his arms, sharing that with him. She becomes angry and jealous and
frustrated with these invading thoughts of her husband's past. Or perhaps
someday it will be the husband upset, as he can't seem to put out of his
mind the thoughts of this other woman and those nights of sinful passion.
He can't help but think of what it might be like to be with her again and
then holds his wife in comparison to another. What great pain, heartache,
bitterness, anger, frustration, and struggle was caused by those moments of
fleeting passion!! There have been wounds dug deep that the couple will
have to confess, talk about, pray about, weep over, and find healing in
scripture and struggle though. Look forward to these consequences, weigh
them, consider them! Are the scars and the pain and the long-lasting
results on your marriage worth the passing, fleeting pleasure of sin? I
should think any man who would answers 'yes' truly has a wicked heart and
cares nothing for his wife nor their marriage.
Men, for the sake of your wives and for the sake of your future families,
stay pure! FLEE immorality! FLEE fornication! Consider the damage, the
danger, the results, and fear it! Flee it!
Let us look further into this same passage, verses 18-23 read: "Let your
fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving
hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; be
exhilarated always with her love. For why should you, my son, be
exhilarated with an adulteress, and embrace the bosom of a foreigner? For
the ways of a man are before the Lord, and He watches all his paths. His
own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords
of his sin. He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of
his folly he will go astray." Here we find a command and a warning. First
the commands: we are to be blessed by, rejoice in, be satisfied in, and
exhilarated by our wife's love always. We are not to embrace another.
Don't be led astray by the lusts of the flesh. Satisfaction in our wives
will not come from looking at our them through the lens of Playboy
magazine. If you look for satisfaction in your wife by holding her to the
requirements of Penthouse and Playboy, you will be quickly disappointed and
drawn in by the lures of the harlot. We must learn to see our wives and to
look at women as Christ did. A quick glimpse of this can be gained through
Christ's healing of the crippled woman in Luke 13. He referred to her,
when he healed her, as 'a daughter of Abraham as she is'. Christ saw
beyond her physical condition and to her soul, He looked through the eyes
of Scripture, through heavenly eyes. We too must see through the eyes of
God. When you look at your wife you should see an heir to righteousness
and glory. Someday she will shine in Christ's righteousness and she is
destined in Him for glory. See the beauty in who God has created her as.
See the horror in committing adultery (this does not only apply to
marriage, but fooling around with girlfriends and fianc�s is adultery in
God's eyes as well). Paul states marriage is God's living drama of the
relationship between Himself and the church. See how Christ thinks of the
church, see how He loves her, sees her, and serves her and do the same.
How we treat our wives is our way of saying, 'This is what Christ is like."
A husband's role is to imitate Christ. When a man commits adultery, he
calls Christ the same. For a man to commit adultery is no less than to
cast Jesus Christ as the lead role in an X-rated movie. You are saying,
'This is Christ'. There is only one difference: X-rated movies are shown
in private, your adultery is put on show for the community, the church, and
all the world to see when it comes to light. God is not pleased with
adultery and sexual unfaithfulness and how He is falsely presented through
it.
Surely the effects it will have on marriage should be enough to deter
most. However, there are even worse consequences that effect the married
and single person. We must stop to see the terrible results that will come
from sexual sin. Proverbs 5:22-23 says a man will be caught by his own
iniquities, he will be held in the cords of his sin, he will die, and he
will go astray. God makes promises to the sinner here; they will not
escape. Look further to Proverbs 6:27 which says you can't heap fiery
coals upon your lap and not get burned. You can't play around with sexual
sin in the least! Proverbs 7 tells the story of a man pursuing sexual sin
and it says he goes 'as an ox goes to slaughter' and that it will 'cost him
his life'!!! Proverbs 8:36 says that to sin against God is to injure
yourself! How ironic considering the power of lust is the promise to
please yourself, yet God promises it will only do damage!
Consider what unfought sin will do to your spiritual life. It will kill
it (reasons 1-3 adapted from John Owen): 1) The vigor and comfort in our
spiritual lives depends on fighting sin. It is a difficult thing to be
comfortable in the presence of God while living in an immoral sexual
relationship. 2) Sin weakens and darkens the soul and hinders duty. It is
impossible to serve the Lord in the many ways commanded in scripture when
we walk in a state of defeat, resignation, and guilt. 3) It diverts our
attention from God. It would be impossible for one to think on the things
of God and meditate on scripture while staring at pornography or lusting
after a woman. 4) It quenches prayer. It would be difficult to speak to a
holy, righteous, and pure God while masturbating, yet we are called to pray
without ceasing.
Consider these warnings! Consider the promise of scripture to those who
abide in iniquity. Consider these warnings as you are tempted to lust and
to fulfill that desire. When you are tempted to bring up pornography on
the Internet, remember Galations 5:21 which tell us those who give
themselves up to impurity will be lost. When you are consider becoming
involved in, pursuing, or continuing in an impure sexual relationship,
consider Colossians 3:6 which states those who surrender their lives to
evil desires will succumb to the wrath of God! When you are next tempted
to dwell upon lustful thoughts as you lie in bed, or to gaze upon and lust
after women on campus, or in church, or in posters on your wall, remember
what we are told in Matthew 5:30, that those who forsake the fight against
lust will perish. And when you are next tempted to please your flesh
through masturbation remember that those who do not pursue holiness will
not see the Lord! [Let me for a moment address this issue of masturbation.
Statistics state 90% of all men hvae masturbated. Sadly, many in the
church have accepted this behavior as not sinful. Flee it! It is a sinful
behavior for at least, but not only, three reasons: 1) It is outside of
God's design for sex. Sex is to be a giving relationship in love between
one man and one woman within the union of marriage. Masturbation is
neither of these. 2) Masturbation is addictive. It's lie is that if you
do it just once the desire will leave and you will be free from it. But
the desire only returns stronger. We are called to live in freedom and our
freedom is not an opportunity for the flesh(Gal.5:13). 3) It is fueled by
lust. It is a sexual act accompanied by sexual thoughts. We are called to
a renewing of the mind and to think on things that are pure and holy and
excellent and worthy of praise.]
Far too many professing Christians are being comforted by a view that
disconnects sexual sin from spiritual life. Christ tells us in Luke 12:4-5
to fear Him who 'after killing the body has the authority to cast into
hell!' "Yes," Christ tells us, "fear Him." We need to seriously consider
and heed Christ's warnings, such as in Matthew 18:7-10 where Christ tells
us we should gouge out our eye to fight lust! Why? Because if we don't,
we'll go to hell. Christ threatens lust with hell. The Apostle Peter
tells us in 1 Peter 2:11 that fleshly lusts 'wage war against the soul'.
Our eternal destiny is at stake in what we look at with our eyes and what
we entertain with our imaginations! This is serious! Last night we saw
what an terrifying thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God.
We caught a glimpse of how terrible, painful, and endless hell is. Let
this cause you to fear sin. Sin is the cause of hell. Christ is saying if
we don't fight lust, we won't go to heaven (we will go to hell). 'Not all
saints succeed. The issue is that we resolve to fight, not that we succeed
flawlessly.' 'Although faith alone is necessary for justification, purity
that confirms faith's reality is also necessary for final salvation.' A
resolution to fight sin is a necessary evidence of saving faith.
So now, let's look at how we, after having seen the lie of sin, may bring
to life the graces of God through scripture. John Piper outlines the
process as this: "The role of God's Word is to fee faith's appetite for
God. And, in doing this it weans my heart away from the deceptive taste of
lust. At first, lust begins to trick me into feeling that I would really
miss out on some great satisfaction if I followed the path of purity. But
then I take up the sword of the Spirit and begin to fight. I read that it
is better to gouge out my eye than to lust. I read that if I think about
things that are pure and lovely and excellent, the peace of God will be
with me (Philippians 4:8f). I read that setting the mind on the flesh
brings death, but setting the mind on the Spirit brings peace and life
(Romans 8:6). I read that lust wages war against my soul (1Peter 2:11),
and that the pleasures of this life choke out the life of the Spirit (Luke
8:14). But best of all, I read that God withholds no good thing from those
who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11), and that the pure in heart will see God
(Matthew 5:8)...Faith is not just a backward-looking belief in the death of
Jesus, but a forward-looking belief in the promises of Jesus...Our chief
weapon is the truth that says God will make our future happier. And faith
is the victory that overcomes the lie, because faith is satisfied with
God"(John Piper, Future Grace, pp335-336).
Let's dissect this statement to see how we do this. First we are to wean
away our heart from the deceitful taste of wickedness and to have an
appetite for God. I love to eat steak. When a nice, big, sizzling, juicy
steak has been placed in front of me, there is no way I will be lured away
by the offer of left-over SPAM on the bottom-shelf of the refrigerator!
And the more and more I eat steak, and the more I am satisfied by it, the
less likely I will be to return to SPAM. The same is true with God, the
more we feed ourselves on God's word and are satisfied by His promises, the
less likely we are to return to the rotting, putrid stench of sin.
We just began to develop a distaste for sin. It involves seeing how sin
will make you sick. A few years ago a friend of mine got food-poisoning
from ranch-dressing and it was a long time before he would eat it again.
When we see how terribly sick sin will make us, when we see it will truly
kill us, we will not go back.
Next, we develop a taste for God. This involves getting into His Word.
We claim promises of satisfaction and joy and hope and comfort and peace,
and eat them and meditate on them, and savor them, and let them nourish us.
Our aim in battling lust is not merely to avoid something awful, but to
gain something superior.
When we face the temptation to ponder a lustful thought we should cast it
from our mind and savor a verse such as Romans 8:6, "the mind set on the
Spirit is life and peace."
When we face the temptation to lust after a woman who passes our way we
should kill the temptation by bringing to mind a verse such as Philipians
4:8-9, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there
is any excellence and if anything is worthy of praise, let your mind dwell
on these things...and the God of peace shall be with you."
When we are faced with the desire to bring up pornography on the web or
glance at an enticing commercial or billboard or advertisement remember the
promise of Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will grant you
the desires of your heart."
When the temptation arises to flip through channels on the television late
at night to feed your lust in hopes it might satisfy you then recite Psalm
107:9, "For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul He has
filled with what is good."
When the tempter tells you that masturbation will quench your struggles
with lust slay him with Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
Let your banner of victory and driving force in the fight against lust be
Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Our
most effective and foremost driving force to forsake sin should be that
when we do we will see God. We must believe Christ's words here are true.
We must believe He is the rewarder and He will satisfy the hungry soul.
When we sin we are saying, 'I don't believe you Jesus!' Faith must have
the upper hand so that we are satisfied in all Christ is and all that He
promises to be. Christ told us, "He who believes in Me shall never
thirst"(John 6:35). 'When the thirst for joy and meaning and passion are
satisfied by the presence and promises of Christ, the power of sin is
broken.'
Don't stuff yourself with sin so you can feast on Christ. Fight the
temptation for sex with a positive addiction. Sexual lust denies you the
pleasures of holiness and purity and its beauty. The answer to the fight
against lust is not to cast aside hunger, but to get hungrier! Learn about
Christ, spend time with Christ, love Christ, be addicted to Christ!!!
Let's briefly look at a few ways to do this:
-Avoid tempting situations. Know the enemy's battle plan. Recognize
where and when you are tempted and gouge out your eye to avoid those
situations and thoughts. Don't go to bad movies, don't watch television
shows where the clothing, conversations, and situation will induce lust.
Get rid of pictures, posters, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and
catalogs that fuel lust. Resolve not to bring up pornography on the web.
-Keep close guard over your spiritual life and your heart. Make it a
habit to examine your life for any and every hint of sin or encumbrance
because Satan stalks you like a lion, ready to devour. Sin does not want
us to recognize it as such. Heed the warning of 1 Corinthians 10:12,
"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." John Owen
points out that it is when the waters seem most still that they are most
deep. It is when we think we are safe and free of all temptation that we
are in the most danger.
Take to heart the following preventions against sexual sin (adapted from
John Piper: Avoiding Sexual Sin: Pitfalls and Protections (2)):
1) Think hard about the Biblical warning against lust. Develop a hatred
for the taste of sin. Read James 4:4, "You adulteresses, do you not know
that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefor whoever
wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Think
about the supreme joy of Christ compared to the world.
2) Meditate on the Biblical truth that all our acts are acts towards God
and not man. When David was rebuked for adultery he was told he had sinned
against God. God hates even the slightest sin. Think about God's holiness
being the most satisfying treasure in the universe. Cultivate a God
centered mindset and relate everything you do to Christ.
3) Have accountability. Submit yourself to someone in whatever place you
are to a counsel of Spiritually wise advisors. Have someone or some
persons who will ask you straight-forward questions and question you about
specific sin.
4) Cultivate a love for the truth; even in it's slightest details. Turn a
deaf ear to the desires of men to have their ears tickled with vague
moralisms that massage their sin. The biggest scandals in ministry start
from small smudgings of the truth. Don't compromise on God's truth, so you
won't compromise in sexual sin.
5) Give yourself untiringly to the study, meditation, and memorization of
the Scripture. 2 Timothy 2:15-16, "Be diligent to present yourself
approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling
accurately the word of truth..." The word will do battle against sin when
used properly. Be armed and ready at all times to do battle against sin
and temptation with the sword of the Spirit.
6) Labor in prayer and caring to stir your heart up to love all people.
Love the people you minister to. The flock follows the shepherd. If you
love them then you will stay pure so they will stay pure. Through the
prayerful discipline of doing what love commands, more love will be born.
7) Once in marriage, remind yourself repeatedly that your marriage is a
living drama of Christ's relationship to the church. Let your thoughts of
your wife rise from the truths of Ephesians 5:25-30. Meditate on noble,
scriptural views of marriage, because if you don't you'll absorb them from
society.
8) View absolutely everything as woven together by it's relation to the
value of the glory of God. Do all to the glory of God-every relationship
and contact you make. Pay attention to the tiniest of details.
9) Never forget the promise: Through many tribulations we must enter the
kingdom of God. Read Romans 8:17-30 and believe that the sufferings of
this time are not worthy of being compared to the great glory of God which
will be revealed to us.
10) Hedonistically embrace the promise that no one who suffers the loss of
any Earthly blessing in the service of Christ will fail to be repaid
one-hundred fold now and in eternal life. There is no pleasure that sin
offers that we will not be repaid one-hundred fold in heaven and on earth
if we choose instead to live for Christ.
References
John Owen, Temptation and Sin.
Items in 'quotes' taken from: John Piper, Future Grace
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, c 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971,1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, by The Lockman Foundation.
Go back to Contend for the Faith.
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