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AVOID LUST
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15
James 1:15

2 Timothy 2:22

 

“Flee also youthful lusts:

but follow righteousness…”

 

AVOID LUST
 
Lust in James 1:15 is used in a bad sense of unrestrained desire for something forbidden, craving or desire towards evil. The Apostle James uses “lust” to refer to any evil affection that becomes the fountain of all sinful desires. From this lust are conceived the wicked yearnings of man’s flesh, resulting in vices worthy of eternal condemnation.
 
When lust is conceived in man’s mind, man is already guilty of sin. The Lord Jesus warns us that the conception stages before the outward visible and physical sins are equally punishable by God. Just as a fetus conceived inside a woman’s womb is already as human as an adult man, so is lust conceived. Read Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28.
 
Brings forth sin: Lust once conceived, soon gives birth to open sin. This visible, harmful and destructive sin is an actualisation of what has been formed inside the heart of man. The womb that nurtures sin is the heart. Read Jeremiah 17:9 and Mark 7:21-23.
 
Brings forth death: James rightly observed that when it is completed entirely, it is like a mother carrying the baby for nine months and giving birth when ready. Lust, however, does not bring life but sure death: “For the wages of sin is death…” (Rom 6:23). We thank the Lord that Paul continues in the same verse, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
 
Take heed, dear reader, that if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you must not take pleasure in lust. If you do so without feeling conviction and guilt, it will prove that you are spiritually dull or dead! Let us be prayerful not to engage with evil desires in life. Believers will sense that this is not of the Spirit. Read Galatians 5:17.
 
THOUGHT: Do I find pleasure in thinking lustful things in life?
PRAYER: Father, as Thou hast saved me, keep me sensitive to the Spirit of God’s conviction when I begin to entertain lusts in my heart and mind.

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