[Put to death] … lust …
Summary: How is lust different than sexual immorality? The difference is significant. As we look into the roots of the word Paul used, we find a life-saving warning.
Paul’s third category of things to put to death is represented in the NIV by the word “lust.” About half of all English translations use this word. The other half, with a few exceptions, use the word “passion.” Both are a fair translation, but some clarification is helpful here.
The word Paul uses in Greek is “páthos.” “Páthos” is a word that describes a feeling we humans sometimes have. It is correctly translated as “passion,” but it is a very specific kind of passion.
This can be confusing!
People are passionate about all sorts of things. Sports comes to mind as a modern example. Being passionate about a sport or a team is not the kind of passion Paul is talking about here. Lust is a particular emotion that can be described as a burning desire for sex.
The cure for this condition, if one cannot control the emotion, is marriage. (Paul discusses this topic at length in 1 Corinthians, chapter seven.) But even this, as Paul notes, is not a guaranteed cure. In all cases, it turns out, we need to exercise self-control (ibid, v 5).
Paul describes lust as a passion that burns. He says, “… it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (1 Corinthians 7:9). This gives us a clue as to when to put lust to death.
Which kind of burning would you rather put out? A small birthday candle or a roaring forest fire? Obviously, the birthday candle is much less intimidating.
Our emotions are like fire.
Once the “fire” of emotion takes hold, it can consume our minds. If not put out early, it can grow to consume our thoughts night and day. In time, it becomes an obsession, something that becomes all we think about. When this happens, the “fire” of passion is very hard to put out.
When it comes to “páthos,” we are well advised to put out the fire before it gets started. The matches that light the fire of “páthos” are hard-wired into the flesh. Kept under control, these passions spur us to do great things. They fuel our desire to find a mate and to be worthy of the mate we desire. The same passion fuels our desire to build a family, and together, families build towns and cities.
Páthos, done right, is amazing. But if the fire gets out of control, if our passion and lust grow so strong that it controls us, God help us. Being a slave to lust is a horrible fate.
“But a man who commits adultery has no sense;
whoever does so destroys himself.”
(Proverbs 6:32)
Application: Keep watch for warning signs of the fire of lust.
Food for Thought: How does knowing Jesus help us fight the fire of lust?
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I believe those that have put their faith in Christ and call Him Lord truly understand that Christ brings life and sin brings death. Both in eternity and here on Earth. Pursuing the lust of the flesh brings destruction on ourselves and those around us. In Christ, we are able to put aside the lust of the flesh, in pursuit of an ever increasing relationship with Him rooted in love, and with those around us rooted in love.
James 1:12-15 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Without Christ, we are in the darkness. In knowing Jesus we are aware of how we conduct ourselves on a small scale will affect how we conduct ourselves on the larger scale.
Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Thanks for the devotional. Excellent comments CH. The light we have in Christ is certainly an important point.
I would add that with faith in Christ comes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Part of the fruit of the Spirit is self control. We are no longer slaves to sin.
Romans 6: 6 – 14: We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. 7For anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. 10The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. 11So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. 13Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
GREAT comments guys !
How does knowing Jesus help us fight the fire of lust?
2 Timothy 2:22, Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
Genesis 39-41, Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife.
Joseph ran from the advances of Potiphar’s wife, was falsely accused and imprisoned. He remained true to God and in time was released from prison. He rose to become the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt, and was used by God to provide the best land in Egypt for his family during a famine, allowing them to become the nation of Israel.
2 Samuel 11-12, David and Bathsheba:
Following Davids acts of adultery and murder, God sent Nathan to confront David who repented and forgiven, however his children followed his ways of this world. David’s oldest son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar. David refused to discipline Amnon, so Tamar’s brother Absalom killed Amnon in revenge and fled to escape punishment ( 2 Samuel 13 ). In rebellion against his father, Absalom mounted a coup against David and briefly took the kingdom ( 2 Samuel 15-17 ). Eventually, Joab killed Absalom.
1 John 2:15-17, Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.