A few weeks ago I posted a blog entry asking how my readers fight lust. There were very few responses, so I thought I’d begin an intermittent series of posts giving my short answer to my own question. Please share your comments too!
The most important step in fighting lust is to be saved. The other pointers I will share in future posts are mere Band-Aids if you miss this one.
Don’t assume “I know I’m saved” because you have had a past religious experience. Paul told us to test ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). Tragically, many professing Christians in the
Saved from what? Saved from our sin, and saved from the wrath of God we deserve for our sin.
When I was a fake Christian, I wanted to be saved from God’s wrath (hell) without being saved from my sins. I wanted heaven (who doesn’t?) but I didn’t particularly want holiness.
To be sure, I felt guilty about my sins, and loathed myself for being captivated by lust. But yet, I only wanted to be freed from some sins (the ones that made me feel bad). I loved the worst of my sins: wanting to be my own boss (god).
So, the first step in fighting lust is to realize that lust is not your big problem. It’s just a symptom. Your real problem is your refusal to worship God. Lust is a natural outcome, as Romans 1:18-32 amply describes.
The cross is God’s cure for sin. Do you want to be saved from your sin? Look to the cross. “But may it never be that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14, NASB.)
When I see the awful consequence of my sin (that it required the brutal execution of the Son of God to atone for it) and the immense love of God (that He was willing to pay that price for a pervert like me), the cross does truly become the means of freedom from sin!
(You can read the complete story of how God saved me on my personal web site.)
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