Before there were the Seven Deadly Sins (coined in approximately the fourth century) there was the greatest sermon ever preached…the Sermon on the Mount. And in this sermon Jesus not only addressed the sin of adultery (a given to religious leaders in His day) but He once again raises the bar and gets to the heart of the command. The heart of this command? Do not lust.
Last night we addressed this issue, exposing the lie that “Your desires should be expressed, not suppressed.” Following the mantra “If it feels good, do it,” will NOT feel good to someone else eventually!
Lust is choosing to view someone else as an object to be used instead of a person to be loved. Lust is selfish (gimme, gimme, gimme); love is sacrificial (how can I serve/bless you?).
Proverbs 4:23 reminds us: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” If you feed your heart lust, the results are going to be disastrous because it won’t be pure “water” flowing out of your heart! Garbage in…garbage out.
Next week we’ll expand on this topic by addressing “Courting, Love, Dating, Marriage, and Sex” with a panel of people sharing their wisdom from the Word and life lived. If you have a question that you think would be helpful to address, please get it to me!
Questions to ask at the table or when you’re driving in the car:
- What’s some bad relationship advice that you’ve heard? Some good advice? How can you tell the difference?
- What’s the difference between lust and love?
- How are lust and adultery connected? (lust is born in the heart and gives birth to adultery in thought and can lead to action; we typically don’t do things we don’t give thought to)
- Why do you think Jesus takes this stuff so seriously?
ACTION STEPS:
- CONFESS your sin.
Read James 5:16. Why do you think there is healing power in confessing your sin to someone else?
Who is someone you trust who you could confess to? - Cut out TEMPTATION.
What things fuel your lustful desires? How will you eliminate the things that lead to temptation?
What comfort do you find in 1 Corinthians 10:13? - CALL on the LORD.
What do you need God’s help to overcome? How can you make asking for His help a habit?