[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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