Lust - A Deadly Sin

Introductory Comments

1. I had just come out the bank. I got into my car and started pulling out when I noticed two men getting out of a car. They started walking across the street. Perhaps that does not seem like something that I should take notice of. But the parking lot is only for bank customers and I had often been frustrated by the lot being full and offering me no place to park. People like these two men were part of that problem. And also, I have the habit, good or bad, of taking note of injustices and feeling I must do something about them. And so I stopped in front of their parked car. From across the street, they noticed me and I pointed to their car and the bank, trying to let them know they were not to park there. They did not understand me, so I pulled closer and reminded them of their transgression. But as I did, I could not help but also point out another sin they were about to commit. And so I shouted across the street "this lot is for banking only, not for men to go to girly shows." For it was obvious they men were about to enter a place called "Spanky’s". Well, they moved the car, but they did not change their plans.

2. As I drove away, I felt somewhat convicted by God. "John, you are right, does men should not be going where they went. But, John, you struggle with the same sin as they do, perhaps in different ways." God convicted me that I struggle with the sin of lust, and I do not really like to tell you that this is a sin I struggle with.

3. Would you? If I were to ask you to raise your hand if you have ever struggled with this sin, how many hands would we see. This is a sin that not to many of us like to confess to. And yet it is a sin that is natural to us and which few of us have not had to deal with.

4. But let us be honest. Whether male or female, most of us have struggled with, and may still struggle with the sin of lust. I’m not asking you to tell us, but be honest with yourself and with God, because He knows whether you do or not anyway.

Teaching

1. Today we complete our root canal journey. And we look at what some Jewish scholars called the chief of all sins. As we look at this sin, we see how easy it is and how we must deal with it.

2. What is the sin of lust? Lust in Greek is a impulsive, passionate desire. That desire can be appropriate in marriage. And we are also called to have a deep passion toward God.

Psa 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

3. But lust as a sin is a longing for sexual satisfaction outside of marriage. It has been described as an agitated longing, a frightening craving, an out of touch desire for something or someone that is not yours. It is a desire to possess, to own, to consume without caring about the needs or feelings of any other being or the will of God.

4. Lust is a form of passion that has been misdirected and twisted by the power of sin. It is taking a beautiful gift of God and making it an terrible sin.

5. It seeks to fulfil its desires without considering love. As Christians we are to be people who love one another. Society teaches that lust and love are similar. But lust bypasses love and moves directly to passion. It eliminates relationships and turns the other person into an object or thing. They become a body to conquer. Lust is temporary and never has any lasting satisfaction. Love never ends, Paul said. Lust has no lasting quality. As one minister said, "Love is a marathon runner, lust runs the 10 yard dash."

6. Because it never satisfies, lust leads to greater perversion.

Rom 1:25-27 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Because it does not last, because the thrill is gone, we seek something even more exciting. We can see that it society all over the place. We are told, "If it feels good, do it." We could talk about how bad things have become, but these things do not merit being talked about.